Saw that. I paid 4k for my Isis so that price would be hard to swallow.
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One currently for sale on CANUCKAUDIOMART …asking $CDN9950 ….$USD 8150 https://www.canuckaudiomart.com/details/649488048-valve-rega-isis-reference-cd-player-amp-dac/ |
I had the REGA R9 floorstanders (predecessor model to the RS10s) I moved to standmounts when I moved by 2-channel sysytem out of my mancave and into a smaller FR and more intimate listening arena. The mancave is strictly a 7.1 home theatre arena now. IMO its your silver speaker cables (inherently bright …) paired with the high-resolution HARBETH’s that are the easy culprit to identify in your quest to get a warmer presentation. The CARDAS CLEAR XLRs removed a lot of that inherent silver cable edge and brightness in all silvers including the NORDOSTS. The synergistic move to CARDAS speaker cables flows lockstep The ISIS VALVE cdp/DAC is a worthy large step in a tube proxy “warmer” overall performance, but still retain all the finesse, dynamics and the slam of every ISIS. A great partner with HARBETHs, |
Thanks for your thoughts! I'm a pro woodworker and have actually built copies of Ton-Trager stands but preferred the bass solidity that my Sound Anchors give me. I also built a custom walnut hifi rack for all of my components as well. The Rega Isis Valve was always on my list but I've only ever seen one come up used once in my search over several years. That being said, I love the presentation of the Isis as now I have a VERY close digital and analog front end where before it was lopsided. I have speaker wire that is silver so that is most definitely my next step before doing anything crazy, although your advice on interconnects is very appreciated. I will say one of the bigger changes I made to my system was adding a Shunyata Denali with NR cables to my components as that gave me total blacks, increased instrument separation, and an overall more introspective presentation. What were your monitors before you upgraded to the 30.2 XD? |
I have a similar system: REGA ISIS VALVE / REGA OSIRIS / new HARBETH 30.2XD’s. If its a “warmer” audio presentation you are looking for, here’s my take: (1) The ISIS Valve cdp/DAC is option 1. Having A-B’d the valve vs non-valve ….there is that tube-preamp like difference …. The tubes are my preference. (2) With the new HARBETH’s, I never bought into Alan Shaw’s professed agnosticism that cables don’t matter. My incumbent all-NORDOST FREY cables loom were still good but that silver plated cables array now had a certain “edge” and “brightness” that I sought to now tame. (A) My incumbent NORDOST FREY XLR IC cables still sounded good, but an upgrade to the CARDAS CLEAR XLR interconnect was a welcomed 1st step in both added dynamics, added bass slam, and that ethereral elusive added warmth without any sacrifice on the top end. (B) I’m not fully “there” yet. I’m in the process of upgrading to new CARDAS CLEAR REFLECTION speaker cables as an upgrade to the NORDOST shotgunned FREYs. I considered the matched CLEAR model but at twice the price of the CR, my dealer talked me out of them as an excess without the bang-fer-yer-buck payoff. His experience was that the CR had that desired added warmth presentation . In his experience. The CLEAR REFLECTION was a better match for MY system especially with the CLEAR XLRs ( the ICs had a bigger change than speaker cables overall) in his opinion. The CLEAR could be still a tad more bright . (C) Even though I have good FURUTECH and OYAIDE power cables (the REGA PC models supplied with your system are OK but you can do better …) a further upgrade to CLEARs as my budget permits is the next box to check. (D) HARBETH recommends open-form speaker stands that permit the HARBETHs cabinets to resonate like a violin. They suggest TonTragers from Germany but these are crazy money at about $1600 plus taxes new. I had exact clones made for me by a pro woodworker at $530 taxes included. They DO work as advertised including an overall warmer presentation. They were a welcome added further upgrade to my expensive TARGET steel stands. PM me if you want the plans and further comments. (E) Contemporaneously, I had him clone a high-end UK dealer audio rack in all-walnut with the requisite isolation shelf. Instead of $3500 to buy it, I paid $1100 all-in for a bespoke unit that bested my prior TARGET steel unit. It was another further warmth step. FWIW …. |