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Rega/Totem combo wow!

Was out of town for work last week and managed to stop into a hifi shop downtown after work one evening.  I forget the name of the place but it was right in Cincinnati (audible elegance i believe).  I had always wanted to hear a rega/naim amplifier.  Long story short, they had a rega brio and elex r hooked up to a pair of Totem Rainmakers (which is a nice compact speaker for my space) and I have to say that I was really impressed by the speakers even through the lower powered brio.  The gentleman switched from the Brio to the Elex to hear the difference.  And yes, there was a difference. The Elex provided more bass and a little smoother sound to my ears but both amps sounded superb and although the Totems are 4ohms, I was more impressed with the little Brio handling them quite well.  I haven't really heard many people talk about totem speakers on too many threads but like I said, there seemed to be a really good match there between the regas and the totems.  Has anyone else had a similar experience with these two brands playing together and if so what were your thoughts?
mgrec42
rhljazz
1,253 posts
 

Hi Fi Choice (UK) featured a six integrated amp shoot out and the Rega Elex R won.  The Naim Nait 5si finished second.  The speakers used in the test were ATC SCM40 wired with Nordost Frey cables.  All amps used Valhalla 2 power cables with a Nordost power conditioner.  Sources were Cyrus cd transport feeding a Chord Hugo dac and a Project Expression table.  With this equipment the amps were allowed to perform at their best.  The Rega was also less expensive than the Naim.  The report ended with the Rega being the most musical and engaging of the amps under test.  As always personal preference will make a difference.  This was also reported as a blind test. 

I have no personal experience with any of the amps.    

el_cato
6 posts
 
Personally a big fan of the Totem line. Heard the Model-1 for the first time in 1998 paired with a Jolida tube amp they were divine, but I couldn't afford the combo at the time... eventually, I ended up with:
a) the Rainmakers as a desktop speaker paired with a simple WooAudio Firefly DAC (and headphone amp) and a very simple AudioEngine N22 amp, very dynamic combo and beats any self-amplified speaker pair
b) the Totem Fire bookshelf as my TV speakers and kitchen music paired with a Devialet 200, great for movies, and the Devialet remote is non-directional so i can hide the amp behind the TV
and c) the Totem Earth floorstanders paired with a Chord Hugo and a Cary Audio SLI-80 signature tube amp...
for pure musicality, just as I experienced 20 years ago, the tube amp gets the best of the Totems in my opinion, it is superlatively good, especially with live material like jazz club or  concert (eg Jarrett's Koln Concert or Brubeck's Concord)
in all cases, the Totems are exceptionally well built and not that difficult to match
alanholvey's avatar
alanholvey
96 posts
 
I was lucky to be able to purchase a demo Rega Osiris from a local audio dealer for about 34% of retail.  I have seen a used one or two go for close to that amount.  It is very good.  Because of it's list price of $9995, that it is made by Rega plus it does not look extra fancy in looks, I don't think that it has been a great seller.  It's sound I would compare to that of the upper level Naim products.  At ten thousand dollars there might be better choices, but at a significant discount would be hard to beat.  Oh yes, Rega's repair service is unbeatible.
therobert
51 posts
 
I have a Rega Elex-R, and I tried the Rainmakers with it (a demo form my local shop), and I found the combo way too bright. I went with Dynaudio Excite X-12's at the time, and that combo sounded much better to my ears. I now have Ascend Acoustics Sierra 2's, and I am set, as I think they sound fantastic - they don't image quite as well as the X-12's, but they are a bit fuller sounding, and the highs from the ribbon tweeter are extremely detailed and sweet, without being too bright, or fatiguing.
jag's avatar
jag
98 posts
 
i have the new Rega Brio and bought the Rega RS1's at the same time. heard this set up at a show with Rega cables and was sold. 
the RS1's are very compact and are on my desk, but sound very big.
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