1. Home
    2. >
  2. Forum
    3. >
  3. Home Audio Forum
    4. >
  4. Speakers Forum
    5. >
  5. Archive through August 29, 2005 Forum
    6. >

Rega speakers

 

zz5ukdue
Unregistered guest
Posted on   
I am looking to buy a compact Rega R1 bookshelf speaker. Does anyone have any experience with this speaker or the Rega R series in general? Links to reviews would also be helpful, as I cant seem to find any.
 

Britt
Bronze Member
Username: Brittho

Frisco, TX USA

Post Number: 44
Registered: May-05
Posted on   
It is tough to find allot on Rega. I have spent some time with the R3 and 5. Both were really wonderful. Do a google search for the R5 since it was written up more frequently than the R1. Also the new Rega line just came out in 2005 I belive so it will be a while before you see allot of press on them over the internet. The midrange driver in the R1, 3 and 5 I believe also is the same driver and it really provides you with a nice open and detailed sound. The side firing drivers on the 3 and 5 are not as picky about room placement as one would think. They are well made and priced fairly. Other reviews will surface but it will take a while. There are allot of bookshelf options out there. You may wish to read other threads about bookshelfs in your price range before pulling the trigger on the R1's. This will at least give you other options to look at. Good luch and happy listening.
http://www.avreview.co.uk/news/article/mps/UAN/355/v/5/sp/332258698122328612276
 

zz5ukdue
Unregistered guest
Posted on   
do you know if the r1s have a side firing woofer?
 

Britt
Bronze Member
Username: Brittho

Frisco, TX USA

Post Number: 49
Registered: May-05
Posted on   
Nope. Just the R3 and up. I am guessing you are in the UK from your user name. If so then at least there are plenty of shops that sell Rega products there. In the US we are limited with this brand. Lucky for me though the main contact for the states lives here in Dallas so the store near him sells Rega products. The sweetest speaker in the Rega R series is the R3. Shhhh you didn't hear it from me but for much less than the R5's and for less than the R1's with a stand being bought seperatly you get a sweet sounding speaker. They sound fantastic with Naim amps if you have that kind of $$$ or go with any NAD gear. They are reasonably easy to drive (efficient) so a NAD 320BEE would be enough to enjoy them. They are more forgiving than allot of higher end speakers in that they are not overly detailed in the midrange (read B&W 805's)so a decent amp would sound fine with them. I have listened to them with Rotel as well but perferred the snap and liveliness of the NAD amp. I bet that Arcam would sound good with them to. The A65 would be enough to drive them without an issue but the cost of the Arcam would be double the NAD. Just go and give them a listen and try out the R3 if you can live without a bookshelf. It is a better value since you gain the extra drivers. I am still considering R-3's personally and am currently torn between them and Totem Arro's. Do you get Quad products up there. That would also be a decent option as well as the Quad bookshelfs are really beautiful looking and they have a nice full sound as well.

Have a good weekend in the UK!

Britt
 

Frank Abela
Silver Member
Username: Frank_abela

Berkshire UK

Post Number: 748
Registered: Sep-04
Posted on   
The new Rega range of speakers have really done good things for Rega this year. One of the great things about Rega speakers is that they're relatively easy to drive so you can get the best from them with relatively modest amplification.

Regards,
Frank.
 

zz5ukdue
Unregistered guest
Posted on   
The amplification that I will be using will be:

Preamp: Computer (Audigy 2)
Amp : Pioneer SX-950 (vintage, but lightly used over the years)


About the amp:

It's an 85 watts RMS into 8 ohm, 110 watts RMS into 4 ohm amp. It uses 8 FETs (4 per channel.) Great amp, virtually noisless and responds +-1db from 20hz to 20khz, +-3db 7hz to 100khz.

Preamp:

I'm just using an Audigy 2 as my preamp, it sounds fine with my current speakers (entry level Mission M32 stand mount speakers) and I'm assuming that it will sound just as good with the Regas.



Will the 85 watt amp/preamp that I have be able to power the R1, R3, and R5 speakers well? Or will I need a more powerful amp?

I'm located in Canada, and in the city that I'm in, I'll need to order the speakers in based on reviews (the stores don't stock them.) So Britt and Frank, I am counting on you to tell me if I will be disappointed with the Rega R1 R3 and R5 (whichever one I decide to purchase) or if you consider them a good buy.

Thanks for your time,
Mike
 

Britt
Bronze Member
Username: Brittho

Frisco, TX USA

Post Number: 55
Registered: May-05
Posted on   
Hey Mike,

Hard to beat the R3's for an all around performer. You can find a better speaker with the R1's though. They just did not wow me with the limited time that I spent with them. A little dry (read: lack of warmth).

My dad has a vintage SX model. The 650 I believe is the one that he has. Plenty of power with that one and the 850 has not only more power but a larger transistor from what I can remember so it should sound nice with the Rega line. Pioneer and Marantz (according to Dad) were the two that he had to choose from that were the HI-FI favorites back in the day. :-) He went with the Pioneer and 30 years later it still sounds really nice for being that old. I unfortunatly don't know anything about the name of your Preamp. Sorry to be of limited service.

For the money of the R5 you really can start looking at MANY different options out there. At US$1200.00 for floorstanders there are lots of quality options out there for you and some you may perfer to others. Just for kicks since the R5 was my personal favorite I decided to try out the Totem line as well as Quad at another retailer. Sorry Rega...but the R5 faces stiff competition but the R3 really does not. It is small though so remember I don't remember it being over 30 inches tall. Same height as the Totem Arro that i am going with but the Arro to me has a sould that just amazed me and I was having trouble with deciding how to place the Regas doe to the side firing woofer. You are going to want about 3 feet on either side of you AV set up for the woofers to work properly and they will need to be toe'd in a bit so that they don't cancel out each other.

pssst...you may wish to read up on the Ling "sagas" to maybe find lots of options in the price range that you are looking at. Ring of the Lings, My ding a Ling just to name 2 of the threads. Heck you may want to try out Tim's Lings. For $399.00 I would be tempted if I were shopping for bookshelves.

So all in all Mike. I liked the R1's but they just are not my favorites in the bookshelf catagory. Totem Rainmakers, Quad 11L and the Linn bookshelf were my personal favorites. Of course the Linn's were out of my pricerange but hey I can dream right. The Rainmakers and the Quad lineup were both to me superior to Rega's R1 in warmth, soundstage and making me want to get up and jam when auditioning them with BB King and then Stevie Ray Vaughn. But what I really liked best was the flexibility of the three when moving from Blues/Rock to classical. The Regas could rock but with classical well the warmth and ability of the speaker to "move me" when an important passage occured were not as wonderful to experience as with the Quad and Totem lineup. The R1 just didn't cut the mustard for me there. But the R3 was closer. So all in all the R3 would be my personal choice between the 3. For no other reason I recommed it because it is detailed, warm and for the price I really have not seen anything out there that was more enjoyable than the R3's. They are easy to power too. I auditioned them with an NAD 320BEE that easily powered the pair. The 320BEE has 50WPC and had no issue with them. So they must be fairly easy to drive. I like them so much that I still can't count them out until the Arro purchase has actually happened later this month. And heck why shouldn't I the R3's would save me 400 US Bucks! And heck $400 bucks can make anything more attractive. Well maybe except for the writer of this post...;-)
 

Britt
Bronze Member
Username: Brittho

Frisco, TX USA

Post Number: 57
Registered: May-05
Posted on   
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue20/alegrialing.htm

A review for Tim's speakers from Positive Feedback. This is a repost as I found this article origionally on this forum. I apologize for the repost but the article should be read anyway. If you are going to do mail order then being able to do it through someone you can ask questions directly to is really the only way. I mean you can email Tim who acutally is totally responsible with questions. Hard to find elsewhere. I am seriously considering picking up a pair for our bedroom for the heck of it.
« Previous Thread Next Thread »



Main Forums

Today's Posts

Forum Help

Follow Us