Set-up and installation
Contents
We integrate the Rega io in our second system to keep it a bit in perspective. However, that doesn’t mean the io can’t grow with more expensive components. In fact, when the io arrived, the ATC’s were still playing and we let them run on the io out of pure curiosity. This 499 euro amplifier felt immediately at home and had no problem to control our reference monitors, up to a certain volume, properly. That’s impressive!
The Rega io replaces a Keces E40 in the system below:
- Elac Carina BS243.4
- IsoAcoustics Aperta
- Denafrips Ares II
- Benchmark Dac3 B
- Nad M50
- Wiring: Supra, Qed, Dion Audio
We streamed via Tidal (Hifi and MQA), played CDs via the drive and played high-res files via a USB stick.
Soundcheck
There’s an even bigger grin on our faces than with the Brio. We had just played with the reference set for a month and switching back to a cheaper setup can sometimes be disappointing. But already after a few seconds we know it’s going to be okay.
The first thing that stands out is the foundation, a Rega trademark, so to speak. The io has balls but at the same time a lot of refinement. It is also very quiet and transparent. This small box makes some great music!
There is that drive and punch again that we remember from the Brio. At first we were talking about an amplifier, a bit denigrating in the diminutive form, but we quickly came back to that. This is a class amp! The line inputs are of a very high level and do what they have to do. They amplify the signal but at the same time they provide a lot of music.
This is also a very sophisticated amplifier we notice when we attach a nice dac. We achieved a bizarre level with our Benchmark Dac3 B. Everything is just right. A delicious system and one where there is not much to tweak. These moments of synergy are rare, especially with a component from this price range. By the way, the io is doing very well with all our stuff and so it is not a difficult amplifier to integrate in a hifi system. A property not to be underestimated.
We prefer three decent analog inputs to which we can connect our own dacs and sources rather than a whole bunch of inferior inputs. We even think that Rega doesn’t realize how good this thing really is…Â
The io is also extremely fast and open. Vocals come through clear and silky smooth without emphasizing s-sounds (a second hobbyhorse of ours) and without sounding artificial. Voices are nice in the middle and instruments are nice and loose. No, it’s not really 3D yet, it lacks that power, but it’s very good. And now that the io has been with us for a while, we notice how bizarrely transparent this thing is. The io passes through a huge amount of information and the better surrounded the better the result. So there is some margin on it.
Yes, we sound a bit euphoric but this is just a very good amplifier. It also sounds great at low volume. Many cheap amplifiers and speakers lose much of their charm at low volume but at the io there is hardly, say none, info lost. We have had a lot of fun with the io and even find that he sounds a lot more expensive than his price tag suggests.