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July 29, 2007 - 7:39pm
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Rega System Recommendations
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I have a Rega Brio3 and absolutely love it. You might consider the Mira, however, with a little more power and a remote control. I've not heard B&W driven by Rega, but the Brio works great with my Paradigms. Also audition Rega's line of speakers, which I enjoy quite a bit.
I found Rega gear to be very enjoyable and very musical. I found B&W speakers to be quite the opposite. To me, the B&W's are very dry and lifeless, whereas Rega gear tends to be liquid and flowing and musical. I never heard VPI turntables, so I can't make a comparison.
Speaker wise, I would look into Paradigm, Monitor Audio, Focal.
I have heard the P3 with a Rega cart (not sure which one). It was fed into a Mira3, driving a variety of speakers; Rega R1, R5, R7 and Spendor S3e & S5e. The R5 and R7 were close but the R7 had more bass and more presence of midrange...but I had a preference for the S5e.
Beings you have decided on the P3 I would stick with a Rega amp.
I have heard B&Ws being driven by various amps but not the Rega. As Eric said, the Paradigms are also a nice choice.
With a budget of $2-4K you'll be able to put together an impressive set-up.
Remember, as is so often said: don't purchase a loudspeaker unless you have heard it first.
Let us know what you decide.
I would recommend you consider auditioning the Creek Evo integrated amplifier with phono stage. I own a Creek 4240SE from about 11 years ago that I am very happy with. I admit I have not auditioned many affordable amplifiers in recent years. However, Creek is generally known as making the best in affordable amplification.
Thanks so much for the insight. Any specific recommendations on the Rega, Paradigm, and Monitor Audio speakers? The trick always seems to be finding a store with the combination of products one would like to audtion. I am in Central Illinois, we have Glenn Poor's, who has Rega, but no Paradigm or Monitor. Up in Milwakee I've been to Audio Emporium, who has the beforementioned B&W and Rega. Appears ProMusica in Chicago has Rega, Creek, NAD, and Paradigm. Other recommendations on dealers or equiptment appreciated. Thanks.
Yes, this will likely be a problem. One almost can never find a shop that has all the brands that one wants at one spot. As for finding shops nearer by, once you have a list of brands and products you want to audition you should visit the brands' Web sites. Some of these sites will help you locate the nearest dealerships. If the site does not do this, you can still e-mail or call up the U.S. distributor listed on the site and they will help you out. One important thing to remember