New Rega Elicit Integrated - Opinions

Fillmoor,
May I ask how many hours did the Elicit take to sound at its optimum? The Rega Elicit sounds pretty darn good right now. I have listened to the LFD Zero MkIII in my system and the Elicit exhibits the same character in PRAT, dynamics and detail in the high frequencies and midrange. Although the bass of the Elicit is pretty good, it still doesn't quite match the LFD's bass performance. The bass on the LFD is exceptional and one of a kind. In comparison the LFD's bass is tauter with better slam and presence while the Elicit's bass is more ballsy and rounded. I was just hoping the bass of the Elicit would improve with more hours on it.

I was intrigued by the other guy's comment that the Rega was his 2nd choice, which pushed the LFD to the last. Although the Rega Elicit was said to sound exceptionally close to the LFD Zero MkIII, the latter was supposed to be the superior unit by a marginal difference. Did he say why he preferred the Rega more than the LFD although he eventually ended up with the Luxman?

Thanks for the response Filmoor. Looks like I can forget about drastic sonic changes now since you mentioned the Elicit sounded great cold right out of the box. I did perceive a smooth transition in the 10th hour or so as everything started to come together nicely and was hoping to hear further improvements with more hours on it. I do agree that there isn't much quality solid-state integrateds around to choose from particularly in this sort of price range. The Elicit does punch above its weight, and to be frank it sounded better than my separates costing 3X more.

I am not so sure about leaving the unit on 24 hours a day though. As much as I would like to do so, the manual does not state anything regarding this and furthermore there isn't any standby function on the unit. I would be more inclined to leave the unit in standby mode rather than having it powered up all the time.

Thanks for the response. I do know amps sound better when left powered up for a little while. I have never switched off my Plinius amp and leave it on 24 hours a day 7 days a week. That was when I figured out the Plinius needed to be powered up for a long time in order to sound at its optimum. I once tried to listen when the Plinius was on for about 4 hours and detected a breaking of piano sound in one particular CD. The piano note seemed like broken and I thought the tweeter on the speaker was gone or something. The next day I listened the vibrating piano notes were gone. That was when I realised the Plinius cannot be switched off and needed to be powered up all day long.

I tried leaving the Rega on the whole night yesterday and the sound was more or less similar to when it was powered up 1 hour from cold. I believe the Elicit is good to go at about 1 hour after it is switched on.

Just out of curiosity, may I know what speaker cables are you using with the Elicit? Have you tried the Naim Naca5 or DNM Reson with the Elicit? I was just wondering whether the bass performance of the Elicit would improve with the use of suitable speaker cables.

Hi Fillmoor, may I ask if your Rega Elicit has the optional built-in MM or MC phonostage? If it has, I would appreciate if you can let me know whether you have tried any quality outboard phonostage with your analogue rig. I currently have my Rega P5 connected to the Elicit utilizing the built-in MC phonostage. I was curious if a better quality phonostage like the EAR 834 will bring substantial improvement to the sound. Your advice would be most appreciated.

Thanks for your response. I recently just tried a Rotel RQ-970BX outboard phonostage and to my ears there isn't any significant audible difference between the two. In fact both sound so alike that I would probably have mixed up both in a double-blind test. This experience has proven that the built-in MC phonostage in the Elicit is of pretty high quality. I was informed that the Elicit's phonostage is almost similar to the Rega Fono except that the Fono is a more elaborate piece being an outboard unit. Most likely I will stick with the Elicit's phonostage until I figure out which better phonostage to get. I'd probably try a Dynavector P75MkII sometime down the road. The Rega IOS is too costly for what I am willing to fork out. Maybe I'll try a different cartridge instead. By the way, I only have less than 50 records in my collection.

Hi Filmoor,

Thanks for the input on phonostage. Just to update, I have pitted another outboard phonostage with the onboard MC phono of my Elicit. I have to agree with you that the built-in phonostage of the Rega is a pretty good unit on its own. Although the outboard phonostage gave more bite, energy and detail to the sound(which impressed at first), the midrange and highs were found to be slightly rough and grainy after a while. After a few listening sessions I find myself gravitating to the smoother and coherent sound of the Rega's onboard phonostage. There will be other excellent(and costly) phonostages out there but there can be no end hunting for the ideal one, not to mention the quality and sonics of the Rega's phono are already quite brilliant.

I have done extensive research on the Rega Elicit and have read the 6moons review prior to purchasing the Elicit. It is good that you have included the link here. Since the link has a comma at the end which made it inaccessible, here is the review of the Elicit for those who might be interested in the unit. http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/rega/elicit_3.html

I have reread the review again. This review is definitely spot-on, especially the comments made in the conclusion. The reviewer definitely hits the nail on the head there. Most points are valid, especially the comment on more openness and resolution in treble that can be found elsewhere. I have recently pitted the Leben CS600 against the Elicit and find the Rega to be slightly warm and shut-in in the midrange and highs compared to the more open and transparent Leben. However, the cohesiveness, full midrange and seamless treble(although slightly lacking in air) aim for long-term satisfaction rather than short-term thrills. The owner of the Leben has mentioned that the Leben can sound a little too lean with some musical material. The bass slam and dynamics of the Elicit did not disappoint and are superior to the Leben CS600.

Your perception(and of the 6moons reviewer) on the Elicit largely mirrors mine. Good bass(beats the much highly-touted Leben tube unit), good detail without exaggeration, good coherency, tonality a touch warm and overall good musicality. A good all-rounder for those looking for a good powerful SS integrated with phono option who don't want to venture into tubes or the heat of Class A amps.