2. amps-preamps
  3. 180913-113797

rega elex r burn in?

So let me be as detailed as possible.

Four years ago I got a sweet deal, I think $650 on ebay for a used rega elexr. I was coming from a cambridge audio am10 so it was a huge upgrade for me. At the time I had a schiit modi dac and running it all into a pair of older klipsch tangent 40 speakers with basic cables and ancillary components.

I loved the sound of that amp and speaker combo, every good thing you read or hear about what makes rega amps good and specifically the elex r good was bang on and in full force.

However my wife and i had a fire at that house which totaled everything damn near and we moved.I ended up buying a couple marantz amps ,the 7005 and the 6006 over the intervening years and was fairly happy. Fast forward to now and as some might know basically all online dealers are blowing out the elex r for $500 off ,so i bought one.

Well its exactly like i remember except for one thing, the midrange seems overly muffled to me.

Now my companion pieces are a bit different,

Klipsch rp600m
the same schiit dac, Survived the fire.
And some similar basic interconnects and cables.

My rooms a bit different too,whereas before i had my set up in a living room with about 25x10 ft dimensions.
now my listening room is my wife and i's bedroom at about 13x13. Also because of need my speakers are sitting close to the rear wall, which i have noted with my 6006 ups the bass a bit.

Anywho im not really asking about room set up because we're moving again in a few months and i'll finally have a dedicated listening room,more im asking about amp burn in and peoples experience that have had the elex r.

Like i said the midrange seems to be muffled a bit almost recessed slightly, kinda like vocals are sitting back in the soundstage where the instruments are up front obscuring them. I dont remember that being the case with the used one i bought.

It's funny because ive heard the rega io and brio from new and they dont seem to suffer this but ive read reviews of the rega ellict r and people mention something similar to what im hearing with the elex r. Reviews on the ellict r seem to say that 200 hours seem to open it up.

Anyway any help from rega owners would be awesome and help to avail my fears about it.Because as it sits it sounds 80/85% of the sound that i remember from the used one and it makes beautiful music and is built like a tank and id hate to return it.

oh i forgot i work a lot and currently have about 15 hours on it and have not really noticed a sonic change at all in that time.

128x128jetblack9090
akg_ca's avatar
akg_ca
2,178 posts
 

I have the REGA OSIRIS integrated amp and it’s stablemate REGA ISIS VALVE cdp/dac

My experience:

- INITIAL RUN-IN FROM NEW: ~ 300 hrs for the first 90%. Progressive small steps after that. ( NOTE: this is an ad-hoc timeline with a series of steps and plateaus …)

- DAILY USE: I first warm them up for a minimum of 2-3 hrs to get the max performance quotient. It’s not a linear curve timeline,…. patience …..

I’ve not seen any need to leave it on 24/7 .

 

Your disappointment with your midrange and indicated 85% threshold on performance : I’ll take a swing here and guesstimate two things:

 

Your current power cord and the house power line may be lacking

(1);. A dedicated 20A armoured cable line is begging IMO.
(2) I upgraded my PCs to CARDAS CLEAR / CARDAS CLEAR REFLECTION….. immediate step up in dynamics, slam overall and more presence in the midrange

 

Your current speakers may no longer be an optimal match to the new integrated amp choice. (System synergy matters … big-time …..)

REGA electronics can develop a bespoke and very special, sweet, and ethereal system synergy with certain limited speaker brands… all British .
My recommendations for the top synergy matches: REGA’s own and HARBETH ( at two different price points )

I have both .

At the lower budget point: the matching of an all-REGA system is a REGA top-match at its pricepoint ( the current REGA RX models.., well worth an audition as a litmus test)

 

chayro
2,936 posts
 

I give every new component a month before making any decisions.  This gives both the component and my ears time to break in. You both need more time, IMO.  It can be frustrating I know.  

akg_ca's avatar
akg_ca
2,178 posts
 

Post script

” … all into a pair of older klipsch tangent 40 speakers with basic cables and ancillary components.“

Your Room dimensions have changed drastically ( shrunk a lot = now a small room..)

- Pushing these bulky floorstanders into a comparatively small room , and especially then stuck with crowding them into the back wall will intuitively push up the bass to an overly dominant level and overwhelm the midrange.

- The optimal speakers would be standmounts now and replace the Klipsch floorstanders IMO. Speaker choices go hand in hand with your room dimensions, room nodes, and their bespoke warts.

 

Your non-descript “ basic” cables

Cables matter ,.. big time.

Some people make the argument that cables don’t matter. They ask the question, “If the component I buy comes with all the cables it needs to run included, or I just use the cheapest aftermarket I can find, why wouldn’t I just use these cables?

It’s true, many of the audio devices you purchase may come with cables included.or you settle on Uber cheap aftermarket ones. Unfortunately, these cables that are are not the ideal options for the components they are paired with. Many hifi manufacturers are pressured to meet a certain price-point when releasing a product to market, which really limits the cables they are willing to supply in the box. The bottom aftermarket ones are built to their pricepoint and suffer limitations in lockstep.


Budgets matter for sure but you can do better - when used with these standard “ cheap build “ basic cables, performance suffers.

Need proof? The next time you attend a hifi show, take a moment to look behind the systems in your favorite manufacturers’ rooms. That’s what we do! You’ll notice that the cables they choose to use when they’re trying to make a good impression are not the standard black cords they give away, or cheap build or even middling’ ones …. they use premium top brands AND the very top models in the brand,

You should do the same with the carefully chosen components in your home system! Just because, for the sake of convenience, don’t be forced to make compromises …. It doesn’t mean that your system should be limited by the “standard” totally cheap build model cabling . Upgrade your system (/within budgets );with to make sure your system is living up to its performance potential.

GREAT BUDGET STRATA PRICEPOINT MATCH FOR YOUR NEW REGA AMP:

ICs:

- REGA COUPLE interconnects .

 

SPEAKER:

- REGA DUET( current model)

- I prefer their prior REGA FSC QUATTRO speaker cables.

https://www.analogueseduction.net/terminated.html

 

PCs: discussed in prior post . Pick a suitable comfortable budget one ( REGA’s own is pretty good at it pricepoint ).

More to discover