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Review 1 of 1
Price Paid:
$500.00
from audiostore Summary:
Many are familiar with Rega turntables, but they also make speakers. At dealers around me I have only seen their cd players or turntables. I always wondered about the speakers. Actually speakers were the very first thing Roy Gandy made before he founded Rega. When you pick up a Rega turntable it seems light, the same goes for their speakers, the idea is less mass will dispel resosonace well. They look budget, feel budget.................how do they sound? According to Rega the R1 utilizes a very simple cross over network and as the R125 woofer/mid is made in house, I believe the Tweeter is a Vifa to Regas specs. Made in UK is a rare thing these days, nearly all of the great UK speaker companies are made in China now, but that's another story I won't go into here. The R1 is the first Rega speaker I ever tried, I figured it was a way to hear a Rega loudspeaker without spending alot, and if I liked what I heard I'd keep the 1 or maybe go for the 3. In a nutshell the R1 will make other speakers in its class sound confused. The timing, coherence and musicality of the speakers took me aback. The midrange is open and natural, the treble can do both acoustic and electric guitar well. There are no distracting colorations. And I just about went hysterical when I pulled 'em off my massive 4 colum expensive stands and put 'em on cardboard boxes- they sounded about the same- this is the only bookshelf speaker that might truly call itself that, the R1's almost don't care where you put them. They do not require an expensive stand to perform well, that's Rega for you! The sound is fast and well ordered, there is not the meat of say a B&W speaker. The sound of instruments may be light at times, though I found it to be light but right. Its hard to describe, all I can say is despite its limitations the essence of the musical performance is intact. On the other hand I could easily see someone not liking the R1, it is not a "speaker for everyone" as What Hi-Fi calls the B&W 685. Though Rega speakers receive favorable reviews in the UK press all the time, I pulled out some old UK mags and the same words appeared regarding the Rega speakers- "a high level of coherence". I'm sorry for those looking for a conclusive recommendation but you just have to hear the R1 in a smallish sized room (a big room would be unfair to these imps) to either appreciate or not appreciate what they do. easygoing warm laid back sound is not what the R1 is about. But neither did I find them to be edgy harsh or boomy, there I go again with that hard to describe.. lastly the speakers were reviewed in an all Rega system utilizing Jupiter cdp and Elicit amplifier. Wire was Supra ply 3.4 Strengths:
Coherent, good timing, involving listen. Weaknesses:
For their size not nothing glaring other than the usual lack of bass weight complaint hurled at small speakers. Similar Products Used:
Monitor audio
Epos
Totem
Polk
Aerial
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