Rega Engineering- changes coming?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by xyyyy, Feb 15, 2010.

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  1. xyyyy

    xyyyy Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Check out the link to Hi-Fi Avenue blogspot. I came across this while recently visiting Pink Fish media out of the U.K. Based on information posted in the blog (also see related stories), some changes could soon be coming impacting Rega's; tonearms, plinths, P-1, Brio integrated, DAC, etc.

    Is this news to any of you? Is the information credible?

    http://hi-fi-avenue.blogspot.com/2010/01/coming-soon-regas-skeletal-plinth.html
     
  2. mattstrike

    mattstrike New Member

    Ha! The white belts will be a permanent feature!
     
  3. Plinko

    Plinko Senior Member

    No clue.

    It will be interesting to see about the upcoming DAC given that they use two different DACs in their two ISIS versions (valve and non-valve).
     
  4. TONEPUB

    TONEPUB Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    Ill find out when I visit Rega in two weeks.... Stopping over for a day to discuss the Valve ISIS.

    If you guys have any questions, start a list here, I'll be happy to ask Roy Gandy.
     
  5. TONEPUB

    TONEPUB Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    That plinth is the P10 prototype that I heard last summer. They made it a point to tell us that that was only a working concept and could be the way the P10 ends up or could be something completely different. They also said that an arm above the RB1000 would also be part of this turntable concept.

    This is also on my agenda for the UK trip.
     
  6. KeithH

    KeithH Success With Honor...then and now

    Location:
    Beaver Stadium
    Any plans for Rega to venture into SACD? I mean this as a serious question.
     
  7. xyyyy

    xyyyy Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Terry Bateman is one of Rega's top engineers. Here's a link with some info (Roost Amplification- UK) about him and a picture showing him "jammin" around 1978. Check out the footnote under the picture- Brad "Brother of Robin" Trower Band.

    http://www.andy-duke.co.uk/roost/roosthistory.html
     
  8. TONEPUB

    TONEPUB Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    Every time I have asked that question, they have shown absolutely no interest.
     
  9. TVC15

    TVC15 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    How about a Rega digital streamer - Transporter style? Seems as if Logitech is about to run Slim Devices into the ground (as I feared), so perhaps a Rega could pick up the slack in that area. I'd love to have a Rega "God of Digital" in the mix that looks like my Jupiter.
     
  10. xyyyy

    xyyyy Forum Resident Thread Starter

    A reply I received to this same type question, on the Pink Fish Media (UK) site from darrenwm- "As I understand it a new Rega product — the CDP? — contains a USB input, so they may have decided to leave the computer side to the computer people.
    Rega has competencies in D-A conversion, amplification, and loudspeakers. They may not want to compete in the computer world."

    TONEPUB?
     
  11. TVC15

    TVC15 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    If I recall correctly, Slim Server is (was?) open source. And there's DLNA, so they could avoid getting into software development entirely. If a small startup like Slim Devices could do it... Debatably, it's the future of digital. Then again, they introduced their 1st CD Player in the late 90's, so...

    Though even a Rega CDP with USB input (say, with ability to access a large external drive) would be a nice step in that direction.
     
  12. TONEPUB

    TONEPUB Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    The ISIS does have a USB input so you can use it as a USB DAC... It just doesn't have an SPDIF/RCA input or optical input.
     
  13. TVC15

    TVC15 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Hmm... USB can be sketchy for jitter (so I'm told) unless the Isis controls the dataflow? So goes the prevailing audiophile theory.
     
  14. TONEPUB

    TONEPUB Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    No, not really.
     
  15. KeithH

    KeithH Success With Honor...then and now

    Location:
    Beaver Stadium
    Fair enough. Thanks. It all costs money, but as engineers, I would think they would be curious to explore SACD to see what they could do with it.
     
  16. TVC15

    TVC15 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
  17. TONEPUB

    TONEPUB Senior Member

    Location:
    Portland, Oregon
    It's one thing exploring SACD, it's another to support essentially a dead format. There are precious few people that still make SACD players. Rega is a very conservative company.
     
  18. TVC15

    TVC15 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Not only that, but aren't the fixed licensing fees pretty high for a boutique company like Rega to absorb? Or is that now in the past?
     
  19. KT88

    KT88 Senior Member

    The "news" I did not think was leaked but I see they are not so tight lipped in the UK. This is all true. Rega never stops working on new designs but releases their finished designs very carefully. They have rooms full of prototypes that never left the factory. The new electronics have been in the kitty for some time and the DAC should be the first to be delivered. I am not sure about the Brio time line but being the most simple of their designs, it should not take much for them to get it going as long as they don't have any materials delivery set backs. The new arm and skeletal frame were discussed here before. That is for their "P10" project, which is not yet complete.

    The surprise is the P1 upgrade. I am actually happy to see that as it has been the weak link of the line and seems to have been rushed out in response to dealer requests for a more affordable Rega table. It was their "me too" answer to the cheaper tables coming out of the Czech Republic. Not a very "Rega-Like" thing to do to release a product in a hurry. I guess they felt that for its intended purpose it was not so critical. Unfortunately such a product gets around to a lot of users and those users form opinions of a company's product quality based upon such a limited sample. It's not fair to a company and ironic that they do it to themselves. Rega has proven in the past to resist that temptation. Now, it's a good product at its price point and is in fact more solid than its competitors, but it just isn't quite up to the same "entry level Rega" bar that they set with the P2. I suppose what we will see in the new P1 is a table that sports performance gains with actual cost reductions for Rega. Don't expect to see those cost savings passed along this time though. As other companies are forced to raise prices on existing products due to inflation, at least rega will have a shot at delivering more value for about the same price point, at least I hope they can retain the same price point...
    -Bill
     
  20. misterdecibel

    misterdecibel Bulbous Also Tapered

    I just hope they dump the MDF platter.
     
  21. I have question for Gandy & Co.--two actually:

    Are there any plans for more valve products (amps/preamps/phono preamps/integrated amps)? I am intrigued now that Rega has released the valve Isis and shown they are open to releasing tube products.

    Are there any plans for subwoofers to augment the RS series speakers? This seems to be the only real hole in their product line.

    Thanks Jeff!
     
  22. KT88

    KT88 Senior Member

    That seems to be the plan. It's actually quite heavy on the P2 and doesn't sound bad at all. The P1 platter is rather light though and benefits from an upgrade, so maybe a cast phenolic platter with good weight distribution will make for a better sounding table. It'll certainly be more durable, not that anybody knocks around their hi-fi turntables, but still... ;)
    -Bill
     
  23. TVC15

    TVC15 Forum Resident

    Location:
    New Jersey
    Though the P1 did the trick for me. Bought one when it was first released and it got me back into vinyl in a pretty big way. It wasn't long before I was able to see the performance drawbacks, however... and have upgraded accordingly.

    The P5 seems to be a weak spot. I think they need to develop a bit more space between that and the p3/24. Perhaps moving to a non-glass platter (but not the expensive platter found on the P7 or P9) and metal subplatter would do the trick. Maybe make the tt-psu standard. Kick the price up a bit and then knock out the P7 entirely. If what I've heard is true from other dealers... the P7 isn't a hot seller anyway.

    Focusing on aethetics might help, also. My own personal opinion is that the P5 is ugly compared to the former P25.
     
  24. KT88

    KT88 Senior Member

    I think that the P5 with the cherry wood trim looks pretty much the same as the P25. The P5 has enhanced performance though. When the P5 is fitted with the aluminum trim options, they are even lighter and so may offer even higher performance than the cherry wood trim in some settings. It's more about the improved RB700 tonearm though which is standard on all of the models. The pictures on the web of the P5 certainly do not do it any justice. They look much better in person. Even more insulting are the poor photos of the P9 which look striking similar to the P25 and P5 in cherry. Anyone who has seen a P9 in person knows that it is at a whole other level in terms of fit and finish. Each model in the Rega line shares the same basic core values and design approaches, they are just improved upon as you move up the line. So yes, there are many similarities in terms of cosmetics and operation between the products and from a low rez photo, the perceived performance differences are indeed confused. By using the very same on/off switch, rubber feet, dustcover and hinges, motor and motor covers, etc on practically every table, Rega can deliver lower priced products while devoting time to more important areas of their design and operation. So looking similar is not a bad idea, it just flies over the head of many.
    -Bill
     
  25. That picture frame thing around the plinth is pretty ugly.
     
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