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Rega CD player - solid state vs valve

seethroughyou

seethroughyou

pfm Member
It seems to have been a while in development and uses quality construction and parts without being unobtanium.

Has anyone auditioned the solid state version and compared to with the valve version? Little on the forums of actual first hand experience.
 
I was talking to my local Rega dealer recently, he had only ever heard both side by side at Regas factory, perhaps you may have better luck getting to hear both with some of the dealers in England.
 
Arkless Electronics said:
No such thing as a valve CD player! 100,000 transistors (in the IC's [chips]) and a token single valve at the output for marketing purposes is the usual modus operandi of yer "valve" CD player.
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If the one with the valve sounds different and you prefer it then it's a moot point.
 
I may be of some help here.

I have been using a Isis ss for nearly 6 years now. Being totally committed to cd the Isis was/is going to be my final player.

But the question was always there ... is the Isis valve even better ? A lot of online reports seem to suggest the true magic only comes with the valve model. Then again its suggested each has its own strengths. Only one way to find out.

So with the grateful help of my dealer[thanks Tony] and Rega[thanks Paul] i had a Isis valve on home dem for a week.

Without going into to much detail , i can say they are both excellent players but different. I wouldn't say one is better than the other.

Its all down to the system , type of music and personal taste.

Sorry it not really an answer , because there isn't one. The only way to be sure which is best for you is to hear them both. Personally i stuck with the solid state version .
 
Folkman said:
I may be of some help here.

I have been using a Isis ss for nearly 6 years now. Being totally committed to cd the Isis was/is going to be my final player.

But the question was always there ... is the Isis valve even better ? A lot of online reports seem to suggest the true magic only comes with the valve model. Then again its suggested each has its own strengths. Only one way to find out.

So with the grateful help of my dealer[thanks Tony] and Rega[thanks Paul] i had a Isis valve on home dem for a week.

Without going into to much detail , i can say they are both excellent players but different. I wouldn't say one is better than the other.

Its all down to the system , type of music and personal taste.

Sorry it not really an answer , because there isn't one. The only way to be sure which is best for you is to hear them both. Personally i stuck with the solid state version .
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that’s very helpful and could i push you to describe the relative sonic qualities of both please?
 
seethroughyou said:
that’s very helpful and could i push you to describe the relative sonic qualities of both please?
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What appears a seemingly simple request is actually rather hard. The problem is whatever i say is what i found in my system and my personal likes/dislikes. Even i had slight preconceived ideas of how the valve Isis would sound from reading about it and other peoples views , and generally those ideas were wrong.

As i have said they are very close and in one respect very similar. What i can say is i didn't find the valve Isis to sound 'valvey'. Definitely not coloured , not lacking dynamics. I had expected it to be more open but it was actually on a par with the ss.

The biggest difference between the two and the actual reason why i preferred and stuck with my ss was the sound presentation.

Broadly speaking with the valve Isis it was like listening from the middle of a theatre. With the ss Isis its like being on the front row.

A different room / system / person may come to the opposite conclusion and i have no problem with that. As i said personal preference.
 
I had an SS - excellent player.
When I spoke to Rega the helpful guy also said they were 'different' and (jokingly) said to buy one of each :)
 
Folkman said:
What appears a seemingly simple request is actually rather hard. The problem is whatever i say is what i found in my system and my personal likes/dislikes. Even i had slight preconceived ideas of how the valve Isis would sound from reading about it and other peoples views , and generally those ideas were wrong.

As i have said they are very close and in one respect very similar. What i can say is i didn't find the valve Isis to sound 'valvey'. Definitely not coloured , not lacking dynamics. I had expected it to be more open but it was actually on a par with the ss.

The biggest difference between the two and the actual reason why i preferred and stuck with my ss was the sound presentation.

Broadly speaking with the valve Isis it was like listening from the middle of a theatre. With the ss Isis its like being on the front row.

A different room / system / person may come to the opposite conclusion and i have no problem with that. As i said personal preference.
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Thank you. Sounds like the soundstage is different between the two....
 
The Isis Valve is a awesome player - faster, extremely transparent and musical.
I had a strong preference for it relative to the SS version.
Now feeding the Isis using its USB input with a Stack Audio - Link / Roon.
Great results.
 
rn82497 said:
The Isis Valve is a awesome player - faster, extremely transparent and musical.
I had a strong preference for it relative to the SS version.
Now feeding the Isis using its USB input with a Stack Audio - Link / Roon.
Great results.
Click to expand...


Thank you, I will try and have a listen. Wonder if you can distance order and if it’s not what you’d hope for, return it for refund.
 
Be careful if the Isis valve is faster ...... ;);)


But seriously if you are really serious about the Isis , you should definitely hear them both. Otherwise you only stand a 50/50 chance of buying the best one for YOURSELF.
 
Doubt many are considering a £7.5K CD player these days

I might if I won big time the lottery only
 
Being a total valved CDP convert (but Lector, not Rega) after travelling from an old 2 box, then a 1 box G08 Meridian. Loved the Meridian; couldn't fault it with my upper Naim/big ProAc system. The Lector was unlike the surprisingly smooth yet dynamic Meridian. There was an organic, analogue aspect to the presentation. Plenty of life too. I then went on to the 4 box Lector for slightly more refinement. Soundstage is wide. Given decent CDs, it's virtually on a par with my Dais, 12" PU7 and Proteus vinyl rig.

A friend brought his upper Wadia along to compare with (I think) my 2 box Lector. Both were excellent and could hardly be faulted for the usual sonic parameters. The only difference was on of involvement. The Wadia was relatively slightly flat, or 'deadpan'. The Lector brought life and pzazz into the proceedings, with commensurately greater enjoyment.

Now whether the Rega exhibits the same nuances of presentation and timbre as my Lector, I know not, but would expect the differences between the s/s and valved CDPs to be at least of a more natural and musically involving nature. However, it's my DAC which has the (four, I believe) valves. The transport and 2 x power supplies are s/s, so not sure if putting it all in one box might mitigate against what I've experienced.

Of course, it really does depend upon synergy. If your kit is slightly on the 'revealing' side, valves could have a balancing effect, as it may well have done with my 2 box Lector with my Naim kit. I now have valved amplification but am still wedded to my valved CDP.
 
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