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Rega IO vs. Brio 2017

Conan said:
Last time I read about a hype like this 8n PFM it was the Naim UQute. I bought one then and it didn't do anything to me.
It was just a hype
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Then don't let this sway you. I am the antithesis of someone who hypes. MOST gear disappoints me in the long (or short) run given the $$$ associated. The economics of high end audio are complex and cost IMO generally doesn't equate 1:1 with sound quality. I've shifted through LOTS of gear. You could buy one from an outfit with a return policy and see if you like it. With only 30 watts and an average sized power supply, it won't do justice to large, complex, inefficient and/or difficult impedance speakers. My speakers are quite the opposite (they sound great even when driven by a 8wpc Sure Tripath amp to normal listening levels). If i were to describe the Io in simple terms, self effacing, musical (as in music makes sense structurally), and laid back would be good descriptions. It does not accentuate things like cymbals, brass, rimshots like many amps I've listened to. It has good tone and provides body to instruments (the thing tube amps are often lauded for). It's not ultra-revealing. Does this sound appealing to you? Do you have sympathetic speakers? If so then I'd say it's worth trying with a return policy. Most listening (if you listen at lower levels like I do) is done with amp running at far lower power output than most people realize, and 30 watts is plenty.
 
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I have been following this thread with interest as my next purchase will be one of the 3 Rega amps discussed. I have a pair of RX1s that I am really happy with and fancy pairing them with a Rega amp. From what I can see any of the 3 would be perfectly good, Rega must be doing something right.
 
PerF said:
Capacitance are not my strongest
Your right, AT and Ortofon are big sellers, I have a new 2M Bronze lying around, a AT95SH fitted currently on my P7.
I need to get a new stylus for my Goldring G1042 (or G1022x), would this be a better fit to IO ?
Or should I look into Nagaoka (I just hate those looks) or Grado?.
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As noted in my post above, despite prior apprehensions my AT100e sounds perfectly fine into the 220 pf input capacitance of my Yamaha. I can hear no difference to the A60’s 100 pf.

Robert hasn’t tried an AT or Ortofon MM with the IO. So if you’re keen on the amp, you might like to try your carts with it before buying more.
 
greg788 said:
I am the antithesis of someone who hypes. MOST gear disappoints me in the long (or short) run given the $$$ associated. The economics of high end audio are complex and cost IMO generally doesn't equate 1:1 with sound quality. I've shifted through LOTS of gear.
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Similar to my own experience - certainly in relation to overall enjoyment.
greg788 said:
If i were to describe the Io in simple terms, self effacing, musical (as in music makes sense structurally), and laid back would be good descriptions. It does not accentuate things like cymbals, brass, rimshots like many amps I've listened to. It has good tone and provides body to instruments (the thing tube amps are often lauded for). It's not ultra-revealing. Does this sound appealing to you? Do you have sympathetic speakers? If so then I'd say it's worth trying with a return policy. Most listening (if you listen at lower levels like I do) is done with amp running at far lower power output than most people realize, and 30 watts is plenty.
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Sounds much like the A&R A60!
 
Fretbuzz said:
How would you describe the difference between IO and Croft?
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The Croft is more live…not lively. It just has a lot of valve goodness with very few of the foibles. More three dimensional with better tone and even better pacing. The Croft bested a 2018 LFD Mistral by a wide margin at just under half the price. It is quite a hair shirt affair, with no remote and dual volume controls. I thought that would be a problem, but to the contrary I really love the dual volume controls.
 
Of all the amps I’ve owned (and that is a lot) I would compare the sound of the IO to the Creek 4330, but better. A little cleaner sounding.
 
greg788 said:
Then don't let this sway you. I am the antithesis of someone who hypes. MOST gear disappoints me in the long (or short) run given the $$$ associated. The economics of high end audio are complex and cost IMO generally doesn't equate 1:1 with sound quality. I've shifted through LOTS of gear. You could buy one from an outfit with a return policy and see if you like it. With only 30 watts and an average sized power supply, it won't do justice to large, complex, inefficient and/or difficult impedance speakers. My speakers are quite the opposite (they sound great even when driven by a 8wpc Sure Tripath amp to normal listening levels). If i were to describe the Io in simple terms, self effacing, musical (as in music makes sense structurally), and laid back would be good descriptions. It does not accentuate things like cymbals, brass, rimshots like many amps I've listened to. It has good tone and provides body to instruments (the thing tube amps are often lauded for). It's not ultra-revealing. Does this sound appealing to you? Do you have sympathetic speakers? If so then I'd say it's worth trying with a return policy. Most listening (if you listen at lower levels like I do) is done with amp running at far lower power output than most people realize, and 30 watts is plenty.
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Does the IO make all music sound upbeat and happy like some say the Brio does?
 
seeformiles said:
Does the IO make all music sound upbeat and happy like some say the Brio does?
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Hmm, ArtK should also reply to this since I may not be the best person to answer. I'm rather melancholic and introspective by nature and what I'm in the mood to listen to often reflects that. I can say that my system provides me with the emotional connection to the music, i.e., an introspective song comes across that way. So I would answer a qualified yes to your question.
 
I've just bought a Rega Io, I'm listening to it now and...
guys, this thing is absolutely terrific, lots of power, great headphones drive, great dynamics, great sound (perfectly balanced), minimalist and sober aesthetics, ergonomic functions, small footprint, low price...

Also, no hum, no noises, no heat (barely warm).

A bargain with amazing value for money.
 
gerlando said:
I've just bought a Rega Io, I'm listening to it now and...
guys, this thing is absolutely terrific, lots of power, great headphones drive, great dynamics, great sound (perfectly balanced), minimalist and sober aesthetics, ergonomic functions, small footprint, low price...

Also, no hum, no noises, no heat (barely warm).

A bargain with amazing value for money.
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Hi gerlando, congrats! I'm interested in the IO as well - curious what speakers you're running with it.
 
Miss Ariel said:
Gerlando welcome to the IO club on PFM.It's great isn't it :)
Years ago in 1984 I had a Nait 1 and it was Ok but compared to the IO tonally very gray sounding.
The Io has got that warmth but does the PRAT thing just so well.
Happy listening !
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Have you been able to do an a/b comparison between the Nait 1 and the IO ?
 
gerlando said:
I've just bought a Rega Io, I'm listening to it now and...
guys, this thing is absolutely terrific, lots of power, great headphones drive, great dynamics, great sound (perfectly balanced), minimalist and sober aesthetics, ergonomic functions, small footprint, low price...

Also, no hum, no noises, no heat (barely warm).

A bargain with amazing value for money.
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Glad you like it :)

The hum from mine has reduced somewhat with use, warming and cooling of the transformer through cycling has probably settled it down.
 
windhoek said:
The io is very un-hifi. Simply music-fi if anything. A proper plug-and-play piece of equipment if ever there was.
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That's a good succinct description. "Self affacing" is another way to put it

Rega's pretty mum about the circuit details on their website and I can't find an email address to ask them about the technical details. "Based on the Brio" leaves a lot of creative license. Based on the interior pictures I know it isn't, but otherwise I may have guessed it was capacitor coupled ("old school" like Heed amps) rather than DC coupled with a DC offset servo circuit
 
seeformiles said:
Does the IO make all music sound upbeat and happy like some say the Brio does?
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In a word, no. The Brio-R (not the 2017 Brio) did have that rep and somewhat deserved…and I can think of a lot worse things. The IO is more true to the emotion in the source than the Brio-R.
 
greg788 said:
That's a good succinct description. "Self affacing" is another way to put it

Rega's pretty mum about the circuit details on their website and I can't find an email address to ask them about the technical details. "Based on the Brio" leaves a lot of creative license. Based on the interior pictures I know it isn't, but otherwise I may have guessed it was capacitor coupled ("old school" like Heed amps) rather than DC coupled with a DC offset servo circuit
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There is a bit more into in the Rega book 'A Vibration Measuring Machine' which I would highly recommend for any Rega fan.
The circuit is based around a John Linsley Hood design which tried to get close to Class A performance without the heat penalty. Hard to get working at the time (c1970) as the design requires close physical and thermal coupling of drivers, thermal tracking diodes and output devices. Today using surface mount tech and Sanken output devices which integrate some of the parts (look closely at the IO output transistors and you'll see 5 legs instead of 3).... well it now works. Brio is the same and so I believe is the Elex R and Elicit R.
 
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