I popped down to Audio T in Brighton yesterday to get a listen to the Rega Aethos, prounounced Ethos at the open day event.
The back panel as far as i can tell is exactly the same as my Elicit R, minus the phono input.
It certainly sounded excellent, a weighty rhymthic sound, detailed and involving. It was a vinyl event, but i politely asked if i could have it connected up to a Saturn R instead, as that represents my present set up. Speakers were Rega RX5?, whereas i use Kudos C20s.
It's always difficult making a full evaluation of the amp, as various variables were in place. So the room is different, as are the speakers, different cables and also, the CD i focussed on, (Bjork/Debut), is not one i've played on my system. It was the only one in the shop selection, that i owned though.
Also, music was being played at a higher level than i could ever wish to, what with my neighbours mother in law, now being based in the living room next door to mine. I did turn it down eventually, when i remembered to. I noticed that the volume control on the remote is not sensitive to touch and took big volume leaps, which i hope can be better controlled, like the Saturn R one, which is stepped in increments.
It certainly sounded great overall and i think it will be on the market in about 2 months time. It is definetly not a replacement for the Osiris and it was confirmed that the Osiris maintains its position, as their reference amp.
Depending on whether, i go down the music server approach or remain exclusively CD, I'm definetly interested, but the Naim Supernait 2/3 is also in contention, as an upgrade to the Elicit R. I also use a Bluesound Node 2i into the dac portion of my Saturn R, as a stepping stone into the world of streaming.
Whilst i was there, i spoke with a Rega rep and he confirmed Rega have no interest in the streaming side of the market. Too many software changes and too much faffing about, is the explanation given.
With regards to a pairing Aethos level Cd/Dac, a la the Saturn R, i was advised that, they are assessing the market with regards to CD popularity/sales, as investment at a higher level would work out at a 6 figure cost. There is likely to be a 2 year assessment period.
They did say however, that the CD mechanism they use is coming to the end of its supply, around that 2 year period, so that will have to be factored in, if they continue to make CD players, especially at a high end level and if it makes economic sense.
So a worthwhile day finally getting to hear the Aethos and finding out about Rega's future plans, other than their devotion to beloved vinyl, which has now plateaud apparently.
The Dac R has been discontinued, so for the moment, they will be focussing on record players and amp sales, which are steady winners for them. The Rega rep thought that Chord cornered the market on dacs and spoke highly of them