There is a small resort halfway between Havana and Varadero that we visit frequently. Funky, slightly run down, the food is sometimes edible, but the staff are like family. Fifty yards off shore is a coral reef - in very good shape - that extends out for about a kilometer. Two weeks all inclusive can be had this time of year for just over $1000.
Next to this resort is another, a Breezes, where the food is superb, the rooms are beautifully appointed, but the staff are distant. Mixing with the tourists is not encouraged. The same reef is a short swim out in front of the resort. The price there for the same period is about $2000.
Which resort is better?
I go to the first one, for the reef and the staff, some of whom have become personal friends. Those are my priorities. If your priority is to sit on a beach, watch the ocean and enjoy really good food, you'll be disappointed.
It's the same with music delivery systems.
If your priorities are immediate engagement with the music, and a big bold sound, then the Rega will satisfy. If you care less about immediate engagement but really want to get as far as you possibly can into a composer's mindset, or be transported to another time and place, Naim will be a better choice.
It's the reviewer's job (I believe) to describe what a particular piece of gear does well and less well. His priorities may or may not align with the reader's. When they do you follow that reviewer (as I did with Art Dudley and Herb Reichert).
Which is why a term like *The Absolute Sound* makes no sense to me. It depends on what the listener wants from the system.
Jan
