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Rega RX5's - unfairly overlooked gems?

berty bass said:
Just wondering how many RX5 owners there might be amongst us. Following the 3 star What Hi Fi? review when they appeared I get the impression they may not go on many people's shortlist's when in the market for new speakers. I picked up a pair at a reduced price from my dealer recently though, after A/B-ing them against my previous Kudos X-2's, their smaller siblings, the RX3's and some ATC SMC19's, against all of which they compared favourably, giving me exactly the increase in scale of presentation and sound stage I was looking for. I think listeners may be missing out - I find myself feeling somewhat evangelical and can't help feeling they don't really get a fair crack of the whip compared to present 'go-to' recommendations. Anyone else had a similar experience with them? (No affiliation to Rega btw, simply a happy purchaser/owner.)
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I would be interested hearing your view on the RX3 if possible
Little room and budget, these might be an option for me

Allways liked the older Ela and RS7, Transmissionline probably too expensive making nowadays ?
Older RS5 allways boomed at my place

Problem with Rega speakers they have become too expensive
I recall RS1 were in the €500 region, RX1 is double that
Ok its different and in some ways, a better speaker

Wouldn't be surpriced if Rega are working on another range of speakers and perhaps even a streamer ?

I like their attitude towards less hifi-effects but more music
 
Looks to me like the current Rega range are competitive in price with others in the same bracket - for example RX3s are 1299, B&W 603s 1249 and Dynaudio Emit 30s 1295. I've no idea what the others sound like - but they all look like 'budget mid-range' floorstanders.

RX5s are £200 cheaper than Linn Majik 140s - which have been around for a number of years.

Various little birds have told me that Rega aren't rushing to make more speakers, DACs or certainly streamers. Try an amplifier...:)
 
Had Rega RS3’s and then upgraded to the RX3’s, believing in the benefit of Rega synergy with my otherwise all Rega system (apart from my turntable)
RS3’s were fun with my then Brio-R, and later with my Elex-R, but I then upgraded to the RX3’s after being impressed with their superior resolution and bigger scale, but then felt that I needed a better amplifier, and sticking with Rega, obtained an Elicit-R, but was never happy with the RX3’s low end control in my room, despite alternating having the drivers facing in, then out again.
I then happened upon some ‘proper’ speakers.
sorry Rega, but Rega speaker’s IMO don’t match the quality of my current ATC’s, which work beautifully in my room on the end of the Elicit-R. Now no plans to change unless I move the system to a larger room, whereupon I would first audition larger(probably active) ATC’s.
In summary, the Rega RX series, are nice speakers, well finished, engaging, and I miss some aspects of their performance, but I’ve now found a better fit with my room’s acoustics.
 
Atc and rega are two very different species.

Rega are home hifi, atc are a professional speaker outfit and are built to an extreme level to achieve major spl's, like pmc they are finding theres more money to be made in hifi for numerous reasons.
 
I have Rx-5’s. I picked them up new in 2015 and originally ran them in a large room (15 x 30 feet) on a Brio R. Thereafter I “upgraded” to a Nait XS2 and gained some things and lost some things.

I have owned original Ela Mk1’s (fluted) for about 15 years (still have them) as well as Alya’s (I miss those) and Ela Mk2’s. It is absolutely remarkable how similar the Rx-5’s and the Ela Mk1’s sound. I’m fact, in the right room and with the right amplifier they are nearly indistinguishable. However, with an amplifier that can manage the low end, and a large enough room, the original Ela’s get lost and sound a bit thin, while the Rx-5’s have much more substantial foundation.

I originally thought my original Ela’s sounded more open than the Rx-5’s, but since then, the Rx-5’s have opened up.

I have read the What Hi-Fi review, and I can’t do anything but scratch my head. The dynamics and voicing of the Rega speakers (including these most recent ones) are so consistent from generation to generation (as far as I can tell), I can’t see how they could like older models, but not this one.

Justin
 
Rega speakers have always been about simple engineering. They have used their RR125 mid-bass driver as a base for a lot of their speakers, with a good compromise between efficiency, smooth response combined with simple low order crossovers and even/room friendly bass response from sensible sized cabinets.
I've had a lot of them, from the little R1 and Alya & R3, to the Jura and up to the R9 which I still have.

Back when I bought the R3s, I listened to some R5s at the same time but thought the R3 was more coherent and just a better integrated product. I've not heard the RS or RX ranges though although I did have a pair of Alyas with the upgraded ZRR tweeter which sounded better on the top end IMO.

The R9s are still an outstanding speaker, mine are on long term loan with a friend, I can't bear to sell them.
 
What do you play into the rega Rs5s? Just interested as I like a pair of S/H floor standing rega speakers (ela?). a few years back and my speakers do look v old
 
I have Rega RX5, and I can in some ways understand why Whathifi didn’t give them 4 or 5 stars.. if they tested them with Rega Elex-R as front end. I had that combination to begin with, and it was never enough power for the RX5’s. The system ended up playing very flat and with little dynamics. The vocals were nice though.

After some trial and error I now have them on a class D amp, and they have become the nicest speakers I’ve ever owned. The RX are probably a bit ‘misunderstood’, since they must be matched with a suitable amp. E.g. the RX5’s sounded a lot better/fuller with Elicit-R vs Elex-R.
But as stated, I ended up with non Rega amplification in the end.
 
Rega are a great company (I have no affiliation other than as a customer). They make excellent, well engineered products and whilst I’ve never heard the RX5 I’m sure they will sound great. I’m another Mk1 Ela owner, which I also still have boxed up and they sound superb. Not the last word in bass but vocals and midrange are sublime. Just my 2p worth
 
It's amazing how opinions differ, but it would be a very boring world if we all had the same tastes.

Fwiw, the only Rega speaker I've any experience of is the new Kyte, which seems to be grossly overpriced for the less than impressive sound it makes.

I would hope it wasn't indicative of the Rega speaker range as a whole.
 
narabdela said:
Fwiw, the only Rega speaker I've any experience of is the new Kyte, which seems to be grossly overpriced for the less than impressive sound it makes.
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A pity as I’ve always seen Rega as offering good vfm. Your experience is just about the only one I’ve come across regarding the new Kytes. I had a thought to trying them out a while ago (would require hours of driving) but could find almost no user reports on them. Perhaps this is why?
 
narabdela said:
It's amazing how opinions differ, but it would be a very boring world if we all had the same tastes.

Fwiw, the only Rega speaker I've any experience of is the new Kyte, which seems to be grossly overpriced for the less than impressive sound it makes.

I would hope it wasn't indicative of the Rega speaker range as a whole.
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Opinions do differ. I had the (new) Kyte's earlier this year. They sounded superb imho, easily as good as old Ela's.
 
Had them for a comparatively brief period on the end of a NAC 202. Enjoyed them very much, hugely engaging.
 
I had the old R5’s. They were a bit rough around the edges but a lot of fun. Also had the RS1…Rega built some very respectable speakers.
 
I’ve got RS5’s with Naim NAC-5 speaker cable and a Naim SuperUniti, I’ve had the speakers over four years now and they’re still superb especially with Naim amplification. The midrange is excellent and can be driven hard and still remain in control. The RS5’s had a harsh review from WHF in my opinion. Like all speakers they’re not perfect like in the really low bass region but a subtle use of a REL sub sorts that out
 
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