REPRODUCEDFROMHI-FICHOICE
sense of purposefulminimalism as the other components,whichistypicalofthecompany.
becausetheiohasitsowninternalphono stage.Indeed,inminiature,theiocomprises al the features thatcharacterise Rega amplifiers.Itisaclas A/B-baseddesign delivering30W into8ohm.Threeinputsare fited,onebeingthephonostage,plusa 3.5mm headphone socket. There’s no minimalism at work here either; the specificationincludesafulremotecontrol, whichmakestheioextremelyeasytouse. Thecompactchasisisalmetalandmimics thesamestylingasthebiggeramplifiers. Perhapsthemostunheraldedpartofthisis that,despiteitssmalsize,theioneverfeels toylikeinuse. Thenewestmemberofthetrioandalsothe mostradicalofthe three is the Kyte standmountspeaker.WherethePlanar1and ioaresimplifiedversionsofmoreexpensive products,theKyteisgenuinelydiferent.The reasonforthisisthattheMDFcabinetsused inotherRegaspeakerscannotbeproduced at£500.ThishasledRegatoconstructthe Kytefromthesamephenolicresinthatforms the Planar1 plater.Each cabinetisa single-piecemoulding(hencethetapered sidesto simplify extracting itfrom the mould)withacompositewoodenfrontbafle mountingthedriversonthefront.Tostifen thecabinet,acruciformbraceisfitedthat hasceramic plates(made ofthe same ceramicasthePlanar10plater)ontheends. Asthetaperwouldmeanthespeakerangles backonaflatsurface,afoot(alsomadeof phenolic)atachestothereartoofsetthe angle. ThedriversintheKyteareliftedfrom the RX1 (HFC 417)and comprise a125mm dopedpapermid/basandaZRRsoftdome tweeter.Aroundthebackyou’lfindasingle pairofspeakerterminalsandasmalbas port. Quoted measurements are an impedance of 6ohm and sensitivity of 89dB/W.Asit’smadeofdiferentmaterials tootherRegaspeakers(andeveryoneelse’s infairnes),you’d imaginethattheKyte mightstruggletofeellikeaRegadesignbut inthefleshitrealydoesn’t.There’sthesame
Althisturnsupinasinglelargeboxwiththerequired cabling to get it up and running.You might legitimatelyask:“whataboutdigital?”butthisisnot Rega’sprimaryfocusandthetwoinputsontheio leaveyouspacetochoosetheoptionsthatworkfor you.Geting theSystem Oneup and running is simplicity itself; if you’re reading this as a manufacturerofastreamingsystem,youneedtobe confidentthatyourwirelessetupisverygoodindeed beforeyouthinkitmightbefaster. Soundquality Onceyou’reupandrunningandlisteningtorecords, it’simportanttoputtheSystemOneinadegreeof context.A£1,300NaimMu-so2ndgeneration(HFC 452)wilgoasloudastheRegaandprobablymatches itforbas extension too.There’sno automatic on-paperadvantagetotheRegabeingthreediferent products,butthemannerinwhichitperformsis meaningfulydiferent. Listening to there-presed WhatDoesAnything Mean?BasicalybyTheChameleonsontheSystem Oneisademonstrationofefortles musicality.The euphoriathatunderpinsPerfumeGardenisabsolutely stitchedintothepresentation.ThePlanar1mightbe thesimplestexpresionofaRegaturntablegoing,but itstilflowsandtimeslikeaRegashould.JohnLever’s magnificentdrummingispicosecondperfectandthe
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