2. speakers
  3. 130207-76036

Rega/Totem combo wow!

Was out of town for work last week and managed to stop into a hifi shop downtown after work one evening.  I forget the name of the place but it was right in Cincinnati (audible elegance i believe).  I had always wanted to hear a rega/naim amplifier.  Long story short, they had a rega brio and elex r hooked up to a pair of Totem Rainmakers (which is a nice compact speaker for my space) and I have to say that I was really impressed by the speakers even through the lower powered brio.  The gentleman switched from the Brio to the Elex to hear the difference.  And yes, there was a difference. The Elex provided more bass and a little smoother sound to my ears but both amps sounded superb and although the Totems are 4ohms, I was more impressed with the little Brio handling them quite well.  I haven't really heard many people talk about totem speakers on too many threads but like I said, there seemed to be a really good match there between the regas and the totems.  Has anyone else had a similar experience with these two brands playing together and if so what were your thoughts?
mgrec42
mgrec42 OP
9 posts
 
I've heard mixed reviews on the naim with totem. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to listen to the naim. Have you heard them both with the totem? If so what we're your thoughts as far as sonic differences? I've heard people refer to rega as a poor man's naim. Unfortunately for me, nearly 2k for an amp isn't cheap by any means
viridian's avatar
viridian
4,184 posts
 
Yes, you are so correct. It's kind of pointless to compare products in totally different price categories.

I have heard the little Nait with the Rainmakers and thought that it was just great. Many on the Naim Forum use the combo.

 Have not heard the Rega combo, so can't comment, but I have always liked their CD players.
mgrec42 OP
9 posts
 
I have heard the same as well about their players. I plan on going back there in a week or so and make a decision. The elex r and and naim nait 5si are closely priced. I think the naim is maybe $300 more? If the naim is that much better I will probably go for it. I was initially intruiged with the rega for the pre out for a sub as well as a few more inputs than the naim had. The only concern I was reading when it comes to the naim is in their recommended speaker wire. I use audioquest type 4 cables and with the naim I'm not sure what works best. I would hate to invest that much in am amp and then have to worry about small things like wire and then get kind of stuck with the upgrade path you can fall into. Would the audioquest wire work with naim or would I have to go with their own wire?
viridian's avatar
viridian
4,184 posts
 
I didn't say the Naim was better; you should listen to both and make up your mind. I do prefer the build quality if the Naims, YMMV.

Your AQ wires will work just great with the Naim Nait. In the old days, the Naim amps did not have an output inductor in the amps, instead relying on the inductance of the Naim speaker cables to stabilize the output stage. A very elegant, if somewhat limiting, solution.

Those days are long gone and the last few generations of Naits are unconditionally stable. Now they may sound better with one brand of wire, or another, but that is true of all amps.
mgrec42 OP
9 posts
 
Sorry, I didn't mean to make it sound like you said the naim was better. I listen at low volume levels mostly. Never really push past the 9 o'clock position. Unfortunately the dealer doesn't have the 5si on display to demo. As far as low volume control goes, might have to do some more research. Any idea on which amp performs better at lower volume levels? I know that's almost impossible to answer.
More to discover