Rega Exons vs. Maia

Upgrading the Saturn/Cursa3/Maia3 system that I had running my Vandersteen 1Cs with a pair of Exon 2000s provided a noticeable improvement. More punch, separation and detail. If I were you, I'd experiment with bi-amping the R7s with Exons and your Maia before selling the Maia. One tip: if you have a chance to try a pair of Vandersteens I'd seize it. I had a chance to do an A/B comparison in my home between my Vandersteen 1Cs and a pair of Rega R7s and felt the Vandersteens won. I thought the Vandersteens had more detail and better overall dynamics, although the R7s are certainly very nice.

Thanks for that response, funny thing that you mention the Vandersteens. I once had the 1B's, Conrad Johnson's MV45A1, CJ's PV5- what a great sound that was! I often think about going back to tubes because that was so good, but I'm digressing.

For now, I find Rega's sound pretty good for solid state playing CD's. You mentioned a noticeable difference; I've gotten that impression from reviews. I wish I could have the Exons play side by side with the Maia but don't know if I can manage that - we'll see.

Thanks for your thoughts and enjoy those Vandersteens!

There are pretty clean improvements as you move up the line.... in addition to the power (volume) gains.

But yeah, the Exons do have seemingly endless power. Never, ever, have they shown signs of strain. For me, this isn't just about volume. It means they can handle anything your toss at them. But I also noticed immediate improvement on "punch" versus the Maia, even at low volume.

I liked the Maia. But the Maia is a bit "warmer" versus the Exons. Both HUGE improvements over the Rega integrateds, which are wimpy.