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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
nutty
1,928 posts
 
Another plug for Audible Elegance! Several weeks ago I listened to a few setups. A Rega Apollo-R > Primaluna Integrated > Totem Acoustics Hawk wired with Cardas Parsec interconnects and speaker cables. It was very nice. And it is a great system for money. Zach, Mark and everyone were very accommodating. 

N
kalali's avatar
kalali
1,645 posts
 
I don't have personal experience but I recall reading that Parasound amps sound good with Totems as well and their Halo line of integrateds get good reviews. Might be worth an audition. 
viridian's avatar
viridian
4,184 posts
 
The Nait 5si mates a passive preamp to a high-gain power amp. iMHO it is not particularly distinguished at very low volume, YMMV.
audiblez33
6 posts
 
I think that's a great match. I've seen few revs saying Rega amps works well with other speakers
rhljazz
1,117 posts
 

Hi Fi Choice (UK) featured a six integrated amp shoot out and the Rega Elex R won.  The Naim Nait 5si finished second.  The speakers used in the test were ATC SCM40 wired with Nordost Frey cables.  All amps used Valhalla 2 power cables with a Nordost power conditioner.  Sources were Cyrus cd transport feeding a Chord Hugo dac and a Project Expression table.  With this equipment the amps were allowed to perform at their best.  The Rega was also less expensive than the Naim.  The report ended with the Rega being the most musical and engaging of the amps under test.  As always personal preference will make a difference.  This was also reported as a blind test. 

I have no personal experience with any of the amps.    

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