Royd RR1s

I just reconnected my Rega Kytes after having Royd RR1s on loan for a week. What a turn off! The Kytes sound so dry, cold and unmusical I had to switch off. Ok I admit the Royds cost about 4 times as much as the Kytes.

But, quite simply, the Royds are the most musical speaker I have ever heard. That’s quite a statement considering I previously owned Kans, Saras and Isobariks and have heard SBLs (the early versions) active and passive on 3 occasions. By comparison, on the Royds, acoustic guitar and piano in particular sound so natural and “in the room” but not “in yer face”. Even with my modest system – Cambridge CD5, LP12/Ittok/10x4, Nait 1 there is so much emotion that I’ve re-evaluated what I really want from a system.

True, the Nait 1, Royds can’t produce the “Kick Ass” slam the 250/Bariks used to, but that to me is more “HiFi pyrotechnics” than music, and can become tiresome after a while. I really feel I could get into other music (Jazz, more classical and even Opera) with my current system and the RR1s on the end, which is exactly what I want.

I’ve also discovered that “front end first” doesn’t always give the best results. The Naim CD5, which I demo’d at the dealers was a big improvement over the Cambridge, but putting the RR1s in place of the Kytes was an even bigger improvement.

I think I’ll be placing an order for a pair very soon - then start saving again for the CD5.

Steve B