Rega and Totem speakers

Judd,

I also used Kytes for a long time and prefered them to the EL8 and i believe they all use the same tweeter as the Ara and Alya. I really loved those little beauties and like Ramon i found them totally amazing. I did actually compare them to Kans when i bought them at my dealers. That i still bought the Kytes says it all.

But,like you,after a while i wanted a more refined treble.My dealer surgested a dem of some Ela's,which he bought to my house and set up. He did not take them back. I thought the kytes were amazing, but the Ela's are in a totally different class.Much more open,more bass yes but not just in quantity-the quality is there to.The treble is a big improvement{ilisten to a lot of female vocals so this is very important to me}. Even more than the Kytes the Ela's just dissapear.And they do PRAT a lot better .

Note that these Ela's are the latest version of the previous design [not Ela2000,which i have heard and find not as good as the earlier ones,my dealer is of the same opinion.]

I would check out some used Ela's if you can. as they go fairly cheap for the results you get.

Michael.

Judd,

Probably didn't make it clear but The Ela's do use a different tweeter {Scanspeak} to the rest.

Michael.

Folkman,

Does your ELA the original version or the latest version. They look totally different and I believe have very different construction.

The original one has a construction of transmission-line, not sure of the latest version.


Justin,

If you can find a apir of Kytes, they are very good buy. If you want something better, consider ELAs.

But do seriously consider Totem and Dynaudio. They are known to be good with Naim.

Cheers.

Hi King.
My Ela's are the early sloping front design.But this model changed during its life and there were 4 different versions as far as i know.Thats why i said mine are some of the last version.
The new Ela 2000 is a more 'orthadox' looking speaker,but i believe it still uses the same transmission design.
Rumor has it that Rega had to redesign the Ela because the firm making the sloping cabinet finished and Rega could not find anyone else to make that cabinet.True or not, personally i find the sloping Ela much easier on the eye.

Michael.

I had a go with the Sttafs, Hawks, and Forrests at the local dealers. Had the Hawks home for about three weeks on the end of my Nait 5.

I would give the Hawks a clear miss - there is a peak in the treble which might impress at first (and the treble IS clean) but choses your music for you in short order. In our medium sized room, they ran out of steam too early as well. The Sttafs didn't have the treble peak but were less couth up top and would require an even smaller room. The Forrests are the best of the three but at that price point I chose the Allaes.

Not heard any of Totem's standmounts.

- GregB

Insert Witty Signature Line Here

I'm under the impression that the Kyte and the Alyas are pretty darn similar. They appear to have the same tweeter and mid/bass driver. From what I have read about the Kytes, the Alyas seem to fall into that same catagory. They are tremendously fast and light on thier feet, and they have what I would consider to be a fairly open (if thin) midband. They are pretty fun to listen to.

But, the tweeter is just kinda "there", if you know what I mean. It's not is if it is in any way "offensive"---it's just that it isn't particularly refined and detailed.

Also (and I'm assuming this is true of the Kytes and the Alas) my Alyas seem to have an upper limit beyind which they simply will go no louder. All speakers have this, but the Rega (due, no doubt, to thier size) seem to reach it quicker. Just yesterday I was wicking it up with some Clifford Brown/Max Roach and once I hit about 11:00 on the dial, the music simply stopped getting any louder.

I'm looking for something that has,
1) a bit more refinement and nuance in the treble (dare I say, a bit more "air"),
2) the ability to play a bit louder, and
3) more bass.

Every six months or so I have to go on one of these speaker quests. I ussually end up where I started, but a few hundred (or thousand) dollars lighter.

Judd
PS. I heard some "expensive" Dynaudio monitors at a well respected Naim dealer in Chicago a few months ago. Hugely underwhelmed. They reminded my of B&W's, though they didn't really sound like B&W's. Not sure what to make of that. You know what knocked me off my feet--Elacs. These are diminutive little aluminum speakers with 3 and 4 inch aluminum bass drivers and some sort of ribbon (or something) tweeter. They sounded really great with Naim gear, but had no bass. They also look terrible in my opinion. But they sounded fab from 100 hz and up.

Judd,

The Ela's will do exactly what you want. If at all possible have a listen to a pair.

Michael.

The old Rega importer over here is selling his remaining Rega stock at 50% off retail (60% or more off of demo stuff). That puts me into a pair of Elas at $600, I think. But, of course, I will not be able to hear them.

Do you think a Nait 2 will drive Elas?
Judd

justin,
i used to run a pair of older ELA's off of the older rega BRIO integrated amp... worked like a charm...
that said, unless their specs have changed significantly (even though I'm fairly sure they use the same driver) they should work well.
that said...
i truly think i like the older style ELA's more. both aesthetically and sonically...
the new ELA's that I listened to were fairly new (so they may no have been broken in) and sounded muddy and imprecise compared to what i had remembered. the older ELA's were a bit of a shocker to me as they put out an incredible amount of bass for such a small and flimsy looking bass driver. in fact i remember thinking that they would make good home theatre pieces. let me know how the laureman specials turn out!

take care,
colin

Judd,
Do you know which Ela's he is selling.

I am sure a Nait 2 will have no problem at all and i think it would make a good match.

Early Ela's had a sensitivity of 87dB and the new ones 88 or 89 dB .Both are 8 ohms.

Obviously it depends on the type of music and how loud you like it . But if you like the Alyas then i see no problem.

I drive my Ela's with Regas smallest amp , Brio 2000 , having previously used larger integrated and pre/power amps.

Michael.

Justin,

Your understanding and description of Kyte and Alyas are right. I feel the same about Kytes' speed, somewhat thin midrange and the "existance" of the high.

The ELAs is better than Kytes in all aspect, though I find the midrange is still a little thin. But overall they are great fun to listen to, remember to put them right against the rear wall with amble space for the sides.

At US$600 a pair I think it's a steal. I can't even get an used pair in Singapore for the equivalent amount.

He he he - I asked Rega about Kyte and Ela tweeters last year, because the £50 (yep £50) pair of original Elas I bought had mildly dented tweeters - hence the price (they sound fine to me and even my golden eared mate).

Anyway, I also had a pair of Kytes, and was thinking of swapping the tweeters into the Elas...

It turns out the Kytes use VIFA tweeters, and the Elas indeed use Scanspeaks - much more refined on the Elas...

My thoughts on the Elas and Kytes off of a Rega Mira 2000 (still aiming to get a NAIT one day soon) - Kytes are more fun, Elas are more polite. Elas have deeper bass, but it's a transmission line bass that can actually keep in time (unlike IMF/TDL designs ). The Kytes are definitely more fun but the Elas aren't far behind - and the Elas will handle a LOT more volume without crapping out on you.

Those paper woofers are fantastic, and the original Ela has that lush Darlek meets Burger King feel to its styling - I love them!

I didn't rate the latest version of the Ela either, but it was under hifi show conditions...

PS - that "rumour" about the guy who built the cabinets for the original Ela retiring, and thus the redesign, is true

When the music's over turn out the lights

Ramon,

I have my Kytes firing straight ahead, the difference could be that I have them right against the rear wall (about an inch away for the cables)...............

So do you find them bass-light since yours is standing free? Also, what stand do you use?
I've been trying to find open-frame stands without any base-plate, but not avail.....

Domfj,

Your right on the Kytes tweeter, but I think Rega added a sheild behind the Vifa-OEM tweeter for some reason.

But your view on Ela is interesting. I always think Ela is better.