Upgrade to Naim XS from Rega Brio R

Perhaps you let us know once you have compared the Nait XS to the Rega Brio-R? I do not have experience with the Brio-R but have owned the Elicit MK2 (now Elicit-R Mk3) and have compared the Rega Elicit to the Nait XS in my system. The integrated amps sound quite different but the Elicit is not a Brio-R so it may not be useful to describe on the differences here.  

Having demo'd a Brio-R and owned a Nait XS for years on the same speakers, I suspect one improvement you'll notice is a better command of your speakers with the XS. Better insight and resolution as well. The Brio-R is a VFM beginning, the Nait XS is the next level of hi-fi. Congrats.

I hope your Nait XS gives you as much pleasure as mine gave me. I've heard and liked the Brio-R, though not compared the two directly. Please report your findings.

Chris

Hi all,

thanks for reply.

I will let you know diferences during the weekend because my new baby is here already.

You'll be up all night. Try to sleep when you can ;-)

C.

Spain is diferent posted:

Hi all,

thanks for reply.

 

I will let you know diferences during the weekend because my new baby is here already.

 

 

Good luck, you should have a big smile on your face soon. However, give it time. Hifi is as much about what your ears are used to as what the system is doing. Normally, my upgrades start off as 'different', progress through 'not sure', move into 'that bit sounds good' and, hopefully, end up with 'sold, there is much more here now'.  I think the XS will take your enjoyment up a notch, and remember that it will drive your speakers differently and you might need to review their placement etc. 

I love Rega stuff but I think you'll find the XS an improvement in all areas. 

Enjoy. 

Lindsay 

Hi all,

I owe all of you my first impressions.

As I has read when a new device arrives your ears needs time to digest the new sound. As I know it, what I do is leave the new two or three days and then I change back to the old device. I do never compare both directly. Most of the improves are evident when you change back to the older and you find the evidences of the new improves.

Well, this is what i have made this weekend and I´am going to enumerate the differences to my ears, with my system and in my room:

-Naim Xs drives better and with more autorithy my EB Acoustics EB1 .

-As I expected treble is a little bit more open and with a little more presence.

-Shows new frecuencies in the bass that never been there before ( even crossing with a subwoofer ).

-More defined bass.

- Still listenable and never harsh.

Those are the improves

Now what I feel I have lost ( I want to insist that is in my set up )

-The bass remains a bite predominant.

-Voices are a little back.

- An attribute of the Brio partnering with the EB´s is that in some way gets a melody of every music ( even with Rage against the machine )

For me the both has a similar tonal balance and a similar way to interpretate the music. The Rega a bit mellow and Naim a bit realistic.

Dont want to loose the good things of the Rega and now I have discovered the drive and the response in the treble and in the bass i dont want to loose them too.

I must keeping trying. This week with my other bookshelves ( Quad 12L2 )

The rest of my system is:

Source : NAD 545 bee

Speaker cable: Chord Epic twin

Source cable: Atlas Hyper

Rega and Naim gives both Prat, but are very different, as you will find out.You have a good system, now just enjoy it.

Spain is diferent posted:

Hi all,

I owe all of you my first impressions.

As I has read when a new device arrives your ears needs time to digest the new sound. As I know it, what I do is leave the new two or three days and then I change back to the old device. I do never compare both directly. Most of the improves are evident when you change back to the older and you find the evidences of the new improves.

Well, this is what i have made this weekend and I´am going to enumerate the differences to my ears, with my system and in my room:

-Naim Xs drives better and with more autorithy my EB Acoustics EB1 .

-As I expected treble is a little bit more open and with a little more presence.

-Shows new frecuencies in the bass that never been there before ( even crossing with a subwoofer ).

-More defined bass.

- Still listenable and never harsh.

Those are the improves

 

Now what I feel I have lost ( I want to insist that is in my set up )

-The bass remains a bite predominant.

-Voices are a little back.

- An attribute of the Brio partnering with the EB´s is that in some way gets a melody of every music ( even with Rage against the machine )

For me the both has a similar tonal balance and a similar way to interpretate the music. The Rega a bit mellow and Naim a bit realistic.

Dont want to loose the good things of the Rega and now I have discovered the drive and the response in the treble and in the bass i dont want to loose them too.

 

I must keeping trying. This week with my other bookshelves ( Quad 12L2 )

 

The rest of my system is:

Source : NAD 545 bee

Speaker cable: Chord Epic twin

Source cable: Atlas Hyper

 

 

I would certainly have upgraded source first making this exercise a bit pointless

Brio is a fine little amp and deserve decent signal

In your case I would have gone better source, keeping Rega amp or next up the 5si amp which is a bit more fun

Well guess this is the most common act most people focus on amp and sort of forget source

Yes, using an £1800 Naim amplifier with a £350 CD player isn't the approach I'd recommend either. Improving the amp with an inadequate source can actually make things worse, so I wouldn't be surprised if the Nait is not conclusively better than the Rega, which is a fine machine. If I were the OP I'd be looking for a used CD5x or 5XS. 

Maybe that's next. How would we know?

C.

b_lund posted:

Spain is diferent posted:

Hi all,

I owe all of you my first impressions.

As I has read when a new device arrives your ears needs time to digest the new sound. As I know it, what I do is leave the new two or three days and then I change back to the old device. I do never compare both directly. Most of the improves are evident when you change back to the older and you find the evidences of the new improves.

Well, this is what i have made this weekend and I´am going to enumerate the differences to my ears, with my system and in my room:

-Naim Xs drives better and with more autorithy my EB Acoustics EB1 .

-As I expected treble is a little bit more open and with a little more presence.

-Shows new frecuencies in the bass that never been there before ( even crossing with a subwoofer ).

-More defined bass.

- Still listenable and never harsh.

Those are the improves

 

Now what I feel I have lost ( I want to insist that is in my set up )

-The bass remains a bite predominant.

-Voices are a little back.

- An attribute of the Brio partnering with the EB´s is that in some way gets a melody of every music ( even with Rage against the machine )

For me the both has a similar tonal balance and a similar way to interpretate the music. The Rega a bit mellow and Naim a bit realistic.

Dont want to loose the good things of the Rega and now I have discovered the drive and the response in the treble and in the bass i dont want to loose them too.

 

I must keeping trying. This week with my other bookshelves ( Quad 12L2 )

 

The rest of my system is:

Source : NAD 545 bee

Speaker cable: Chord Epic twin

Source cable: Atlas Hyper

 

 

I would certainly have upgraded source first making this exercise a bit pointless

Brio is a fine little amp and deserve decent signal

In your case I would have gone better source, keeping Rega amp or next up the 5si amp which is a bit more fun

Well guess this is the most common act most people focus on amp and sort of forget source

Apparently the new (2017) Rega Brio is a substantial improvement over the old one.

The main advantage an XS 2 will have is the capability of driving more difficult to drive speakers. The main disadvantage is that it costs three times as much.

Iconoclast posted:

Apparently the new (2017) Rega Brio is a substantial improvement over the old one.

Substantial is subjective. On paper the newer Brio-R has gained an internal HP amp. The case has been redesigned. I haven't heard the newer version, but the former was no real powerhouse as 50 watt integrateds go. Great for a happy, bouncy bookshelf system. It's more an attractive entry-level priced package with its half-case size and internal phono stage.

The Nait XS is a different league of hi-fi. Is it worth three times more money? Subjective. For me there was no contest and I spent for the XS. For a fairer comparison I'd match the various Nait 5's versus the Brios. The Naits will show better command of the speakers. Also, I've found NACA5 more involving than Chord speaker cable on Naim integrateds.

For sure my weak point is the CDP but I must say I was very, very happy with the sound just looked for alleviate a subtle congestion in mids and thought a better amplifier could do.

If to get what I was looking for I need to rebuild all my system my opinion is it doesn't worth.
Naim CDP´s arent cheap and I have no doubt about it quality but nobody could make sure I would get what I look for.

Im going to enjoy the XS for a few months because some recordings are more enjoyable than with my Brio and possibly I will sell it, at last I have bought it at good price.

Spain is diferent posted:

Im going to enjoy the XS for a few months because some recordings are more enjoyable than with my Brio and possibly I will sell it, at last I have bought it at good price.

Does the 'it' to the Brio-R or the XS?

C.

If you like the Rega sound, try the apollo-R or Rega Dac combined with the nait 5i.

also - don't go to the Saturn or elicit - they just aren't as much fun.

Christopher_M posted:

Spain is diferent posted:

Im going to enjoy the XS for a few months because some recordings are more enjoyable than with my Brio and possibly I will sell it, at last I have bought it at good price.

Does the 'it' to the Brio-R or the XS?

C.

To the XS , but who knows.

Regards.

MangoMonkey posted:

If you like the Rega sound, try the apollo-R or Rega Dac combined with the nait 5i.

also - don't go to the Saturn or elicit - they just aren't as much fun.

I dont  know if  I like the Rega sound ( I owned Rs1 bookshelves and didnt like ), I like the sound I have now with the Brio. I´ll think about to match with new sources but is no my first idea.

Thnaks.

Spain is diferent posted:

Christopher_M posted:

Spain is diferent posted:

Im going to enjoy the XS for a few months because some recordings are more enjoyable than with my Brio and possibly I will sell it, at last I have bought it at good price.

Does the 'it' to the Brio-R or the XS?

C.

To the XS , but who knows.

Regards.

Thanks. Looking at my own contribution again, I realised that with the missing word refer after 'it', my  grammar was pretty ropey.

Regards, C.

one thing though - your brain needs time to acclamatize itself to the different sound signatures. Once you get used to naim, you will find Rega boring.

the worst thing you can do is keep switching back and forth ...

Congrats! I think you will warm towards the Naim sound with more time. If you don't really get there with more time, try to borow an RCA-Din cable before selling the amp. I have many times been surprised by the changes using din can have in a Naim system. 

MangoMonkey posted:

 

one thing though - your brain needs time to acclamatize itself to the different sound signatures. Once you get used to naim, you will find Rega boring.

the worst thing you can do is keep switching back and forth ...

 

 

Thanks, Is what Im going to try because I would like to keep some features of the XS, but the Brio R isn´t boring, believe me.

Found an Arcam Alpha 10 with DAVE module in a good price ( 250 Pounds). I really liked the DAC and plenty of power but boring, then I prefered a NAD 326bee.

I believe you have been much better off getting a Rega Apollo cd player to match your Brio

Next step could be a 5si amp or the new 2017 Brio

Reason you didn't like the RS1 could be they are extremely revealing, what they told you might have been signature of a crap source

Isn't it a wonderfull game !