Rega IO Integrated Amplifier (Black)

I read other reviewers on here saying that other sub-$1k amps sound better (Yamaha - seriously?). I have no clue what they're talking about. I haven't heard EVERY amp under $1k, but I've owned and/or heard many of them, including some heavy hitters like the current darlings from Cambridge and Rotel. If you can live with three inputs, no internal DAC, and a no-frills basic design (they put the budget into the guts, not the outside, which looks like a metal box), the Rega IO is the best sounding amp under $1k that I've ever heard, full stop.

I purchased this to replace my late version of Bluesound Powernode. The main reason is very annoying volume control on the Powernode. The unit also was very poor sounding at low volume. Just lifeless.....Enter the Rega IO! I am actually stunned by the sound of this little amplifier. Music sounds like music and I can't stop listening! I am using this unit with small Neat Iota speakers and this wonderful combination.

Driving my LS50 Meta on my desk pretty well. No complain here. Using it with a miniDSP to have a sub out. Over all sound is great. Volume nob is set at 9 o'clock and an average 30-45 percent volume on windows. Sitting about a feet and a half away from both speakers.

A little introduction, I'm first an electronics collector, rather than an audiophile; however, I do appreciate quality sound when I hear it. The amplifiers that I own, and have owned, are generally under $1500.The same with speakers and prices. Bookshelf to Tower: Paradigm, Monitor Audio, Polk, Infinity, JBL, Pioneer, etc...Things I like about the Rega io:It's fairly small, compact, and barely longer and wider than my hand; weighs a little over six pounds. It fits anywhere, and is very simple and easy to use.It has a nice sounding phono stage,For a total of 3 analog inputs.Only 30 watts, but it easily powers some bookshelf and tower speakers that dip down to 4 Ohms, up to 87 dBLs volume, in my 18 x 17 room with no problem filling it. I don't usually play music past 90 dBLs because that is loud enough for me.The front buttons and rear connectors, although not high-end, definitely work fine, and the remote has a nice size and is intuitive.It uses a fat little Toroidal transformer, but there are NO heat sinks, Rega instead designed the body/chassis to absorb heat, keep the amplifier cool. Not sure how well this design would work if you really played it loud and for hours with inefficient speakers? My guess, it would probably surrender.It has a nice and full sound, and a surprising amount of bass for its power output.The tempo and timing are great, and that is for Jazz, Metal, Country, and Pop.Male and female vocals sound full and convincing.Made in the UK, I give Rega credit for keeping their factory in the UK in this day and age.Things I didn't like about the Rega io:The box it came shipped in was barely adequate, and inside it used some cheap egg crate cardboard instead of solid foam. I had asked for it to be double boxed prior, but my request went unanswered. *Note, this was not ordered from Amazon but from an authorized competitor.You can't use the remote control to power on or off the Rega io... seriously.It sounds good, but it's not the cleanest sounding amplifier; there is a notable amount of distortion that slowly creeps in with the volume set at 11 o'clock, and only gets worse when you turn it past that. A lot of people may not notice it, but I did, compared to a NAD C316 BEE, Yamaha RS202, and a Yamaha AS501 that I also own. All three of them play cleaner, and the NAD wins in terms of transparency to my ears.Yes, even the entry level Yamaha RS202 sounded a little bit cleaner. Manufacturers often publish specs that fudge the facts. Check out Audio Science Review (ASR) for more on the subject.It's subjective, and I don't care what any of dozens of other reviews have said about how fabulous the Rega io is. In my opinion, after 6 months of use, it did not sound any better than the other mentioned amplifiers.Also, none of the 4 amplifiers cremate the others, the differences were fairly subtle. The Rega and the NAD sounded the most similar, but again the NAD sounded cleaner and a little more burly.Lastly the price, I scooped mine from an authorized competitor's site for $600 last year, but now the price is $725, which I feel, even being made in the UK, is definitely a couple hundred over what it sounds like.If you want a really decent amplifier for just a little bit of money go for Yamaha RS202, need more power go Yamaha AS501 or NAD C316 BEE. They are not made in the UK but they all, in my opinion, sound as good or better than the Rega io for much less money.

There's not a lot to carry-on about plus or minus re. the Rega io. It sounds fabulous driving my LS50 Metas or Epos M5 monitors on stands. It barely heats up to the touch at 80db volumes with any of my speakers despite using the case for heat dissipation. 4 ohm Epos pose no problem. I could care less about multiple inputs. My needs are simple as is the io.

Build is pretty solid. Good weight for its size, nice square feet, and textured metal chassis. The power button is satisfying to engage and disengage. I love the tactility of it and the ker-chunk with each activation. One minor area of concern was the plastic back plate. There are two lug nuts that hold it in place located at the center sides. When my least favorite moment of getting any new amp or speaker presented itself to me (prying off the speaker tap covers) I actually noticed a substantial amount of flex from this cover as the entire top half was bending off of the unit. Not a huge deal, but I see where they had to cut corners to take $400 off the Brio.Where this comes into its own is the sound. I’ve tried multiple solid state amps with my RP600M and haven’t liked any of them. Tubes were the only thing that made the RP600M come to life. Thankfully, the io gave me the best of both words -- reliability and carefree nature of solid state, with the textured, warm, and more filled-out sound of tubes. While it still isn’t on the level as the Reisong A10 with gold lions or stock A20, the compromise of not being a tube amp makes up for it. Indeed, I preferred its sound over the CXA60, TA100, 9150, Sprout100, but not the PA3s. More on that later.I loved and used the Onkyo 9150 for a long time and preferred it to the Cambridge CXA60 for its smoother tone and better mids. But the io simply sounds more musical than the 9150, to the point where I would not keep the RP600M if I had to listen to them on the 9150, but I would keep them if on the io. I’m currently using it with the Chane A5.4 and it sounds great! It’s punchy, textured, and gets me closer to the tube bass I was experiencing with the A10 and A20 than anything else I’ve tried, but also has a bit better control. The headphone out, mostly the same applies. Compared to the 9150, BTR5, and heaven forbid my Pixel 4a headphone out, the io had more substance and texture, bringing more life to the music.And so what’s not to like? The buzzing and overall noise.I’ve tried it with 4 or 5 speakers, most of which being 2 way bookshelf speakers and one being a 3 way floorstanding speaker. All exhibited a buzz from the tweeter on the right channel. Tried multiple cables, both amp inputs, different power outlets, all of which did nothing. This isn’t just hiss like you hear with all equipment, but an actual buzz like you’d hear from a power station. And before you ask, I verified it was not a ground loop. I sit about 6 feet away and am still able to hear it in a quiet environment, although not unbearable. This would be greatly exaggerated if one were to sit closer in a nearfield setup or if the volume pot was turned past 12 o’clock. Perfect segway into…The pot has issues when listening at very low volume. In that case, a preamp is a must. I’ve noticed that starting at zero, beginning to turn it up, volume only comes out of one channel before reaching a point where it is loud enough to come through both. In many scenarios, I’ve actually needed to listen to it in this “1 channel dead zone”. Luckily, simply turning the pot half way up and using a preamp completely rectifies this issue. Any more than halfway and the buzz begins getting much louder, whereas the first half of the pot is the same volume.Last but not least, I also have this issue with right channel buzz when using headphones, but it's much worse due to the proximity to the ear. Using the 120ohm HD560 S is a huge no-go as the constant buzz is very distracting at all levels of volume. Plugging in the ER2XR and PX100-II and the buzz was gone for the most part. My A1000Z was also very quiet. I’m not sure if it just isn’t responding well to higher impedance headphones or what the deal is but I’d be weary if one were planning to use this more with headphones than speakers. For now I’ll pretend it’s only with higher impedance headphones, so IEMs and easier to drive headphones should be okay. Hopefully.So what did I replace this amp with? The Topping PA3s. I’ve been happy ever since. Absolutely not a whisper from the speakers even when the volume is turned to maximum. It’s not until my ear is against the tweeter that I can hear the faintest hiss. The sound is much cleaner, precise, and neutral. The io is warmer and thicker and may pair with brighter speakers. The elephant in the room is the price. $650 was already pricey, but with its price jump to $750, absolutely no way. Especially with its noise issues and requirement for careful partnering.At the end of the day, I still do have a soft spot for this amp, but there are definitely better values out there if you are looking for a do-it-all solution or a safer pick. The simplicity of the io is what drew me in. I didn’t want any tone knobs, digital inputs, fancy features, dozens of inputs/outputs… no none of that. Even with its quirks, I still enjoy it especially since most of my listening is through my speakers. If I started to migrate toward headphone listening, I'd have to consider something else depending on what headphone I used... unless I had the Campfire io IEM, obviously a match made in heaven for the Rega io ;)