Speakers, Hi-Fi, Tech etc...

[Eoin McLove]

Went in to HifiHut and this was the recommendation for my price range with a tape deck being sourced separately too. I haves no idea about brands or models so does this stuff look like decent quality to those of you who know about such matters...

Rega Brio-R 2017 Integrated Amplifier
Rega Apollo- R CD player
DALI Oberon 5 floorstanding speaker pair
Rega Planar 2 Turntable

[Eoin McLove]

Checked out some reviews and all were pretty glowing but I'm not sure which sites are trust worthy so I might be reading propaganda!

[Kurt Cocaine]

The Rega Planar 2 turntable is a gem. Great value for the money and well made. A British company I believe.
I'm sure their other products are of good quality too.
You must have a budget of around €2000+ or so Andy?

[Eoin McLove]

I've enough to cover it anyway. The reviews for the Rega strid all seem really positive so I might bite the bullet. 

[Juggz]

Yeah, Rega have a great reputation. Trust your ears, though, make sure you get to listen to something through it all before you hand over cash.

[Eoin McLove]

A bit of Ride for Revenge! Imagine sticking that on and then complaining that the speakers sound like shit haha.  Could be a good hidden camera sketch seeing the lads scrambling around trying to fix the problem   

[Juggz]

 

[Goatlord]

The Rega Brio amps sound great, only reason I haven't got one is I don't like the idea of having no control over the bass and treble, had a Pioneer a500 years back and whilst it was great 90% of the time there is those times when you need an extra wee bit of oomph at the bottom end. The Rega turntables are decent decks, only downside is the price of a decent cartridge.

[Eoin McLove]

How often do you need to replace the cartridge?

[Goatlord]

That is all down to usage, how dirty your records are, how many fucked records you are playing, weight on the arm. It really is a sonic thing when you start to hear excessive inner groove distortion or it just doesnt sound good anymore when you put a record on. Putting a new cartridge on also takes a while to bed in. I last changed mine sept 17 - average usage 20 hrs a week - sunday i use cds. I am currently on an elys 2.

[Eoin McLove]

So for that amount of usage are you looking at changing it once a year, every five years,  ten years? I know it's hard to give a definite answer due to the variables you mentioned but loosely speaking. Most of my collection is new, as in not second hand,  but I've been gathering it all together (collecting you might say  ) for around 15 years or so,  so a good amount of it might be a bit on the dusty side.

[StandupPaul]

I end up changing mind once every year / 15 months or so.

Rega players are nice, but changing the cartridge is a right pain in the ass.

[Eoin McLove]

Jesus,  that's a commitment.  Is it expensive to change them?

[Goatlord]

I changed mine last about 14 mths ago - probably look at it in a couple of months again - the elys 2 was £120 the last time, though you can get your old one refurbished for around £80 where the housing stays the same.They can start from as little as £29 up to £1000+

[Eoin McLove]

Fuck me.  I might just get one in Lidl instead