The Rega Aethos integrated amplifier was long awaited to complete the British manufacturer's range. Indeed, there were no amplifiers between the Elicit R and the famous Osiris R, so it lacked!
REGA AETHOS: CASE
The Aethos stereo amplifier is presented in a beautiful custom-designed solid aluminum cabinet.
The handling is surprising because, despite its reasonable size, it weights no less than 17.5 kg! The rigidity of the case and its anti-resonant aspect are not in doubt.
REGA AETHOS: FRONT PANEL
The front panel has a large, traditional volume knob and 3 elegant small circular buttons. The first allows you to control the monitoring during a recording, the second button activates the Mute and the third one selects the source.
Rega has added an excellent headphone output. It has been integrated in such a way that the speakers are switched by a discrete output relay, in order not to degrade the audio signal and thus maintain the sound quality.
REGA AETHOS: BACK PANEL
At the back of the device, there are 5 analogue inputs (RCA): one Tape input and output, one Pre-out and one Power In. As always, a single speaker output on gold-plated terminal block accepts banana plugs, forks or bare wire (the latter is not recommended).
Note that Rega has not equipped this Aethos integrated amplifier with a phono input. Which is a good thing, because at this level of quality, a separate phono preamplifier is naturally required. Of course, the manufacturer recommends the Rega Aria phono preamplifier or the superb Rega Aura Reference MC.
REGA AETHOS: CIRCUIT
By removing the cover of this Aethos amplifier, we find in the center of the circuit a huge toroidal transformer. To provide the 156 W per channel at 6 Ω, and even 160 W at 16 A per channel, Rega uses four "Sanken" output transistors per channel. The Aethos is well designed in double mono.
The amplifier, drive and pre-amplifier stages receive different regulated power supplies.
Note that the preamplifier stages use only Class A polarized discrete circuits (FET).
The Rega Aethos is beautifully built and the quality of the components used (polypropylene capacitors, K-Power supply capacitors) gives confidence in terms of reliability.
REGA AETHOS: TEST AND LISTENING
Since the very first notes, we are surprised by the dynamic, punch and articulation of this Rega Aethos!
The bass is well controlled and has an outstanding articulation. The timbres enable matter and realism.
However, the transparency and definition are not sacrificed at all. On the contrary, this Rega amplifier does not hide any detail and highlights all the recording subtleties.
The top of the spectrum is luminous, without aggression. The Rega Aethos can be associated with a variety of Hi-Fi speakers, even models that are difficult to drive and are worth twice the price.
The Rega Aethos integrated amplifier has been designed without compromise to reproduce music as accurately as possible. It will undoubtedly delight the British brand's aficionados. But not only, because its musicality and neutrality will make it a first choice for music lovers who want an uncompromising integrated amplifier exclusively dedicated to music.
A great success! Congrats to Roy Gandy and his team!
Our favorite!
AWARDS:
What Hi-Fi - Best Amplifier 2020
Hi-Fi Choice - Recommended - 2019
Stereo+ - Product Of The Year 2019
The-Ear.net - Best Product – 2019
FranckRMS power at 8 ohms: 125 W RMS
RMS power at 6 ohms: 156 W RMS
Headphone output: 32 Ω 2,7 V, 54 Ω 4 V, 300 Ω 9 V
Preamp output level: 840 mV
Preamp output impedance: 100 Ω
Input sensitivity: 224 mV @ 17 kΩ
Power amplifier gain: 31.6 dB
Frequency response: 10 Hz (-0.8 dB point) at 50 kHz (-0.5 dB point)
Distortion: 0.007% to 1 kHz
Max. power consumption: 415 W
Fuses: T5 AL 250 V
Dimensions: 433 x 95 x 360 mm
Weight: 17.5 kg
