The Rega IO, small but feisty.
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When the IO came in I was excited, as a fan of pretty much every Rega product I’ve heard so far, I couldn't wait to hear what their newest toy could do. With a Planar 2, Apollo CD and a pair of Quad S1 speakers to complement it, I grabbed some of my favourite albums and made myself comfy.
I thought that I should do a comparison with the Brio. I’ll be honest, this is where you can see why the Brio is more expensive, because just like Liam Hemsworth it just can’t quite compare with it’s older and bulkier brother.
The sound stage was smaller, bass notes were more muddy, harmonies blended together and the music overall just felt less alive. It had been a couple of hours by this point and after my fourth listen of Black Magic Woman by Fleetwood Mac I was ready to give up, was I just expecting too much? I left to have some food and after returning less hangry and fully hydrated, I had the bright idea to stop comparing it.
This is when the IO truly came to life, now that I wasn’t swapping everything over every thirty seconds the minor grievances I was listening so hard for faded away. The pure joy that comes from listening to tracks, like Lazing on a Sunday Afternoon by Queen, as it’s allowed to flaunt it’s short but sweet bubbliness, had me tapping my feet and singing along. The IO may not sound technically perfect but it has plenty of character that shines through once you give it the opportunity, voices are clear and if you close your eyes you can pinpoint each individual aspect of most tracks.
The explosion of colour and flavour that poured out of Michael Jackson’s P.Y.T caught me off guard, I couldn’t understand how such a small piece of hardware could produce such personality, reminds me of a joke relating to the importance of size, but it escapes me. With it being an analog amp there is no messing about with internet connections and apps. You simply put it down, plug it in and play until the cows come home, or at least until you get told to turn it down, it just works.
This diminutive, 3kg integrated amp has an output of 30 watts into 8 Ohms with 3 analogue inputs and a 3.5 mini jack for headphone users. The inputs include a MM phono, which is of great quality as per usual with other Rega amps, and two line level inputs. Build quality feels generally solid plus it’s small size and economical design means it will fit into any setup quite happily. Overall the IO will not disappoint and is well worth it’s £379 price point, if you are new to hi-fi and looking for an affordable entry point or looking for a smaller secondary system.
