rega xel

[schwantz34]

hi, anyone tried rega xel speakers?
ciao
s

[jandl100]

No, not tried them but I always fancied doings so after really enjoying 2 pairs of Rega Jura speakers.

They look sexy and feature transmission line bass loading - no-one here heard them?

[_D_S_J_R_]

I have

This was back in the dark ages where the fruitbox was in maximum fruity-bass mode and I think this had a definite bearing on the less than positive vibes these and the equivalent Royds (Abbots?) gave out.

I can say that the later NAOS speakers were excellent and unfairly ignored IMO!

[jandl100]

Effing Linn/naim flat earth - spoiled hifi for generations

[_D_S_J_R_]

Some of what we preached makes sense to me even now and let's face it, it sure shook things up a bit, even worldwide. Was Naim the first to abandon tone controls on the front panel (they had once-intrusive fixed internal filters instead)? Not sure, but source-direct switching soon came in worldwide before the simple tone correction in many amps was abandoned altogether, probably for cost reasons if truth be told.....

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Any filters in the signal or mains supply or crossover (active or passive) / speakers pollute the music - full stop!

Some like RIAA you have to accommodate and put up with, others you don't.

[_D_S_J_R_]

Any filters in the signal or mains supply or crossover (active or passive) / speakers pollute the music - full stop!

Some like RIAA you have to accommodate and put up with, others you don't.

Question... Had Naim not started the trend, or even been around, and you'd started NVA as it was, would you have made any inroads at all, or would there be outcry because your preamps were passive (despite Quad recommending the QED one with their power amps [oh yes they did:(]) and lacked any electronics/tone controls? Not relevant I know, but I wonder if the industry was moving in that direction in any case and Naim just accelerated it (they still had input and output buffers as well as output filters, so were still highly complex.

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

When NVA was launched the pre was active, but no tone controls. It was based on the circuit in the phono stages so I KNOW that the passive after the power amp mods is better. It may be that Muccus's butchered Croft is better, but at what cost. PLUS I really do not trust what Jason did at that listening session as at that time he wanted to use any method to damage NVA and me, it seems he may see more sense now.

To answer the question as to would it be filterless if it hadn't been for Naim, answer is, yes, as my home builds when I was working at AR were without tone controls or filters apart from RIAA.

[_D_S_J_R_]

Croft preamps are pretty neutral these days, but can add a little 'weight' to the proceedings, which is what Marco preferred I believe. You MUST get the volume levels exact to very tight tolerances to make a meaningful comparison, but this is never done when comparisons are made. Marco's preamp, which I haven't heard, compares favourably to a 25R, which I have at length. Like NVA at its best, it's the little things in the mix that come through so clearly, effortless listening - I love it

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

I just looked at the circuit of the old active pre-amp and if I made it again it would be about £600 with pot and £700 with stepped attenuator. That was the P50 (called P80) version, for a P90 active you would be looking at over £1000. Both would have to be two box affairs as I wouldn't put the power supply in the pre box - too much interference.

Interesting exercise that has convinced me I will not be producing an active pre-amp.