Specs & Pricing

Rega Brio 3 Integrated Amplifier,
R3 Loudspeaker, and Apollo CD Player
Start Me Up
The dynamic interplay of the two guitarists
was fascinating, with plenty of inner detail,
and the rhythmic drive of their backing
percussionists was compelling.
Junior Brown’s bass-baritone had plenty
of heft in “Darlin’ I’ll Do Anything You Say,”
from Semi Crazy [MCG/Curb], but I couldn’t
crank the volume up loud enough to really
meld with “Surf Medley,” his instrumental
tour de force. That was also the case with
the Dixie Chicks. “Landslide” on Home
[Monument] was a vocal delight, the Chicks’
voices a perfect combination of individual
differentiation and group harmonizing, but
songs that demand to be played really loud,
like “Tonight The Heartache’s on Me,” from
Dixie Chicks [Monument], got too screechy
to be enjoyable. But that may have been
expecting too much; hard-driving, bassheavy
rock, pop, and country aren’t really
suitable for small systems in small rooms.
Other, less dynamically demanding
material was totally enjoyable— for example,
check out Kitty Margolis’ wry cover of the
Pink Floyd classic “Money,” on Left Coast Live
[Mad Kat]. Her smoky contralto floated over
Scott Steed’s jazzy, urbane bass lines. The
ability of these little speakers to articulate
and define low-frequency instrumentals was
really quite amazing, provided I didn’t try to
push them out of their comfort zone.
What was most impressive was the R3’s
talent for defining the essential character
of singers and instruments. In the operatic
aria “Ebben No andro fontano” from
Catalani’s La Wally, from Diva! A Soprano at
the Movies [Silva America], Lesley Garrett hits
all the right notes but somehow manages to
render the piece an academic exercise. By
contrast, Renée Fleming’s version on By
Request [Decca] infuses it with heartbreaking
emotion made all the more potent by her
rich honey-toned voice and superior mastery
of musical nuance.
The fact that this is evident from a pair
of lightweight loudspeakers says much
about their potential. The Rega R3 isn’t a
loudspeaker for everyone. It certainly won’t
perform optimally at filling large rooms with
heavy rock or symphonic music. Anyone
trying to do that will be disappointed. Those
whose tastes run toward chamber music, light
jazz, bluegrass, and acoustic country tunes
will derive a great deal of enjoyment from
the R3, especially if it’s set up in a bedroom
or study. It’s a stealthy playback solution for
polite recordings in small spaces.
The Apollo CD player and Brio 3
amplifier have wider applications, of course.
The amp should be perfectly at home
driving any reasonably sensitive loudspeaker
(89dB or better), and its input array will
accommodate the typical assortment of
sources owned by most music fans. The
inclusion of a real phonostage—not just a
line-level input labeled “phono” requiring
an outboard device—is a nice touch. The
CD player is one that should be considered
by any music fan valuing high performance
at an accessible price.
Even so, both pieces have a shortcoming
considering probable usage situations. That’s
the lack of a headphone jack. It’s not much
of a problem for the Apollo, but I can’t
imagine why it was excluded from the Brio
3. Including it wouldn’t add more than a few
dollars to the amp’s retail price, but would
contribute substantially to its versatility.
The Rega Apollo/Brio 3/R3 system is
worthy of consideration if you want an
unobtrusive system for a small space. The
Apollo CD player is clearly the system’s
crowning jewel, and is highly recommended.
The Brio 3 is a good-sounding, well-built
little amplifier at a reasonable price. The R3
loudspeakers can perform very well within
certain spatial and dynamic parameters.
I’d rate them excellent, very good, and
good, respectively. Music fans with studio
apartments and a budget in this niche should
give them a serious
audition. TAS
Specs &
Pricing
The Sound Organisation
11140 Petal Street, Suite 350
Dallas, Texas 75238
(972) 234-0182
rega.co.uk
soundorg.com
Apollo CD player
Single-disc top-loading CD player
Supported formats: Red Book CD, MP3, WMA
Outputs: Analog (RCA), coax, optical digital
Dimensions: 17.1" x 3.9" x 10.6"
Price: $995
Brio 3 integrated amplifier
Power: 49Wpc into 8 ohm; 64Wpc into 4 ohm
Inputs: Phono, CD, Tuner, Line, Tape
Outputs: 5-way binding posts
Dimensions: 17.1" x 3.9" x 10.6"
Price: $645
R3 loudspeaker
Three-way ported floorstander
Driver complement: 1" dome tweeter, 4"
paper midrange, 5" woofer
Sensitivity: 89dB
Frequency Response: N/A
Impedance: 6 ohms
Dimensions: 29.5" x 5" x 10.5"
Weight: 19.8 lbs.
Price: $845
Associated Equipment
Rega Planar 2 turntable w/Sumiko Blue Point
cartridge; Sony Vaio notebook computer and
Stereo link 1200 USB DAC; Chord “Siren”
interconnect and “Carnival Silver Plus”
speaker cable; Tributaries TX-700 power
conditioner
Footnote
Note to Rega: Please hire a copy editor. On page 4
of the R3 owner’s manual is a caution that bi-wiring
or bi-amping offers “no advantage.” On page 5, the
specifications say that the speaker can be bi-wired or
bi-amped, despite clear physical evidence that it has
only one pair of terminals. And, grumble grumble,
the Rega Web site doesn’t know the difference
between “it’s” and “its.”
December 2006 The Absolute Sound 31