Rega Aethos £2999
The Rega Aethos leans heavily on the electronic principles already established in the company’s existing line-up – which simply goes to show its outstanding work with stereo integrated amplifiers. Familiar themes there may be, but there’s a lot of fresh work under that brooding exterior. Given it has a power output of 125W per channel into 8 ohms, you might want to think of it as an Elicit-r turned up to 11.
The Aethos is hardly feature-packed, but if you’re happy with line-level analogue connectivity, there’s more than enough here. It has five line-level inputs, a 6.3mm headphone output, a preamp out, a direct input into the power amp section that bypasses the volume control, and that rare thing, a tape loop. But those looking for digital inputs, Bluetooth connectivity, or even a phono stage will need to look elsewhere.
Build quality is impressive. The chunky styling of the new casework may not be to all tastes but it certainly feels rock solid and inspires confidence.
There’s all the verve of Rega’s established affordable integrateds here, plus a huge dose of extra clarity, precision and muscle. Dvořák’s New World Symphony is delivered with all the authority we would expect, sounding unstressed even when pushed to high levels and uncovering an impressive amount of detail. All that information is tightly knit in a cohesive and convincing way, making the overall presentation impressively clean and forthright.
We also play Laurie Anderson’s My Right Eye, where the Rega’s enthusiasm with rhythms and its impressive punch come to the fore.
Naim’s Supernait 3 ran this Rega close here, but it costs £500 more. Whichever you prefer, the Aethos is a terrific proposition and has to be heard.