The ultimate Rega HiFi package for analogue beginners
Essex-based Rega are renowned for their expertise in specialist HiFi equipment such as turntables, cartridges, amplifiers and loudspeakers and have been on an incredible journey since their inception in 1973 by founder Roy Gandy.
(Just watch our Rega factory tour!)
Their range of products at varying price points already makes the analogue world accessible in a financial sense - but with so much choice of individual audio components available, for the prospective first-time buyer of analogue, it can be hard to know where best to invest your money for the sweetest HiFi set up.
Well, Rega are about to change that.
The Bristol HiFi Show 2020 marked the reveal of their all-new, all-in-one HiFi package, consisting of a turntable, amplifier and bookshelf speakers for an attractive price of £999 - named System One.
Due late spring 2020, the System One package will consist of the brand new IO amplifier (£379 RRP) which is due for release at the same time, the newly designed Rega Kyte bookshelf speakers (£429 RRP) and the award-winning Planar 1 turntable (£249 RRP), our favourite entry level turntable of all time. You’ll even get 3m of speaker cable and a remote control thrown in so this is a truly plug and play package.
This is the first time in history that Rega have dipped their toes in all-in-one HiFi packages but it makes so much sense.
Rega are making it easy for the analogue beginner by creating a package where all components have been built to work together seamlessly, removing one of the biggest barriers to the analogue sector, fear of the unexpected.
Let’s have a more in-depth look at each component in the package:
Rega Kyte bookshelf speakers (£429 RRP)
Rega have put a more modern take on a pair of their classic 2-way loudspeakers.
Rega IO Amplifier (£379 RRP)
This wonderfully-designed compact amplifier with moving magnet phono stage is coming to the market in March / April 2020. It’s unobtrusive and has a breeze of famous Brio-R design and simplicity about it.
Don’t let the 30W per channel fool you, it’s immensely sweet-sounding and deeply impactful with the combination of the Kyte loudspeakers.
It even has 2 line ins so if you wanted the option of wiring a CD player or dare I say, a streamer to it, such as a Sonos Port or even Bluesound Node 2i for a choice of analogue or digital, you have it (but don’t tell Rega!).
What’s more, you’ve got a high quality headphone out socket too.
Rega Planar 1 Turntable (£249 RRP)
The Planar 1 is a turntable close to Rega’s hearts and their experience with higher end turntables such as the Planar 10 worth £3,600 have trickled down into this budget-friendly turntable.
Rega’s ambition with their turntables is to minimise the amount of vibration possible for the budget and materials used and the Planar 1 is a great example of high quality materials at an affordable price.
Featuring an ultra-low noise motor and their legendary Rega carbon cartridge, the Planar 1 is one of the best turntables that £249 can buy in our opinion.
View Rega Planar 1 Turntable
Verdict
Rega have taken everything they have learned from 50 years in the audio industry and applied it to the System One bundle, so your budget goes as far as possible.
Being an analogue system, you can enjoy your records for decades to come and can easily be upgraded, should you wish to get more advanced with your set up.
This is the perfect bundle for someone on a budget, who is not sure where to start with their analogue journey and we think this will become very popular indeed.
But this has got us thinking… is this just the start? Could be there a System Two featuring the Planar 2? We shall have to wait and see.
