Rega Brio R Bake-Off

[Daniel Quinn]

I dont understand what you are saying

price is THE major differentiator . In capitalist economies It is the single most important consideration in any purchase from hifi to humous . Anybody and everybody asks firstly what can I afford and then what should i buy.

As an ampliifer purchaser what criteria other than price is more valid in my purchase !!!! and how can price be invalid ????

p.s - im not saying other factors arent involed , looks, customer service , brand loyalty, stupidity , ignorance etc , but these are secondary to price .

[r100]

Sorry if I was not clear..

But I think if you read through HiFi reviews, they will always say something like : "in this price category product X can't be beaten..." that is because in many cases, if they where honest, they would have to admit that a 10000£ amplifier is not that much better than a 2000£ amp. I mean it would have to be at least 5 times better. People go out and buy stuff like that because they are influenced by marketing or by some other kind of voodoo.

So if you only look at the price and what the marketing people say, you may well spend more than you should IMHO.

[r100]

As an ampliifer purchaser what criteria other than price is more valid in my purchase !!!! and how can price be invalid ????

The sound of the amp ? Not saying price is not valid, it is only part of the equation. You are right in the sense that price is a first filter if it is too high / off budget.

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

If I went the normal route to market through retailers my amps would be twice as much.

[Daniel Quinn]

Ah I see , like so many disputes we were debating a misunderstanding of meaning . :D

I wholly concur price is no guarantree of quality and there is a law of diminishing returns which most - if not all - magazines deliberately ignore . My point was that Ninininha is wrong to say comparing a £500 Nva amp with a rega brio is not a level playing field or like comparing apples with pears . it is [ level playing filed ] and It isnt [ apples/pears].

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Well magazines and retailers have screwed this industry for 40 years, between them they decided what would sell and what wouldn't not the customer, and we had no choice but to accept it. Now finally it is different but we still have people who want to stick to the old ways, but at least the net means you can find meaningful information as well as the old bullshit still trying to corrupt the new ways.

[r100]

comparing a £500 Nva amp with a rega brio is not a level playing field or like comparing apples with pears . it is [ level playing filed ] and It isnt [ apples/pears].

Absolutely, because the NVA would smoke it

no just joking.. i'm sure the Rega is not that bad

[r100]

If I went the normal route to market through retailers my amps would be twice as much.

If it where up to the marketing team, they would take the mono amps, re-package them into a 18 kg heavy aluminum / magnesium / fancy metal cases and sell them 6k each..

Then they would contact the magazines and stir-up a voodoo buzz.

Proof that the only pair you can trust is your ears.

[howardc1951]

Surely it will depend on what amp the Doc uses. An AP20 at £400 would show what a customer can get for £400 - direct marketing versus selling through dealerships and an AP10P at £310 would give a more accurate idea of how the Rega would compare if it was sold direct - of course that would only allow just over £100 for the dealer's margin.

[Dr Bunsen Honeydew]

Rega operate on lower margin than most as they think they have the name to hold the dealers to ransom, so an AP20 on Rega dealer margins would be just under £520. So that is what I would use.