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Post by MartinT on Mar 20, 2016 17:23:15 GMT
Don't know much about it, and will be intrigued as to how they arrived at an apparently non-intuitive design, but the Naiad is coming soon. Described in this month's Stereophile, it is expected to cost around £30,000. At that price, it really had better be a bit special. Carbon fibre chassis. Belt drive, which I find somewhat disappointing in such a high end turntable.  |
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Post by MikeMusic on Mar 20, 2016 17:43:13 GMT
It's a Rega so I assume it must be some good even though it doesn't look much to me
£30,000 will have a few rich punters buying just because of the price
Seems way out of the norm for Rega
Like to hear what people say when they hear it playing especially when Rega already have the very good Isis CD player to compete with
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Post by julesd68 on Mar 20, 2016 18:30:59 GMT
Sure it will be nice when it's finished...  |
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Post by dsjr on Mar 20, 2016 18:51:36 GMT
Total madness - Rega just don't have the brand cachet for this kind of stuff and anyway, Wilson Benesch were mucking about with carbon Fibre twenty years ago... Rega introduced a rather nice pair of an amp and CD player for six grand each. They didn't sell in the UK, despite extra dealers being added to sell them (I believe a bad decision as they became less exclusive). It's my information that most of these dealers couldn't sell the stuff (great quality of sound be damned), so much of it was flogged off at half price around eighteen months after launch. The fact that both CD players AND the amp were far more capable than anything Naim made at double the price (IME) was irrelevant, the brand cachet just wasn't there, in the UK at least. Hell, the original 'New Elicit' failed as well, although the current Elicit R seems to be more refined. This thing looks too much like a Funk deck to be honest and two RP8 owners I know, sold theirs because of the noise transmitted into the stylus by the double belt drive  |
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Post by MartinT on Mar 20, 2016 18:55:54 GMT
Wilson Benesch were mucking about with carbon Fibre twenty years ago... Yes, and look at what they managed. Their speakers sound utter pants, the lot of them. |
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Post by dsjr on Mar 20, 2016 19:01:59 GMT
That's the inadequate drive units with a nasty peak at 1k or so and no power handling, even in the Bishop model, silver plated internal wires and no crossover to speak of. Oh yes, a dependence on vinyl sources and in the factory I remember, a huge pair of Classe? Class A mono blocks (huge as I remember) which possibly had a more mellow tone. If they'd been given the 'tune dem' before designing their speaker products, I think they could have turned out alright. Looks as though they still haven't...
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2016 19:02:01 GMT
I just don't see the value. Knock off a zero and I still don't.
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Post by John on Mar 20, 2016 19:07:29 GMT
At that price point its competing against some very big boys
As for WB speakers I had a pair once and was happy to get rid of them yuk....I heard the TT a few times and did not really like it either
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Post by Slinger on Mar 20, 2016 23:22:11 GMT
In Greek mythology Naiads were (female) water nymphs associated with fountains, springs, wells, streams etc. and other bodies of fresh water. I wonder if the drive belt has to be attached to a water-wheel? |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 20, 2016 23:27:02 GMT
Nothing wrong with Rega but I doubt I would spend that sort of money on their equipment even if I had it. I particularly like Clearaudio and if I were to be spending that much I am sure they have a few in their range that would suit  |
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Post by Greg on Mar 20, 2016 23:52:09 GMT
£30,000? Surely not. Is that a typo wherever applied? £3,000 seems more realistic, but for me, considering belt drive and that arm, a price well too far.
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Post by shuggie on Mar 21, 2016 7:43:11 GMT
Good luck to Rega, and thank God that a British company has the confidence to invest significantly into proper research and development. The price reflects the cost of that development, and I hope they sell enough to recover those costs. Living Voice have managed to shift many more full sets of Vox Olympian speakers than forum folk generally assume, so there's no reason why this should not do well enough.
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Post by MikeMusic on Mar 21, 2016 8:54:10 GMT
The Osiris and the Isis were a big step up in price
Maybe they want more of that end of the market
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2016 15:18:35 GMT
The Osiris and the Isis were a big step up in price Maybe they want more of that end of the market Agreed but a still £30,000 is a further huge step up in price... maybe they are trying to do what Naim have done with their Statement amps... although to be fair I think that hasn't worked out quite how they thought or wanted it too. |
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Post by MikeMusic on Mar 21, 2016 15:23:54 GMT
Dunno
Could be a very clever marketing thing with the Osiris and Isis the first step
One box at £30,000 must make way more for them than their usual price range
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2016 15:25:27 GMT
Totally - very interesting indeed.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2016 15:28:58 GMT
Good luck to Rega, and thank God that a British company has the confidence to invest significantly into proper research and development. The price reflects the cost of that development, and I hope they sell enough to recover those costs. Living Voice have managed to shift many more full sets of Vox Olympian speakers than forum folk generally assume, so there's no reason why this should not do well enough. On the contrary they deserve to fail. Just look at the £20-30K TT market. Equipment needs to look the part as well as provide SQ benefits. I doubt this design will see off the competition on sound alone. Rega should research their market better. I doubt there is much extra R&D in this over the P8/10 as it just replaces the light sandwich material with carbon fibre likely for even further reduction in weight with better rigidity. Carbon fibre constructions of this type are not that expensive to produce these days. This would be similar to a racing bike frame (£600).  This Kronos TT sells for a similar price to the Rega. Some think it's as good as the Continuum Caliburn. |
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Post by Deleted on Mar 21, 2016 16:51:46 GMT
IT actually looks less for the money than a P10 and I think that will be a problem marketing it. Forgetting about the price for now, it's an interesting conundrum: What do you do if the best sound comes from less rather than more? Do you add loads of extra mass, bling and perceived value, or do you go minimalist?
As hard as I try, it's hard to imagine spending more for a Naiad than I could get a Kronos or similar for. I think many will feel the same.
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Post by shuggie on Mar 21, 2016 17:22:36 GMT
Good luck to Rega, and thank God that a British company has the confidence to invest significantly into proper research and development. The price reflects the cost of that development, and I hope they sell enough to recover those costs. Living Voice have managed to shift many more full sets of Vox Olympian speakers than forum folk generally assume, so there's no reason why this should not do well enough. On the contrary they deserve to fail. Just look at the £20-30K TT market. Equipment needs to look the part as well as provide SQ benefits. I doubt this design will see off the competition on sound alone. Rega should research their market better. I doubt there is much extra R&D in this over the P8/10 as it just replaces the light sandwich material with carbon fibre likely for even further reduction in weight with better rigidity. Carbon fibre constructions of this type are not that expensive to produce these days. This would be similar to a racing bike frame (£600). This Kronos TT sells for a similar price to the Rega. Some think it's as good as the Continuum Caliburn. Deserve to fail? That's a bit strong. I thought that this was a harmless hobby! That aside, I applaud Rega for pushing the boundaries of material science like this. The costs of pursuing this little experiment must be massive, and maybe the benefits will trickle down to more affordable kit. Rega state that they have thrown away loads of ruinously expensive ceramic bearing prototypes trying to get this right and I'm happy to take their word for it. Ultimately this is all about performance, price and value. Someone who can afford the Naiad will have a different notion of value than you do; and there's nothing wrong with that. Just like there's nothing wrong with someone owning, or wanting to own, a £30k wristwatch. I'm happy with a 1963 Omega, but that doesn't stop me from admiring cutting edge design even if I can never afford it. The same might be said of any number of cars. As for the Kronos pictured above, it clearly presents a lot of product to match its price tag (and is presumably intended to look 'expensive'), but I very much doubt that there are any clever, cutting-edge materials in it. Bulk and two platters don't necessarily make a great performing record player. It might actually be very good, but it's not my taste. Neither are the TechDAS turntables to my taste, but they sell and who am I to sneer? How about celebrating a flagship, innovative product from a successful UK manufacturing company that still makes stuff here, and employs people here to do it? You don't have to like it, or buy it, but maybe Rega know a thing or two about their business, and how to remain in business, to the benefit of the UK as a whole. |
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Post by dsjr on Mar 21, 2016 18:35:46 GMT
What bothers me in operational terms is the tiny hub and adjacent motor using multiple belts to maintain torque. The RP8 hasn't proved the quietest deck (through the speakers) and two friends of mine sold theirs, one for a lightly tweaked techie, with which he's delighted and the other via a roundabout way, is happy with his 'third' RP1, which is a super little cheap deck and sells well accordingly.
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