Video: Rega io Review
Client Name
Living Entertainment
Date
June 2025
Category
Video
I always get excited when I spot something new, or at least new to me, in the budget amplifier space.
It’s an incredibly competitive field, and there are a lot of really cool and interesting things happening within it. But as someone who’s really focused on vinyl, there’s a particular niche within the budget amplifier space that I feel has been kind of ignored a little bit.
Enter Rega, and their integrated amplifier, the IO. While Rega might be new to me personally as an amplifier company, it's not a brand I'm unfamiliar with, having grown up in a Rega turntable household. That has me incredibly excited to see just what Rega is bringing to the budget integrated amplifier market.
The first thing you’re probably going to notice about the Rega IO is its form factor. This is not your traditional big-box stereo component. While the unit itself is roughly half the width of your average amplifier, it’s a little bit deeper. And I think, based on the layout of people’s homes and their lounge room space these days, that should give them more flexibility in terms of amplifier placement.
The second thing you’ll probably notice is just how simple the system’s interface is.
All you get is:
a power button
an input selector
a headphone jack (3.5 mm)
and a volume control
That’s it. Super clean and elegant. One little piece of branding I really like across all of Rega’s products is the fact that the power LED for the device is actually their logo.
This results in a device with an incredibly discreet footprint, both in terms of physical size and visual distraction. It’s all tied together with a very solid-feeling construction. While the device itself isn’t overly heavy, it does feel quite hefty and strong in the hands.
When it comes to specifications, the Rega IO is no slouch. Most impressively, it brings over the same power amplifier stage and phono stage as what’s found in its older brother, the Rega Brio.
And while we’re talking about this system punching above its weight, it also features Alps potentiometers in the volume control, which gives it a much more expensive feel than you’d expect in this price range. It’s got a very satisfying knob feel, especially for a budget product.
This is a Class AB design putting out around 30 watts into 8 ohms, so speaker pairing (which we’ll get to) is incredibly important.
Along with that fantastic phono stage, you also get two additional line-level inputs. In my case, I used one of them for a CD player. And lastly, there’s the 3.5 mm headphone jack on the front panel, which should be more than enough to drive most standard headphones.
As I mentioned, Rega is a brand I’m quite familiar with, but their amplifiers are something I’ve had zero experience with until now. So I had no real idea going in what type of speakers might pair well, or not so well, with this particular amp.
And my overall experience was quite mixed. What I found was this ended up being a fantastic exercise in system synergy. I tested four speakers, and when you get the combination right, it really does sound excellent. But the process of getting that combination right? Well, it’s not as simple as just grabbing a speaker off the shelf and plugging it in.
So unlike my previous speaker comparison reviews, I’m really only going to dwell on one particular speaker, the pairing that absolutely sold me. That said, I do think there are some notes worth mentioning about the other three.
The first two speakers I want to mention are the Wharfedale Diamond 12.0 and the Encel Gelati, as both had very similar characteristics when paired with the Rega IO. The treble was a little splashy, there wasn’t a whole lot of bass, but the midrange was excellent, lush, rich, and full of texture. Still, it wasn't enough to make up for the shortcomings in treble and bass.
Another speaker I paired with the amplifier was the Bowers & Wilkins 607 S3, and ironically, it gave me kind of the inverse experience. The treble was incredibly detailed, though not bright, it was actually quite rolled-off, but the imaging was fantastic, and there was a ton of bass. However, the midrange was incredibly thin. I don’t think I’ve ever described a midrange as “thin” before. Imagine vocals and guitars from your favorite track being buried by bass notes and higher frequencies. That’s what this sounded like, and I don’t think I’ve ever heard anything quite like it before.
So while I was impressed by the finer details in the highs and how deep the bass extended, it was missing the clarity in vocals and instruments like guitar that I really crave. That trade-off wasn’t worth it.
And that brings us to the last speaker I tested: the KEF Q150.
The Rega IO and KEF Q150 sounded fantastic, everything I could ever want in a budget setup. The midrange was thick, thicker than any of the other combinations. Listening to the Beastie Boys’ Make Some Noise, it felt like the Beastie Boys were popping right out of the front of the mix, right in your face. I was genuinely surprised by the depth of the soundstage with these two components together. There was a nice texture in instruments like guitars and harmonicas and an organic quality to the vocals. Overall, it was a really smooth experience.
Treble? Lots of detail, easily as much as the Bowers & Wilkins. Listening to Gorillaz’ Strange Timez, there were so many little details that just came flooding out of the speakers, details that weren’t there in the other pairings. It really made the music sound alive, satisfying, and fun. It gave it a sense of zest and bounce that was easy to appreciate.
Bass was impressive too, deep, bold, with great impact and follow-through. Listening to Boards of Canada’s Peacock Tail, the room was full, but it never sounded bloated or sluggish. It felt all-encompassing and cohesive.
Listening to Spokey Dokey by Seatbelts, there was a lovely decay on instruments like harmonica and slide guitar, and a richness to how it was presented in front of you. In terms of soundstage width and imaging, this combination had everything I wanted from a speaker pairing with this amplifier. It even revealed little qualities I didn’t get from my previous KEF Q150 pairing with the Rotel A8, like that sense of decay, which was completely absent before. And yet, it still retained some of the things I liked about the Rotel pairing, such as a little bit of soundstage height, which you don’t normally get in budget setups.
Now, obviously I haven’t listened to every bookshelf speaker with the Rega IO, but based on my experience with this particular combination, it’s hard to imagine anything sounding better, at least to my own personal taste. It had everything I could want out of a budget combo, without the usual compromises that come with working in this price range.
I would absolutely recommend this amplifier with the KEF Q150—no ifs or buts. It’s a brilliant-sounding system. And while I haven’t listened to them myself, I’m sure Rega’s Kyte bookshelf speakers also sound quite excellent with this amp, given that they were likely engineered and tested together.
Generally speaking, discoveries like this are why I love what I do so much, it’s a fun part of experiencing and living hi-fi.
