Rega Isis CD Player and Osiris Integrated Amplifier

EQUIPMENT REPORT
Rega Isis CD Player and
Osiris Integrated Amplifier
British Exceptionalism
Chris Martens
he Isis CD player and Osiris integrated amplifier ($8995
each) are, by a very wide margin, the most ambitious
audio components ever produced by the British firm Rega
Research, and as such they represent what some might consider
a radical departure from the firm's past offerings. After all,
most Rega products have been mid-priced overachievers-not
premium-priced components looking to storm the gates of highend audio. Since past performance is often the best indicator of a
company's future behavior, the Isis and Osiris raise an inevitable
question: Does Rega reallY have what it takes to be a player in
high-end audio's top-tier?
To be perfectly candid, I came upon this review full of
skepticism and doubt, not because I haven't found past Rega
products good (many I've tried have been very good), but rather
because I am aware that in the high end of high-end audio,
"good" just isn't good enough . It also does not help that many
T
76 May/June 2011 thaab80lutBsound
mid-tier manufacturers have previously tried and failed to take
this quantum step upward. The problem, more often than not, is
that aspiring mid-tier players who aim high but fall short largely do
so because they end up producing expensive and exceptionally
well-built components that still sound pretty much like wellexecuted pieces of mid-tier equipment. What's often missing, I
think, is the kind of breathtaking, extraordinary, stop-listenersin-their-tracks sound quality that is the hallmark of all true toptier components.
Let me begin this review by telling you that, over the months
they have been in my reference system, Rega's Isis and Osiris have
proven time and again that they are no mere wannabes. On tl1e
contrary, they've convinced me they are in every way the genuine
articles, and are-believe it or not-legitimate contenders for
creme de fa creme honors in their price range. The sound quality of
Rega's flagship components require no apologies. While some
EQU IPM ENT REPORT - Rega Isis CD Playe r and Os iris Integrated Amplifier
have questioned whether Rega has abandoned its value-oriented
roots or simply over-reached by building the Isis and Osiris, I see
the pair as marking a point of redefinition or rebirth for Rega,
so that all that has come before from the firm has been merely
a prelude. In short, the Isis and Osiris show what those plucky
and creative Brits can reallY do when they pull out all the stops,
flex their design muscles, and embrace the concept of British
exceptionalism (a term that really does apply here).
In a moment I'll discuss the qualities that make the sound of
the Isis and Osiris exceptional, but first let me explain some of
their key construction details.
Inside Rega's Isis and Osiris
The Isis is the Rega's seventh-generation CD player design, and
it leverages all that the fIrm has learned in creating its fIrst six
generations of players. Modest to a fault, Rega characterizes the
Isis as more an evolutionary than revolutionary design, though in
practice it sounds dramatically different and better than previous
Rega players.
Differences begin with the Isis' chassis, whose panels are
precision C C-milled from thick slabs of aluminum, then
bolted together to form a beefy, vibration-resistant platform for
the components within. Like all Rega CD players, the Isis is a
top-loader, but one whose drive motor and laser/lens assemblies
have been rigorously hand-selected and "blueprinted." Unlike
many top-loaders, the Isis doesn't use any sort of weighted
puck to clamp discs to its motor spindle; instead, the motor is
fItted with a precisely machined combination spindle/ball-chuck
mechanism that locks CD firmly in place (meaning you'll hear a
soft, reassuring "click" as you snap CD's into position).
Component-parts-matching for the Isis is extremely selective
so that Rega actually chooses three hand-matched sets of laser/
lens assemblies for each unit; one set gets installed in the player
you buy, while the other two are marked and held in reserve at
the factory for use as spares should your player ever require them.
The drive mechanism and laser/lens assembly is controlled by a
custom CD control chipset and software developed specifIcally
for Rega by a British partner, with two objectives in mind. First,
the Isis is set up to "test-read" each CD and then to adjust and
optimize its laser/ lens positioning algorithms to match the
specifIc characteristics of the disc (meaning that laser positioning
is fIne-tuned on a disc-by-disc basis) .
Rega says this process means the Isis "will often play discs with
marks or scratches that other players cannot read." Second, the
CD chip-set includes an unusually large 20MB data buffer, which
CD control software leverages to allow extra time for an extremely
powerful 32-bit DSP engine to run extensive error-detection/
correction algorithms, to help clean up digital audio data before
passing it along to the Isis' DACs. Rega contends that, "previous
chipsets always made compromises on error correction," so that
it was " possible of have good jog resistance or better musical
performance." But with the Isis CD control chip-set, Rega claims
it is now possible to optimize both at once.
The Isis also uses a proprietary, high-precision phase-locked
loop master clock and feeds data to a pair of Burr Brown PCM1794
DACs "running in a parallel dual-mono mode," which in turn
drive "a high performance discrete Class A current-to-voltage
amplifIer"-an amplifIcation stage that Rega says is critical to
78 May/June 2011 tfJeebsolutelllund
the Isis' overall sound. Circuitry for this current-to-voltage stage
draws upon the circuit topology of Rega's los phonostage-an
extremely low-noise/low-distortion circuit geared for use with
low-output moving-coil phono cartridges. The current-tovoltage stage then drives "an enhanced discrete Class A output
amplifIer," which offers a circuit that is "fully balanced from
the digital-to-analog converters to the balanced XLR outputs."
The Isis also provides single-ended analog outputs, along with
To sLink and coaxial S/ PDIF digital outputs.
Rega has left no stone unturned in its quest for higher
performance with the Isis, paying close attention even to
seemingly minor details such as the physical composition of the
unit's printed circuit boards, or striving to reduce noise between
digital and analog sections of the player through the use of "RF
ground-plane techniques." Similarly, the Isis provides not one
but three dedicated power supplies: one for the player's digital
audio section, another for its analog section, and a third for its
CD control chipset and front panel display. Moreover, both the
digital and analog power supplies have their own dedicated 50VA
mains transformers (so that the supplies are galvanically isolated
from one another), with each supply featuring 10 separate
power supply regulators. Finally, in support of computer audio
enthusiasts, the Isis provides a "double-clocked USB interface"
that is-you guessed it- fed by a dedicated power supply that is
galvanically isolated "from the main circuitry of the Isis player."
Finally, recognizing that execution details count for a lot in
the upper tier, the Isis comes packed in a sturdy wooden transit
crate, and is supplied with an extremely high-quality power
cable, plus a set of Rega-branded, Klotz-manufactured, Neutrik
connector-equipped Couple interconnect cables. Also in keeping
with its upscale mission profIle, the Isis includes one of the most
beautifully made and intuitively organized remote controls I have
ever seen (the outer case of the remote is milled from two blocks
of aluminum).
T he Osiris, in rum, is a deceptively compact-looking beast of
an integrated amp, weighing in at a beefy 56.4 pounds. Like the
Isis, the Osiris features a heavily built chassis whose panels have
been CNC-milled from aluminum billet, with the left and right
chassis panels each protecting banks of heat sinks that run along
the side of the amp from front to rear.
Rega describes the Osiris as a "super-high-performance dualmono amplifIer" that has been designed "around a 'minimalist'
high-gain power amplifIer and 'passive preamplifIer' circ~t
topology"-a topology in which there is only "a passive volume
control and a single stage of power amplifIcation between the
input and speaker (ensuring the signal path remains as short
and clean as possible)." The passive volume control is an ultrahigh-quality motorized Alps Blue Velvet potentiometer that is
dead quiet and silky smooth in operation. The high-gain power
amplifIer, in turn, uses "a fully symmetrical circuit throughout
and low-distortion, high-linearity-and-bandwidth, common-base
voltage-amplifIer driver stage," said to enable the Osiris "to drive
any speaker system with the minimum of distortion." The Osiris
employs "eight Sanken 200-watt output transistors . . . in a 'triple'
high-current output stage enabling the Osiris to drive even the
most awkward of speaker systems with ease."
The signal path of the Osiris uses extremely high-quality
capacitors (e.g., Nichicon audio-grade capacitors and Mundorf
EQU IPM ENT REPORT - Rega Isis CD Player and Osiris Integrated Amplifier
Mcap polypropylene capacitors) and other premium components,
while the amp's "open and closed loop feedback levels and gain
bandwidth product components are optimized to give a tight and
controlled sound stage, especially at the low-frequency end of
the audio range."
As with the Isis, Rega has taken great pains with the Osiris'
dual power supplies, each of which features a 400A toroidal
transformer, fast-recovery rectifier diodes, and "40,OOOf.lF of
Rega K-Power smoothing capacitors per channeL" The resulting
power supplies are said to provide "more than enough current
to drive the hardest of loads." Input and low-level driver stages
of the amplifier are "fed from a regulated symmetrical-tracking
power supply with a low-noise voltage reference, which provides
a fully stabilized low-noise voltage, ensuring the highest sonic
purity." Also with an eye toward further maximizing purity,
the Osiris is configured so that "all the dedicated audio power
supplies feed onlY the audio circuits," (italics are mine), whereas
the amp's "input switch relays, front-panel display and microcontroller, and protection circuits have their own dedicated
power supplies."
The Osiris provides one fully balanced analog audio input,
which, interestingly, uses a transformer in place of a traditional
"electronically balanced input circuit," with the transformer built
to the same low-noise/low-distortion standards as the one used
in the firm's los moving-coil phonostage.
Like the Isis, the Osiris comes packed in a wooden crate,
is supplied with a high-quality power cord, and comes with a
beautiful, heavily built remote. One thoughtful detail touch is
that the Osiris remote not only can control the amp, but also
provides d1e essential controls necessary to run the Isis.
In Egyptian mythology, Osiris was not only regarded as the
god of the underworld, but also-more importandy-as the
god who grants life and rebirth. How appropriate, then, that
Rega chose this name for what has proven to be one of the
most expressive and dynamically lifelike amps I've ever heard,
regardless of price. The perceived excellence of the Osiris
hinges on three key characteristics: expressive dynamics, threedimensional soundstaging, and superb delineation of low-level
details. Let's talk about each of these in turn.
First, the Osiris handles both macro- and micro-shifts in
dynamic emphasis more effectively than any integrated amp (and
most separates) I've heard-including some offering more than
three times the raw power output of the Osiris. But perhaps this
is because there is nothing "raw" about the manner in which
the Osiris delivers power to answer the needs of the music. For
starters, it does a stunning job of handling finely graduated shades
of dynamic contrasts both within and between musical phrases.
In practice, this means the listener might at one moment enjoy
how suave and nuanced the Osiris sounds when playing quiedy,
only to be stunned the next moment by the amp's turn-on-a-dime
ability to explode into fast-breaking, large-scale musical swells. It
isn't that the Osiris sounds powerful or can play loudly without
compression (although it does both); it is the almost shocking
combination of subdety and speed with which it delivers energy
on demand that sets it apart.
For compelling examples of these qualities in action, try
listening to the middle movement (Scherzo: Kraftig, nicht zu
schnell) of Mahler's Symphony No. 5 (Michael Tilson-Thomas/
80 May/June 2011 IfIB Bbsolutelllund
San Francisco Symphony, hybrid SACD) through the Osiris.
The movement is a study in contrasts, emphasizing through its
various twists and turns both lilting and gendy modulated string,
woodwind, and percussion passages, yet also abrupdy shifting
gears to present violent, volcanic brass and low percussion
section eruptions. What makes the Osiris so impressive is that it
is perfecdy at ease with both sets of musical demands, gracefully
revealing almost subliminal string section modulations in one
moment, then fiercely uncoiling to hammer home bass drum
"thwacks" or blistering brass-section fortissimos in the next.
Unlike some of the passive preamp/ active power amp combos
I've heard, the Osiris never quashes low-level dynamic information,
Over the months that the Rega
Iris and Osiris have been in my
system they've proven to me
that they're not mere wannabesthey're the genuine articles.
but rather seems to hold an abundant supply of gain in reserve.
As a result, Osiris differentiates itself from many competitors
through its uncanny ability to faithfully track the exact shape of a
given instrument's dynamic envelope-enabling listeners to hear
precisely how and when energy is released as notes are launched,
allowed to sustain, and d1en to decay into silence. Because of
its sheer dynamic realism, the Osiris tends to sound markedly
more expressive and alive than many competing amps do-in a
sense making competitors sound as if a compressor has subdy
throtded their outputs. What the Osiris forcefully demonstrates
is that sonic "detail" is not purely a matter of focus, resolution,
and textural acuity (though the Osiris delivers those important
qualities too), but also depends upon dynamic realism.
If, for example, you put on recordings of blues artists Albert
Collins or Stevie Ray Vaughan playing their signature electric
guitars (Collins on a Fender Telecaster and Vaughan on his famous
Stratocaster), the Osiris will clearly show that the instruments
differ significandy in the ways they attack and sustain notes.
When Collins plays a lead line played on the bridge pickup of
his Tele, the notes have a certain fierce, penetrating, fast-rising,
and almost percussive quality that cuts through the mix in an
unmistakable way. In constrast, Vaughan's Strat is not quite so
fierce-sounding at the onset of a note, but it typically exhibits a
more full-bodied "singing" tonality, with notes that sustain a bit
longer and decay more gradually. The Osiris makes distinctions
like these easy-and then essential-for listeners to grasp.
The Osiris proved, too, to be a brilliant sounds tager, and though
perhaps not quite as good in this respect as the very expensive
ASR Emitter II amp I once heard at Harry Pearson's home, it was
still exceptionally good in its own right. When substituting the
Osiris in my system, the effect was that of hearing soundstages
stretch and expand dramatically in depth and especially width,
and with this increase in stage size came a more realistic sense
of the performers' positions upon the stage. By this I do not
mean to suggest that imaging sp.ecificity became unnaturally
"hyper-focused" (a high-end phenomenon that, while admittedly
EQUIPMENT REPORT - Rega Isis CD Player and Osiris Integ rat ed Amplifier
fascinating and appealing in its way, really doesn't sound much
like live music does). Instead, I mean that on good recordings the
Osiris conveyed a sense of acrual performers interacting within
real spaces, so that I could not only tell where performers were
on stage, but could also hear their instruments' playing off of
nearby reflective surfaces, and so on. Similarly, ·the Osiris makes
child's play of exposing the differences between real acoustic
reverberations and reflections vs. electronic effects applied in the
srudio in an effort to simulate reverberations.
In practice, I found the Osiris let most speakers (acrually
all of the speakers I've tried with the amp thus far) produce
more focused images and more holographic soundstages than
I experienced when powering the speakers by competing amps.
With lesser amps, I found, "soundstaging" seemed to take
the form of building up layered stacks or "sheets" of sonic
information-almost as if you were to place a series of colored
transparencies on top of one another. While this approach does
provide multiple "layers" of information and conveys foreand-aft depth to some degree, the problem is that each layer of
information, taken in isolation, seems more or less flat. But in
contrast, the Osiris (and the Isis, too) presents soundstage depth
and width information in (to borrow Harry Pearson's famous
phrase) a much more continuous way, so that you sense the
scale of individual instruments and the general shape, size, and
acoustic properties of the recording spaces in which they play.
All of this may be a roundabout way of observing that the
Osiris and Isis both do a phenomenally good job of reproducing
low-level sonic details, in the process giving the listener a much
more vivid and believable sense of the music's texrural, timbral,
transient, and especially spatial content. And as we'll see in a
moment, natural-sounding detail is a shared strength of both the
Osiris amp and Isis CD player.
Isis: Goddess of Nature and Magic
Turning again to Egyptian mythology, we see that Isis was not
only the wife of Osiris, but also regarded as the goddess of nature
and magic-two qualities that help define the singular appeal of
Rega's Isis CD player. And just as there was synergy between the
mythological Isis and Osiris, there is realll)agic in the pairing of
the Isis player with its companion Osiris amp.
Let's begin my noting that while both the Isis and Osiris
reproduce low-level sonic information in an effordess way, they
definitely do not wear resolving power on their sleeves like highend audio "badges of honor." Instead, both components render
event the subdest and most fine-grained musical details in a
refreshingly smooth and narural-sounding way. Sadly, some audio
journalists have mistaken the Isis' and Osiris' eminendy natural
presentation for a certain lack of focus or definition, which is
simply not the case. Depending upon the material you choose to
play, these Rega components can and often do deliver a tighdy
focused sound with razor-sharp definition, conveying tons of
low-level information in the process. But the key, here, is that
they do so without losing track of the musical whole.
Delineation Without Deconstruction
The problem wid1 audio .components that makes defmition or
detail ends in themselves is that they not only delineate elements
of music (which can be a good thing), but also tend to deconstruct
the music-leaving the listener with a disjointed collection
of musical pieces and parts (almost like an unforrunate frog
dissected on a laboratory table). What we want, or at least what
I want, however, are components that can beautifully delineate
SPECS & PRICING
Reqa Isis CD player
ASSOCIATED EQUIPMENT
Disc types: Red Book CD, MP3,
Analog: Nottingham Analogue
orWMA
Systems Ace-Space 294
Digital inputs: USB at data
tonearm/Space 294 turntable;
rates to 16-bit/48kHz
Fosgate Signature phonostage;
Digital outputs: TosLink and
Shelter 901 Mkll, 9000, and
coaxial S/PDIF
Harmony MC moving coil
Analog outputs: Two stereo
phono cartridges.
(one single-ended pair via RCA
Digital: Musical Fidelity kW
jacks, one fully balanced pair
SACD player.
via XLR jacks).
Amplification: Musical Fidelity
Frequency response: 17Hz-
kW500 integrated amplifier;
20kHz +/-O.1dB
NuForce P-9 preamplifier and
THD + Noise: <0.0013%
Reference 9 v.3 Special Edition
Dimensions: 17.1" x 4.4" x 13.4 "
monoblock amplifiers.
Weight: 41.9 Ibs.
Headphones, etc.: HiFiMAN
Price: $8995
EF-5 and Burson HA-160
headphone amplifiers; Audeze
Reqa Osiris solid-state
LCD-2, HiFiMAN HE-5LE
Integrated amplifier
and HE-6 planar magnetic
Power output: 162Wpc into 8
headphones; Shure SRH-840
ohms, 250Wpc into 4 ohms
dynamic headphones; JH
Analog inputs/outputs: Four
Audio JH 16 PRO, Westone
single-end stereo inputs (via
ES-5, and Ultimate Ears In-Ear
RCA jacks), one stereo record
Reference Monitor custom-fit
input (via RCA jacks), one
in-ear monitors; and Monster
stereo record output (via RCA
Turbine Pro Copper Edition and
jacks), one fully balanced
Westone True Fit 4 universal-
stereo input (via XLR jacks),
fit in-ear headphones.
one stereo direct amp input
Cables: Chord Select
(home-theater bypass via RCA
balanced interconnects;
jacks)
Furutech Lineflux digital!
Frequency response: 20Hz-
interconnect cables and
26kHz, +O/-O.5dB; 10Hz (-1.7dB
Speakerflux speaker cables;
point), 75kHz (-3dB point)
NuForce Focused-Field digital!
THD + Noise: <0.05%
interconnect and speaker
(bandwidth 22Hz-30kHz)
cables; Furutech Powerflux
Dimensions: 17.1" x 4.8" x 13.8"
power cables.
Weight: 56.4 Ibs.
Power Conditioners &
Price: $8995
Acoustic Treatments: PS
THE SOUND ORGANISATION
conditioner, Furutech Daytona
(U.S. DISTRIBUTOR)
303 power conditioner;
159 Leslie Street
Auralex Studiofoam and RPG
Audio Soloist in-wall power
Dallas, TX 75207
B.A.D. (binary amplitude
(972) 234-0182
diffsorber) acoustic treatment
panels.
COMMENT ON THIS ARTICLE ON THE FORUM AT AVGUI DE.COM
82 May/June 2011 tlleebsoluIB 8Ilund
~
EQUIPMENT REPORT - Rega Isis CD Player and Os iris Integrated Amplifier
musical lines and themes (inviting listeners to follow individual
musical threads, just as they might do at a live concert), yet that
clearly conveys a sense of the musical whole, leaving it gloriously
intact. And that, my audio compadres, is precisely what the Isis
and Osiris do best.
To hear these capabilities play out in real-world listening
contexts, try putting on a track that features a multiplicity of
instrumental voices, and whose recording quality accurately
captures a rich mix of textural, transient, and spatial details.
For me, one such piece is the title track from the jazz album
Floratotlc [EMI], which feature the eclectic guitarist Bill Frisell,
the adventurous percussionist Matt Chamberlain, and a cast of
like-minded cohorts, including Viktor Krauss on bass, Ron Miles
on cornet, and Eyvind Kang on viola.
"Floratone" opens with a dark, brooding bass drum rhythm
figure against which the taut pop of a snare drum and other
percussion instruments inject a piquant counterpoint. Through
the Isis and Osiris, you'll hear almost breatlltakingly palpable skin
sounds from the drumheads, the snap and sizzle of the snare,
and delicate, almost fleeting "click" and shimmer of hi-hats
at play. But what is just as important is the way the combined
sounds of the percussion instruments expand to fill the room,
defining a large, reverberant soundstage upon which the rest of
the song will unfold.
Within seconds, the percussion instruments are joined by the
profound earthy sound of Krauss' sharply descending syncopated
bass lines, and an intense, angular statement from Frisell's guitar.
As each instrument joins the ensemble, you become aware of two
things. First, the voices the instruments sound whole, complete,
and utterly able to stand on their own, independent from one
another Gust as real instruments in an ensemble sound when
they are heard from up close). Second, you perceive implied
relationships between the performers and their instruments,
partly through the conventional mechanisms of melody, rhythm,
and counterpoint, but also through spatial cues that help anchor
the instruments within the soundstage. So, you not only hear
the instruments themselves, but also the air between and behind
them, which conveys both a sense of pla~e and of interaction
84 May/June 2011 theBbllolutellOlJlld
r
and communication among the ensemble members. Nowhere
is this more apparent than when the soft, melancholy voice of
Miles' cornet enters, and you hear the other instrumentalists
bending out of the way in order to create sonic' space for the
horn. Interestingly, even when the producers combine electronic
effects and reverb with natural acoustic sound, you can hear
them deliberately place those synthetic sounds within the broader
framework of the acoustic soundstage. The result is a song that
is beautiful in its variety and complexity, and almost hypnotic in
its ability to pull the listener into the three-dimensional world of
the performance space-as if to more clearly grasp the messages
embodied in the music.
Let's be blunt; you don't get listening experiences like these
from just any old audio components-not even from some very
good and expensive ones. But what makes the Rega pieces so
special-so natural and magical at the same time-is that they
continually supply streams of contextual information that helps
make the music more intelligible, richer in meaning.
I've already said I found the Osiris more expressive than other
integrated amps I've tried, but the Isis is no slouch either. As
an experiment, I did a side-by-side comparison between the
Isis and my long-term reference-an oldie-but-goodie vacuumtube-equipped Musical Fidelity kW SACD player. From this
comparison I learned several things. First, I found the big kW
offered a little more tube-induced harmonic bloom up high,
and also just a touch more wallop down in the bottom octave.
But I also found the Rega offered greater resolving power and
a far more holistic and three-dimensional presentation overall.
Through the Isis, instruments as well as the air and spaces
between them took on a palpable artd almost sculptural solidity;
in short, with the Rega in play there was undeniably more "there"
there. One practical note to observe, however, is that in order to
hear the Isis at its best you absolutely 'Iltlst use its balanced XLR
outputs; the single-ended outputs sound good, but they lose
some of the player's inherently magical qualities.
While I don't think tlle Isis offers the almost supernatural
smoomness and fluidity of, say, Meridian's 808.3 CD player or
the (in my experience) incomparable resolving power of the dCS
EQU IPM ENT REPORT - Rega Isis CD Player and Osiris Integ rated Ampl ifier
stack, I do think it may offer the next best alternative to those
two iiber-expensive world-class players, and at a substantially
lower (though by no means cheap) price. Finally, I should
mention that I used the Isis' USB input to play digital audio flies
from my computer, and fo und it to be, hands-down, the most
compelling USB DAC I've yet heard (though with the caveat
that the Isis makes no provisions for handling higher-than-CDresolution flies).
A Few Caveats
Isis: Ideally, I wish the Isis provided coaxial S/PDIF and TosLink
digital audio inputs in addition to its USB input, and I also
wish its DAC supported high-res fIle formats. Together, these
improvements would make the player more "future-proof" and
relevant for computer audiophiles. Tube afIcionados may want to
know that there is a tube-powered version of the player, called the
Valve Isis ($9995), dlough I personally prefer what I perceive as
the purer, more focused sound of dle solid-state version. Finally,
I should mention that listeners should expect a perceptible delay
between pushing "Play" and actually hearing dle music start,
since it takes a while to fIll the Isis' large audio data buffer.
Osiris: One small ergonomic concern is that the amp's highquality speaker binding posts are deeply recessed and shrouded
by thick, protruding chassis panels. In practice this means
there's not much maneuvering room when using beefy, spadelug-equipped speaker cables (which, I fInd, amps of this caliber
require). Second, note dlat while the Osiris provides a power
amp input (which can be used as a home-theater bypass), it does
not provide a variable-level preamp output (possibly because its
passive-front-end/ single-stage-amp topology does not readily
allow this).
How Good Are The Isis and Osiris, Really?
As I mentioned earlier, I approached this review with skepticism
and doubt, I suppose because-down deep-I feared Rega
might build merely "good" components for a market segment
where sonic greatness is required. But now that I've lived with
the Isis and Osiris for months and experienced their capabilities
firsthand, I see them in a completely different light. Where
once I wondered whether the Rega pieces could keep up with
established, pedigreed leaders in their class, I now fInd myself
asking whether competitors can in fact keep up widl the Isis and
Osiris. They really are that good.
For my part, I've purchased the review samples, pardy because
dley're a delight to listen to, but also because they are powerful
reviewing tools that shed plenty of light on ancillary components
with which they are used. But frankly, you should not be unduly
influenced by my purchase decision, since we all must make our
own choices in this game. Instead, my only hope is that this
review will inspire you to go out and give the Isis and Osiris
a careful and open-minded listen, and then to draw your own
conclusions. Whether you decide to embrace the Isis and Osiris
or not, I'm confIdent you'll fInd their performance eye-opening,
to say the very least. tas
VR-33
"BEST VALUE
SPEAKER Product
of the Year, 20 I0."
- Stereo MoJO Magazine
'W riter's Choice
Award, 20/0"
- Positive Feedback Onlme
86 May/June 2011 theebeolutnound
CRL
Cable Research Lab