Friday, set-up day

Having unboxed and tested all the gear it had to be reboxed and a van loaded to go to the Stormont hotel. Sam and Ross then unboxed it all over again and started the set-up process. We knew where the gear was going for the best sound but you still have to set it up and check it by listening. Rega speakers are clever. The assymetric bass unit layout means that you have two chances to tailor the sound depending on whether the bass points in or out. The first system was RP1 and RP3 turntables with Apollo-R cd player connected to a Brio-R amplifier and RS5 floorstanding speakers. This gave us a cd based system at £ 2045 plus cables or a turntable based system at £ 1726-2055. We wanted to use the Rega Couple interconnects and the Ter mon bi-wire cable at £ 12/m to complete the system without going to mad money cables.

As we had already tested and run-in most of the gear in the shop there was nothing more to do except enjoy. These systems really outperform their price level, giving an involving, musical and dynamic presentation unrivalled at anywhere close to £ 2k. Real value for money.

The higher level system used the new Elicit-R amplifier, first one in Ireland, paired with the RS7 speakers and a choice of RP6 turntable and the new RP8, again first showing in Ireland. The RP6 system sounds great but the RP8 is really really special. Set-up on all Rega turntables is a piece of cake. Cartridges all factory fitted, set it down , set tracking force and bias, plug it in and sit back to enjoy and make yourself ready to be surprised, excited and satisfied.