The IO and Brio have gotta be of the most hyped amps out there. Even the sellers here are pushing them hard, and that made me get the Brio more than a year ago. Was happy with it..... until I had other amps next to them. Chinese amps for that matter. I remember doing an AB next to my old Aiyima A07 with an 48v 10a Mean Well SMPS with the SMSL SU9 DAC, OG LS50 and Wharfedale Crystal 4.3. Went on sale the next day and because of the hype, it was sold within 4 hours. Crazy huh? The Brio was the last equipment I bought without listening to first. Lesson learnt.
@@DougMen1 i bought for 890 after conversion back then. Still a sh!t deal. So many other cheaper amps that will outperform it, easily. The AO7, SU9 and Mean Well SMPS cost just a little more than half its price. Embarrassing. And so many are pushing this to the unknowing public.
In Randy cheapaudioman's new video about the new $499 Cambridge Dacmagic 200 with dual Sabre chips, one comment dropped your name and told Randy he should have you as a guest on his channel, because he considers you one of the premier DAC experts.
@@AbsoluteFidelity Here's iiWi's review of the PA5, and he says he thinks the DA9 is warmer and fuller in the midbass, but he thinks the PA5 is superior in every other way overall, and he even seems to prefer it to a much more expensive Hegel. ua-cam.com/video/eFbwDdFgU2Y/v-deo.html
I ordered the Brio and enjoyed a few hours listening to it. Punchy and musical. But I had to return it because of its background noise. Hum coming out of speakers. Headphone amp unlistenable with noise. (I returned one and the company sent me another. Same issue.) The NAD c316bee v.2 that I now own has a nicely dark background.
Is that when you play your turntable? The power supply is strong in the BRIO and you need to place it as far away from the turntable as your cables will allow from the Phono Stage.
Both of these amps sound better with the R3s than I remember. The R3 is so good that it makes every amp sound better, regardless of power or price. However, the Rega sound too dark, dull, flat, and laid back for my taste. The NAD is much punchier, more dynamic, and has much better overall sound quality and energy. The horns in Leroy are a good example where they sound flat and muted on the Brio, lacking the required brassiness they should have, that is there on the NAD. The kick drum in Punkd is very dull on the Brio too. This lackluster, dull, and flat performance is evident on every track compared to the much more lively, energetic, and realistic sound coming from the NAD.
@@DougMen1 I don't. You are not listening on the equipment that I have, and that will make a big difference to how these two amps compare. I'm sure that these two sound totally different in your room than in mine (I'm not listening with headphones) and everything in Hi-Fi is subjective.
@@MrGorpm Well, if you aren't using headphones, then what you hear is extremely flawed, because you're hearing the effect of your system/speakers and your room. The only way to effectively make these comparisons is using a pair of neutral sounding headphones.
Lots of variety from E !! Neither amp is a great match for what are pretty good speakers. They deserve better, much better. AS301 works better than these two for me on here from previous video with Rs and is a pretty good starter amp. AXR100 also decent for me. Then there's the ultra clean, lean fighting machine -6000A .
None of the amps featured nor none of the ones you mention come close to the pure joy and musical satisfaction of the Brio. Every one of the products you mention are for people who want to think about their music and think about how good it sounds in a hi-fi kind of way, and the Brio is for people who wanna enjoy the music because it's music and that's what you're supposed to do.
Thank's, E Project. To me both these amps sound only fair, and both are flawed in different ways. Yeah, yeah, the Brio lacks a bit of body and warmth, bass and treble extension too. It's not as gutsy or impactful sounding as it should be. The C388 is slightly better in some of those ways, but it's even weaker in treble openess and extension. While the Brio has enough midrange presence the C338 is sadly lacking in it, and it's midrange sounds sunken in and lifeless. All air and harmonic detail are lost. It's textural dryness and subtle grittiness misses the mark of live and organic sound by a mile. Given the choice of living with one or the other, I'd prefer the Brio. It can at least make an acoustic guitar or cello sound something like a real acoustic instrument.
@@DougMen1 Yeah, thanks. Another thing I didn't say cause my comment was too long, is that while the C338 has lifeless mids and top end compared the C388, it doesn't have the same glare and distortion the 338 has. Neither does the C368, so I have a feeling something's going bad on that C388. I asked E for a demo of these with the R200s or Metas. The R3 we've heard it with and that's the only speaker. I partly wanted to see if they were just a mismatch.
@@DougMen1 It's a bit thin and honky yes, but at least it has some air and more harmonic detail, and a more organic texture. There are much better amps here, but its better than the NAD to me. Also, this didn't tell us if it could sound better with other speakers. I'm sure it wouldn't be enough to make it worth $1100 though.
![[Sound Battle] REGA BRIO vs NAD C316Bee V2 / KEF R3 Bookshelf Speakers](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/WvrS5KL4NAU/mqdefault.jpg)
![[Sound Battle] REGA BRIO vs NAD C316Bee V2 / KEF R3 Bookshelf Speakers](/img/tr.png)
![[Sound Battle] Rega Brio vs NAD C368 / KEF R3](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/k4agyDbvk5k/mqdefault.jpg)
![Can you feel the difference? [SOUND BATTLE] - NAD C338 integrated Amplifier VS NAD C328 Comparison](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/6Nxn8AVPZVM/mqdefault.jpg)
I have listened 15 Apm for last 2 weeks and choose Brio due to superb dynamics, clarity, volume sound and detail. I found in this test Brio is wiiner.
Bonne vidéo comparative.
Un test avec le Rotel A11 T est-il prévu ?
The IO and Brio have gotta be of the most hyped amps out there. Even the sellers here are pushing them hard, and that made me get the Brio more than a year ago. Was happy with it..... until I had other amps next to them. Chinese amps for that matter. I remember doing an AB next to my old Aiyima A07 with an 48v 10a Mean Well SMPS with the SMSL SU9 DAC, OG LS50 and Wharfedale Crystal 4.3. Went on sale the next day and because of the hype, it was sold within 4 hours. Crazy huh? The Brio was the last equipment I bought without listening to first. Lesson learnt.
It's so lifeless and lackluster that I can't believe that anyone would be happy with that sound, especially for the price, which is now up to $1100!
@@DougMen1 i bought for 890 after conversion back then. Still a sh!t deal. So many other cheaper amps that will outperform it, easily. The AO7, SU9 and Mean Well SMPS cost just a little more than half its price. Embarrassing. And so many are pushing this to the unknowing public.
@@AbsoluteFidelity Even my $50 TP3116 powered class D amp will run circles around it!
In Randy cheapaudioman's new video about the new $499 Cambridge Dacmagic 200 with dual Sabre chips, one comment dropped your name and told Randy he should have you as a guest on his channel, because he considers you one of the premier DAC experts.
@@AbsoluteFidelity Here's iiWi's review of the PA5, and he says he thinks the DA9 is warmer and fuller in the midbass, but he thinks the PA5 is superior in every other way overall, and he even seems to prefer it to a much more expensive Hegel.
ua-cam.com/video/eFbwDdFgU2Y/v-deo.html
I ordered the Brio and enjoyed a few hours listening to it. Punchy and musical. But I had to return it because of its background noise. Hum coming out of speakers. Headphone amp unlistenable with noise. (I returned one and the company sent me another. Same issue.)
The NAD c316bee v.2 that I now own has a nicely dark background.
Is that when you play your turntable? The power supply is strong in the BRIO and you need to place it as far away from the turntable as your cables will allow from the Phono Stage.
The Rega is my number one pick for an amp, this whole combination amp speaker set-up is amazing.
The Rega hits harder than expected!! I wonder how the R 200s fare on it ?
@@DougMen1 probably so. I think we've heard it before and your correct, it wasn't anything special.
Both of these amps sound better with the R3s than I remember. The R3 is so good that it makes every amp sound better, regardless of power or price. However, the Rega sound too dark, dull, flat, and laid back for my taste. The NAD is much punchier, more dynamic, and has much better overall sound quality and energy. The horns in Leroy are a good example where they sound flat and muted on the Brio, lacking the required brassiness they should have, that is there on the NAD. The kick drum in Punkd is very dull on the Brio too. This lackluster, dull, and flat performance is evident on every track compared to the much more lively, energetic, and realistic sound coming from the NAD.
I disagree, the Brio is much more focused and insightful, even if the soundstage is a bit narrower.
@@MrGorpm If you like dull, flat, and lifeless, then go for it. I prefer my music to have some life to it.
@@DougMen1 I don't. You are not listening on the equipment that I have, and that will make a big difference to how these two amps compare. I'm sure that these two sound totally different in your room than in mine (I'm not listening with headphones) and everything in Hi-Fi is subjective.
@@MrGorpm Well, if you aren't using headphones, then what you hear is extremely flawed, because you're hearing the effect of your system/speakers and your room. The only way to effectively make these comparisons is using a pair of neutral sounding headphones.
Lots of variety from E !! Neither amp is a great match for what are pretty good speakers. They deserve better, much better. AS301 works better than these two for me on here from previous video with Rs and is a pretty good starter amp. AXR100 also decent for me. Then there's the ultra clean, lean fighting machine -6000A .
@@DougMen1 Here's an interview you might like 🙂ua-cam.com/video/FjaBvBhixtE/v-deo.html
None of the amps featured nor none of the ones you mention come close to the pure joy and musical satisfaction of the Brio. Every one of the products you mention are for people who want to think about their music and think about how good it sounds in a hi-fi kind of way, and the Brio is for people who wanna enjoy the music because it's music and that's what you're supposed to do.
@@Audiorevue The most important thing is that you like your amp , for sure😊
Thank's, E Project.
To me both these amps sound only fair, and both are flawed in different ways. Yeah, yeah, the Brio lacks a bit of body and warmth, bass and treble extension too. It's not as gutsy or impactful sounding as it should be. The C388 is slightly better in some of those ways, but it's even weaker in treble openess and extension. While the Brio has enough midrange presence the C338 is sadly lacking in it, and it's midrange sounds sunken in and lifeless. All air and harmonic detail are lost. It's textural dryness and subtle grittiness misses the mark of live and organic sound by a mile. Given the choice of living with one or the other, I'd prefer the Brio. It can at least make an acoustic guitar or cello sound something like a real acoustic instrument.
@@DougMen1 Yeah, thanks. Another thing I didn't say cause my comment was too long, is that while the C338 has lifeless mids and top end compared the C388, it doesn't have the same glare and distortion the 338 has. Neither does the C368, so I have a feeling something's going bad on that C388.
I asked E for a demo of these with the R200s or Metas. The R3 we've heard it with and that's the only speaker. I partly wanted to see if they were just a mismatch.
@@DougMen1 It's a bit thin and honky yes, but at least it has some air and more harmonic detail, and a more organic texture. There are much better amps here, but its better than the NAD to me.
Also, this didn't tell us if it could sound better with other speakers. I'm sure it wouldn't be enough to make it worth $1100 though.
Rega +
c338 sounds muffled - best cancel my ebay bid :)