Rega Aethos Integrated Stereo Amplifier

Rega AETHOS Stereo Amplifier 

The brand new, highly anticipated, Rega Aethos Stereo Amplifier. With a brand new custom design case, it makes the Aethos look very slick, to us some similarities are coming from the Rega Osiris but there's absolutely nothing wrong with that as we loved the design of that too. Packing a punch with four 160W 16 Amp output transistors per channel which deliver 156 Watts per channel into 6Ω. The Aethos is a dual-mono design using a custom wound toroidal transformer and regulated supplies for the sensitive amplification and driver stages. When it comes to the pre-amplifier part of the Aethos, it uses class-A, discrete circuity throughout the amp. When Rega started putting the Aethos into production, they built it with one intention in mind, to deliver music as faithfully as possible. There's no doubt in our mind that Rega has built this to the highest standard they possibly could ensure the listener years upon years of musical excellence.

Key Features

• 125 W RMS both channels are driven into the rated load of 8 Ω
• 156 W RMS both channels driven into 6 Ω
• Dual mono design
• Strictly Analogue, No Phonostage or DAC, pure amplification
• 5-line RCA inputs 
• Dedicated 6.35mm Headphone Output 
• Hand Built-in the UK
• Lifetime warranty for manufacturing defects

Rega's Design Innovation

Rega has put a great deal of effort into perfecting the construction and circuitry of the Aethos amplifier. One thing Rega wanted was the Aethos to be simple yet versatile, so you'll find no phono stage, Bluetooth or digital input/DAC but you will find a high-quality headphone socket that uses the mute relay to not deteriorate the signal path or sound quality, a pre-amp output and direct input to allow the Aethos amplifier to be used in a variety systems configurations. By not including too many different inputs Rega has not compromised the rest of the design or the sound quality produced. If you want to add a Phonostage, Bluetooth receiver, DAC or streamer you have a number of line-level RCA inputs to use that won't degrade the overall performance of the amplifier by having them on board. The result of this is a superb-sounding amplifier. When a quality signal is an input it will give it back to you with drive, authority and fluidity which is hard to beat.

As stated before, Rega has taken some design concepts from the multi-award-winning and hugely successful Elex-R and Elicit-R and rocketed the performance to another level of excellence and beyond with a 125watt dual-mono design with features such as a fully discrete FET based line amplifier, polypropylene capacitors throughout the signal path, k-Power reservoir capacitors, power amplifier regulated supply and a high current output stage comprising of four 160w Sanken output transistors per channel. I feel like Rega has set the Aethos as a very sweet spot for the market, it will definitely give other manufacturers a run for their money. If you loved the sound and warmth from the other amplifiers Rega has produced, i.e. the Elicit, you will feel right at home, but obviously, you will be gaining huge sound benefits from upgrading.

The Volume Control and Line Amplifier Technology 

The Aethos uses a high-performance combined feedback and passive volume control plus line amplifier, this sort of technology was originally developed for the Rega Elex-R, as you would expect, as time goes on improvements and tweaks have been made, in this case, improvements have been made to the volume control and line amplifier stages in the Aethos with the use of discrete FET input operational amplifiers using the Linear Systems LSK389 FET and the highly spoken about RK23 (known as the 'Blue Velvet') potentiometer As well as keeping tracking irregularities to a minimum, this method also reduces noise and input overload as the control will only ‘use’ the required gain to amplify the signal. This form of volume control is normally only found in professional broadcast environments where accurate low noise control of levels is required.

The Power Amplifier Technology 

Let's get into the real power of this, the power amplifier used in the Aethos is an improved higher power version of the power amplifier that is found in the Elicit-R and Elex-R. The output amplifier used in the Aethos originated after heavy amounts of extensive research by Rega's very intelligent engineers with the intention to develop a low source impedance emitter follower Class-A driver stage. The technical and sonic improvement gained by the use of a low-impedance driver is well known, in this case, it features high-standing currents in the driver stage when using standard transistor configurations. Due to the nature of the Rega power amplifier circuit, we are able to run two complete output stages in parallel, this includes the output transistors, bias network and pre-diver transistor this is instead of paralleling just the output transistors as normally found. This ensures the 125-watt output is achieved with complete ease.

Instructions for the Aethos can be found on the following link Aethos Instructions

Hifi Gear thinks...

In shop listening on the Aethos has varied massively. But with an amplifier of this calibre, the quality of input and speakers is important. Below I have listed what I use when demoing the Aethos

Speakers

PMC Twenty5 24i - This floor stander is capable of fabulous open highs, detailed transparent midrange and a beautifully balanced bass thanks to PMC's transmission line technology. It pairs fantastically well with the Aethos and can be heard regularly In Hifi gear together.

Source

Rega Planar 10 with Apheta 3 & Aria phono stage - An obvious combination for the Aethos coming from the same factory and school of thought. The Planar 10 & Apheta 3 is a phenomenal combination offering a depth and detail that's hard to match at its price point and when used with the equally brilliant Aria phono stage you have a system that will bring a smile to most faces.

Naim NDX2 or ND5 XS2 - Depending on budget and features either of these Naim streamers will offer the Aethos superb front end. Using Tidal, Amazon Music or Apple Music will give your ears a real treat.

Saturn CD player - Again an obvious match. Aesthetically similar and offering a simple design the Saturn CD player works faultlessly with Aethos. Excellent clarity and detail are pulled from every CD you use on this player, it also benefits by being a high-quality DAC as well.

Who is Rega?

Rega is a specialist hifi manufacturer based in Essex, UK and is renowned for developing and constructing some of the most highly regarded turntables (as well as cartridges and tonearms), electronics and loudspeakers available on the hifi market today. Rega was founded in 1973, and has honed their craft over many years of being a leading brand in every category it puts a product to.