It’s fair to say that we’re big fans of Rega’s integrated amplifiers. Between the io, Brio, Elex-R and Elicit-R, the company has picked up more five-star verdicts and What Hi-Fi? Awards from us than we care to remember.

But Rega’s products are rarely revolutionary, so it comes as no surprise to find that the Aethos leans heavily on the electronic principles already established in the existing line-up. Think of this integrated as an Elicit-R turned up to 11 and you’re close to the mark.

Features

The engineers haven’t just posted-in the design though. There’s a lot of fresh work under that brooding exterior. 

The Aethos’s power amplifier section uses two complementary pairs of Sanken Darlington output transistors, giving a solid power output of 125W per channel into 8ohms. 

The power amp’s circuit is designed to offer the benefits of Class A operation without the usual drawbacks in terms of heat and power consumption. 

The preamp section prioritises signal integrity and consistent channel balance and features higher-grade parts than used in the company’s other (cheaper) products.

The Aethos falls short of most obvious rivals in terms of its features, but if you’re happy with line-level analogue connectivity, there’s more than enough here. 

It has five line-level inputs, a preamp out, a direct input into the power amp section that bypasses the volume control and that rare thing, a tape loop. Let’s not forget about the front panel mounted 6.3mm headphone output either.

Those looking for digital inputs, wireless in the form of Bluetooth connectivity or even a phono stage will need to look elsewhere or add extra boxes. Given Rega’s record player heritage, some may find the lack of a phono stage surprising. 

However, the company feels that including a phono input would compromise the rest of the design and such sensitive circuits are better served by being outboard at this level. It’s a fair argument.

Build

The Aethos’s build quality is impressive. The chunky styling of the new casework may not be to all tastes but it certainly feels rock solid and inspires confidence. The controls are simple enough with smooth-acting buttons for choosing the inputs for listening and recording.

There are a few minor issues though. This design forces the user to toggle through the inputs rather than select them directly. This can be a bit of a pain if you change sources regularly, with any changes taking multiple button presses rather than just one. It doesn’t help that the lighting used to indicate the source selected is too dim to see clearly in a bright room. 

Lastly, the volume control is rather enthusiastic when responding to commands from the remote, so it’s hard to make subtle volume adjustments. However, these things are minor irritations at most.

A more practical consideration is that this amplifier still runs pretty warm despite the claims made for the power amplification circuitry’s efficiency. Make sure you leave enough space around the Aethos to ensure adequate ventilation.