Rega Kyte – Nothing like everything else.

Not your average speaker – in any way.

Just as you thought there was nothing really new under the sun (that shines on the HiFi loudspeaker world), Rega launches the Kyte. Does the world need another quality but affordable bookshelf sized loudspeaker I wonder? The answer from Roy Gandy at Rega is an enthusiastic, yes! His early exploits in audio manufacturing were in loudspeaker manufacturing and sales not turntables as you might expect. Rega has nearly always offered a range of loudspeakers, although this new model is unlike anything that has gone before. For that matter, they are unlike anything and other HiFi loudspeaker manufacturer is offering either. Let me explain.

A new take on how a great loudspeaker at sensible cost might be –

The ‘unusual’ starts with the plastic enclosure. Rega would probably prefer I call it “Phenolic Resin”, but it’s sort of the same thing and for me ‘PR’ is historically connected to Bakelite. If I suggested this new speaker from Rega was crafted from Bakelite, Mr Gandy could well pay me a visit and steal my keyboard. The fact is lots of parts in the Kyte are made from a plastic of one variety or another with a key exception being the internal “Ceramic Brace”. This arrangement no doubt aids in getting this Phenolic Resin enclosure to sound quite inert. Indeed, the result when rapped with ones knuckles is not dissimilar to a traditional well designed MDF box. This results in a dull sound that decays rapidly. Ceramic plates and a plastic enclosure are not the only shifts towards ‘unusual’ here. The shape of the enclosure itself is somewhat different in that it is a little ‘icecream-container-like’ in shape and one guesses at the factory the enclosures are ‘stacked’ ready for assembly. No grille is supplied to hide the loudspeakers modesty and the input terminals are vertically aligned. The Kytes are made in Rega’s own factory in the UK. Not only are they assembled there but the bass unit is made by them in their Southend-on-Sea facility. These are things we don’t normally expect at a $1099 retail price point. In fact I’m not sure there are any UK built loudspeakers available in Australia for under $2000 a pair. The bass unit looks like a quality piece too. I assume savings made from avoiding real wood veneers and MDF, have been fed back in to areas of design that matter more in regard to sound. Perhaps also avoiding timber has helped with keeping the retail price down. This design ethic all makes sense to me from a performance per dollar point of view.

But how do they sound, these ‘function over form’ loudspeakers?

Fresh from their carton I was reminded loudspeakers don’t always sound at their best when brand spanking new. I set them aside and played them for a few hours at a decent level. Enough that the drivers would get a bit of a work out and hopefully provide a more accurate picture of their ultimate performance. Sure enough, my second attempt to listen to them provided a very enjoyable, well balanced and honest sound. To my ear, there was an immediately familiar Rega family sound in the form of a slightly dry top end and a taut but quite full bottom. Much listening on and off over the following days allowed me to realise just how honest a sound these little speakers offer. A real lack of ‘HiFi’ (you know all shiny top end and faux detail) and much more “music”.

Initially I missed the apparent extra detail available from other loudspeakers I had on hand. An hour later the almost complete lack of listener fatigue from the Regas convinced me of their ‘rightness’.

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They don’t start bugging you with any unnecessary ‘tizz’ when using them as background music speakers. Maybe when listening to them with more care, sitting right in front of them there is just a smidge less excitement in the mid and top than my preference. But the bass! Its not so much that there is more than any other loudspeaker of a similar size, but what is there is extended and super tuneful. It lacks any woodiness or other aspect of performance in that region that might be caused by enclosure resonance. Rega have definitely struck gold with the performance of their unusual enclosure design. So balanced is the overall sound quality I struggle to point to or mention any particular example of either their excellence or lack there of. Perhaps to sum up I will employ the much over used term – musical. But they are! The timing in the bottom, the reality in the mid, and the lack of bling added to the sound makes for a very enjoyable fatigue-free listen. They are very competitive at this price level. They will embarrass much more expensive loudspeaker with some of their skills.

What they won’t embarrass others with unfortunately is style/ finish…

Sure they give a lot of performance at the price but is this at the cost of a classy finish? They are somewhat industrial looking and for me just a smidge plasticky. Not in a cheap and nasty, poorly built kind of way. It’s more that they just aren’t speakers in the tradition of being made from MDF and cloaked in some thin veneer of real wood. The lack of a grille, the almost sharp edge of the front baffle extremity and the irregular shape messes with my head a bit. There is also the fact that there has to be a little, slightly flimsy, rear ‘leg’ to allow them to sit vertically. These points may slow interest from those who place as much import on the furniture aspects of HiFi equipment as the performance.

But after a week –

However after a week I was swinging quite hard for the really enjoyable easy to listen to sounds of the Kytes. I was now far less hung up on their less than typical appearance. I still was not in love with the look but I was starting to fall heavily for the sound. My opinion of the appearance is sort of irrelevant, its just my taste. Go to your nearest Rega dealer and take a look for yourself. While there, enjoy a listen to them. If your current loudspeakers are a bit obvious in the upper registers and a bit hard to listen to after an hour or so now is the time to audition the new Kytes. Highly recommended!

• For – An obvious ‘function over form’ design which does indeed deliver more performance and less ‘style’.
• For – Clean, balanced sounding loudspeaker with very good bass performance.
• For – Non fatiguing to listen to long term.
• For – Rega ‘Made in England’ build quality and the longevity likely to come with that.
• For – Maximum points to Rega for trying something new in the speaker design world.
• Against – Appearance may not be to everyone’s taste or to their priorities when buying equipment.
• Against – Some bass reflex port noise/chuffing subtly apparent with some bass heavy music.
• Against – Not having a flat bottom surface may make siting on some stands difficult.
• Price – $1099
• Dimensions – 325mm High x 188mm Wide x 232mm Deep (with rear foot fitted)
• Warranty – Lifetime
• Imported by – Synergy Audio, Melbourne, Australia
• Tested with Naim Star

And to make the Kytes even sweeter…

Coopers Sparkling Ale. In the craziness that is the current enormous interest in locally made beer I feel poor old Coopers is possibly being forgotten. Revisiting the ‘Sparkling’ for this tasting reminds me of all the reasons why it shouldn’t be. Firstly these guys really do know how to make beer. They have been at it for 159 years making them about 100 times more experienced than your average hipster start up craft brewer. This experience shines through too in the absolute consistency of their recipes. When I knocked the top of this stubby and took a taste my first thought was wow, this is exactly as I remember it. Their yeast is the driving force behind the flavour and they work hard to look after it. Then there is the simple refreshing nature of the drop, backed up with bit of alcohol driven warmth. Its clean tasting and oh so easy to just knock back the lot in seconds. I resist though and think hard on what that ‘Coopers’ taste really is. I really still can’t pin it down after 20 odd years of enjoying this and the ‘Pale’. Is it a bit of caramel malt coupled with the estery flavours their yeast throws off, or is there more to it? I highly recommend you try it for yourself (for the few that haven’t that is). If you have tried it years ago and weren’t sure and have been drinking crafties lately then have another crack at the ‘sparkling’. The flavour is certainly going to be confronting to those used to drinking beer substitute such as Pure Blonde and the like, but might be just what you want as a change if you have mostly been drinking super heavy IPAs lately.

Some other things I also noticed about this Coopers drop is firstly the head lasts and lasts. It’s still there till the last drop and fully laces the glass. I tend to enjoy Coopers more without tipping in or mixing up the yeast sediment. I realise that the cool kids behind the bar want to ‘roll’ them before serving but I reckon that’s a myth started by the marketing department years ago in an attempt to turn bottle conditioning and the accompanying sediment into a positive. In reality not consuming settled out yeast is surely the go? You get a full 375ml of beer from Coopers so if you loose 20ml by holding back the sediment is it any great loss?

Anyway pour a beer now and enjoy some music, no matter your stereo.