Rega Elicit MK5

Rega Elicit MK5 - A well-designed and great-sounding amplifier

The new Rega Elicit MK5 has borrowed elements from both its big-brother amplifier and some of its other digital and analogue family members. The result is a well-designed and great-sounding integrated amplifier at an attractive price of just under DKK 20,000. The Elicit MK5 also offers a major new feature: For the first time, Rega has included a digital converter in one of its amplifiers, making streaming both easier and better in quality.

Highlights:

• 2 x 105 W per channel into 8 Ω
• High-quality turntable input for MM cartridges
• 2 x digital inputs - 1 x optical and 1 x Co-Axial
• High-performance Rega DAC circuitry for digital inputs
• New advanced preamplifier
• Headphone output
• 2 x digital inputs - 1 x optical and 1 x coaxial
• Record input
• Alps volume potentiometer
• Thermal protection

New possibilities with a DAC

We are used to the English company Rega, one of the world’s best turntable manufacturers for 50 years, always placing the highest priority on analogue music reproduction. But as streaming has become an integrated part of our music consumption, Rega has acted accordingly and is now launching, for the first time, an amplifier with a built-in digital converter (DAC).

As the name suggests, the Elicit MK5 is the fifth generation of one of Rega’s best-selling amplifiers. Much is new – but much is also familiar. The design, for example, is unmistakably Rega, with clear references to its big brother, Aethos. The Elicit MK5 also matches the design of the Saturn MK3 CD player. And it is not only the exterior that has been “borrowed” from the Aethos. Parts of the inside as well, more specifically the preamplifier section, are based on experience from its highly acclaimed big brother. FET transistors are used here in a discreet circuit design, along with quality relays, polypropylene capacitors and an ALPS volume potentiometer. Everything has been carefully selected and tuned based on sonic and technical properties.

As mentioned, the Elicit MK5 amplifier makes it possible to connect digital sources. This could be, for example, a streaming device, CD player or the sound from your TV. And although this is the first time Rega has put a DAC in an amplifier, the British company has many years of experience in digital design. You can hear it, because the built-in DAC makes it easy, first of all, to integrate digital sources into your music system, and secondly, it will most often provide a significant lift in sound quality.

As mentioned, Rega are masters of turntables, and therefore there is also the option of directly connecting a turntable with an MM or high-output MC cartridge.

Power for most setups

The sound quality of both the preamplifier, the turntable input and the digital inputs is fully backed up by a stable output of 105 watts, and here too Rega draws on experience from the company’s other great-sounding amplifiers. This makes the Elicit MK5 amplifier an obvious partner for the majority of speakers on the market. With the Rega Elicit MK5 amplifier as the link between your sources and the sound in your ear, you will enjoy the straightforward and infectious sense of musical joy that comes with it. Whether you choose a smaller or larger quality speaker.