The Isis CD/DAC is part of Rega’s flagship Reference range (which comprises of the iconic Planar 10 record player, Aura MC phono stage and the Osiris integrated amplifier). It is the pinnacle of what Rega can achieve from CD replay. As well as operating as a CD player, the DAC can be separately accessed. The level of engineering is stunning and build quality is such that it comes with a lifetime guarantee against manufacturing defects. It comes in two flavours – the Solid State Isis and the intriguing Valve version. For this article, we’ll be concentrating on the latter. The specs for the solid-state version can be found here.

So what is the Isis CD Player/DAC?

The mighty Valve Isis. The four output valve pots are on the top right

The Valve Isis is the outcome of 10 years of research by legendary head electronics engineer, Terry Bateman, addressing the concept of a CD player using valves in the output amplification stage. Valves have been widely used in musical instrument amplification and recording equipment from the 1930s to the present day, therefore it made great sense to develop a valve-based CD player to match that of the signal chain found in such applications. Musicians such as guitarists prefer valve amplification for its tonal qualities. The Valve Isis shares the same digital and USB sections as found in the solid-state version; however, the analogue stage is valve based with passive filtering. This stage uses two military grade triple mica 5814A (ECC82/12AU7) triodes being driven by the revolutionary Wolfson WM8741 ultra high-performance digital to analogue converter.

Listening and Validation

First, a little background to this article…

Very recently we had the good fortune to have the Valve Isis in residence. We had a customer who wanted to hear the solid-state Isis and, thanks to Rob Noble, Rega Sales Co-Coordinator, we were able to pair it with the Valve Isis for a comparative demo. Long story short, the customer expressed a personal preference for the valve model in the demo and put in an order straight away.

The demo remained in my mind for some time as, somewhat counter intuitively, the Valve Isis seemed to me to be more dynamic, detailed and “real” compared to its solid state sibling, which was also astoundingly good, but in a different way. Was it down to the music we played during the demo which was mainly classical? Was I just imagining it all?

Before we returned the unit back to Rega I decided to validate my memories (or otherwise) and put the Valve Isis into a system that would show its true colours and see how well it coped with a range of music genres. I chose the accomplished Rega Aethos amplifier paired with the highly capable Spendor D7.2 speakers. We used the following CD’s for evaluation:

*Telemann’s Tafelmusik – Musica Antiqua Koln (Reinhard Goebel)*

I chose Miles Davis’ - “Kind of Blue” because it is a well-known and much-loved standard, and I wanted to know what the Valve Isis would bring to the party? Well, I might as well have invited the musicians into the room! It sounded so real, and I was hearing phrasing and interplay between the musicians that had not been immediately obvious via other CD players. The instruments had shape, definition, as well as tone.

So, what about original instruments late Baroque Telemann? For some, this can sound somewhat “astringent” on CD. Not here! The shape, dynamics and reality remained intact, producing a delightful and mesmerising performance.

Lets go to the opposite end of the music spectrum with The Orb. What I heard was a big spacious sound. Lots of detail, excellent tone and a bass depth that on occasions made me jump!

It appears that the Valve Isis delivers, whatever the musical genre. But one more validation to go. We put the system front of shop and left it playing, to see if we could gauge customer reaction. The feedback we got was that people were entranced by the delivery of the Valve Isis, a prevailing disbelief that they were listening to CD and general wonder at the quality of the music.

Our set-up of Spendor D7.2’s, Rega Aethos Amp and centre stage the Valve Isis, under the watchful eye of Mr Hendrix

Conclusion

Yes, the Valve Isis is high-end but if you get the chance, you owe it to yourself to hear it, to understand that CD is still a viable format, and that through the Valve Isis it produces a mesmerising experience. It will capture your complete attention.

No matter what, the Valve Isis shone through, sounding dynamic, with large and detailed imaging qualities stretching way outside the box. It seems to offer considerable tonal depth, with access to the body, shape and timbre of the music, making it seem hyper-real and “in the room”. Isn’t that what we are all seeking from our music systems?

Many thanks for reading.

Rob & Gareth - Audio T Reading

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