Audiofi: Rega's Kyte Speakers Fly High
Posted by The Sound Organisation on Jun 28th 2022
Rega released the much-anticipated Kyte speakers last year, following delays stemming from the pandemic. That extra delay actually turned out to be a boon for Rega, as extensive testing while awaiting components led to a some upgrades and changes in the design for even more performance. Now, the Kyte speakers are available for purchase by themselves, or as part of the all-in-one Rega System One. While we generally share reviews from the US, Canada, and the United Kingdom, we came across this very in-depth and honest review from Malaysian Hi-Fi site Audiofi.net.
Lim Juan of Audiofi.net starts the review with a good ole fashioned feel test: "These new Rega Kytes have a confidence-inspiring weight and feel to them...it feels really solid and rapping it with one's knuckles, one can hardly believe this is a hollow plastic box." Moving on to aesthetics, the author notes that the design isn't the most beautiful, but within the realm of "alright". For many, the curved black phenolic resin cabinets might not meet your personal design tastes, but the Kytes fit very much into the general Rega design trend as scene in products like the io, Fono, and Atlas. Once set-up, it was time for the listening phase.
Right off the bat, the author notes the Kytes perform best when paired with the Rega io amplifier: "The Kyte-io pair made the best of these source components and proved to be complementary of each other, bringing out a coherent, enjoyable presentation – the balance was just about right in a relatively small room with the speakers about 70cm out from the front wall, the pair not being overtaxed." For their size, the reviewer notes the Kytes delivered a larger sound than expected, but never thin or harsh. While limited by their size, the Kytes also handle bass quite well: "bass quality and texture were really good, the decay and body of acoustic bass plucks and bowing, and fast electric bass runs having the chops to satisfy." But the best part of the Kyte speakers—in the author's opinion—was the rhythm, even when paired with a tube amp:
The calling card of these loudspeakers is their fine sense of rhythm, crisp top end and the speedy response, with good dynamic portrayal that adds to the attention holding ability of the loudspeaker. With such a foundation, they are able to partner higher grade and more expensive components and acquit themselves really well. They seem an undemanding proposition as they could still sing out without strain and plenty loud with only about 8 watts from a 300B single-ended triode amp. The delicacy and midband resolution the tubes brought to the party really showed what capable little performers these Kytes are – tube aficionados who may not usually look to this brand shouldn’t be deterred by Rega having been placed in the “flat earth” mob by some audiophiles and critics. I really loved the results with heated bottles!
For a final grade, Lim Juan acknowledges that the Kytes are plastic and may not be to everyone's liking, and the need for special stand adaptors may prove troublesome. However, the speakers are very communicative, entertaining, and well balanced. Above all else, they are at a much more attractive price than other speakers at this performance level. Lim Juan gives the Rega Kyte Speakers a 8.5/10 in sound quality, but a 9/10 for overall value.