The award-winning Rega Elex-R Integrated Amplifier has finally been replaced and that’s a big deal for the folks at Rega Research. The Elex has been around for awhile and always occupied a sweet spot in their lineup. The new Rega Elex MK4 Integrated Amplifier sits above the excellent Brio and io integrated amplifiers and is significantly more affordable than the underrated Aethos that is still one of the best of its kind.
The industrial design of the Elex MK4 has a new streamlined appearance to match the other new amplifiers and external phono stages in the lineup and the casework has clearly benefitted from lessons learned from the more expensive Aethos; Rega’s amplifiers stay cooler now even when you drive them rather hard and the minimalist front panel doesn’t really call that much attention to itself.
There are now four line level inputs, aside from the MM phono stage. If you were hoping for an internal MC stage — you’re going to require one of Rega’s external MC phono preamplifiers to make that work.
Another big change is the introduction of a new DAC; something that has become a trend with most manufacturers in 2022; Cambridge Audio, Naim, NAD, and Audiolab all offer integrated or network amplifiers with internal DACs and Rega needed to jump on that train or else.
The discontinued Elex-R was an analog-only box; whereas the new Rega Elex MK4 offers two digital inputs; coaxial and optical for those with CD transports, network players, and video streaming boxes like a Roku.
More Power?
The Elex MK4 features Rega’s class A/B power amplifier circuit which provides 72W per channel into 8 ohms or 90W into 6 ohms – which should be enough for most bookshelf or high sensitivity floorstanding loudspeakers.
The DAC supports up to 24-bit/192kHz PCM. There is no support for DSD or MQA.
Features
- 72 W per channel into 8 Ω / 90 W into 6 Ω
- High quality moving magnet phono stage
- High performance Rega DAC circuit for digital inputs
- 2 x Digital inputs – 1 x optical and 1 x Coaxial
- Headphone output
- 4 Line level inputs
- New custom design case
- Thermal Cut-Out
- Lifetime warranty against manufacture defects
For more information: rega.co.uk/products/elex-mk4
Dave
December 4, 2022 at 5:23 pm
Nice looking. Agree Rega needed to add digital to their integrated amps, but I thought it was somewhat unique and cool that their lineup of amplifiers was all analog up until now.
Ian White
December 4, 2022 at 8:43 pm
Dave,
I agree about the analog aspect but it’s very hard to be competitive in 2022 without an internal DAC and headphone amplifier.
Best,
Ian White
Singh
December 9, 2022 at 3:13 am
I got a chance to try out the Elicit and it’s sounds amazing. Price on the Elicit is around $3300, a bit steep for me. Hoping this one will be priced more competitively. Any idea on the US price and when it will be available?
Ian White
December 9, 2022 at 7:09 pm
Hi,
It should be available now and for at least $1,000 less than the Elicit. I thought it was going to be $1,500 USD but the distributor has not confirmed.
Best,
Ian White
Syd
December 24, 2025 at 8:15 pm
How would this pair with Spendor D7 speakers? Also, with the built-in DAC, is it advisable to let go of my Chord Qutest?
Thanks.
Ian White
December 29, 2025 at 12:26 pm
Syd,
I owned Spendor for over a decade, but I have not listened to all of the latest generation models. The Rega’s DAC is not as good as the Chord Qutest. It doesn’t resolve quite as much information and it’s not as transparent sounding. I would hold onto that for awhile if you enjoy it.
The latest Spendor seem to require a lot more power than older models. And my recollection is that they don’t offer the same Spendor “house” sound compared to the older Classic models. I would think that the Elex MK4 might not be powerful enough for the D7, but it couldn’t hurt to demo them together. I like the Rega amplifiers, so I’d recommend finding a good dealer who can let you try them together.
What is your maximum budget?
IW