Напольная акустика — Rega RS10

The RS10 is a floorstanding loudspeaker from Rega Research of the UK, introduced in 2013 as the top model of the company's RS range. Its layout is unusual - a Balanced Mode Radiator covers most of the audible band, a Rega-made tweeter handles the top octaves, and two side-firing bass drivers of different sizes share the low frequencies. Rega presented it as a match for its Isis CD player and Osiris amplifier.

Key specs that matter

Sensitivity is 88 dB and average impedance is 6 ohm. The crossover hands over at 300 Hz between the bass units and the BMR and at 6 kHz between the BMR and the tweeter. The bass section uses a 200 mm driver with a resonant frequency of 40 Hz and a 125 mm driver with a resonant frequency of 75 Hz, both with lightweight paper cones and eight-layer voice coils. The cabinet is 1005 mm high, 200 mm wide with a 300 mm footprint, and 440 mm deep, and each speaker weighs 38 kg. Finishes were high-gloss cherry, walnut and piano black.

Engineering and use context

The BMR was conceived as a full-range driver without a crossover, and its high-frequency capability let Rega move the upper crossover point above the 2 to 3 kHz region where most systems split midrange and tweeter. The ZRR-10 tweeter uses Rega's Zero Rear Reflection technology, with the silk dome assembled directly onto the front plate to remove a source of unwanted vibration. Each tweeter is hand-assembled at Rega's UK factory and has a copper Faraday ring that lowers voice-coil inductance and extends its response to 23 kHz. The two bass drivers are wired in parallel and loaded differently - the larger unit works into a transmission line with a side-firing port, while the smaller unit sits in a small sealed enclosure - so single bass resonance is spread into smaller resonances across the band. The 25 mm thick high-density cabinet houses a crossover built with multiple high-voltage parallel polypropylene capacitors and iron dust and air core inductors. A three-position Environment Match Settings plug on each speaker shifts the balance between low and high frequencies.

Pairing

LF and HF terminals are joined by a wire link that comes out when the owner wants to bi-wire the RS10 or bi-amp it with a second stereo power amplifier. Rega recommends 4 mm plugs and equal cable lengths to both speakers.

Alternatives

The Rega RS7 is another floorstanding model of the RS series, using a 2.5-way layout with transmission line bass loading on the side.