- Original External Rega Cardboard Box.
- Original Internal Wooden Box and Packing
- Rega Aluminium Remote Control.
- Rega Reference Mains Cable.
- Serial Number : 0168
- Absolutely Superb condition in every regard
- Full Warranty Cover until July 2027.
Rega Isis Reference CD Player
The Isis is Rega's finest CD player — a reference-level component built to the highest standard the company has achieved, inside and out.
At 19kg, with a custom solid anodised aluminium case, a genuine black chrome lid and front fascia, and a CNC-machined reference remote handset, it announces its intentions before a disc has been loaded.
What is inside is equally serious: twin Burr Brown PCM1794 digital-to-analogue converters running in parallel dual mono configuration, discrete class A operational amplifiers and filters throughout, twenty separate power supply regulators, and two 50VA transformers providing complete galvanic isolation between the digital and analogue sections.
The Isis is for listeners who are committed to physical media at the reference level — who want the best that a dedicated CD player can offer, rather than a CD transport feeding an external DAC, and who want that in a component that matches the quality of the rest of a reference system.
It connects to any amplifier with a line-level RCA or balanced XLR input. For those who want the balanced connection — and at this price point, it is worth using — the Isis's XLR outputs provide fully balanced analogue signal from the DAC outputs directly, not a balanced conversion of a single-ended signal.
The USB input, separately powered and double-clocked to eliminate jitter, allows a computer or laptop to be used as a digital source through the Isis's analogue and DAC stages.
At this level of source quality, the pre-amplifier and power stages should be capable of resolving what the Isis offers.
Sound and Performance
The engineering of the Isis is aimed at a single outcome: that the digital-to-analogue conversion and analogue output stages contribute as little distortion and noise as possible, allowing the musical content of a CD to be presented with maximum fidelity.
The twin Burr Brown PCM1794 DACs, running in parallel dual mono mode, are the starting point.
Parallel operation — two DAC chips per channel, combined — halves the noise floor compared to single-chip operation; the noise floors combine incoherently, so two chips at the same noise level produce a combined noise 3dB lower.
Dual mono means each channel has its own completely separate DAC circuit with no shared components; there is no channel crosstalk at any point from DAC input to analogue output.
The measured result is THD and noise below 0.0013% — among the lowest figures available from a CD player.
The discrete class A current-to-voltage amplifier that follows the DAC is the next step. Standard practice uses an integrated circuit operational amplifier for this stage; Rega instead builds a discrete circuit from selected components, operating in class A throughout.
This stage converts the DAC's current output to the voltage that the rest of the analogue chain requires. Built discretely and running in class A, it adds less distortion and noise than an integrated circuit equivalent would.
The power supply architecture is remarkable. Twenty separate regulators — ten for the analogue circuits, ten for the digital — isolate each section from the others and from the mains supply.
Two 50VA transformers, one dedicated to the analogue circuits and one to the digital, provide complete galvanic isolation: there is no shared magnetic or electrical coupling between the sections.
K-Power smoothing capacitors — the same type used in the Osiris amplifier — provide the energy storage that sustains dynamics. The custom phase-lock loop (PLL) design in the digital section manages jitter reduction at the transport and re-clocking stages.
The Isis has a frequency response of 17Hz to 20kHz within ±0.1dB — not "–3dB at 20Hz" but genuinely flat from below audibility to the top of the audio band.
Build Quality and Design
The case is custom anodised aluminium, CNC-machined to the same standard as the Osiris amplifier case.
The black chrome lid and front fascia are not lacquered or coated sheet metal; the chrome is genuine, applied to the aluminium. The 19kg weight is the honest consequence of a serious power supply — two 50VA transformers, a substantial capacitor bank, and a properly specified chassis — rather than added ballast.
The CNC reference remote handset is machined aluminium, consistent with the case finish.
It is the same type of remote supplied with the Osiris amplifier, which is appropriate if the two are used as a system.
Connectivity and System Matching
The Isis provides balanced XLR analogue outputs — fully balanced from the dual mono DAC outputs — and standard RCA analogue outputs.
The USB input accepts digital audio from a computer or laptop with full isolation and double-clocking to manage jitter at the digital input stage.
For a balanced connection to the amplifier, the Osiris's XLR input is the natural partner.
Technical Specifications
DAC
- Twin Burr Brown PCM1794 (parallel dual mono)
Analogue stages
- Discrete class A current-to-voltage amp and filters
Analogue outputs
Digital input
- USB (isolated, double-clocked)
Frequency response
THD + noise
Power supply — analogue
- 10 separate regulators; dedicated 50VA transformer
Power supply — digital
- 10 separate regulators; dedicated 50VA transformer
- Smoothing capacitors
- Rega K-Power
Power consumption
Dimensions (W × H × D)
Operating clearance required (20cm high including the height of the CD Player, so 10cm clearance required above the top of the Player)
Weight
Chassis
- Custom CNC anodised aluminium; black chrome lid
Remote
- CNC reference remote handset
Assembly
- Hand-assembled, Southend-on-Sea
