ELECTROCOMPANIET RENA SA-2 STREAMING AMPLIFIER REVIEW

In this review of the Electrocompaniet Rena SA-2 Streaming Amplifier, Oscar Stewart puts this all in one (just add loudspeakers) £1250 unit through its musical paces.

Electrocompaniet are no strangers to HiFi PiG, I know that Stuart uses one of their amplifiers in his main setup and they have been around for over 50 years as a company. In this review, we will be looking at one of their more affordable EC Living Line of products, the Rena SA-2 which retails for €1249 / £1250. 

The Rena SA-2 is a streamer and DAC with a custom-built 75 wpc class-D amplifier making this potentially perfect for a minimalist setup.

Let’s take a look at what this little box has to offer. 

BUILD QUALITY AND FEATURES OF ELECTROCOMPANIET RENA SA-2

Upon taking the Rena SA-2 out of its box, you get a good idea of just how well put together this little thing is, the brushed metal main chassis feels sturdy and the black glossy top looks lovely. The inputs and outputs are all on the rear of the unit and once set up it looks great. This is a product that will fit neatly into a modern home and the size makes it easy to place it wherever you need to. On the top of the Rena SA-2 there are 3 capacitive buttons for volume up/down and a middle play/pause button, these are the only physical controls on the unit, all the rest is configured in the app or controlled via the remote. 

Feature-wise you have a streamer that works via wired ethernet or WiFi (it also has Bluetooth), a DAC that has both optical and coaxial inputs, alongside an optical/aux-output and speaker outputs from the built-in class-D amplifier. The speaker outputs use a terminal block connector that was not included in the box with my review unit, though this seems to be an oversight and one is most definitely included in retail units. This connector does mean you cannot use a lot of pre-terminated speaker cables with this amplifier, however, this does make the setup neater. It would have been nice to have a normal aux input for analogue sources. 

The DAC supports up to 24bit/192kHZ streams and the internal DSP runs at 32-bit float so as not to impact the sound quality. The DSP allows you to set the speaker size or custom tune the crossover point and bass gain – this can be helpful in tricky rooms as well as allowing you to integrate one of Electrocompaniet’s SIRA L-1 wireless subwoofers with ease. This little unit can also stream to WiSA-compatible wireless speakers which is a nice little bonus. 

There is an accompanying app which you will need to set the unit up and configure the DSP (should you wish to use it). This app allows you to also play music from Qobuz, Spotify, Tidal and Roon, there will also be support for internet radio coming soon. The app is easy to navigate and it’s great that the Rena SA-2 is fully Roon Ready, this allowed me to set it up and get playing quickly. The Rena SA-2 can be set up to automatically switch between the inputs, so it will play whichever input has a signal, allowing you to flip between streaming and DAC use without touching a button. 

One observation I have though, is about powering the unit on/off, it’s difficult to tell if the Rena SA-2 is powered off as the indicator lights don’t show this. There is also no real indication if it is turned off via the remote, I just hoped it was off or had a sleep mode that it automatically went into (as the amp is class-D, efficiency will be high at least). We spoke to Electrocompaniet about this and they said that the unit has an auto standby after 20 seconds with no signal and that this should be mentioned in the manual. It is activated again after by pressing a button on the remote, firing up the app, or touching the buttons on the top.

The remote has all the features you need from changing inputs to three favourite buttons (you can assign the function within the app), volume control, track skip etc…

All-in-all this is a feature-packed little box, with streaming, DAC and amplification all in one – there is the smaller Rena S2 which is a streamer only should you not require amplification built-in. 

SOUND QUALITY

I’ve been using the Rena SA-2 in my main system using a wired ethernet cable, my TV into its Optical input and the output is going to a pair of Bowers & Wilkins CM8 speakers. 

I’ll admit that I have always been a class A/B fan and this meant that I was quite interested to see how a class-D amp like this would sound in my system, and it has, indeed, been an interesting experience. First off, I’ll commend Electrocompaniet for tuning this really well – with the DSP turned off, it comes across as controlled and well-balanced.

CHVRCHES – He Said She Said has great bass depth and there is plenty of body and extension with this amp with the treble being crisp and detailed. The midrange is largely uncoloured and cuts through the mix well without any issues. There is no lack of power with this combo, it had no issues driving my speakers to loud volume and the stereo imaging is very good. This is an engaging and groovy song, perhaps at times the sound can come across as a little too controlled, however, the Rena SA-2 never sounded too dull and had enough drive to deliver this track in a fun way.

On to something acoustic, The Scene Aesthetic – 8 Years of Silence and this is where I feel this setup shines. The internal streamer and DAC do a great job at providing a clean and detailed sound with both sets of vocals being pitch-perfect, alongside acoustic guitars that have excellent detail and body. Turning on the DSP for Standing Speakers did tighten up the sound a little compared to the DSP off, there was a hint of more control down low and the treble was a little more reserved, however, the tonality remained largely the same which is good. I found the sound with the post-processing DSP off to be just fine, it would likely do best with speakers that need a little boost in certain areas. 

AFI – No Resurrection, was picked next and once again the midrange showed off how clean and detailed it can be without coming across as harsh. Davey Havok’s vocals are delivered with the power and poise they deserve whilst the guitars are crisp and well separated. My main criticism with the sound is that the soundstage lacks a little bit of depth, it’s a little flat, everything is in the right place in terms of volume but there is not a huge amount of depth to the soundstage. Stereo imaging is great though, you can still easily pinpoint instruments and width is handled well. 

It’s quite a tricky amp to describe and really understand, it does have a tuning of its own and is one that will pair better with warmer speakers. That’s not to say it’s a lean-sounding amp, but it is tuned to be more neutral and this does mean careful system matching or tweaking of the DSP to get the sound you want. I will say though, that it has been an enjoyable streamer/DAC + amp in my system and running the TV through it worked well. I don’t think this is aimed at replacing an audiophile separates system, instead, it can be seen as a great option if you plan to have a minimalist setup that’s easy to use, it is very much fit and forget. It’s also a great entry point for those who value simplicity but want something that is a good step up from the budget streaming amplifiers, this is very well designed and the sound quality backs that up. Perhaps something at this time of year for new students to consider?

QUIBBLES

Lack of on/off indication (although this shouldn’t be an issue due to class-D efficiency).

It won’t pair well with all speakers.

The soundstaging seems a little limited – it has a fair amount of width but lacks a little bit of depth.

The block connector for the speaker cabling is a little awkward and there is no analogue line-in. 

CONCLUSION

The Rena SA-2 is a very accomplished streamer, DAC and amplifier – its small footprint and ease of use make it excellent for a secondary setup or one for those who don’t want to go down the whole big collection of boxes route.

The build quality is exceptional and it packs in a lot of features for its size. 

On the sound front, it is powerful and punchy! it’s quite flat sounding and may not be the best pairing with brighter speakers. However, pair it with the right speakers and it delivers a highly enjoyable sound.

I really must emphasise that this little box does pack a lot into it and for this reason, it is great value – in my opinion, it would be difficult to get this level of sound and functionality for this price out of a separates setup. 

This sector of the market is becoming increasingly competitive yet, the Rena SA-2 does seem well positioned in terms of price/features and build quality. 

AT A GLANCE

Build Quality And Features:

Metal body with plastic top cover

Lots of features built-in, with an app to help control them

The Remote is included and has all the functions required

Sound Quality:

Controlled and punchy

Ability to drive most home speakers with ease

Detailed with the ability to tune it a little via DSP in the app

Value For Money:

Based on all its features, build quality, ease of use, and sound quality it comes across as well positioned in the current market

We Loved:

Ease of use, pleasing aesthetics, great design and build quality

We Didn’t Love So Much:

System matching comes in to play with a device like this, pair it well and you’ll get great sound from a minimalist setup

No analogue input

Awkward block connectors for speaker cabling

Elevator Pitch Review: The market for streaming amplifiers is booming currently, yet the Electrocompaniet Rena SA-2 does things a little differently and they have gone for an in-house approach instead of using standard off-the-shelf components. This leads to a balanced yet punchy sound that when paired with the right speakers will deliver a crisp and clean sound without sacrificing musicality. It’s definitely worth an audition if you are looking for a component like this in your home. The design is super clean and house friendly too. DSP means there is a lot of potential too in terms of tuning the sound in-app in the future, something that more and more companies are offering (whether you use it or not, that’s up to you). 

Price: £1250

Oscar Stewart

SUPPLIED BY ELECTROCOMPANIET

SUPPLIED SPECIFICATION

AMPLIFIER & DAC

• 2 x 75W CLASS D amplifier

• DAC 192kHz/24bit

• 32-bit floating-point DSP

CABINET

• Solid metal enclosure

CONNECTIONS

• 1 x USB for external storage

• 2 x Optical input

• 1 x  COAX input

• 1 x Gigabit Ethernet (1000Mbps)

• 1 x Combined line out+optical out

• 1 x DC input

• 2 x Speaker output

WIRELESS CONNECTIONS

• Advanced 802.11 AC WiFi with MIMO

• WiSA 96 kHz/24bit wireless speaker connection

STREAMING FEATURES:

• AirPlay 2 ® 

• Spotify ® Connect 

• Qobuz ®

• Plays with Audirvāna

• TIDAL ® Connect 

• Roon Ready

• DLNA

• Internet Radio

• Bluetooth streaming from any Bluetooth enabled device

SUPPORTED FORMATS:

• All popular formats including: WAV/WAVE, MP3, AAC+, Vorbis, ALAC, FLAC, APE, WMA, up to 192kHZ/24bit, DSD, up to DSD 128 (5.6 MHz)

DIMENSIONS:

• W180 mm x L 180 mm x H 49 mm

• Weight: 1,8 kg

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