j-man

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.33 of 5, 3.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1100.00

Summary:
This cd-player is stunning in it's realistic and crisp sound delivery. Analog or digitally this unit produces. In the 4 to 5 months I've owned it twice I've returned to the dealer for repairs, both regarding the stop button. It stopped working? Also for you couch potatoes the remote is at best tempermental and there is no "power" button, a simple feature I would expect for over $1000.00. In some detailed conversation with my dealer I was informed that some other Rega cd players were returned for other, similar problems. One had three bolts missing around the unit, not affecting it's amazing abilities. The other simply did not play cds, however, the problem was resolved quickly.
Even with these small issues, some obvious mishaps with quality controll, this unit works supurbly. Even in my trips to the dealer I have not considered returning it. In all it's beautifull and delivers amazing sound. I would not rule out checking out the Meridian or even Rotel.

martin coyles

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
3.25 of 5, 8.00 votes

Price Paid:  $598.00 from hifix

Summary:
having had the player a few weeks now i find the sound not all that fantastic
if you take all the reviews into consideration im always worried when players are said to have great detail this usually means the midrange is foward sounding which is what i find with this player however it does make a good job of well recorded music but abit bass shy with rock and soft to give the sound that edge i like so i would choose carefully bearing in mind the music one is listening to otherwise your going to be dissapionted

Strengths:
good timing stereo image good female vocals very good
musical insight can be excellent at times

Weaknesses:
struggles with rock music a bit foward sounding at times which makes you want to swicth off feels plasticky poor basic phono connectors feels cheap

Similar Products Used:
roksan candy
cambridge

RichhM

Overall Rating
 3 of 5

Value Rating
 3 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
2.43 of 5, 7.00 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I was hoping this would be the CDP for me, right price, great reviews and the same make as my turntable. I had one on loan from a local high end audio store last weekend, it really sounded much better than my Rotel 951, very clean, piano really sounded realistic, pace of this unit makes my Rotel sound like it's running at the wrong speed. It would of been a done deal but please ! this thing looks like a $100 CDP from Best Buy, I'm not talking about the style of the unit, I'm talking about the cheap plastic face the feet that are pop rivited on, the irregular finish on the case and the flimsy jacks on the back.Maybe time for Rega to set up shop in China.

Strengths:
Great sound, very clean, detailed, great sense of timming

Weaknesses:
All external parts

Similar Products Used:
Cambrige 840c
Rotel 1072

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Price Paid:  $895.00 from Local audio store

Summary:
After reading the reviews on Stereophile and other sites I was eager to audition the Apollo. I was tiering of the sound of my system and it has been some years since I has spent anything on it. I was also pleased to find a local dealer that just started carrying Rega a few months ago. He broke out a new Saturn from the box and we gave it a listen. We compared it to some other high end British CD players, some with tubes. I knew that the Saturn and the Apollo would have very similar sounds so I felt that listening to the Saturn would be a fair audition due to him not having an Apollo in stock. We listened through a fairly detailed and forward high end integrated through Martin Logan electrostats. The difference between the players was very easy to hear. The Saturn was immediately more enjoyable and exciting to listen to. It was surprising the difference in sound. This impression was consistent with the reviews that I had read. I was tempted for a moment to just go with the Saturn but could not justify the added expense given I have a sub $4000 system. Compared to my "old" circa 2001 Marantz changer used as a transport through the MSB link III DAC the Rega is in a whole other league. Much more resolution, "space between the notes", much less fatigue, much more musical. In short a much more enjoyable musical experience. I would say that I hear sounds that I haven't heard before, but more so I can sense the feeling of the musicians much more than before. You could say that it is more of an analog type sound but you can still tell that the sound is digital in origin. I was skeptical in spending a lot of money on CD players with the quickly changing technology. That together with the impracticality of laying down $5000 for a "good" CD player was just something I was unwilling to do from the get go. This sub $1000 player puts pure high end red book CD reproduction within reach for the "common man". I could not more highly recommend it. I would also mention that this player would sound especially great with Tube equipment and I feel it is a great match with my Mosfet amp and the the PSB's with aluminum drivers. ie - brings out the detail of more "mellow" amps and takes advantage of highly defined and responsive drivers. I don't think you could go wrong with this player unless you are in the $5000-$10,000 league. I heard it compared to $3000 players and it clearly sounded better (that is the Saturn in a $20,000 system). I'm sure your mileage will vary but depending on your system level the Saturn or Apollo should be able to satisfy anyone looking to upgrade from any CD system older than the beginning of the millennium.

Strengths:
great sound. great price point.

Weaknesses:
some have complained a bit about the base. I find nothing "wrong" with it although I have a sub that I can tune appropriately.

Similar Products Used:
Marantz CC4000SE, MSB Link III DAC, Silver Bullet interconnect, Peureaux E160i, Audioquest Granite speaker cable, PSB Image B25 speakers, HSU research 12 sub with 500W class G slave amp.

a DJ

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
3.69 of 5, 16.00 votes

Price Paid:  $1000.00

Summary:
I had a 10 year old Rotel CD player of a similar price, and I decided replace it with Apollo.
I was a bit sceptical, since I didn't expect there to be much technological advances in CD players in the last 10 years, but... boy I was wrong!!! The level of livelyness I can get out of Apollo was just in a different league.

For my purchase, I had to choose between Apollo, Rotel RCD-6, and Cambridge Audio 640C. I use a Brio amp + Dynaudio Audience speakers, and when I compared the three CD players, I found the Apollo to be the most lively, and Rotel a bit too dark and thin, and Cambridge Audio very flat and precise.

I can't say Apollo was the most true to the source, since it made the music so different sounding compared to any other generic CD players, whereas Cambridge Audio player was more pure and honest sound (sound as expected but with more detail). I think Apollo sounded "loud bits are louder, soft bits are softer".

Anyway, I'm not an audio analyst, and I didn't worry too much about whether the music is honest or correct. I just wanted it to sound good. That's why I ended up buying Apollo, and now I'm very happy with it. I think this player is something I can't recommend to everybody, but if you test it out and like it, then it will be your favorite CD player forever.

One last thing. Some magazines said the Apollo is as good as CD players twice its price, but I didn't think so. I also compared a Cirus CD8X which is about twice the price, and I found that to be simply much better than Apollo in every aspect. Especially the presence of the bass image (where the bass player is standing, etc) was much clearer. I wish I hadn't listened to that.... but then again now I have something to aim for in the future.

Strengths:
Great dynamic "live" sound.
Funky design.

Weaknesses:
Didn't sound too true. A bit too colored?
CD takes a long time to start up.
The flip lid design makes me worried about dust getting in.

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