Smooth presentation, removing the digital harshness that at first sounds impressive, but soons tires the ears. Extended listening is now a pleasure.
Solid transport. Logical remote. Dimmable display.

Wish it had balanced output to feed my Krell integrated amp.

It's everything I expected: extended frequency response, smooth delivery, common sense remote, and yes, even a "cool" factor with the top load. It's added enjoyment to long-term listening in the various form of music I like, from classical to jazz to country. It seems to pair well with my my Dunlavy Aletha speakers.

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Rotel, Yamaha, Nakamichi.

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.

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

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

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

Customer Service

very good 4 days from purchase

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roksan candy
cambridge

nice top loading door and front panel buttons

poor bass and dull dull treble with sparse midrange with lack of detail .reliability andpoor build.

having listened to the apollo for the last few months,i am begining to think i have made a mistake by buying it.most music sounds bland and flat with a lack of any sparkle to the treble,which sounds grey and indistinct,the bass also lacks depth and definition . the player has proved to be on the quirky side too ,by not reading certain discs and sometimes seizing on certain tracks ,and by being noisy and squealy into the bargain ,all in all the rega is not for anybody looking to bring drama and excitment to their music.

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cyrus cdx 6 and 8 micromega stage 3

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

All external parts

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.

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Cambrige 840c
Rotel 1072

great sound. great price point.

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

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.

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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.

Great dynamic "live" sound.
Funky design.

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.

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.

1) Soundstage - extends beyond where the speakers sit. Pinpoint sound source
2) Detail and Resolution - Rega did an excellent job with the midrage. Bass extension is lower (than the Planet)
3) Smoothness - Hours of listening, airy, not bright and painful
4) It will play MP3s burned from CDs
I would say this unit is 2-3 times better than the Planet 2000

1) It has an initialization of about 10-20 seconds at start. (Chooses error correction method to use)
2) Sometimes buttons don't respond immeditely to stop or play...

First, I don't understand what another reviewer was harping about regarding the Apollo being a bulky paperweight. People make their choices based on their needs. In this case, I bought an Apollo because I am looking for a really good sounding CD-Player. He/She was recommending a squeezebox and a DVD Player because it is the year 2007. Reminds me of an ebayer who wanted to buy my Rega Planet because his older model didn't have Fiber Optic out. So his needs where to connect his CD-Player to a fiber port. What I was trying to tell him was that he was buying this CD Player for the analog sound coming out from the RCA connectors. This is not an attack on the other reviewer, I'm merely pointing out that if we coax everybody to use Squeezeboxes and DVD players, this category in this forum is useless.

Anyway, I have an older setup
Mistral LFD LE - 75WPC
B&W CDM 9NT
Rega Apollo.

I traded in my Rega Planet as I've read the reviews on Stereophile and websites.
I've been listening to the Rega Planet 2000 since 2000 and I am so used to its sound.
The old Rega Planet was punchy, a little bit on the bright side, and the bass extension was OK. It also lacked that last bit of air and the soundstage only seem to extend where the speakesr were. The old planet was not the last word on resolution. I have trouble when playing certain vocal CDs like Cassandra Wilson and Erykah Badu, when they hold a note, I noticed that there was a slight edginess...
When I first the played the Apollo out of the box, I was shocked. What was wrong? The "punchiness" was gone, treble and bass seemed rolled-off. I decided that I proably need to break it in or I was used to the old set-up that it became my reference point. I gave it a month and started listening everyday. Wow! I am really enjoying this new setup. First thing noticeable is the soundstage. Sometimes when listening, I will hear something on either speaker that makes me look to pinpoint the sound source. Many a times, the sound seems like it coming from farther left or right of the speakers! With the old Planet, farthest I looked was where the speakers were set. This is something I never had in my old setup. The next one is the detail and resolution. If you listen to music with computer generated synths, a lot of them have artifacts. You can definitely hear them here. Vocals are particularly exceptional here. I reveals the true voice and you will hear nuances from the singer. Third is the smoothness - the Apollo is way smoother than the Planet. You will enjoy hours of listening to music. The old Planet was a litthel bit on the bright side and I always thought it was my B&W speakers. The old Planet was more dynamic and sometimes could get harsh with Rock and Roll / Heavy Metal...

Bottom line: Compared to the Rega Planet, the Apollo is way worth the purchase difference. Have a good setup and it you will notice a giant difference.

I recommend listening to the following CDs to make some comparisons:

Nicollette - Let no one live rent free in your head (for bass extension and vocals)
Erikyah Badu - Baduizm (when jugding resolution)
Queens of Stone Age - (find out if how your setup will do with RockNRoll)
Rickie Lee Jones - Pop Pop

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Comparing this to Rega Planet 2000

Beautiful industrial design.

Doesn't actually do anything better than a Best Buy special.

I challenge anyone to identify this player versus a $80 Sony DVD player in a double-blind listening test. It's all smoke & mirrors. Digital technology has come a long way, and people buying these are actually hearing differences are fooling themselves.

Draw one into music pleasingly and naturally.

Smooth, dynaimic, and loads of detail.

what a player!

No complain in this price range!

What a player! I'm a vinyl fans and despite owning quite a few cd players in the past Linn, Naim, Arcam, Quad...all have its strengths though, but inevitablyl let down by the digital format which its shortcoming is painfully obvious. Having audition this Rega Appllo and owning it for three months, I'm pretty sure this one is for the keeping. Its got an uncanny smooth smooth sound, with clear top end and sweet mid-range, OK bass, and most importantly an engaing and non-fatiqued sound that allow you listen to CD for many many hours. Dynamic and PRaT is as good as it gets. Loads of details. Bass is a bit soft.

A Fun player indeed if you just want to enjoy your silver disc.

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Linn, Naim Arcam, Quad......