ojnihs Posted December 1, 2006 Report Posted December 1, 2006 Niiiiiiiccccce! I love how the Rega players look. Hope you enjoy the new source!
909 Posted December 2, 2006 Report Posted December 2, 2006 thanks I've been having fun today. Found this searching for info about the Apollo, which also received a Gold. HI-FI Choice HIFI Awards 2006 Issue: The REGA Saturn received the Gold Award for "Best CD Player" in its respective price range.
909 Posted December 2, 2006 Report Posted December 2, 2006 I?ve pretty much spent a few good hours listening to the Saturn tonight and having let it run since the afternoon here are my first day initial impressions? I think I can safely say the Saturn trumps the Apollo. I am not ready to say it?s substantially better or worth the retail price difference, even though, it?s surprisingly better and noticeably so right out of the box. Here?s the skinny compared against the mighty Apollo? The Saturn has better? detail retrieval, focus and clarity, dynamics and PRAT, quantity and quality bass and.. lower floor noise, more separation between voices and instruments, wider, deeper (bigger) soundstage, and not as upfront as the Apollo.
909 Posted December 7, 2006 Report Posted December 7, 2006 The Saturn hasn't really rested. Running it pretty much 24 hours a day. Probably got around 100 hours on her... My mind and ears are a bit jumbled. (Somewhat) New headphones, (sampling) new cables off and on, and swapping 2A3 tubes... Yet the Saturn still sounds really nice, very musical, detailed, and great dynamics.
909 Posted December 8, 2006 Report Posted December 8, 2006 Inside the Saturn. A dealer opened one up and took pics... http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:ZFcpjy6qdKcJ:sigsound.com/potm_main.htm+rega+saturn&hl=en&lr=&strip=0
Iron_Dreamer Posted December 8, 2006 Report Posted December 8, 2006 Maybe I'm missing something, but what exactly do you find so shocking?
tkam Posted December 8, 2006 Report Posted December 8, 2006 The internals are pretty much what I think most people expected. Pretty similar to the Apollo except 1-dac per channel and some extra power supply filtering.
Yikes Posted December 8, 2006 Report Posted December 8, 2006 I haven?t heard the Rega Apollo or Jupiter, or the Planet 2000 for that matter. The only Rega CD play that I have actually heard is the original planet. In a word the original Planet SUCKED!!! A dealer that I?m friendly with took one in trade. We auditioned it extensively and came to the conclusion that if it weren?t for the rave review in Stereophile no one would ever have purchased the thing. We both thought that it sucked. It was clearly bested by the $500 Rotel player. I?m sure that the new Apollo and Jupiter are huge steps up from the original planet, they?d have to be.
philodox Posted December 8, 2006 Report Posted December 8, 2006 I haven?t heard the Rega Apollo or Jupiter, or the Planet 2000 for that matter. The only Rega CD play that I have actually heard is the original planet.Yeah, that is pretty much what I heard with the Planet as well... it looks like their newer players are quite a bit different though, so I am interested in trying one out at some point.
909 Posted December 8, 2006 Report Posted December 8, 2006 Maybe I'm missing something, but what exactly do you find so shocking? I was shocked to find an ?authorized? dealer had not only opened one up, but took pictures and posted them on their website. I don't think REGA would be thrilled. I did want to see the guts of the Saturn, but just happened to stumble across this. Within the last year or so I?ve heard the E5, Moth Hyper DAC, Wadia 861, Cary 303/200, G08, Apollo, 508.24, and 588.24 just to name some of the more memorable ones. I liked the Apollo better than the E5, but the E5 held its own. Both the Moth Hyper DAC and the 508.24 were very close, but the DAC seemed better. I really liked the 508.24 and looked into buying one. Apparently there are software upgrades and internal upgrades and if the transports needs to be replaced they aren?t available; asking price is usually plus $1500. If I hadn?t found such an amazing price on the Saturn ($1570) I wouldn?t have gotten it. Yet the Saturn does sound very impressive.
909 Posted December 8, 2006 Report Posted December 8, 2006 Inside the Apollo... http://www6.head-fi.org/forums/showpost.php?p=2091672&postcount=86
postjack Posted January 19, 2007 Report Posted January 19, 2007 909, any further comments on the Saturn after a month or so? One at audiogon for 1700: http://cls.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?dgtlplay&1174250904 I'm not sure if that is a good price or not, was just poking around and saw it.
909 Posted February 8, 2007 Report Posted February 8, 2007 I suppose $1700 is a pretty decent price, but I got my Saturn new for $1570 delivered and the second best price was $1800. I?ve been spending a lot of time listening to the Saturn. I still think it is leaps ahead of the Apollo. I suppose the biggest immediate noticeable difference is vocal and instrument separation. On the Apollo when I would listen to Appetite for Destruction for example quite a few times I would loss the bass line within or behind the drums, but not with the Saturn I am able to follow it through the entire CD. So across the board the Saturn takes recorded vocals and instruments and presents them in a more distinct manner, which is easier to detect, hear, and follow. The other thing it does superior is bass. The bass has power, fullness, and control that the Apollo just can?t match. It also seems to reach deeper too. And dynamics are improved upon as well. It?s really macro-dynamics, which gives the music great energy and fun-factor. I would say the micro-dynamics are also improved, but just not as noticeable. The Saturn also extracts just a bit more content off the CD, but everything presented is done with more focus and clarity so it's just plain out easier to spot and hear. I think the Saturn is easily worth $2100, but more than that I would be listening to other stuff within the $2500 price range. Compared to my listening time with the 508.24, I would say the Saturn easily would hold its own and improves dynamics and PRAT. Though, I think the 508.24 is a fantastic sounding source and possibly slightly more refined, but doesn't have as much kick. And bring the G08 into the picture I think the Saturn comes as close as I?ve heard to presenting things so it is easier for the listener to pick out this or that or hear things that most other players can?t reveal. But as amazing as I think the G08 is, it presents music in an unnaturally beautifully way while sacrificing macro-dynamics whereas the Saturn does so in a more organic and naturally beautifully way and keeps things very close to how they were intended to sound by the producer/engineer. The G08 has better micro-dynamics, slightly larger soundstage at least horizontally possibly not vertically, and better defined bass, yet vocals are really recessed and at times the player seem too silkily smooth, artificial and overly laidback. I am very impressed with the Saturn. I can?t wait to compared against other players.
909 Posted April 6, 2007 Report Posted April 6, 2007 Another Review The Saturn is still knocking my socks off.
postjack Posted April 12, 2007 Report Posted April 12, 2007 Still jealous. If today I was forced at gunpoint to buy a strictly redbook player in this price range, it would be a Saturn. Glad you are still enjoying it.
909 Posted April 12, 2007 Report Posted April 12, 2007 did you ever sell your Apollo? yes, see reply #8
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