Mids and highs, sense of 'space' around the music, clean even sound. Draws you into the music. Price.

If I was being critical, ever so slightly bass light.

I currently own a Rega Jupiter that I purchased as an ex-demonstrator from my local Audio-T store last year for £600. Other system components are a Naim Nait 5i integrated amp and Dynaudio Audience 42 stand mounts. Having read reviews of the Apollo, I was intrugued to see it how it compares to the Jupiter (after all a £1,000+ plus player should outshine a £500 player...). So my local Audio-T store loaned me an Apollo for the weekend. I REALLY, REALLY wanted the Jupiter to sound better, but how wrong I was!

After many hours of listening I have to say, that the Apollo is a remarkable player for the money. I agree with other reviews on this site that its strengths lie in the upper and middle ranges which it delivers with superb purity and clarity. The Jupiter is also strong in this area, but where the Apollo shines is in its overall presentation of the music, which is most notable in a sense of 'space' and 'air' around the music. I have found the Apollo can handle all types of music, but this sense of 'space' is most notable with classical where orchestral pieces really soar and can sound quite moving. By comparison, the Jupiter sounds slightly recessed, compressed and shut in.

I've noted comments about a lack of bass weight with the Apollo. This is true compared to the Jupiter, but for me personally the Jupiter is a bit too overpowering in this area. So whilst the bass isn't as big in the Apollo, it is still nevertheless tuneful and delivered with pace and timing, which in my view results in a more even handed and better balanced sound. As a consequence (and unlike the Jupiter), the Apollo is never fatiguing in long listening sessions.

Overall then I would say that the Apollo is a more accomplished player than the Jupiter and should be very high on the shortlist of anybody contemplating a new cd player in the £500 to £1,000 price bracket. My only dilema is whether to buy an Apollo now or wait a little while longer for the Saturn (the Apollo's big brother). My local Audio-T has just listened to one via a Rega rep and they have told me that it does everthing the Apollo does but even better.

Similar Products Used:

Rega Jupiter

Mids and highs, ability to give a sense of 'space' around the music.

If I was being picky, ever so slightly bass light.

I currently own a Rega Jupiter 2000 that I bought as an ex demo from my local Audio-T for £600 last year and, following reading reviews of the Apollo, was intrigued to compare the two. Audio-T in Cheltenham (great shop with friendly and knowledgable staf) loaned me an Apollo for the weekend. Other components in my system are a Naim Nait 5i and Dynaudio Audience 42 stand-mounts.

I REALLY, REALLY wanted the Jupiter to sound better (a £1,000+ player against a £500 player, no contest you would think). But how wrong I was! The Apollo is an exceptional player for the money. I agree with other reviews on this site that its strengths lie in the purity and clarity of the mid-range and treble and its abilities to reveal the nuances of music. The Jupiter is strong in these areas also, but where the Apollo shines over the Jupiter is its overall presentation of the music, most notable in the sense of 'space' around the music - it's almost as if the music is able to 'breathe' with the Apollo, whereas by comparison the Jupiter sounds a little compressed and 'shut in'.

The Apollo is great with all types of music, but the differences described above are most notable with classical, where orchestral pieces really soar and can sound quite moving.

I've noted the comments from some reviews about a lack of bass with the Apollo. This is true compared to the Jupiter, but if anything I found the Jupiter a little bass heavy, so for me personally the lack of bass weight in the Apollo isn't a problem. True, the bass isn't as powerful, but its nevertheless delivered with deftness and pace. Overall, the Apollo sounds a more 'together' and clean player than the Jupiter.

My dilema now is whether to part exchange my Jupiter for an Apollo, or to wait for the Saturn (the Apollo's big brother)!

Similar Products Used:

Rega Jupiter 2000

Space, tone, clarity, timing - value

The design is a touch agricultural - the silver looks especial cheap - black much better. Haven't Rega heard of aftermarket products? If this is going to sit in my hous for 8 years I'd be happy to pay for a metal fascia, metal lid and better remote.

I upgraded my 8 year old original Rega Planet for the Apollo and the difference is astounding. The Planet was a great player, very musical but it was never adept at drawing out the nuances of the music and hence was not especially good at representing more subtle musical elements (string tones, voice inflections, colour, production, mix). For years I was listening to vinyl and blaming my amplifier (modified Pioneer Precision) and phono stage as limiting factors. However, the Apollo has revealed that the Planet is to blame for CD's lack of sparkle. The detail was not coming through. With the Apollo I can hear space, tones and follow dynamic swings and individual lines. Its very new and still damn good.

I auditioned it with a Naim Nait 5i and PMC TB2+s - very impressive. The Naim built on the clarity and rhythm and the TB2+s, with their wonderful tweeter, tracked all the detail and dynamic contrasts. I played a 1954 recording of Clara Haskil playing Mozart and the system brought the whole recording to life. The orchestra moved in 'space.' I played Nightmares on Wax's Carboot Soul and all the production opened up before you.

I'd also heard a couple of negatives about the graininess of the Nait and the lack of bass in the Apollo. All three components are fantastic value, the graininess was not apparent in this context but I could heard touch of light-weightedness in the bass. The TB2+s are transmission-loaded box speakers and great at bass notes for their size; however, when we swapped over to the GB1 floorstanding speakers - a smaller bass driver but a longer transmission line - the bass notes dropped very deeply and filled the whole sound out. I guess it must be system dependent and I would not blame the Apollo. One of the reviews I read prior to buying was testing the CD player in the context of £20,000 worth of Naim gear and concluded that the bass was not up to the wonders of the treble. Perhaps not. However, the guys at Cornflake were very happy to put the Apollo against the Naim CD5x (£1500) without any excuses. Don't worry! It is a fantastic buy. Tune your system and enjoy the (I thought I would never say this) life in CDs.

Customer Service

Great where I bought it from.

Similar Products Used:

Rega Planet, Naim CD5, Trichord Genesis, Naim Nait 3 & 5i, Pioneer Precision A300, Audiolab 8000A, Kef Q30s, TB2+, GB1,

Beautiful highs and mids
Nice imaging and soundstage
Clarity and detail
Exciting to listening to. Makes you relook at all your CD's again
Quality of Build
Finesse and speed of Bass

I liked the top loader but some might not
Very black.

I have been looking for a higher end CD Player for quite a while. I am pleased to say that the Rega Apollo is my final choice. I have a Cambridge 640H Music Server which is very good but I wanted a CD player that could really bring out the detail in special CD's. I have listened to the Cambridge 640c, the Arcam CD192, the Simaudio Moon Equinox, The Myriad 100 Series, and even the Denon Universal 3910.

I find the Rega Apollo an exceptional and compelling player for the money. This player is the only player I have auditioned that captures the unique subtleties of the CD. The Arcam was good overall but not exciting in anyway - I found the difference between the 640H and the Arcam not significant enough. The Moon was very enjoyable but the price was simply beyond my reach. Price aside, the moon was smooth and imaged well but lacked the special musical flavour I was hoping to hear.

The Apollo is really something special. Clarity is absolutely amazing. You hear every note in the treble and mid range with a great deal of delicacy on finer music and flare and excitement on jazz and rock.

The bass is very well tuned. Timing and speed here is excellent. The player is not exceptionally notably in the lower ranges but bass is exciting and fast.

Overall this player represents a significant step up from sub $1000 players. It has a really unique technical configurationa and componentry that results in a sound that is exciting and unique. I strong encourage auditioning this player

Similar Products Used:

Arcam CD 192
Myriad 110
Moon equinox
Cambridge 640C

pace rythym and timing(never believed in this before i heard the apollo) tuneful low bass great soundstage and imaging liquid sound

absolutely none

i could afford moderately more expensive cd players but luckily i found everything i need in the apollo i don't usually buy into the latest and greatest headlines but this rega happens to be able to back it up make sure that you warm the player up for 25 to 30 mins before critical listening - all things being equal it sounds good right out of the box but after 30 mins it really shines as the class a amps warm up

Similar Products Used:

rega won in head to head competition with naim cd5i , rotel 1072 , arcam cd73 , cambridge 640c v2 , all nad models , roksan kandy mkIII , high end mbl and music fidelity a3.5

pace rythym and timing(never believed in this before i heard the apollo) tuneful low bass great soundstage and imaging liquid sound

absolutely none

i could afford moderately more expensive cd players but luckily i found everything i need in the apollo i don't usually buy into the latest and greatest headlines but this rega happens to be able to back it up make sure that you warm the player up for 25 to 30 mins before critical listening - all things being equal it sounds good right out ofd the box but after 30 mins it reall shines as the class a amps warm up

Similar Products Used:

rega won in head to head competition with naim cd5 , rotel 1072 , arcam cd73 , cambridge 640c v2 , all nad models , roksan kandy mkIII , high end mbl and music fidelity a3.5

Smooth highs. No harsh treble. Very nice chassis design. Very solid.

Lid opens upward. So you have to place on top of your stereo rack. Leaving no place for a turntable.

Lots of details come through. Music remains easy to listen to even at higher volumes. Very nice chassis design. Very solid. Great product.

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NAD C541 Sony ES 5 disc CD chager

Mid's and highs are very beautiful. Involving.

Bass lacks tightness. Looks and feels cheap.

Great sound. Vivid, detailed, involving, natural, spacious. Bass is a bit fuzzy, muddy and vague. I would say, mids and highs are superb and bass is moderate, huge difference though. Preprocessing of a cd takes a while. You put in a CD, then you have to wait for about 15 seconds. You can't press the play button, physically you can, but nothing happens during the wait. That's a bit annoying. The player looks and feels a bit cheap, lots of plastic, cheap parts. The lid is very lightweight. My former player was a first generation Rega Planet which was build like a tank.

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Rega Planet

Musical player. Great buy for the price!

Maybe more bass and black holes, but non for the price.

What a cd-player: the same design as the Rega Planet, but a totally different sound! The sound is big, open, transparent, detailed and rhythmic. It's more coherent than the Planet. The bass is tight and punchy. Treble and mids are smooth.

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Linn Genki, Philips 9000s, Rega Planet and Jupiter.