Build quality, warm, natural, relaxing sound.

Not really a weakness-is sensitive to interconnects, and
really does come into its own with tube amplification.

This is an update to a review I posted way back in March '99. Since that time, a few things have occurred that have made me respect this player even more than I did then.
First, I went to a tubed Conrad Johnson MV50 power amp. This is truly a synergistic combination-the clangorous quality I heard in some piano recordings, which I was wrongly blaming on the Planet, I think now was clipping of my solid state amplifier (Bryston B60, which I still think highly of, and am using as a preamp). I've no doubt, that with my MMG's, the CJ is probably clipping as well, as pianos are actually some of the most demanding instruments for an amplifier to reproduce. But with the tubes, which recover quicker from clipping, its not audible at all.
Secondly, I've read a few reviews that call this player an "unreliable piece of s**t", etc. NOT SO! I had a incident with a VERY near-miss lightning strike, that actually blanked out the display on my Planet. "Oh no...it's toast", I thought. When I powered it back up, instead of it's usual cheerful sounding chirp that it emits when it initializes, it kind of did a sick sounding gargle.
The grinding sound coming from the transport didn't sound promising,either. I continued to use it, and you know what?
Both cleared up on their own-it's running as well as it ever did! I've used this player continuously for over 2 years now, and I've no desire to upgrade. This player, like
the Conrad Johnson MV50 amp, or the Bryston B60, or the Linn Sondek, belong to that select class of components, which, while they may very well become obsolete, are so good in their own right that they are...CLASSIC! A keeper, especially when combined with tubes.

Similar Products Used:

Stan Warren modified Rotel RCD 955.

Asthetics

Sound

What a crappy player. I bought a used set of arcam delta gear for less and I am way happier. The rega is a digital CD player from an analogue turntalbe company. You're better off with something from Arcam or Naim. This CD player has also been rumored to be unreliable. I have listened to this player a bunch and it really sounds muddy and lacks clarity. This is definately not a piece of equipment for electrostatic speakers or tube equipment. Don't waste your money! Buy something else, or wait for a MKII to come out. I'll give it a 1 because I can't give it a zero!

Similar Products Used:

Arcam Alpha 8, NAD C-520

Smoothness and soundstage

A little bright on the upper end. Rega supplied interconnects suck

A delight to listen to after breakin and use of Kimber Silver Streaks.

An incredible bargain. Purchased from NeedleDoctor.com and they threw in the Kimber Silver Streaks.

Great product, great dealer

Wonderful sound, natural, detailed and great with vocals

Mine seems to have a problem with the top loading lid/puck

great sound, wonderfully involving even though I'm still running it in (had it 3 days). Have spotted a worrying problem with it though - when loading a disc and close the lid, when it reads the disc the puck/clamp knocks/rubs - 9 times out of 10 it does this and occasionally it fails to track up and doesn't read the TOC due to the excessive rubbing/knocking. This problem seems worse on some discs than others but is a problem with virtually all the discs I have tried in it. Open the lid and close it again and the problem may go but it may take several attempts. Tried closing the lid by letting it fall under it's own weight or placing it down gently but it's very hit and miss whether the puck rubs - seems the lid doesn;t always line up or the puck's f**ked! When the disc is spinning you can see the puck spinning on top of the lid and it appears to be warped or doesn;t line up with the mechanism inside properly!

Not impressed at all and it'll be going straight back for exchange - I hope this is a one off as I love the sound of this player (BTW, I borrowed one before buying and didn't have a single problem with the puck/clamp rubbing).

I'd give it a 5 for sound/value but overall a 3 as using it hasn't been the pleasure I was hoping for. I'll post an updated review once this problem is sorted.

Similar Products Used:

used with:
cyrus3+psxr amp
tannoy R2 speakers

Smooths over bad recordings...

disappointing soundstaging, a bit untidy on classical and a a bit congested on clssical works...

OK Folks let me first start by saying I am an audiophile who has been heavily biased against Sony products pretending to be "high End" just because they have the "ES" label. I've owned several of their mass market mid-fi products wich appeared to suffer from quality problems (reciever volume control failure, not once but twice on the same unit). Since becoming a serious audiophile about 7 years ago I have avoided Sony like the plague! I was recently in the market for a replacement CD player for under $1,000 and everyone kept writing about these Sony ES players as being really good (Stereophile rates the top ES player CDP-XA7ES as class A, and the 20's little brother the CDP_XA1ES as class "D" in recommended components). Based on this and reviews like the "Soundstage" review of the XA20ES, I decided to obtain one for audition largely to prove what a joke this must all be!

Associated Equipment: All listening was conducted on the Acurus DIA-100 direct imput amplifier. Speakers are Vandersteen 2ce's. Power conditioning by Adcom. All interconnects were Kimber "PBJ", and speaker wire is Kimber 8TC (low frequencies) and 4TC (for upper frequencies). The Vandersteens are bi-wired. I obtained well broken-in versions of the Sony CDP-AX20ES, Rotel RCD-971 (HDCD equipped), and the Rega Planet. Also initially auditioned was the Arcam Alpha 7, though I eliminated it form my list at the dealers store and did not try it in my home system.

First the planet... After all of the hype surrounding the Rega, I truely expected it to be the better player of the three. Boy was I in for a disappointment. Although the planet was vastly superior to my former NAD 502 and Rotel 855 players, compared to the newer Rotel RCD-971 and the Sony CDP-XA20es the Planet was in over it's head. What I mean by this is it's soundstage was fairly wide, but there was little depth, and the Planet's highs were untidy on classical and acoustic jazz. It did tend to "smooth over" bad (harsh) recordings to the extent it helped the sound, but on great recordings compared to the other two players it fell short. Reversing the polarity did help somewhat, but all in all it remained too lifeless, and lean in the upper bass and lower mids compared to the other players.

Enter the Rotel 971...the Rotel RCD-971 clearly had a much more three deminsional soundstage than the Planet with better (read more and more extended) bass, and a better sense of air surrounding the instruments. If anything the Rotel has too much of a good thing. (I am an acoustic/electric bassist so if you're assuming I just dont like bass in general, you're wrong). The Rotel offers what at first is a VERY SUDUCTIVE sound. Fairly dynamic, with a rich if not somewhat dark sound. It has good sounstage depth and excellent width. There is a touch a grain in the lower highs, but come on this is only a $700 player. (I am basing my comparison of the Rotel to my friends Theta DAC, which is hardly fair). All in all a relaxed, punchy, non offending sound. On rock and jazz it speaks very well, especially on those recording which are shy in the bass department or have that famous CD "glaze" found on many (all?) of the early CD releases. But feed the Rotel a well recorded bass guitar and things can become overwhelming. Fender Jazz basses loose that great biting "purr" and sound much more like Fender precisions, fat and dull in attack. Bass drum is exciting at first for the visceral impact, (read thud) but suddenly you realize the low frequencies are dominating the mids and its as if "half of the violins went home". I guess the best way to explain it is that the 971 sounds too beefed up in the lows, and looses low level resolution in the process. As instruments fade from loud to very soft they "get swallowed up" before they should into the digital blackness. Cymbals don't sound like they do in the real world, they are just too polite. (I understand why many people would be attracted to this type of sound, but realistic it isn't folks). Using HDCD encoded discs improves things quite a bit, especially on soundstage depth, but ask yourself what percentage of your CD are HDCD's? Even with the HDCD discs, the Rotel is not in the same league with the dare i say it?...SONY!

The XA20ES...At first the CDP-XA20ES sounds a little thin in it's balance after hearing the Rotel, but very quickly there is the awareness the highs are simply more extended and with a level of refinement (read no harshness or grain) that I never dreamed possible in this price range! The soundstage is expansive and defined in depth and width. The acoustics of the recorded space are outlined in an unbelievable fashion. Low level detail is not to be believed! I was hearing detail on recordings I have owned for years for the first time. Suddenly recordings became "coherent" and the image blurring I expect in this price range did not occur. My audiiophile associate who owns much more expensive Theta gear was floored by what we were hearing. "Low level resolution is unbelieable". Nothing slides into the "digital blackness" on this baby. And the dynamic range (soft to loud) was WAY BETTER than the Rega and much better than the Rotel. Please don't miss understand, if I had not played them side by side on identical interconnects and matched very closely on signal I wouldn't have believed it. I was so blown away after a couple of days with the machine I called my audiophile friend over. He is still in shock. This player much more closely mimics products in the $1800-$2500 range than $700! Deep but "fast" (read defined in attack with sense of the musical note like on a real instrument) bass. Not the usualy "muddy but full" sound found in most players at this price point.

A word of caution... This player does very little to hid the flaws of a poor playback system. It is in no way euphonic. If your system leans toward a lean sound, this is probably not the best choice. I think the Rotel's added weight/richness would be a better match. If you like pipe organ recordings that "shake the room's foundation", be aware the XA20Es is SLIGHTLY rolled off in the very lowest registers. (It still plays Victor Wooten's 5 string bass solo on "Flight of the cosmic hippo" by Bela Fleck and the Flectone's very solidly. But compared to the Theta system lacks the lowest register "slam" some folks are addicted to). However if your system is capable of good lower frequecy reproduction, and has the ability to reproduce a 3 dimensional soundstage you will be blown away by this product! At $700 it is a steal, and considering the discounts found on the product with the right system it's a no brainer. Please see the Soundstage! review of the product for a more detailed anaysis. Remeber this player shares most of the components with the CDP-AX7ES which is rated as class "A" and "without equal" in CD payers. As a former Sony detracter, they deserve a "10" for this product at this price point. If only they would put this build quality and performance in their mass market gear, think how cheaply this level of sound could be offered...

Similar Products Used:

Rotel RCD-971, Arcam Alpha 7, Sony XA20ES...

Look, look, look and built

Sound quality

Looking to change my old NAD 5440, I was very impressed by the look of the Rega Planet but the sound was not as impressive. Not much worst than the old NAD but pale in comparaison with the cheaper Rotel 971 (again, the look of the Rotel is just plain but the sound is much more better). The other players tested were much better but also much costlier.

So if - and only if - you listen only to rock and hard rock music, the Planet could be a good choice and clearly the best looking one. If you listen to jazz and classical go for the Rotel or the Arcam, according to your budget. I choose the Arcam alpha 9.

Similar Products Used:

Arcam alpha 9; Rotel 971 and 991; Nad 5440

I'm gonna make this short and sweeeetttt.....Rega Planet is one hell of a hi-fi product.
It makes me wanna jump whenever i listened to it!!!!
it sounds like a turntable too....
It's A MUST.....

I've owned the Rega Planet for almost a year now. It has a unique sound, and that's a good thing. Most of the CD players in this price range sound boxy, bright or just plain bad. The Rega has a warm, yet detailed sound. But the detail doesn't jump out and grab you; if you listen for it, it's there. The dynamics are also great. It playes the loudest passages as cleanly and effortlessly as the softest, without the strain or timbral changes many other players experience. I still prefer vinyl for ultimate clarity, detail, resolution, timbre and depth, but the Rega has me listening to CDs again, which places it above all the other CD players I listened to. This is one of the best sounding CD players out there.

The REGA PLANET its out of this world:
I tried quite a few cd players before making my choice and spent a couple of weeks with each unit, Starting with Parasound CDP-1000 sounded good but skipped alot, (very discerning it was returned) then onto Rotels 971, It did'nt seem to have detail or as much clarity as I was expecting, Finally the Rega I ordered
came in. I must say I'm lucky that the owner of Pro sound (Don Austin) always lets me take equipment home to try out in my system. I mean thats where it counts your room accoustics not some dealers showroom.
I connected the Planet up with audioquest Rubies sat back and finally I was hearing what I've been looking for. I liked even the design of the rega from the top loading to the very simple control panel not alot of candy.
The sound is very detailed in respect to soundstaging and detail, voices are lifelike.

Bottomline for price, sound, simple but effective engineering I will stick with the Rega Planet

I had saved and saved and worked and worked on my wife to let me spend $500 on a good no frills great sounding single disc player.That being said, I had my sights set on the Marantz 67SE by listening to a salesman and reading reviews. My future CD player picked out, I went on to other things and waited for the money to pile up.
When the time came to go out and plunk the cash on the counter I began to wonder just what else might be available in the $500 range. Not wanting to easily let go of my hard saved and fought for financing, I began to research. That's when I found this site and started reading about the various "killers" in this price range.
I persuaded my wife to accompany me on the journey through the laborinth that is "stereo shopping". I wanted her to feel the pain, confusion, and utter gut wrenching fear of making the wrong disision, as well as, the fantastic, liberating, two hands in the air glory of leaving no stone unturned in the quest and knowing you got the best one. In other words I wanted her to get caught up in the quest for the grail of the price point like I always do.
We set out together.
First up, the Parasound CDP 1000 head to head with a Onkio 5 disc changer. She noticed the difference and we were off. The Parasound was very detailed, not harsh, very warm and focused. The bass was tight and warm without blubber. I felt what I was hearing was very accurate and lacked coloration or electronic enhancement. I heard nothing that caused the angels to sing, however, nothing that set off alarm bells either. Great build quality, solid switches, and wheighing in at 13 Kg it is the heaviest contender in the batch we surveyed and it survived the "punch the load/unload button hard" test without giving up any shelf. The drawer makes an awful racket when opening and closing, however, and gave me a decidedly uneasy feeling for 5 bills.
Next up, the Marantz. The best word I heard to describe this player was "muddy"--actually it was my wifes word (this was when I really knew she was starting to get locked in on the quest). To my ears it was very warm and smooth but at the expense of detail and focus. It lacked excitement and would possibly make a good match in a system that tends to be overly bright on its own and needs some high end roll-off. I think my mom might like this player and she would say, "It has wonderful tone!" I think "muddy" is a better word for it. Build quality is fine, erganomics, button placement, and feature set are what the mainstream consumer has come to expect and it has a great blue colored read-out; very Marantz.
The Rotel that lists for $700 and has HDCD walked all over the Marantz and made me feel like a big cloud had been lifted from the room. Clean, crisp, detail like crazy. It made Dire Straits sound swirling and airy and showed off the excellent production of the source. Great build quality and the drawer was the smoothest, most solid of all the players we tested. My wife said, "Yes it sounded much more detailed and crisp, but harsh. That one was REALLY harsh." Man-o-man had I heard this? Was I dreaming or had my wife began to turn the corner onto Audio Enthusiast Blvd.?!
Then on a whim I turned into a store that I knew has used gear and high end components with a decidedly British bent. I had learned about the Cambridge Audio line from these people and would have been seriously considering one of their players if it didn't have the most rediculous looking display I have seen on any piece of electronic equipment since 1972. I just couldn't get past it for any price. I will say this is the only brand I had no interest in hearing or even touching.
I just pointed at it and told my wife, "This is another one that is in the $500 range but it's so visually unappealing to me that I wouldn't want it at any price." Regardless of the sound, I just don't think I could stand looking at it.
Some great old funky soul was playing in one of the rooms and I went in thinking, "This is SOUND QUALITY!" Tower of Power horn section belting out 'What is Hip' like like mad. The bass was thumping quick, the horns were natural and I felt their individual presence within the music. They were ripping along at warp speed and I could actually feel the musical separation between them. My first thoughts were, "accurate and creamy"; the music was at once tight, defined, detailed, and smooth like butter not blubber. Low and behold, it was the Planet. I was awestruck at the sight of it sitting there spinning away with its red read-out and space age dish drainer top. Build quality is top rate, heavy metal case, no crappy drawer clunking in and out; just a precision machined lid to raise or lower, smooth to the touch and feels like quality. To say I was impressed was like saying Moses went on a camping trip. I began to feel all the warning signs of the totaly smitten, sweaty palms, quickened pulse, wide glistening eyes (at least I envisioned them wide and glistening).
"This..." I began to tell my wife, with a reverent tone usually reserved for church, "Is the Rega Planet."
"I've been reading about it on the internet and it is said to be what dreams are made of for the price but it sells for about $800 which makes it a little out of range." Of course to my wife $500 to $800 was like looking across the road versus gazing out at the Grand Canyon.
We listened to a cut from the most recent Clarence Clemmons disc and that's when I heard the angels. I looked at my wife and she was digging it big time (of course, all the while trying not to show it!).
I started the usual questions, how reliable? "Never got one back." shot back the salesman.
Are they popular? "We sell them constantly!" said the salesman.
Then my wife asked about the mechanism and whether the lazer could be damaged since it is exposed when the door is open with no disc in. "Haven't ever had a problem like that and as long as you're careful nothing should happen any different than from dust and dirt entering through a drawer."
She was asking questions, could it be? Could she be actually...INTERESTED? Meanwhile the angels kept singing and I kept listening and began the scheme.
As it worked out we went back and had a brief and very nice encounter with the Parasound and we decided that of the players we tested it is the undisputed winner in the $500 price war. Great sound for the price. A true sleeper and worth a serious listen.
The Planet, however, has taken up residence in our stereo rack. By some wonderful miricle the Planet broke my wifes resistance and she came to realize with me that money isn't the issue. The sound of music and the soul-stirring thrill of hearing your favorite recordings more completly; with less between you and the performer than you ever thought possible is what it's all about.
Not to say there is no limit. The Naim vaporized the Planet, however, this just showed us there is always more.
For our money, the Rega Planet is the best compromise between heaven and hell. It has some of the smoothness of the really high end at the expence of some detail, however, in this sacrifice lies the magic; because try as I might I have not found any recording so far that sounds bad on the Planet. Muddy Waters to Mudhoney sound equally impressive; no easy task on any player, even harder for $795 as my wife and I will attest.
So now as I sit here writing this and listening to my new player, I'm thinking, "John Lee Hooker never sounded so good...or Frank Zappa...or Linton Kwesi Johnson...or Billy Strayhorn...or Coltrane...or...or..." Heck I haven't even gotten to Pink Floyd, the Beatles, Stones or Dylan yet! I can't wait to hear more of what they were hearing on playback....
And in the end I'm also thinking that after listening to what the Audiophiles call the best, we did it, we got the best one!

System:
Rega Planet CD player
Nordost Flatline Cable interconnect
Dual CS 5000 turntable
Shure cartridge
Monster Cable interconnect
Teac A-770 cassette
plain interconnect
Marantz 2275 reciever
plain 12 guage speaker wire
JBL L-100 speakers

Decidedly "old school" and the Planet and Dual make it sound like the best stereo I've ever owned. For all of you who have some good gear from the old days; it's never overkill to upgrade your front end with a Planet. You'll hear a world of difference.

Regards, Mike