As one somewhat technically challenged (I feel the more technical you become, the less genuine musical enjoyment you can experience), I think the Rega Planet has a very pleasing, comfortable, yet accurate sound without the sterility of the Arcam 8.

I've just recently added the Rega Planet to my system. It's very musical, warm and smooth. I'd considered other players such as Linn and Ultech. This player retails for $795 - I picked it up used for a bargain $475. Probably the best audio purchase ever made. Since everyone has a different objective when shopping for audio equipment, I do not want to sound biased, I simply want to pass along an opinion for those looking for a terrific player without going into debt. It's rated a "B Class" in the reviews, and was recommended to me by an audio shop in Dallas Texas - Audio Concepts. Which has also recommended some new components by Mistral, soon to be part of my system.
For anyone looking for a player in this price range, it's well worth listening to. As technology changes so will my components, but for now the music is sounding pretty good!

I love the planet and would not be happy if I had any other cd player around it's price.

At first when looking at cd players to buy, I was looking at something around the $300 to $500 range, and I did not think a cd player would make that much
of a difference in the sound of a system. BOY... was I wrong.

I had a very nice salesman, and spent 2 hours a day for about a week
comparing every cd player in the store that was around the price of the planet.
No other cd player had such amazing sound, sound that made you get butterflies when listening to it.

Even after all that, I still went to other stores and did the same thing. The planet was the best. Although expensive to me, after you hear it, you must have one. It's worth it.

If you like Rock and Jazz music, don't look any more, it's a waste of time, buy a REGA PLANET. : ' >

Seems to be lots of opinions on the Rega Planet. I must confess some of themcomletely mystify me. While the Planet isn't the most dynamic cd player around, it is certainly not laid back. Those who find it so, must like their music in their
faces or have something wrong with their hearing. I've owned the Planet for
about 7 months now and while I will upgrade to something better in the future, for now I find the Planet satisfying. My biggest problem with the Planet is that
horrible captive power cord. I don't know what Rega was thinking. It seems
to me that an IEC would not have added that much to its price, but would have
added much to its sonics were we able to use a good quality power cord.

I've owned the Planet for about 9 months now. I still love it! Bottom line: I'm listening to a lot more MUSIC now - and for longer periods of time - without fatigue!! Using a modest sysem too: NAD 304/Signet Sl-260's/Flatline speaker cable/Van den HUL "The First" interconnect.

Having only had the Planet for several weeks, I doubt I have the full measure of it as of yet, but I will try to make a few comments that hopefully will be helpful to people considering this purchase.1. This unit changes sound considerably as it warms up. When first fired up (at least my unit) is quite laid back...even a bit muffled in the upper mids and highs). It takes about 30 min to reach 90% of its' capabilities and it is in full song by an hour. The basic sound has just a touch of warmth in the mids and while the highs aren't lacking, they also are not forward.

2. While this is not an "analytical" sounding unit, it reveals a surprising amount of detail. This does not present itself in an "in-your-face" manner, rather in the fact that various instruments are easily identified in ensembles or bands. I also find I can understand some of the words on recordings that I have not been able to do so before. A bit of an enigma. It does reveal the difference between good and poor recordings, but does not shine such a ruthless light on the poor ones as to render them unlistenable.

3. There is a sense of space or ambiance that is quite beguiling in many recordings. Is this *more* than is really present? Quite possibly, but at the risk of endangering my status as a card carrying audiophile, I have to admit that I find it very attractive. There is a sense of space around individual instruments that creates the illusion that you are one step closer to a live performance. This player has a way of drawing me into the music that I have come to the conclusion could only be accomplished by an analog source. Did I mention the soundstage? Wall to wall with my NHT 2.5's.

4. So does it do anything wrong? Well, it could use a bit more bass. It's not missing action, but it lacks the sense of slam that my Audio Reseach CD-2 had. Still, it has a very tuneful way of dealing with the midbass that often finds me tapping my feet along with some CD's that I had decided were hardly worth listening to. Even at age 52, I caught myself playing air guitar along with Stevie Ray Vaughn the other night as he played "Little Wing" and "Love Struck Baby." It is sensitive to interconnects and right now I'm using Audio Research Litzwire which gives a great sense of space...but could be contributing to the "laid back" presentation.

I heard this unit with lesser preamps (I am using an Audio Research LS-15) and it still sounds good...although not as smooth as what I am hearing right now.

For the money, (or up to 4-5 times more) I doubt you could significantly improve on the performance. I'm more than pleased.

The Rega Planet was my only choice in it's price range.I couldn't be happier.After listening to several $500 to $700CDN players,(the NAD 522,Marantz'67SE,&the Parasound'1000) it was clear that paying a little more for the 'Rega'($1000CDN), was worth while. At first I found the sound a little thin. This soon changed, after approx. 40 to 50hrs of use the sound completely opened up.I now have a decent source that I can start to build & improve my system with.(present system-Marantz SR66,Paradigm Mini-Monitors,12guage Monster cble,& Accoustic Research source-connection.)

I spent a weekend with the Rega Planet in my system, consisting of AE1 Tube pre-amp (Kit from Cary), SF 40 amp, B & W 803's. Interconnects are home grown Teflon coated silver-plated copper wire braided in the Kimber tradition. Speaker wire Audio Quest Cobalt on top and Type 6 on the bottom.
On lone for comparison was the Classe CD .03.

After worming up each unit for an Hour I began to compare them. After the first disc I felt that the built like a bunker Classe had better dynamics, thighter bass, and a cleaner clearer view into the sound stage.

My wife joined me and I played a disk for her. She chose the Rega expressing how it connected her more to the music.

We decided to conduct blind lessening sessions. Each took a turn setting in the sweet spot with eyes closed wile the other would swap players. The person in the sweet spot would plug their ears and hum to block out any noise that would clue them in to witch player was up next. The lessener would only indicate witch player they preferred on the cut being played.

The first disc up was Eric Claptons "Unplugged". My wife went first after comparing the two payers a couple of time she determined that she liked the current player. She felt this player allowed her to fallow the individual instruments easier and moved her more deeply. She opened her eyes to discover she had picked the Rega. My turn as I sat lessening comparing the sound of the to players, I found that I preferred one over the other. The one I liked had smother treble with less spit on the plucked steal strings of the guitar. The bass was a little bigger and wetter and the dynamics seemed about the same for both players witch surprised me because the sighted comparisons I though that the Classe did dynamics much better. When I opened my eyes I discovered that I preferred the Rega.

Next up Chris Isack's "For Ever Blue". We played the first track "Baby Did A Bad Thing". The opening of this song is delicious however later in the song when he starts screaming and laying into the guitar it could drive me from the room with my old NAD 5000 CD player. My Wife picked the Rega once again. As I lessened again I noticed during the first part that I liked both players. One stood slightly above the other with more emotion. During the last part, the player with the emotional connection didn't make me want to cover my ears. It was still bright but it was more musical and sounded more like some guy screaming into a mike with too much reverb. The other player was not as musical. I opened my eyes to discover that once again I chose the Rega

Next up the move sound track of "For the Boys". If this disc was not recorded using tubes it is a very good imitation. My wife chose the Rega again saying that it put Bette Midler's voice more out front of the backing vocals and all the voices were in front of the nicely sized orchestra. When I lessened I noted that indeed one of the players was stunning in its display of the positions of the singers and band and was more enjoyable musically. I opened my eyes to see the Rega spinning the Disc. Dam I hate it when I when the wife is right.

We moved on to Sade's "Love Deluxe". My Wife chose the Rega again. During my turn I notice that one player had tight base that got me into the swing of it. The music seemed to be bigger and took me away. I thought this is the Player I wanted. Opening my eyes I discovered I picked the Classe.

WE tried Dick Hymans "Swing" HCCD disk. This was the hardest comparison as the volume level between the players was vastly different. MY wife chose the Classe for the first time to her surprise. She said that it was harder for her this time to make a choice. As I listened I was struck by the fact that the difference was not earth shattering. I fully expected the HCCD player to kick some serous behind and I would know instantly witch player had the decoder chip. I made my chose and for the second time I chose the Classe.

What to due?? We decided that with the Rega being chosen so often that until the new formats settle down we could easily live with the Rega at $500 less. It should be noted that the Rega tracked every CD we gave it. I wish I could say the same for the Classe. I have several discs that my old NAD flatly refused to play. The Rega never hinted at a problem with them. The Classe skipped on nearly the entire set of problem Discs.

I don't get all the excitment over this product. I have made several attempts to "like" this player, in four extended demos with different sets of equipment. The best setup was with a CJ CAV-50, which I feel was valid because that is my amp. To me, the Planet is too mushy in the midrange and too bright sounding on the high end, while its bass is ample. By "mushy" I am referring to its inability to reveal distinctions among and between instruments, thereby smearing the sound to a small degree. It provides a very good sense of air, but maybe too much to the point of being distracting. The cabinet looks kind of cheapish too. Don't like its looks at all. In its price range, I like the Arcam, Ultech, and Cal Audio products better. I do not feel that the Planet is a good value in high end audio. My rating is a 3, but I'd probably be willing to go for a 4 if its wierd appearance were improved.

I want to upgrade my current CD player, the Marantz 63SL. I tried the Planet. I may end up with the Cal Audio CL-20. My systems include Martin-Logan Quests and Monolith IIIs speakers, McIntosh MC30s and Counterpoint NPS 400 amps, custom built Dyna PAS 3 and Yamaha C-4 pre-amps, VPI IV w/a Lydian Lyra and SME 4, custom wired, Magnan IV and Hovland interconnects, OCOS and Kimber 8 speaker wire....
The Marantz excells in rhythm, bass and dynamics. I listen to opera, jazz, 50's-60' rock, musicals, folk, etc. With a broad range of music, over 1400 CDs, I cast about to find a superior mid and top end in a CD player at reasonable cost. The Hovland cable is used on the Marantz as it compensates for upper mid hardness.

My dealer, Brooks Berdan suggested the Planet. He was right. The Planet tracked flawlessly, has a superb transport, gorgeous mids and highs. Vocal lines and massed voices were superbly delineated. So why did I not buy the Planet? It lacked the strengths of the Marantz. The bottom end was adequate. The music just did not grab me. It must be a problem with rhythm. I must have rhythm in my music. This is the primary reason I did not buy it. Another problem was imaging. Sometimes certain instruments stuck out of ensembles where they should not, based on hearing the master tapes for several CDs (private issues). This was particularly true of horns. It the Marantz 63SL did not exist (not the 67 which I do not like), the Planet would be a good choice. The remote is junk. The player itself is beautifully designed. Anyone looking for a step up from most CD players under $500 should audition the Planet. I wish Rega would produce a Rega II addressing my concerns. I doubt that they will since they went for the smooth, analog type sound and ended up with a durable, albeit musically deficient player, which rivals but falls short of analog reproduction rhymically.