REGA

Apollo CD Player $1200
   The Apollo replaces Rega's highly esteemed Planet 2000. Rega tells us that while the CD was introduced in 1982, the operating system of Redbook (regular) CDs hasn't been improved upon since about 1987. The big guys who make lasers decided to throw all of their eggs into the DVD basket- figuring CD was good enough as is.

   Rega is more particular than that. They realized, after all, that CD has been very successful. You can buy most of the MUSIC you want on CD. Why not make the playback system better for CD instead of forcing everyone that cares about sound to go after SACD? After many years of working on the Redbook operating system, Rega introduced the Apollo in late 2005. A thorough description of its engineering is on Rega's site, which we link you to above. But the quick reason it sounds so good is that the Apollo "initializes" to each disc you put in it. It takes about five seconds for the laser to be aligned ideally for your CD. The result is that you end up asking less from error correction circuits and the result is cleaner sound.

   How much cleaner? Noticeably. I must admit when Steve Daniels, the Rega importer, called me up to say the Apollo was just being shipped, I wasn't that excited. I had sold the Planet for years. It was good. Then we had the Planet 2000 which was a little better. I expected the Apollo to be a Planet 2000 with a few new wrinkles. But it's much more than that! How could I doubt old Steve?!

    When Apollo arrived I threw it in the same system we had the Planet 2000 in, with Rega electronics and a variety of speaker options. Immediately the system sounded much CLEANER than I had remembered. At the time in high spinning rotation was the Hilary Hahn/Natalie Zhu Mozart violin/piano sonata disc on DG. In the Apollo it sounded new, like somebody cleaned the dirt off the stylus! I doubted my perception and dragged over a Naim CD-5 to compare. At $3k the Naim is quite the benchmark of CD excellence. In comparing the Naim vs the Apollo on the same system... wow. Not much difference. In fact, after going back and forth for a while, I felt the Apollo was more detailed and the Naim was a bit more relaxed and effortless. But in weighing the $1k price vs the $3k price, it would be an easy decision for most folks.

    Given the Apollo's impressive performance, I decided to throw it into the big system with the BAT CD player, preamp, amp and B&W 802D speakers. If there was a greater difference to be heard, this would be the revealing system to tell me. Apollo was again, super detailed and musical. It wasn't as lush and warm as the BAT VK-D5SE. At $6k the BAT should do something better than the Apollo. And it does. But the Apollo does not take a back seat in clarity and quiet background.

     When you sort it all out, Apollo is the undisputed champ in its middle weight class. I suggest you bring in discs that might benefit from improved clarity. Try your solo piano and guitar discs. Try discs that interface piano/violin, or voice with piano or guitar. I think you'll agree that the improved clarity due to lack of background hash, is quite striking!

Saturn $2600
     Just in! The Saturn is the more refined, bigger brother to the Apollo. It uses the same operating system. But it goes further in terms of DACs, power supplies and other component parts.

     The Saturn is the most detailed CD player we've heard at any price! The transparency this guy achieves is truly ground breaking. Never have I heard brushes on cymbals or skins of the drums better delineated! It has been worth the long wait for Saturn to finally reach our doors!

     Rega turntables are AUDIBLY superior to everything else in their price range. With a simple, elegant design, Rega spends its money where it makes a difference, on mechanics instead of gadgets. There is less rumbling and ringing with a Rega than what competitors offer. The result is a quieter background and more information being extracted from the LP grooves. As you visit their site they discuss the specifics of the differences throughout their line of tables and cartridges.

     Regas are belt drive designs. The tonearms are extruded from one piece of aluminum, no Mickey Mouse headshells to affix. The plinths are hard fiber MDF. The platters are non resonant and flat! The motors are suspended. By employing a number of DIFFERENT materials in various portions of the turntable system, Rega creates a synergism to give you the most information you can get off the LP. I recommend you try this little experiment. Listen to a Rega with its stock felt mat. Then listen with a fat rubber-ish aftermarket mat. The rubber mat will steal the life out of the music. The air and space becomes dull. The percussive action of the piano is muted. This little test will prove to you that Rega knows precisely what it is doing. It is this array of wise choices that make Rega tables sound so good.

P1 $400

     P1 is Rega's brand new, entry level turntable. It’s a Rega built product from the ground up, including one piece aluminum tonearm. The plinth is a low mass particulate core sandwiched by highly rigid phenolic laminates. The platter is a Medite/Composite design. Power supply is on board. P1 comes with a premounted Goldring cartridge. You can install other cartidges, but the Goldring is prepackaged to provide an affordable combo right out of the box for $350! This is the ideal table for folks that want to re-enter the vinyl world on a budget. Don't get some plastic toy. It'll sound rumbly and warbly. You'll wonder what all the vinyl fuss is about!

P3 $900

     P3 remains the best buy in a serious turntable for the bucks! At $695 this table does more things right than anybody else. The plinth is a low mass micro fibre laminate with highly rigid phenolic resin mixed in. P3’s motor is higher quality and lower vibration in nature than Rega's P2 (now discontinued) was. P3 uses Rega’s renowned glass platter, which is virtually perfectly flat, 15mm thick to provide low resonance yet high mass. The RB300 tonearm is by now, legendary! It has been considered the high performance arm of choice for the price range for twenty years. Power supply is on board. P3 is available in several optional colors for $750. There is no better value in a high end table than the classic P3 from Rega!

P78 $595

     P78 is a P2 that plays 78s only and comes with a cartridge that plays in mono only- specifically to make 78s sound their best.

P5 $1400

P5 is a notch above P3 and replaces the venerable P25. The plinth on P5 is a micro fibre design, but is set within an aluminum alloy surrounding frame. The difference of the materials and the strength of each helps isolate vibration from entering the record playing system. While P5 has an on board power supply quite similar to P3, you can buy the optional PSU ($345) which allows noticeably lower motor resonance and improved sonic performance. P5 uses Rega’s famed glass platter, described in P3 above. P5 uses Rega’s new RB700 tonearm which is superior to RB300 in key areas of bias housing, bearing assemblies and materials used in construction.

P7 $2700

P7 is a fresh new product challenging the top of the line P9! P7 uses a plinth of complex CNC machined skeletal structure of medium/lightweight fibre composite encased in highly ridged phenolic resin laminates. This results in the plinth being very strong and light, which in turn improves sonic performance. P7 invokes P9’s ground breaking design of dual belt use to allow the platter to be virtually resonant free of mechanical interaction.

P7 uses a cutting edge ceramic platter which has evolved from the benchmark P9. P7’s power supply is outboard and provides low resonance motor isolation and improved performance. Having the power supply outboard minimizes hum and noise from sensitive phono leads and the cartridge itself. P7 uses the new RB700 tonearm which is designed to make cartridges work harder, maximizing cantilever acceleration and travel as much as possible to unlock new levels of information

P9 $5000

P9 is similar to P7 with an upgraded monocoque carbon fibre plinth. The pure ceramic platter is an ideal isolation material and is used on Nasa’s space shuttle tiles. Ceramic is the hardest known material this side of diamonds.

P9’s external power supply is carried out a bit further than P7. The tonearm is Rega’s new RB1000, which takes thirty times longer to manufacture than Rega’s RB300. RB1000 has state of the art bearing assemblies and wiring technology.

Vinyl Resurgence

There is no doubt we’re having an immense analog resurgence these days! Whether you choose to buy new discs for $15-30, or used ones for a couple bucks, many people have unloaded their collections so there’s tons of software available. Regardless of your musical interest, if you do a little hunting you’ll find a gold mine of music out there!

Moving Magnet Cartridges

Bias 2 $150: 6.2-6.8 mV, elliptical, standard 2 screw mounting design

Elys 2 $300: 6.8-7.2 mV, elliptical, 3 point screw mounting design

Exact $600: 6.8-7.2mV, Vital stylus, fine line micro ground from a rectangular diamond billet, hand wound even layer wiring scheme

Apheta $1800: Rega's brand new, built in house, low output MC cartridge. Rega's owner Roy Gandy calls this "perhaps the best product Rega has ever made1" That's how proud he is of it. We should receive it by Sept 2006. The specs are on Rega's site now.

Fono Phono Pre-Amp $350 MM, or $450 MC
High quality discrete component phono preamplifier. Two types are available for use with either MM or MC cartridges. Available in Black or Silver. Aluminum casing.

Ear Headphone Amp $295
This AC driven unit is a gem for folks serious about enjoying headphones. The sonic characteristic of this unit vs headphone sections of standard preamps is that the bass is more extended and the entire range of music, especially when you're driving it hard, stays smooth and relaxed. It doesn't take long to hear the smoothness!

Grado offers several fine MM cartridges, 4 mV output. Grados are not fussy about loading impedance and are known for smooth, mellow sound.

Green $60 3 piece design.

Red $110 4 piece design.

Gold $180 4 piece ultra pure copper wire.