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Red Book CDs

   When the Red Book (regular) CD was introduced in the early 80s it was quite the technological innovation. To manufacture the discs, the players, and actually make them work, with even mediocre musical results, was a remarkable technological accomplishment.

   But of course, we whiney audiophiles want it all. We weren’t satisfied with CDs that just played. We wanted them to sound great through our home audio systems. Nobody denied the attraction of the format. We just wanted better performance. I remember vividly that our Rega turntables for about $400 clobbered CDs played on $1500 machines.

   CD players have improved much over the years. But there has been a major impediment to clearing a significant hurdle. The OPERATING SYSTEM of the CD has basically been unchanged for twenty plus years. As soon as the big Asian companies saw the light of DVD at the end of the tunnel, they said CD was good enough and quit working on it. All of their techno talent went into DVD developments. That meant we music lovers were going to get improvements at a snail’s pace. DACS & power supplies improved. Semi conductors got a little better. But, CD was not going anywhere fast.

   Back to Rega. Rega recognized this problem early on. While Rega introduced the famed Planet CD player in the late 80s, it was committed to developing a better OPERATING SYSTEM for the Red Book CD. In conjunction with a friendly British software company, the results of this work are just being seen!

Apollo CD Player $1200

   About Christmas 2005 Rega brought out the Apollo. The Apollo was their first CD player with the newly crafted OPERATING SYSTEM. The Apollo was strikingly better than other $1k players we’ve heard including Rega’s own Planet which has achieved benchmark status at the price point. Apollo delivered transparency and a general level of clarity that the other guys couldn’t provide. It was like pulling back a sheer curtain to really see what was on the other side. We at Audio Emporium have been fortunate to sell a veritable boatload of Apollos to customers who have just absolutely fallen in love with their CD collection- to a greater degree than ever before.  

   The Apollo is more than an “operating system.” It is built on a cast frame chassis. It uses a unique locking laser mechanism. It uses three power supplies, a custom DAC from Wolfson (Rega designed!) and a discrete line stage. Apollo is an excellent value and we recommend it highly to anyone in the $1k range.

Sautrn CD Player $2600

   Back to us whiney audiophiles. As good as Apollo is, audiophiles asked, well, what IF Rega could use this new operating system in a heavier duty player? Do all the audiophile tricks. Use better caps. Use more (seven) and bigger power supplies. In other words, for you old Rega aficionados, offer a step up from the Apollo, as Jupiter did to the Planet!

   The Rega staff has done exactly that. Practically a full year after releasing the market changing Apollo, Rega has now introduced the Saturn!

   Saturn is Rega’s all out assault on the Red Book CD. You’ll be thrilled to hear it! In fact, if you read the snooty magazines like Stereophile & The Absolute Sound, you’ll recognize that in this day and age, $2600 is almost too cheap to be considered high end! With numerous players out there running $10-30k, Saturn is almost Milwaukee beer budget country!

   Saturn achieves new levels of open, airy, three dimensional sound. When we compare it with our former favorite red book players, they sound a bit dark and muddled. I never thought I’d hear the day.

   What I like as a store owner is that when guys come in with their old PS Audio drives & DACs that have run out of gas 15 years down the line- I have a solution for them at less than half of what they paid for the best sound out there in the 80s/90s. It’s sad to tell a customer his old Lambda is toast and can’t be fixed. But when I can share the excitement of the Saturn with you- all’s AOK.

P1 Turntable, $400 with cartridge!

   Rega has had a P2 and P3 (Planar 2, Planar 3) since the introduction of the stereo LP- almost. P2 & P3 have been classics for record playing for $500-700. P3 is still available and in my opinion the best turntable value on the market, period.

   But for all those years, where was the P1?! Well, in truth Rega’s very first turntable was called the Planet. Subsequent models went up the ladder.

   We find ourselves in an interesting era now. A lot of analog lovers put their LPs away while their kids were growing up- keeping them out of harms way. But now that the kids are no longer a threat, and in some cases actually think the black vinyl is cool, there is a resurgence in record playing. Most of that interest isn’t real high end mind you (though some of it is!). We have a lot of record lovers finding their old Duals and Bang & Olfusens are shot. They and their kids would like to get back into analog, but not at fancy money. Rega thought about this segment of the market and has now introduced the brand new P1.

   P1 looks a lot like the classic P2. Visualize a P2 with lesser machining tolerances and a composite resin platter instead of the P3 glass platter. It still looks and sounds very much like what you would expect from Rega! Rega is packaging P1 with an Ortofon MM cartridge for $400. Hence, for a modest investment you are back in the serious record playing world. P1’s tonearm will accommodate half inch mounting carts- so you can do the cartridge upgrade game if you like!

   Does P1 sound as good as P3 with an Elys 2 cartridge ($1145 investment)? No. But for $400 including cart… it’ll beat your old Dual, Technics or B&O!

Are you due for a cartridge update? Elys 2 $300

   Consider updating your cartridge to the Elys 2! Elys 2 is the upgrade of Rega’s classic Elys. Rega does make this cartridge themselves! It isn’t a brand X with their name on it.

   One of the things you’ll like about Elys 2 is its high output, 7.0 mv. Many fine cartridges (like Grado) have output of 3.5 mv. You have to crank your phono section open a bit to get some volume. If your phono section isn’t that great, you’ll hear the limitation of that section, and hiss, as an impediment to your music. You’ll find Elys 2 is very forgiving of mediocre phono sections. The output is so high that a poor noise floor just doesn’t get in the way.

   On top of that, Elys 2 is the best tracker we’ve found! It will do a great job on your mono records too- among the toughest challenges out there. Put Elys 2 in a Rega P3 table ($845) to get the most out of it!

Apheta Moving Coil Cartridge $1800

   After all these years Rega has introduced a low output moving coil cartridge! It uses a unique suspension system that does not employ the classic tie wire MC design. The body is an open, non resonant design. Output volt 500uV. Load at 100 ohms.

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