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Rega Saturn Owners: How Has Sound Changed Over Breaking In Period?

Posted by AnalogJ (A) on March 2, 2012 at 06:08:27

I just obtained a demo Saturn with perhaps 60 hours on it. I'm coming from an original Rega Planet.

I wrote a recent post saying how good The Planet is, as long as you leave it on. I had not thought a great deal of it prior to that discovery.

Now with the Saturn, I have read that it can take upwards of 400 hours before it it fully broken in. The Planet has its limitations, but it is pretty effortless and musical with the music it can handle. The Saturn, from my first impressions, is voiced farther back than the Planet. I don't know if there will ever be the same immediacy with the Saturn because of it. I don't know.

The Saturn clearly presents more detailed information than the Saturn. There are instruments and musical lines I hear now that the Planet obscures. Perhaps that helps the Planet render its ease of presentation, due to its selective simplicity.

I have left the Saturn on for about 60 hours now (So, all told, about 120 hours on it -- though it had been in transport across country, so it had been left off for quite a bit.). There is clearly more information being presented, but it's not very well sorted out at this point. The top end is a bit harsh when pushed, there isn't a whole lot of low end presence yet, the music sounds stiff compared to the ease and excellent microdynamic ability of the Planet. Right now, tonality sounds more artificial than the Planet. In spite of the bit of harshness on top, voices can sound a bit closed in.

So it's not all that listenable yet. I understand that with 3 different power supplies, they're all going to break in at different times and until they really get working synergistically, I may get the sound I'm getting now, albeit with different variations as it goes through its growing pains.

Or not??

What has your experience been with the Saturn as it has broken in? And how is it now? I have been so used to the fully broken in Planet with its wonderful musicality and sense of ease. I'm wondering if the Saturn will get to that level. Sure, the Saturn will ace the Planet in many areas eventually, but will it be as musical and coherent as the Planet?

UPDATE: Interestingly, it has already alter this early this morning. The same CD has been running. I came back to revisit it just now and the top end has pulled back a bit and the sound is more coherent. So, I think I'm going to get a myriad of changing.

2nd Update: Day 4 of ownership. The sound has changed a LOT. Gone is the harshness. The bass and midrange is much more full. The top end has tamed down so much that the sound is dark and almost closed in. Dynamically, the player is straining to really open up and bloom. I am guessing that this will change, too. It's just all very, very interesting to me to hear how much change is occurring.

Edits: 03/02/12 03/03/12

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