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The web is full of Apollo-R problems, 'won't play a disc', 'feet aren't level', etc.
Do you have one you're happy with?
Or one you're had problems with?
"To Learn Who Rules Over You, Simply Find Out Who You Are Not Allowed to Criticize."
-Voltaire
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I've had an Apollo-R for about a year. I purchased a demo unit. It replaced an old Arcam 7SE that had been in my system for 8 years. It was a definite upgrade over the Arcam, considerably more detailed and nuanced. I haven't tried any megabuck players so my comparison is limited. I have been happy with it.
I haven't yet run across a new or old disc in good shape that it won't play. It is very finicky about dirty discs - something as minor as smudges will throw it off. I wipe it clean, and then it's ok. I don't have any heavily scratched discs, and it handles minor scratches fine. There have been two times I've skipped forward and back and the player hung. I took the disc out, put it back in, and couldn't replicate the problem.
I like the top loading mechanism, though you do need extra clearance to operate it. The initial loading and reading is slow, and the player won't accept any commands before it's done. So you can't put in the disc, hit play, and sit down to listen. Put in the disc, wait, wait, then hit play. Even after it loads the disc there is a 5 second pause between hitting the play button and when the music starts. That's a minor grievance.
Hi, martydamnit,
Have you noticed if the Apollo-R has problems with copyright protected CDs? Or are you using the analog outputs?
Regards,
Tom
I don't have an external DAC and use only the analog outputs.
Tom
Hi, mbnx01,
Are you thinking of buying one? I've had an Apollo for nine years or so and can give you some pros and cons if you're interested.
Tom
Tom
tell us more about this player...
Hi, fantja,
When Rega updated the Apollo and it became the Apollo-R, the big improvements were in the internal DAC and processor, which, according to forum comments I've read, provides better resolution and dynamic range, "smoothness" without loss of detail, and seems to have fixed the disc reading problems of some of the earlier Apollos.About ten years ago I needed a replacement for a vintage JVC CD player and I'd read that Rega had a proprietary processor and buffer in their (then) new Apollo CDP that provided improved playback from Redbook CDs. So I bought an Apollo. It was a good purchase and was a noticable improvement from the JVC. It's not the same as listening to vinyl, but it's not bad.
The things I like about the Apollo:
- The top loading CD transport is sturdy, reliable and the mounting frame is isolated from the chassis. I like the solid "click" when you pop the CD onto the three-point ball chuck.
- A more natural sound with less glare than with other CDPs I've used. CD players have improved since the Apollo came out, I think mainly due to improvements in the internal DACs, but the Apollo is still a decent CDP.The things I don't like about the Apollo:
- Every so often the player seemed to get "confused" and wouldn't play a CD or would stop playing a CD after using the remote to search for a track. That problem basically went away when I started to pay attention to the initialization process and while using the remote. You can't hurry the Apollo. Out of hundreds of commercial CDs, I only ran across two that had to be ripped to PC and burned to a CDR in order to play them.Even with the improvement in sound with the Apollo, many CDs still had an edge to them, which I found irritating. After doing some reading and asking a local dealer, I decided to try a used Rega DAC. It made a difference: I think it brought my Apollo closer to what the Apollo-R provides in sound quality.
However, I'm less satisfied with my Apollo now that I'm using it as a transport with a Rega DAC. It sounds great, except that now, where previously only a few CDs were unplayable, a bunch more CDs could not be played through the Apollo because it doesn't handle the copyright protection on CDs with the encryption. It will ouput a RCA analog signal but not a digital SPDIF signal. I have to rip the CDs to a PC and then burn a CDR disc. Not very convenient. I don't know (and haven't found a reference) if the new Rega Apollo-R has this same limitation.
With digital, it seems like it's always something. That's why I never give up my turntable and record albums. :-)
Regards,
Tom
Edits: 02/16/16
Much Thanks! Tom.
Hopefully the Saturn-R is having better residence.
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