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

Posted by AnalogJ (A) on March 17, 2012 at 21:38:21

In Reply to: RE: Rega Saturn Owners: How Has Sound Changed Over Breaking In Period? posted by bcwang on March 17, 2012 at 20:59:06:

Well, I thought I'd do another post soon, and I will expand on this, but the sound has changed QUITE a bit. It has definitely gotten more dynamic, more capable of both micro-dynamic nuances as well as bursts of macro-dynamics when needed. It has that Rega ability to sound fluid rather than stiff, which is something that analog does well. It is still not as dynamic as my analog setup. And compared to the Planet, the soundstage is farther back. Everything is smaller.

There is clearly more information presented than the original Planet, and certainly more textural, harmonic information. Unlike the best CD players (and good analog), though, it doesn't distinguish between instruments and vocals as well. When things get dense, you can sort of hear everything, not necessarily strained, but it's more or less mashed together. With the best playback (and with an Audiomat DAC I used to have), an instrumentalist or vocalist is clearly existing in its own space, at all times, delineated in 3-dimensions. Here, everything is more or less in vaguer areas. There also seems to be a bit less air to the music. There is a bit of a lid on the soundstage, but again, that could be a conscious choice by Rega to reduce the fatigue factor.

The following analogy may or may not be helpful, but it reminds me of the difference between the Grado Sonata phono cartridge and the Grado Master. With the Sonata, it seems like their only were 4 layers of depth that an instrument or voice would fit into, and there is a lack of air to the sound. Upgrading to the next cartridge up, the Master, there is an almost infinite numbers of layers to the soundstage, plus air returned to the sound, helping each voice or instrument to find their distinctive space.

One bit of a niggle with the Saturn thus far. There seems to be just a bit of glassiness to certain higher frequencies resulting in male voices sound stronger than higher female voices through the Saturn.

The Saturn makes involving music, no doubt. It also goes higher and deeper than the Planet. There is MUCH more going on that the the Saturn renders. In contrast, the Planet throws much detail away, from inner texture to musical instruments being buried, but with that simplicity, the Planet flows easily and is very easy to listen to. While it may not be the most accurate, the Planet sorts through what it does want to deal with and makes it oh so easy. The Saturn struggles a bit, but is giving you oh so more, so it's relative. With the Saturn, if you need it to dig down and slam you, it will. The Planet will just choose to not go there at all. The Saturn can sound luscious. The Planet stays simple.

If I can ignore a few of the tonal qualities and lack of great transparency and air and just concentrate on the communication of the music, the Saturn is really, really good. It's pretty easy to listen to, no fatigue factor. But it doesn't present music in as vivid colors as the best I have heard, and that makes me listen less on the edge of my seat, but again, some digital can sound fatiguing. Before I had the Planet, I had a %5000 digital setup, and it was better than the Saturn. The Saturn is therefore not a giant killer, but a great choice, particular at the sub-$2000 price you can get it at now. It presents a set of sound attribute choices which may or may not be right for you. If great delineation of every instrument and voice in specific places in the soundstage is what you're looking for, the Saturn is not the player for you. I have heard players where I am waiting for the next breath that a female vocalist is about to take with baited breath of my own. The Saturn doesn't take me there, but I am really enjoying the music it plays overall.

So, I do miss my twice as expensive setup. Perhaps someday I'll get back there. I'll be happy with the Saturn for a while. The worst transgression that a player can do is be stiff and unmusical. The Saturn is great at that linear flow of music. That's most important to me.

I will say this about breaking in, 300 hours or so have gone by and the sound is still evolving. More slowly than the first 200 hours, but small changes are occurring. I think that is the product of being a product with multiple power supplies.

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