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Digital Drive: REVIEW: Rega Jupiter CD Player/Recorder by hairydog

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REVIEW: Rega Jupiter CD Player/Recorder

12.40.175.147


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Model: Jupiter
Category: CD Player/Recorder
Suggested Retail Price: $1895.00
Description: CD Player
Manufacturer URL: Rega
Model Picture: View

Review by hairydog ( A ) on October 24, 2006 at 12:39:25
IP Address: 12.40.175.147
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Since no one has yet I decided to give a Rega Jupiter review. That'll give reviews for all the Rega cdp's. I'll also mention the Apollo in this review as well as Arcam machines. This is the Jupiter 2000 version. Dual wolfson 24 bit DAC and a hefty power supply (the Jupiter is pretty heavy for a cdp). At the time I got it I had an Arcam cd23 stolen, and at the dealers auditioned a Arcam cd33 (the 23 was no longer made), and a Rega Jupiter 2000 to replace the arcam. There was a price difference of 750 at the time between a cd33 and a Jupiter 2000, the Jupiter list price had actually dropped to 1750 from 1895. I also own the Apollo. At the dealers after 3 hours of listening, I felt the Arcam had more space, ambiance and imaging, purportedly the benefits of upsampling, but at the same time I heard some thin instrumental timbres, especially horns. The Rega totally stomped the Arcam on classic jazz material with sax, trumpet and trombone. The Rega Jupiter had better dyanamics and a sense of scale more closely approaching what I hear at live performances, it still had very good imaging and its performance made me want to take it home. For whatever reasons the Jupiter does sax and trumpet amazingly well. I never looked back. This thing sounds great. My only complaint was on certain discs a noise of rotation like a rattle sound, either the disc was'nt perfectly flat or the hole was maybe slightly bigger or smaller. Anyway along comes the Apollo which at the time was being hailed as better than the Jupiter. I thought let me get one. I have used both for awhile now in various systems and feel I can comment on them. First off, there is no doubt the Apollo is smoother than Jupiter in the treble, most notably on cymbals and violins. Second the Jupiter pretty much beats it everywhere else, especially in the midrange. Certain piano notes have more of an individual character on the jupiter, whereas the Apollo gave each note more of a sameness, nothing really jumping out at you, the individual dynamic of the notes lacking in personality. In other words less of what I hear during a live jazz or classical performance that uses piano. The Jupiter has dynamic scaling which much more closely approximates being at a live performance- on alot of instruments- Saxophone, Trumpet, Piano, Electric guitar. On the other hand the Apollo has smoothness on violins the jupiter does'nt quite get, it also has pretty good ambiance. The Apollo has some of that organic quality that I associated with my Arcam cd23. The Apollo does alot of things right, but nothing exceptionally well, and nothing totally wrong. The Apollo works incredibly well with the Rega Mira 3 amp, having better overall synergy with that amp than the Jupiter (I think it helps to both hide and accentuate the amps strenghts and weaknesses). With class A amplification (Sugden, Pass labs) the Jupiter really shines. The Jupiter does some things exceedingly well (overall dynamics, and the sound of horns), but with one or two faults. There is a mid treble thing going on that will be more or less noticable depending on the music played and the system used which sometimes works in its favor and sometimes against it. A slightly plump bass balances things out. The Apollo is smooth in treble but with a lighter bass, which gives it a good balance too. While it is rarely offensive it could be a little more exciting (on Super session Bloomfields guitar lacks the bite and impact given by the Jupiter). Overall I think the Jupiter is a better sounding machine. The difference in DACS is minimal, both are wolfson 24 bit DAC, maybe the later version has slightly better specs, but we would'nt know since Rega doesnt publish such things. I suspect The main difference is down to the better power supply of the Jupiter and dual DAC instead of single. It is hard to say how much sonic difference comes from regas new transport software, although they claim it is the main factor for the Apollo. THe Jupiter has a certain something I really like, it is what initally impressed me when I compared it to the more expensive Arcam cd33, and what still impresses me in comparison to Regas less expensive Apollo. With the advent of the Saturn I imagine plenty of Jupiters will be available used. I have not heard the new Saturn yet. I would like to try one sometime. I'm not a cult fan but like Regas stuff.


Product Weakness: The famous Rega puck wobble, rattle etc. sometimes too much mid treble "bite", strangely the extreme treble is smooth and slightly laid back or closed in.
Product Strengths: Dynamics, body, and impact like live music has. Horns sound incredibly good. Classical Symphony given excellent sense of scale. Midrange is open across the board.


Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier: Sugden A21 or Rega Mira 3
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): none
Sources (CDP/Turntable): Rega P3
Speakers: Monitor audio studio 2
Cables/Interconnects: kimber , AQ, and others
Music Used (Genre/Selections): Jazz, Classical, Rock
Room Size (LxWxH): 14 x 13 x 8
Room Comments/Treatments: nice sounding room
Time Period/Length of Audition: 2 years
Type of Audition/Review: Product Owner




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Topic - REVIEW: Rega Jupiter CD Player/Recorder - hairydog 12:39:25 10/24/06 ( 0)