Just returned the Rega Apollo...

[plastic penguin]

...and feels like a lost opportunity in some ways. It's probably head over heart tug of war, and the latter won. The irony is Audio-T had ex-dem pair of DB1is and Totems (not Arros)...

Could've bought them there and then but I feel this hobby is spiralling out of control. I really need a reality check. Apart from avoiding auction sites, dealer websites, forums etc etc.

Obviously the family comes first so hi-fi is my little diversion away from the mundane routines.

As I get older still have the urge. What do I do?

 

[matthewpiano]

It can spiral out of control PP, as I know only too well, and sometimes putting the brakes on is as good an idea as spending more money and making further changes. I'm quite sure I could make improvements to my little system, but I've had to say enough is enough. I'm enjoying listening to the music and I think there comes a point when you have to stop and see this hobby in the wider context of life and other calls on finances such as cars, housing, food, clothing and actually being able to afford some sort of social life. Living doesn't get any cheaper.

That said, what were your perceptions of the Apollo in the end?

 

[richardw42]

Hopefully, HOPEFULLY. My most recent purchase has seen me step off the upgrade merry go round. Hi Fi and self control rarely seem to go hand in hand. As I have no upgrade path from what I have (hifi) temptation is removed (for now).

Whatever systems people have, to be satisfied with what you have and to settle back and listen must be the ultimate aim.

Fair play to you to send it back. Not many of us would have.

 

[chebby]

What do I do?

Flog the lot (including the hi-fi museum you have hidden away) and get one of these...

http://www.ruarkaudio.com/products/r4i-features

...and an iPod Touch.

 

[plastic penguin]

It can spiral out of control PP, as I know only too well, and sometimes putting the brakes on is as good an idea as spending more money and making further changes. I'm quite sure I could make improvements to my little system, but I've had to say enough is enough. I'm enjoying listening to the music and I think there comes a point when you have to stop and see this hobby in the wider context of life and other calls on finances such as cars, housing, food, clothing and actually being able to afford some sort of social life. Living doesn't get any cheaper.

That said, what were your perceptions of the Apollo in the end?

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/hi-fi/you-are-the-weakest-link-goodbye?page=2#comment-2733504

 

[chebby]

Hopefully, HOPEFULLY. My most recent purchase has seen me step off the upgrade merry go round.

So you think buying £3k's worth of new hi-fi is 'stepping off'?

I think it is £3k's worth of evidence that you are still, well and truly, on that merry-go-round

You are saying "my new £3000 upgrade is my cure for upgrading".

 

[Sorreltiger]

This saga has been very interesting Mr P! In many ways, I am pleased with my Rega Saturn/Leema Pulse combination. Great recordings - especially acoustic, jazz, folk - sound amazing, with great detail (the Saturn was clearly better at this than the Apollo when I bought it). However, my Quad 21L2s are IMO the guilty parties in making some discs just too hard edged, in the way you've described with your RX6s. I just can't settle down and relax into my old and treasured Genesis tracks, for example

At some stage I'd like to try the obvious suspects from PMC (GB1i?), Proac or Spendor. Maybe I will go out and have a listen this summer. My room is about 5x5, listening position about 3m, with a low ceiling and the speakers quite close to the back wall, which is why I suspect the GB1is might work best - FB1is might be too much.

 

[richardw42]

Hopefully, HOPEFULLY. My most recent purchase has seen me step off the upgrade merry go round.

So you think buying £3k's worth of new hi-fi is 'stepping off'?

I think it is £3k's worth of evidence that you are still, well and truly, on that merry-go-round

You are saying "my new £3000 upgrade is my cure for upgrading".

Yes, I am. It wasn't really a financial upgrade anyway as the 40s cost less than the new price of my previous separates.

 

[BenLaw]

Hopefully, HOPEFULLY. My most recent purchase has seen me step off the upgrade merry go round.

So you think buying £3k's worth of new hi-fi is 'stepping off'?

I think it is £3k's worth of evidence that you are still, well and truly, on that merry-go-round

You are saying "my new £3000 upgrade is my cure for upgrading".

It has to end somewhere.

 

[richardw42]

This is PPs thread.

 

[Anonymous]

Sell the RS6's and buy a higher quality pair of speakers like the DB1's, no offence, but they are obviously the weakest link, sure, you have enjoyed them for years, but they're holding back your system..

 

[shooter]

I feel the same as max, it seems obvious the speakers are the weak link. And without sounding even more obvious, i think the Rega is a sideways move.

 

[plastic penguin]

This saga has been very interesting Mr P! In many ways, I am pleased with my Rega Saturn/Leema Pulse combination. Great recordings - especially acoustic, jazz, folk - sound amazing, with great detail (the Saturn was clearly better at this than the Apollo when I bought it). However, my Quad 21L2s are IMO the guilty parties in making some discs just too hard edged, in the way you've described with your RX6s. I just can't settle down and relax into my old and treasured Genesis tracks, for example

At some stage I'd like to try the obvious suspects from PMC (GB1i?), Proac or Spendor. Maybe I will go out and have a listen this summer. My room is about 5x5, listening position about 3m, with a low ceiling and the speakers quite close to the back wall, which is why I suspect the GB1is might work best - FB1is might be too much.

Certainly on my home dem with the DB1is, the Pulse, no doubt with the Saturn, should sound amazing. Also don't discount Totems. Those Arros sounded fantastic with one proviso: They are awfully unstable.

BTW, my room is 18 x 13' approx (firing across the narrow side).

 

[plastic penguin]

I feel the same as max, it seems obvious the speakers are the weak link. And without sounding even more obvious, i think the Rega is a sideways move.

Yup, it is a sideways move, but didn't expect anything different. When you consider the 73T was £400 and the Rega was £600 you won't get a huge gulf in SQ.

The main reason for hearing the Rega, which I made clear to the dealer, was out of curiosity. It confirmed the speakers, when connected to a source that's a little more revealing, that they have foibles. Something the Arcam didn't reveal.

 

[shooter]

I feel the same as max, it seems obvious the speakers are the weak link. And without sounding even more obvious, i think the Rega is a sideways move.

Yup, it is a sideways move, but didn't expect anything different. When you consider the 73T was £400 and the Rega was £600 you won't get a huge gulf in SQ.

The main reason for hearing the Rega, which I made clear to the dealer, was out of curiosity. It confirmed the speakers, when connected to a source that's a little more revealing, that they have foibles. Something the Arcam didn't reveal.

The Leema is a great amp, and i know for a long time now the Totems have been in your thoughts, maybe those two paired with the Rega would be really something, just need to sit the Totems in concrete

 

[plastic penguin]

I feel the same as max, it seems obvious the speakers are the weak link. And without sounding even more obvious, i think the Rega is a sideways move.

Yup, it is a sideways move, but didn't expect anything different. When you consider the 73T was £400 and the Rega was £600 you won't get a huge gulf in SQ.

The main reason for hearing the Rega, which I made clear to the dealer, was out of curiosity. It confirmed the speakers, when connected to a source that's a little more revealing, that they have foibles. Something the Arcam didn't reveal.

The Leema is a great amp, and i know for a long time now the Totems have been in your thoughts, maybe those two paired with the Rega would be really something, just need to sit the Totems in concrete

Absolutely.

Going back to the Apollo. In 2007 it de-throned the Cyrus CD6S as product of the year. WHFI had always recommendied the CD6S, so in the wider equation, what does that tell you? Narrow margins. Probably more about tonal qualities than overall talent.

I would hate to be a professional reviewer.

 

[iceman16]

Just heard the new Rega Apollo cdp,dac and Brio with Totem sttaf at my local dealer this afternoon and they sound really amazing. I just can't imagine how these little boxes and speakers can produce such a big, unforced beautiful sound.

 

[Sorreltiger]

Thank you for your thoughts on speakers. I'll add the Totems to my list!

 

[fr0g]

Hopefully, HOPEFULLY. My most recent purchase has seen me step off the upgrade merry go round.

So you think buying £3k's worth of new hi-fi is 'stepping off'?

I think it is £3k's worth of evidence that you are still, well and truly, on that merry-go-round

You are saying "my new £3000 upgrade is my cure for upgrading".

IMO, you know full well what he means and are just being awkward. But what do I know?

new amp, new speakers, new source...doesn't really enter into it when you get a good set of actives fed digitally and realise that transports and cables matter not a jot in the scheme of things. Not until you have money to upgrade the whole thing and find something genuinely better.

It certainly reduces the potential snake-oil slippage.

 

[plastic penguin]

This saga has been very interesting Mr P! In many ways, I am pleased with my Rega Saturn/Leema Pulse combination. Great recordings - especially acoustic, jazz, folk - sound amazing, with great detail (the Saturn was clearly better at this than the Apollo when I bought it). However, my Quad 21L2s are IMO the guilty parties in making some discs just too hard edged, in the way you've described with your RX6s. I just can't settle down and relax into my old and treasured Genesis tracks, for example

At some stage I'd like to try the obvious suspects from PMC (GB1i?), Proac or Spendor. Maybe I will go out and have a listen this summer. My room is about 5x5, listening position about 3m, with a low ceiling and the speakers quite close to the back wall, which is why I suspect the GB1is might work best - FB1is might be too much.

The irony of the whole situation is the Arcam 73 WASN'T my first choice when the Rotel needed replacing.

Anyway, PMC, Spendor SA-1 and Totems work the best with the Leema IMHO.

 

[omnibeard]

I took PP's original post as an existential question, and now people seem to recommending more stuff to him.

So my advice is sell it all, give the money to charity, and get yourself to a sweat lodge.

You'll feel good about yourself, you'll have more room in the house, and the sound of simple pan pipes will take you to nirvana.

 

[the record spot]

Re: the above - a few thoughts based on my own experience.

You're where I was at on the merry-go-round and I'm glad to be off it. Yes, I've bought a new setup in recent months, but that's been out of a marriage break-up, part of which was influenced by aspects of this hobby. So...if you recognise you're on a bit of an addictive treadmill, which it potentially is for some people, then it's right to think about getting off it for a while and regain some perspective about its place in your life and where it should be from where it sits just now.

 

[plastic penguin]

Indeed a break is a must. As you know it can turn from a hobby/interest to an obsession, and think I have one toe over that dreaded line. The sad/stupid thing is I'm not unhappy with my system 'as is'. Sometimes 'as is' won't necessarily suffice...

Brakes applied for a (substantial) while.

 

[omnibeard]

It all seems a bit solitary this hifi obsession stuff - I read so many posts qualified by "wife acceptance factor" and the like. Music should be shared. The most fun I have with a stereo is when I stick my knackered old pair of Cerwin Vega VS10s outside the house with my knackered old Pioneer A400 in a plastic box so that it doesn't get wet, pumping out a load of hilarious music to me and a bunch of mates sat around a fire.

I'm lucky in that I don't really have neighbours to complain about that!

Music is a wonderful thing, just seems a bit sad to me when it gets down to cables and interconnects etc.

Penguin - you have a system that 99% people I know would poop themselves listening to and wouldn't understand any of it. Dig it man, dig it!

 

[BenLaw]

It all seems a bit solitary this hifi obsession stuff - I read so many posts qualified by "wife acceptance factor" and the like. Music should be shared. The most fun I have with a stereo is when I stick my knackered old pair of Cerwin Vega VS10s outside the house with my knackered old Pioneer A400 in a plastic box so that it doesn't get wet, pumping out a load of hilarious music to me and a bunch of mates sat around a fire.

I'm lucky in that I don't really have neighbours to complain about that!

Music is a wonderful thing, just seems a bit sad to me when it gets down to cables and interconnects etc.

Penguin - you have a system that 99% people I know would poop themselves listening to and wouldn't understand any of it. Dig it man, dig it!