Thinking of purchasing a Rega Apollo but...

[admin_exported]

Hi im thinking of purchasing a Rega Apollo as its been on my list for some time now but after speaking to a friend im now wondering if its going to be much of an improvement over my existing cd player the 'Pioneer PD-S505 Precision'. To my ears the Pioneers sounds very neutral, almost vinyl like with excellent timing and very revealing and ive come to love its sound over the years, it would certainly give players today a run for its money

Alot of folks on here mention the Apollo is also vinyl like and both are similarly priced with the Pioneer being £485 back in its day...

To sum it up i would like to know if folks on here would see the Apollo as an 'upgrade' so to speak or id be wasting my money purchasing another player of similar pricing. As im also thinking of putting the money towards either a budget Sony or Onkyo home cinema amp for home cinema (not music) purposes.

Any advice would be much appreciated

Thanks

'forgot to mention my system...Pioneer A-300R Precision amp, Pioneer PD-S505 Precision cd player, B&W 685 speakers, MJ Acoustics Ref 100 sub, Chord carnival silver screen speaker cable, Merlin Chopin interconnects

 

[Cold Roses]

I haven't heard the Pioneer, so can't help with a direct comparison. Though, have you considered getting a new DAC instead. I've read good things about your Pioneer used as a CD transport. You may have seen that Rega have a new DAC scheduled for release next month, which costs about the same as the Apollo (search on the forum for a thread on the subject). The Rega DAC incorporates an enhanced version of the Rega Saturn's digital to analogue converter (amongst other things). Whilst I don't believe that many folks have heard it yet, I've read some early reports suggesting that the Rega DAC outperforms the Saturn, which I guess isn't a surprise. That may be a better option for the same money; particularly, as you can then hook up other digital sources too. I'd suggest carting your Pioneer down to your nearest Rega dealer once the Rega DAC is out and testing Pioneer vs Apollo and Pioneer + Rega DAC vs Apollo.

I am, of course, assuming the Pioneer is still in good mechanical condition, seeing as you're considering keeping it.

All that said, you seem to like the Pioneer, so perhaps you're right that your money is better spent on your home cinema set up.

 

[SteveR750]

Why don't you go an listen to one. No one else can tell you whether it sounds better or not.

 

[Frank Harvey]

I agree with Cold Roses.The Pioneer is an excellent transport, as has been use by the likes of Teac and Wadia, and the natural progression from there would be to add a high quality DAC. Borrow a DAC from your local dealer to see what sort of benefits that gives you in your system. If you don't feel it's a big enough jump, by all means try another CD player. But again, as Cold Roses states, you may find that other players in the £400/500 price point aren't really going to give you a great deal more.

 

[Anonymous]

Really appreciate the replies

Ive decided to keep the Pioneer for now as its more than capable...im thinking of getting rid of its attached cheap thin power cable and fitting the player with a IEC socket or figure 8. Then attach perhaps a Chord superscreen to it as its a fab power cable imo. Maybe the in future purchase a decent expensive DAC to do its transport justice

In the meantime i think i will be putting my money towards the home cinema amplifier as i will never get round to it, on a budget it would have to be the Sony STR-DH810