I waited for over a month for my Rega Apollo CD player and during that time, I must have questioned my purchase atleast a 1000 times. However I stuck it out and last Tuesday it finally arrived at my doorstep. Over the last month or so I've been piecing together a new dedicated headphone system. In the past, my headphone amps (Raptor and a recently sold Grace 901) have been integrated into my speaker based systems. The main goal of my dedicated system is to be able to drive all my headphones (AKG K1000, K340, K501, HD650, CD3000, and SA5000's) very well.
Back to the Rega. I connected the Apollo to my Portal Panache integrated amp using Acoustic Zen Matrix Reference IC's. I used a ESP Essence power cord to plug the Apollo into my MIT power conditioner. My favorite headphones, K1000's, were connected to the speaker taps on the integrated amp. I've been burning in the Rega 24 hours a day for the last 4 days and it has been changing almost daily. Out of the box (1st hour), the bass was a little bit weak, midrange seemed a bit recessed and the highs were a tad harsh and maybe just a little bright. Since it was late at night, I decided to go to bed and let it break-in. The next night after almost 24 hours of break in, the bass was definitely getting better, midrange was still recessed a bit, the harshness in the highs were pretty much gone but the music seemed restrained and the soundstage had not opened up yet. After 48 hours, it was continuing to improve but still not up to my expectations. The next time I took a listen, the player had about 80+ hours on it and now it was much better. The bass was fuller and the soundstage seemed much larger. The midrange was not recessed at all and highs were not bright at all. If you audition this player at a dealer, make sure its broken in (although that can be said about any piece of equipment, not just the Apollo).
Now the Apollo has more than 100 hours of playing time and it sounds fantastic!
When I played Lyle Lovett's "Church" from "Joshua Judges Ruth" this morning, the soundstage was enveloping and voices seemed to be coming from everywhere. The dynamics are excellent, and the resolution is also extremely impressive. However, the best thing about this player is that I can't stop listening and enjoying the music.
In the next few weeks, I may try to compare the Apollo to my more expensive digital equipment, Meridian 500 transport/566 24 bit D/A, and Sony's flagship XA-9000ES SACD player, in my speaker based systems. My gut feeling is that the Rega will hold its own and then some.
Back to the Rega. I connected the Apollo to my Portal Panache integrated amp using Acoustic Zen Matrix Reference IC's. I used a ESP Essence power cord to plug the Apollo into my MIT power conditioner. My favorite headphones, K1000's, were connected to the speaker taps on the integrated amp. I've been burning in the Rega 24 hours a day for the last 4 days and it has been changing almost daily. Out of the box (1st hour), the bass was a little bit weak, midrange seemed a bit recessed and the highs were a tad harsh and maybe just a little bright. Since it was late at night, I decided to go to bed and let it break-in. The next night after almost 24 hours of break in, the bass was definitely getting better, midrange was still recessed a bit, the harshness in the highs were pretty much gone but the music seemed restrained and the soundstage had not opened up yet. After 48 hours, it was continuing to improve but still not up to my expectations. The next time I took a listen, the player had about 80+ hours on it and now it was much better. The bass was fuller and the soundstage seemed much larger. The midrange was not recessed at all and highs were not bright at all. If you audition this player at a dealer, make sure its broken in (although that can be said about any piece of equipment, not just the Apollo).
Now the Apollo has more than 100 hours of playing time and it sounds fantastic!
