Quote:
Originally Posted by NMyTree
I believe the bass for the Rega Apollo is supposed to be that way. I think some will consider it lite or maybe even consider it a flaw.
But I believe the guys at Rega wanted it balanced that way. Fresh out of the box the bass could be rather vague. But after quite some time of burn-in, the bass fleshes itself out much more and becomes part of a (what I consider) a well balanced frequency soundstage. It may not be everyone's cup of tea, but I don't believe it's a flaw.
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At almost 300 hours the bass of the Apollo has improved significantly. Bass lines that at one time were vague, indistinct and in one case it seemed like the Apollo was having a difficult time presenting a cohesive representation of the recording (Brian Bromberg's Summer Afternoon, from his "Brian Bromberg" self-titled album/CD); have become much more distinct and prominent. Much more presence than before.
Still, I believe my quote from up above is correct. This player, in my opinion, is balanced and designed to not over-exaggerate or embelish the bass lines/frequencies.
Another important point is that both the Rega Apollo and the Vincent S6 reflect what is on the recording. If the recording/mix contains prominent, distinct bass-then both players will convey that element. Recordings which have the bass subtly mixed in, will be presented that way.
Yes, the Vincent S6 has slightly more prominent, distinct and cohesive bass attributes. But still it does not over-exaggerate the bass. The S6 represents what is in the recording/mix. The S6 is more dynamic and punchy. But the Rega Apollo has made great strides of improvement, in that area. But still not up to the S6's level. I doubt it will ever match the S6, because I don't believe it was designed to.
On the Eagles "One Of These Nights" the Apollo now does a fine job of pumping out that opening bass line (in the beginning of the song). It's much better now (fuller, thicker, more dynamic, smoother and tuneful), than it was just a week and a half ago. Those of you familiar with this song know how that dynamic bass line just reaches out and grabs you. It is a thing of beauty!
The Apollo which had a narrow or closed-in soundstage, was a bit rough or raw in sound quality. That started to smooth out after only 20-25 hours.
Now, it's much smoother. The soundstage opened up considerably. All along the road to "Burn-in" the Apollo has benefited greatly from an hour or two of idle warm-up and then some "Repeat" play, before turning up the volume to listen. But it's getting better with just some idle warm up.
The Apollo is a completely different sounding player, than the Vincent S6. The differences are very noticable.
The S6 is great with all kinds of music and genras. Even bad recordings become fun to listen to (although the bad quality is obvious). Only severely bad recordings become unlistenable. Otherwise, the passion, melody and emotion of the music is very engaging and pleasurable.
The Apollo has a way with certain types of music or recordings. I find hard rock really sounds great on the Apollo. Other genras seem to vary from disc to disc. The Apollo has a certain something in it's sound that I enjoy with certain albums.
We'll see what the 400+ hour mark brings to the Apollo. Right now, I enjoy it's different presentation with several of my CDs.
If anyone is interested, I will check in again at that point.