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Rega Apollo CD Player
An all new CD player from Rega, the Apollo is a honey! A great deal of effort poured into the development of the Apollo, and it shows. Though it looks very much like the Planet (the machine it replaces) on the outside, virtually nothing inside remains the same.
The Apollo employs a totally new disc operating system (a Rega exclusive) that optimizes itself for each CD. Load a disc and the word “initializing” appears in the readout. During the procedure (which takes about five seconds) the machine analyzes the CD, optimizing various parameters for best performance. Exactly what’s going on during this (interesting and potentially revolutionary) process, I don’t know. But whatever it is, it works.
The Rega press release explains it this way: “Development of (operating software for CD players) was curtailed around eight to ten years ago. All development was directed toward DVD and other formats.
Rega and other specialist hi-fi manufacturers were totally reliant on companies like Sony and Phillips to supply transports and their operating chipsets. Two years ago Sony stopped supply and sent the specialist hi-fi industry into a flurry of activity in search of feasible alternatives. Many manufacturers were able to resource their supply from the Far East. Rega has been incredibly fortunate in locating a small British company who were finalizing the development of a totally new CD operating system.
Rega, along with its partners, are the only manufacturers to develop a new CD operating system within the last 10 years. Due to ever increasing computer processing power it has been possible to build an enormous increase in memory capacity which has allowed the data retrieval to meet of the original Red Book specifications without compromise to the musical performance. All previous chipsets were unable to achieve this due to their limited memory and signal processing capacity.”
The new British-designed chip set contains over 20MB of memory along with 32 bit digital signal processing capacity. The ultra high capacity memory buffer means error correction need not affect sound quality. DACs are the very latest Wolfson WM8740 24 Bit Delta Sigma in a dual differential arrangement. The output is entirely new and uses discreet components operating in 'Class A'.
The unique drive mechanism incorporates a three-point mounting ball chuck (the disc clicks into place on the spindle), an improvement over magnetic puck designs. The new assembly insures that the disc surface is precisely aligned with the laser for more accurate data retrieval. Secondly, the mass of the puck is gone, resulting in better acceleration and braking performance.
The Apollo plays both MP3 and WMA files and the new remote features dedicated MP3 keys.
What does all this mean in sonic terms? It sounds great! Frankly, the technical tidbits are only interesting if what comes out the back is appealing. But it wouldn’t be much of a narrative if all I said was: “It sounds great, buy it.” But I should, because it does, so grab your checkbook.
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