quality of rega saturn player

the new models are terrific

I have the ISIS valve cdp - the Saturn R has some of the trickle down technology.

The new models also have the added plus in that they also have a USB input to act as standalone DAC for your external HD playlist

Had one for 2 yrs and thought it was very good. Smooth and musical, not so sterile like some CDPs

I have an original Rega Saturn and think it is very good for the money. I have thought about going "upwards" and moving the saturn to my other system but I have no idea what I could find that has the same analog "magic" the saturn has.

I will concur w/ the above comments.
I,too, like the new Saturn-R. Very good sound, integrates well into any system. I even liked it paired w/ its matching integrated amp -the Elicit-R. I am not an integrated amp audiophile btw.

I would love to audition the IsIs cd player, until this day comes, I would go w/ the Saturn-R.

On a sidenote: you owe it to yourself to demo a Naim cd player for a comparison.
Keep me posted & Happy Listening!

I read in reviews that the new r models don't sound as good as the earlier models.

Can you show the links to those reviews - thx.

One of my players is still the original Saturn. I agree with the others that it is very smooth and musical. Also as good as it is as a cd player, it is an excellent transport when teamed up to a standalone DAC.

One thing to note is that with the Saturn (and other Rega's ?) when a CD is loaded, it goes through an initialization process that commits the CD information to its memory. This could take a while sometimes 5 - 10 seconds. The method that Rega is using for verification that the CD is actually good to play, takes a while and the standard they set for a pass is very high. This was confirmed to me by Plurison the Canadian dealer/service rep.

Setting this bar really high has its consequences to a user. If a CD does not satisfy all conditions it just can't be read. You can most likely take that same CD, put it into a $50 dvd player and it will be read no problem. With that I have had no problems with store bought Cd's. But burned cd's are another matter and require some experimentation - brands, colors. Just something to note.

Cheers