Rega Apollo 35th anniversary edition

OK - now I have to eat my words a bit. Was in a shop this weekend and listened to a Rega Saturn playing through a VTL I85 integrated amp and Avalon NP Evolution Series 2.0 small floor standing speakers and thought it all sounded very very good together. The Saturn comported itself quite well in this company, smooth and neutral sounding with great imaging and bounce in the music - was listening to Gershwin mostly - Nice!

I still like the Naim player mentioned above, but with the right gear, the Saturn can sound extremely good too.

I have not heard the Anniversary Apollo - but I have compared the Saturn and the standard Apollo. The Saturn is more polished than the Apollo - you might almost call it polite in comparison, but it didn't grab me. I almost preferred the sound of the Apollo to it's more expensive sibling, at least when mated with other Rega gear and some nice Naim monitors. Not sure the Saturn is worth the extra pennies from the heavens. If I was in the market for a player in the 2K-3K price category, I would probably look elsewhere, for example at the Naim CD5x, which is often displayed right beside the Saturn in many hifi shops, even at the 5x100 higher asking price.

But to be fair to the Saturn, read this:

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue35/rega_saturn.htm

and this:

http://www.stereotimes.com/CD091806PS.shtml

For those who are wondering........good thread on ecoustics.com. Just curious about it. Pretty good reviews
on that site.