Rega Planet vrs California Audio Ikon


Well...
Having purchased first, then researching in depth later -

Which CD do y'all prefer given a choice used and what are your percieved differences in the two?

California Audio Labs Icon II
vrs
Rega Planet

in the $500.00 range.
mg2am991a
I prefer the CAL Icon II, it uses a very competent mix of Pacific Microsonics and Burr-Brown chips.
Its sound is dynamic, with outstanding bass. The midrange and treble get smoother if you leave it on 24/7.
The Rega sounds too polite for my taset in music (jazz).
Having heard them both in my living room, I'd say the Cal Audio Ikon II by a wide margin. The Rega, which I borrowed from a friend, was extremely bland compared to the Ikon, by itself and also driving a Cal Audio Sigma DAC. The Rega (I love their turntables, btw) seemed to be playing the bits and bytes, but not the "music." Not so with the Ikon, which has soul. The tube DAC added a bit more warmth, but was not an essential addition.