Hi Jim,
As you know, I weighed in on this a couple of times over the months because I owned both the Sony 5400 and the Rega Saturn. I will only say (again) that I preferred the Sony. That said, I could easily have lived with either. Obviously, you will find some who agree with me and some who don't.
Your overarching question "will either be substantially better than my Rega Apollo?" is the tricky part. Frankly, I suspect not. I think that over the long haul you will notice subtle improvements with either of the two players that will make listening to your music more emotionally satisfying, but it's not likely to blow you away like a new pair of speakers might.
As has been stated by many others, at the end of the day, no one knows your room, your gear, and your subjective sonic preferences but YOU. In the absence of being able to try one out at home, you're simply going to have to take a leap of faith. So, find a good deal, try it out, and then re-sell it if you have to. (And consider a prescription for Prozac.) Welcome to the nut house. Good luck.
As you know, I weighed in on this a couple of times over the months because I owned both the Sony 5400 and the Rega Saturn. I will only say (again) that I preferred the Sony. That said, I could easily have lived with either. Obviously, you will find some who agree with me and some who don't.
Your overarching question "will either be substantially better than my Rega Apollo?" is the tricky part. Frankly, I suspect not. I think that over the long haul you will notice subtle improvements with either of the two players that will make listening to your music more emotionally satisfying, but it's not likely to blow you away like a new pair of speakers might.
As has been stated by many others, at the end of the day, no one knows your room, your gear, and your subjective sonic preferences but YOU. In the absence of being able to try one out at home, you're simply going to have to take a leap of faith. So, find a good deal, try it out, and then re-sell it if you have to. (And consider a prescription for Prozac.) Welcome to the nut house. Good luck.