Rega Apollo vs. Cambridge Audio Azur 840c

Hello,
They are both outsatnding CD players and they both sound great.
I personally prefer the 840c, plus it has balanced outputs.
The Apollo has a warmer, alittle richer, and slightly more laid-back presentation. The Apollo does have a slightly wider soundstage.
The Cambridge is alittle more open, detailed, and dynamic than the Apollo, clearer on vocals, and has alittle better top-end extension, but not a huge difference.
The Apollo can become rather "slashy" in the treble with harsher recorded CD's, and the 840c does not.
They both require 200 + hours of burn-in to sound their best.
There is still not a huge difference between the two.
I prefer the front loading of the 840c, as opposed to the top loading Apollo.
Hope this helps alittle.

Nice mini review on the 2 cdp's. Thanks for you insights.

I think I would prefer the 840 for the same reasons you stated. I love absolute vocal clarity and outstanding dynamics. I have had the laid back sound before and I eventually tire of it, but I don't like a forward sound either.

Did you buy the 840, as it is not listed in your system?

Incidentally, have you heard the Cambridge dvd player too?

I just bought the 840c a couple of weeks ago.
Over the last 3 months I have owned the Onkyo DX-7555, Marantz CD5001, Marantz SA8001, Rega Apollo, Rega Saturn, but have sold all of them.
I prefer the 840c to any of them.
I just have not got around to updating my system [lazy I guess]!
I have not heard any other Cambridge players.

5 player in 3 months! Do they even break in?

I just bought the 840C a few days ago...it is at about 75 hours of running time thus far. My 'reference' CDP is the Jolida 100 with a level II modification. In my A-B comparisions so far, I'd say the 840C has a titch more detail, though the more analog smoothness of the Jolida impresses me as easier to listen to over an extended period of time. I've been using the Audience AU-24 ICs for comparing, though my IC of choice is the Acoustic Zen Ref Mattrix II. Plenty of options to tweak going forward. I have had an Apollo in for trial one weekend...and I couldn't tell the difference between that and the Jolida, though I prefer the Jolida because of front loading, (perceived) build quality and a damn good headphone jack built in. Hope this helps.