What is the story with Rega Appolo?

Yes, the Apollos are finicky but mostly due to operator error. I own two of them and love what they do. No, the Apollo is not the final word in detail or dynamics. IMHO, what it is is musical and natural. I tried to upgrade to the Saturn but felt the added cost did not justify the slight improvement I heard. A couple of friends and I experimented with some DACs to see if that would provide a noticeable improvement. The DACs all had their own subtle differences but when it came down to picking out which was which in a blind test, we all failed. (The DACs used were the Benchmark, PS Audio, Bel Canto 2 and 3, and a modified Liteaudio DAC-60.) I really wanted to spend some money but could not justify the cost benefit ratio since I just couldn't pick out any improvements.

A Jupiter would make a great second choice if you find one in Canada with low hours. It has a little less detail and the bass is not as tight as the Apollo, however the midrange is very similar. I've lived with a Jupiter too.

Happy trails,
L

Operator error if they mess up that bad over all these months,just because somebody hits a button here or there and all the other times missing the first couple seconds of music,i'd be looking else where.

Lngbruno,
I was considering cheap transport + decent DAC combo. The problem is that the quality of the clock in the transport is the limiting factor in the performance of the combo, unless you can set DAC clock to drive the transport.
Alex

Operator error has never been the issue in regards to some Apollo and Saturn units malfunctioning. This is misinformation and needs to be laid to rest finally.

The Apollo has its quirks. But so do a lot of other components. I've lived with mine for about a year and a half. The problem I had with it was easily fixed by leaving it unplugged over night. I'll spare you the rest of the details.

As with anything, there are better players for more money, and lesser players for less money. I've heard a ton of CD players, and I think its easily the best player for the money, but that's just my opinion. I srtongly dislike a few players mentioned here, but that doesn't mean that you'll feel the same way.

The Apollo is an excellent sounding player for the money. Its not the final word, but what really is? The only way to know for sure if you'll like it is to hear one.

JR