Rega Saturn R digital download stick to the DAC.


I just purchased a very nice demo Rega Saturn R on Audiogon to add to my existing audio gear which consists of a Krell FPB 600 amp , Mark Levinson 38s preamp, Krell KPS 20i cd player , Krell B&W 800 bass alignment filer [2] balanced. B&W 800 Matrix speakers and all Straightwire Crescendo speaker cables and xlr interconnects. I really wanted to buy the Rega ISIS but funds are not there right now even for a used one. So i settled for a very nice demo Saturn R. I would like to also start steaming music since it has a very good DAC. This is something that i absolutely no nothing about. Not even where to start from. The only thing i read about the Saturn R about that is i will need to download a digital stick for the DAC to start with. With that said does anyone who has a Rega Saturn R know how to or where to find how to download this digital stick ? Very confused as i tried researching this but it only says that you need to download this stick and not where to find this to download. Any info will be very much appreciated 
128x128Ag insider logo xs@2xtattooedtrackman

Showing 3 responses by reubent

I own a Rega Saturn-R. IMHO it is a very good sounding CD player and the multi-input DAC works very well for everything I'v connected to it. That said.......

I have no idea what you are talking about regarding downloading a digital stick. I've connected an Apple laptop via USB, a Windows laptop via USB, a bluetooth receiver via both optical and coax cables and a Nuforce iDO iOS adapter via coax. I did not need to download anything to get any of these connections working.

What device(s) are you trying to use to stream to the Rega Saturn-R?

Since you bought a "demo", was there a dealer involved? If so, part of their "value add" should be assisting you with setting up your system. Can you leverage your dealer for assistance?
@tattooedtrackman - OK, now I understand what you are talking about. If you need to download and install a new driver on your computer, that really has nothing to do with the Rega CD player, per se. The driver downloads and installs on your computer, and it does not transfer anything to the Rega. It just sets up the computer to "speak" the language needed by the Rega to communicate over USB.

Do you have a copy of the driver on CD/DVD disc? If so, put it in your computer optical driver and run the install file found on the CD/DVD. If not, you will need to go to the Rega website and download the appropriate driver to your computer. Once the driver is downloaded, you will run the install file that downloads with the driver and it will install the driver to your computer. Once the driver is installed on your computer, you can connect your computer, using a USB cable, to your Rega Saturn-R. You will want to have the Rega turned off when you connect the cable. Boot up the computer, or at least make sure it is turned on and booted to the OS. Turn on the Rega and select the input you have used to attach the cable (for USB, it is input # 1 and you use the "input button" found on the top/right side of the Solaris remote. You should see  tiny "1" along the top edge of the display on the front of the Rega. There is a button along the top edge of the remote, middle button, that says CD/DAC. You will want to push the button to change from CD playback, to playback from the USB connect to your DAC. When everything is correct, the display on the front of the Rega will show the format of the source component. You will see something like 16/44K or similar. If you see the usual CD output "no disk" or the CD track information, you need to push the CD/DAC button again to select the fact that you are using an external source to connect to the DAC.

Once you see that the DAC in the Rega is connected to your source (computer) you can play anything on the computer that make noise, and you should hear it through the Rega instead of through the internal speakers in your computer.

Regarding what to stream, you can start with Youtube. Just do a search for any some on YouTube and it will likely be there. Play it and you should hear it through the Rega. Once you have everything working and want to try other streaming options, you can try Spotify (there is a lo-res free version with commercials). Once you have that working, you can subscribe to the commercial free version of Spotify, or you can subscribe to the higher resolution Hi_Fi version of Tidal. If you want the best sounding streaming service, Tidal is probably your best bet.

From there you can investigate other products such as Roon.

Good luck. You may have to fiddle with this stuff a bit to figure it out of you are not well versed in computers or computer audio. Since you purchased a DEMO (dealer demonstration unit), the dealer you purchased from, or Rega, should be available to you to assist with getting everything up and running.
@tattooedtrackman - I can't comment if streaming can/does sound better than CD. I don't use any hi-res, or even CD quality resolution streaming services, so I don't have a valid comparison. I can tell you that streaming lower resolution sources, such as iTunes, YouTube and the free version of Spotify, sound better through the DAC in the Rega than they do using the analog outputs of whatever device I'm streaming through.

Many people on this forum state that streaming the hi-fi version of Tidal sounds the same as their CD player or a CD transport though the same DAC. I would expect that to be correct.

Good luck with the new player. Enjoy!