What gives? CD’s, Solid State?


I have recently acquired Rega’s upper-end equipment (Saturn, R-7 speakers, Cursa Pre and Exon Monblocks) and am NOT that impressed with the overall listening experience when playing CDs.

Some years back I had Conrad Johnson Pre and Power and listened to vinyl. How sweet, full and warm that sounded. I realize that was tube equipment and now I’m with solid state, but still…

So, I’m trying to trouble shoot here – Is it the CD medium (I wish I had a turntable to do an A-B comparison) or is it the solid state components that sound a bit edgy, dry and less than full bodied? Would my listening experience improve much if I acquired Rega’s P7 or P9 TT and used that as my source?

Thanks,
Randy
rbschauman

Showing 1 response by fillmoor

I too used to have a CJ tube amp also (an MV55 w/ PV10). I've also used a Pass Labs class A single ended solid state and now use Rega RS3 w/ Elicit. Simple answer is there is just no way you are going to get that blooming midrange warmth you loved about the CJ from the Rega. What you will get is much better bass response, and clearer sound that is also free of the upper range (treble mainly) distortion tubes have. In direct comparison with the solid state pass labs the most notable thing was the total absence of any grit, grain and distortion in the treble relative to the tube amp. What the CJ had was more body and impact in the midrange- but in the rest of the spectrum the Pass was superior and the Pass midrange was still good, just not as good as the CJ. I abandoned tubes and class A solid state amps as much for practical considerations as sonic ones. That brought me to the Elicit Integrated. For me the Rega system sounds neither tubey or solid state sterile- it is uncoloured but remains open, coherent and musical. I notice where it falls short relative of tubes, but also where it shines. I have used the saturn but prefer the Jupiter 2000, the Saturn is a little unforgiving of some cd's and is very neutral through the midrnage whereas the Jupiter adds more body- which I prefer for cd playback. I am one of a minority who feel that Regas newer players actually represent a step back- I like the original planet and the Jupiter 2000 better than the Apollo or Saturn. I find their older players to be much closer to analog.