Neil P
pfm Member
Certainly looks like it's just cosmetic changes. Disappointing if that's the case.
Rega Saturn MK3
- Thread starter PerF
- Start date
Certainly looks like it's just cosmetic changes. Disappointing if that's the case.
It's hard to see much more development of CD happening, it is effectively a dying format. It's good that Rega are still making players at all. Linn dropped them years ago, Naim make one 'budget' model.
Neil P
pfm Member
It seems they have done cosmetic changes only to cabinets before, such as Aria, Fono.
I expect improvements with these changes over Saturn/R
- Enhanced output amplifier circuit
- Enhanced digital power supplies
- Redeveloped analogue & digital outputs
Yes they've changed the case style too many times recently in my opinion. The new, current style is nice so hopefully they'll stick with it for a while.
Ptah
pfm Member
Try Mr Darwin (Paul, not Charles). Taking the current web page at face value, you might infer there have been changes since the S-R, but...???
lordibiza
pfm Member
This is the same thing they were saying when they swapped the Saturn for the Saturn-R. I hope they have improved reliability/quality with the new one, but it seems like it's just a cosmetic change really.
Darren L
Egalitarian
They said the same thing about records 30 years ago, in fact most record shops stopped selling records and tapes.
From my perspective Rega are one of a very few worthwhile companies to buy a product from.
Imagine how pissed off anyone who bought a CD12 is, cost an arm and a leg and now there's no backup for them.
I don't think the quality and reliability are bad. I think you've been unlucky to suffer a failed laser but it's not that common and the unit itself is cheap. Maybe not a cheap job where you live but try getting the transport replaced in other hi-end players! Naim don't even support their older players any more but Rega deliberately chose the transport in this player with cost and long-term availability in mind.
The freezing I would call a bug rather than a fault, I think they all do it. It's a bit annoying but it doesn't happen very often so I can live with it. I think it's got something to do with the system that samples the disk before it plays to decide how much error correction to apply. Takes a while and seems to get tripped up occasionally but once it starts playing there are never any problems. If your player misbehaved more often it may have been down to the laser, it may have been causing problems long before it stopped working.
As for the quality of construction, the thing is pretty sorted, it weighs 13Kg and feels solid as a brick. I also doubt they've used crap capacitors in it. They may be made in China but so are most of the electronic devices you own. I don't know if they've chosen the ones in yours for sonic reasons, availability or cost but I seriously doubt Rega would compromise on either reliability or sound quality by using poor components. You're talking about a company who offer a lifetime warranty on everything they make! Think about that. If they made unreliable kit they'd be out of business in no time! I've dealt with them quite a few times and their aftercare is outstanding. This is a company that really cares about quality and customer satisfaction.
Maybe it's hard for you to get proper support where you live and you've been unlucky with your player but it happens. What warranty did you get with your new player?
lordibiza
pfm Member
I didn't say they are bad. I find them acceptable, but not bad. Only that they should improve on the electrolytic capacitors, there are more Rega components that use Chinese Sam Young caps and they are not comparable in sound or reliability to the Nichicon Fine Gold that other series did mount, I suppose the first manufactures.
The Saturn-R weighs 9 kilos and a little more, not 13. It does feel heavy and solid and as I said in my previous messages I liked the sound, it was good. Although in my personal opinion too much SMD surface component is used and this makes repairs difficult and also compromises reliability. I am an industrial electronics technician and I understand a little about how these types of components behave in the long term.
My current CD (cd transport) uses discrete components and doesn't have SMD, I prefer this.
I took my Rega Satur-R to two official Rega technical services in my country and they were unable to solve the blocking or "freezing" problem. So I decided to leave it to the store I bought it from and exchange it for another one plus an amount of money. The problem with the laser lens was not covered by the warranty, that's what they told me in the official service, but the use was less than 2 years and little use. I had to buy the optical block and it was more than €180 (very expensive). I changed it. If there are options to buy it outside an official distributor and the price is lower, but nobody assures you that it is the original Sanyo that the Saturn-R has.
Maybe bad luck I guess. But the blockage problem I suffered to a lesser extent in an Apollo. In the Saturn-R it was more annoying, it failed more times. And I got fed up with my unit.
I guess it's always going to be difficult if you live too far away to return the unit to the manufacturer. I've sent things back to Rega a few times and they're great but no one is going to understand the product or have the facilities and parts like the manufacturer does. Few dealers will have much in the way of electronic understanding and even local repairers can't be expected to have the depth of knowledge that exists at the factory.
Like I said, I suspect the freezing is an inherent software bug. Mine does it too and others have reported it so I think they all do it. Usually, you open the lid, close it again and it's fine. Very occasionally you need to restart the machine to clear it but it's not something that happens often enough to be more than a slight annoyance. If that's what you were trying to get fixed I'm not surprised they couldn't find the fault and if you sent it to Rega my bet is they wouldn't eliminate it either.
So I have! That has happened before, I don't know how it did it. Fixed.
White Zombie
pfm Member
For anyone who's had both how does the original Saturn CD player compare to the Saturn-R? I know the latter has more features but in terms of sound is there much difference?
I have both, but in two different systems (see my profile page). The Saturn is smooth and refined but lacks the detail of the Saturn-R, and the latter sounds much more dynamic.
lordibiza
pfm Member
@Mr Pig
It would be nice to be closer, surely they could have checked it there at the Rega factory, but I'm a long way from the UK. I believe that the official importers are in charge of choosing various official technical services in the country, in my case the technical services were not very professional, they did not know how to solve my problem. I think they should be more concerned with choosing good professional technicians among the official distributors/importers. For the Sanyo PF-101N lens/laser, buy only the lens for €180, replacement only. In addition, labor and technical time had to be added, I suppose it would be €300 or more, something totally out of place, nonsense. So I changed it myself and then the player worked fine in terms of reading and recognizing discs.
In my unit, the freezing problem was almost daily. Some days several times the same day, that was not normal. On my apollo it happened sometimes but on my saturn-r this was horrible. Before changing it in the workshop I wanted to see the inside to see if I could do something with the control software, but the SMD surface electronics are complex and I couldn't get any technical diagrams so it was impossible. It was at that moment that I discovered the Chinese Sam Young and I did not see anywhere the Nichicon Fine Gold of the photos that circulate on the internet of the first production series and of the first tests and trials of the Rega saturn-R when it came out.
It would be nice to be closer, surely they could have checked it there at the Rega factory, but I'm a long way from the UK. I believe that the official importers are in charge of choosing various official technical services in the country, in my case the technical services were not very professional, they did not know how to solve my problem. I think they should be more concerned with choosing good professional technicians among the official distributors/importers. For the Sanyo PF-101N lens/laser, buy only the lens for €180, replacement only. In addition, labor and technical time had to be added, I suppose it would be €300 or more, something totally out of place, nonsense. So I changed it myself and then the player worked fine in terms of reading and recognizing discs.
In my unit, the freezing problem was almost daily. Some days several times the same day, that was not normal. On my apollo it happened sometimes but on my saturn-r this was horrible. Before changing it in the workshop I wanted to see the inside to see if I could do something with the control software, but the SMD surface electronics are complex and I couldn't get any technical diagrams so it was impossible. It was at that moment that I discovered the Chinese Sam Young and I did not see anywhere the Nichicon Fine Gold of the photos that circulate on the internet of the first production series and of the first tests and trials of the Rega saturn-R when it came out.
paul darwin
pfm Member
Lordibiza, I believe this is not the first time we have "spoken" (if I have conflated two different customers then I apologise), as I previously said the guarantee on the laser is 2 years and would have been replaced free of charge if it had failed within this period without question.
If the "freezing" was verified by a Rega Franchised Dealer or distributor and was found to be due to a manufacturing fault then that would be covered by our lifetime warranty as again I previously explained.
Also previously explained some long time ago, the Nichicon and the Samyoung Capacitors have both been approved for use in our players by our technical and design engineers and any personal preference is therefore down to factors unconnected with our performance parameters.
We would not make available circuit diagrams in the normal course of events to anyone other than Rega trained and validated engineers which as I recall you were unhappy to use in Spain for entirely personal reasons as you thought them to be deficient in some way.
If the "freezing" was verified by a Rega Franchised Dealer or distributor and was found to be due to a manufacturing fault then that would be covered by our lifetime warranty as again I previously explained.
Also previously explained some long time ago, the Nichicon and the Samyoung Capacitors have both been approved for use in our players by our technical and design engineers and any personal preference is therefore down to factors unconnected with our performance parameters.
We would not make available circuit diagrams in the normal course of events to anyone other than Rega trained and validated engineers which as I recall you were unhappy to use in Spain for entirely personal reasons as you thought them to be deficient in some way.
lordibiza
pfm Member
@paul darwin
I haven't talked to you. I also couldn't get in touch with Rega, in any way, shape or form. It was impossible for me. They also did not want to give me a contact from the official importer. Maybe if I had known about this forum before, I could have solved the freezing problem.
Regarding the laser, it was not covered by warranty, the official Rega importer from my country told me.
Now it's too late, because I no longer have the Saturn-R.
I know electronic components well (I am an industrial technician in electronics and I have designed amplifiers with many types of electrolytics and I know them, and others.) and a NIchicon Fine Gold is not the same as a Sam Young. Neither for sound nor for long-term reliability. It's just my personal opinion from a technical point of view.
I haven't talked to you. I also couldn't get in touch with Rega, in any way, shape or form. It was impossible for me. They also did not want to give me a contact from the official importer. Maybe if I had known about this forum before, I could have solved the freezing problem.
Regarding the laser, it was not covered by warranty, the official Rega importer from my country told me.
Now it's too late, because I no longer have the Saturn-R.
I know electronic components well (I am an industrial technician in electronics and I have designed amplifiers with many types of electrolytics and I know them, and others.) and a NIchicon Fine Gold is not the same as a Sam Young. Neither for sound nor for long-term reliability. It's just my personal opinion from a technical point of view.
paul darwin
pfm Member
In that case, apologies, but strangely I have had a very similar exchange of mails with someone else in your country, again apologies.
I would, however, still like to point out that the laser was covered by warranty and the freezing issue could also have been dealt with and sorted locally and probably without charge.
I did not at any point say that the Nichicon and Samyoung "were the same" merely that both have been approved by our technical team and any personal preference is therefore down to factors unconnected with our performance parameters.
I would, however, still like to point out that the laser was covered by warranty and the freezing issue could also have been dealt with and sorted locally and probably without charge.
I did not at any point say that the Nichicon and Samyoung "were the same" merely that both have been approved by our technical team and any personal preference is therefore down to factors unconnected with our performance parameters.
Surely whether on not a capacitor effects the sound will depend entirely on what job it is doing? I would imagine that most of the capacitors in a CD player will have nothing to do with the output stage.
I agree that freezing every day is not normal and it's a shame you didn't get it sorted out. Who knows why it happened.