Arcam FMJ CD17 v Rega Apollo R

[geoffc]

Currently use Rega Apollo R alongside Rega DAC (wonderful DAC by the way) however although I very much like the sound of the Rega Apollo I have been somewhat exasperated by some aspects of its behaviour (not sometimes 'initialising' discs properly on startup, very un-user friendly remote as well - there's lots on google about this and its 'quirky' operating system) and would prefer something that is a bit less hard work! Also, I'm not too keen on the top loading aspect either.

Have been looking at the Arcam FMJ CD17 and was wondering if any other members have any experience of this particular player especially if partnered with the Rega DAC.

Looking forward to reading your replies!

[DSJR]

You have the DAC separately? Then why not choose a transport/player with ergonomics to suit.

The bigger FMJ's were solidly made as I remember and could sound really nice on their own. For some reason, they did seem somewhat sensitive to what they were placed on and have no idea why, despite the rather solid build.

[geoffc]

The Arcam was one of the players I auditioned when I bought the Rega. Excellent build and better ergonomics than the Rega but about £100 more. Sound wise there was nothing between them although the addition of the Rega DAC really transforms the sound to another level.

Was thinking of transport only - the Musical Fidelity M1CDT and the Cyrus CDT, however I've not got good experiences of Cyrus products and the Musical Fidelity is a slot loader which I'd care to avoid. The Arcam brand is one I've owned in the past and as you say they are very solidly made.

Thanks for your reply.

[DSJR]

Arcam and Cyrus did/do give good service I believe. As for MF? Depends who you talk to...

Modern DAC chipss do most of it rather well internally I believe, with little for the DAC maker to either get wrong, or tamper with. Stan has made darned sure that the MK2 Bushmaster is as inert to the supply as possible, so whether a potentially HF-noisy battery supply would make any difference I really don't know. Same with transport choice. Jitter was eliminated from audio perception some time ago I think and what many hear as 'jitter' is possible out of band hf noise interfering with their amp (certainly was in the early days when Philips chips put out a huge amount of rubbish via both digital and analogue outputs I understand).

[geoffc]

Just an update to everyone - have gone back to my previous player a Marantz CD5004 now used in conjunction with my Rega DAC, the combination of which gives a wonderful spacious musical sound very similar to the Rega Jupiter I heard recently. Really amazed at the improvement the Rega DAC has made to the Marantz.

The operational oddities/quirks of the Rega Apollo R were bringing me to the end of my tether!

[kenworthy100]

I own an Apollo R and whilst mine has the odd idiosyncrasy it sounds as though your unit is more temperamental than normal, I wonder whether it would be worth getting your retailer to contact Rega to see whether there are any revisions to the firmware or mechanics since your player was made.