Rega Saturn R vs Apollo R / Chord Qutest

I am running the latter. It’s very good. The Saturn R may be a more elegant solution for me from an ergonomic point of view. Not much of a cost difference between the two. Wondering if it’s a step forward in sound quality though (or a step back). I am curious if anyone has done the comparison.

I have a core running thru the qutest and i had a home demo of the saturn r plugged direct into integrated and i found them very similar sq wise .

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I have a Saturn, not the R and have just tried to do an a/b comparison with the on board DAC and a Qutest. If there was a difference in SQ, to my ears it was not discernible. The R‘s DAC may be a step up on the DAC in the older Saturn but a suspect not a step change. If you can do a home demo great, otherwise there have been few ex-demo Saturn R around for about £1,300 and if it’s ergonomics your after I doubt it would be a retrograde step.

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Thanks guys. Very interesting.

Apologies that I cannot do a comparison here, but I do have a Saturn-R and find it to be one of the best CD players I’ve owned (and I’ve owned many of the higher-end Naim with HCs). I have just recently begun using its DAC (filter 4) into an NDX and find the more I have been listening to it the greater it has become in my system. It seems quite special in many ways. It has taken some time to get used to because I can detect in some unspecific way its sonic signature compared to my all-Naim system. Now I find it quite captivating. As for its CD playback, it is first-rate. I enjoy the heck out of it.

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The other way round, perchance (NDX digital out into DAC)?

Oops…yes, of course. S/PDIF. :blush:

jsawyer09, for context, which Naim CD players have you had?

I began with a CD5, then 5XS…very briefly CDX (thought it too bright) and finally CDS. I sold the last one before changing jobs, moving and building a house, so I was without a system for quite some time. I honestly thought I was not going to ever purchase another CD player, but sometimes I enjoy using it versus local or Tidal streaming (although I’d say vinyl is my primary source for serious listening). Also, I haven’t even come close to ripping my whole collection, so there’s that as well.
Anyway, I read-up about the Saturn-R (after always wanting to try/own an original Saturn; had an Apollo when I owned an Elicit in a second system years ago but couldn’t afford one for that) and I thought the DAC was a serious added bonus. It certainly turned out to be much more than a bonus to me and my situation.

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