Rega's Jupiter 2000 is the company's beefed up, cost-no-object version of its cracking Planet CD player. David Price does some space exploration.

It's all very well doing a class leading mid-price CD player - and make no mistake, Rega's Planet 2000 is such a product - but things get a little trickier when you move into the 'junior high end' category. Whereas the Planet is fighting it out with warmed up Philips players and liberally tweaked Sonys, the £998 Jupiter finds itself playing with big boys like Meridian, Linn and Naim. This is where it's harder to judge how to voice your design, thanks to the better, more neutral partnering ancillaries it's likely to be used with - not to mention the wider tastes of discerning audiophiles. 

Enter Jupiter, a silver disc spinner from the genius of Rega's valve-loving designer Terry Bateman. It shares the Planet 2000's externals - which means a smartly finished extruded aluminium (435x100x 270mm) case with cantilevered, top loading disc cover, four frontal transport controls and a circular backlit power switch and matching (CD Text-compatible) crimson red Sony fluorescent display. 

Underneath there's the same Rega VCS feet (viscous coupled system) to give it a degree of mechanical isolation from its environs, and round the back the usual fixed audio line outputs, plus optical and coaxial digital outputs, and an IEC mains socket. Like the Planet, the optional remote control adds a host of features, including Program, Repeat and - most usefully to me - Display Off functions. 

Inside, the Jupiter 2000 uses the same basic circuit topology as the original Jupiter and Io that preceded it, but with improvements in the digital converters, power supply and clocking stages. The dual differential DAC is based around two custom built Rega IC40 DACs (24bit Delta Sigma affairs, said to be a Burr-Brown modified to Rega's specifications), with separate converters for the left and right channels. DC servo control is used in the post-DAC amplifier and filter stages, to keep the number of capacitors in the signal path as low as possible. 

Seven separate power supplies feed the transport, digital and analogue sections, micro controller, display, analogue amplifier and filter. All stages for the clock PLL and signal path are double regulated, and there are two physically separate power feeds for the noisy stages (i.e. motor drivers) and clean stages (DAC, clock, etc.). All this comes from the Jupiter's generously rated toroidal transformer. Finally, Rega says the player uses a high stability oscillator module for the main clock. 

I kicked off the listening with New Order's 'True Faith', which is a murky recording that can sound a little lost in the hands of lesser players. Some cheaper models give it some pep thanks to their hard, forward edge, whereas many more expensive ones sound too soft and woolly. The Jupiter, by contrast, got things just right. A wide soundstage issued forth from my Mission 782 speakers, which was alive with little bits of low level detail that other players struggle to resolve. 

The recorded acoustic (if you can call it that) was surprisingly deep and capacious - but more impressive was the way the different tracks in the mix played together. Everything cohered better even than Cyrus's superb CD7/PSX-R, which seemed rather cerebral by comparison. The Rega just got on with the job of conveying the music's emotional impact, making a poorly recorded piece of electronic pop sound dramatic, expansive and anthemic. While bass was tight and reasonably tuneful, it wasn't quite in the Naim CD5 league thanks to a lack of dynamic power. Peter Hook's basslines didn't really punch out at you, but rather bounced up and down the scale breezily. 

Next into the Rega was Donald Fagen's 'Tomorrow's Girls', which showed the player up as the smoothie that it is. Whereas the Naim CD5 and Linn's Genki seem better at catching the leading edges of notes, the Jupiter was the king of the tune. It went straight to the heart of the melody, really emphasising Fagen's subtle but incredibly effective chord progressions and laconic, plaintive vocals. Whereas the CD5 would focus on the bassline, pushing to the fore its importance in the song's structure, the Jupiter was much more preoccupied with the keyboard playing - which was never less than beautifully syncopated. 

This Rega is king of the midband - its soundstage is cavernous from left to right (and quite deep too), with a lush tonality that reminds one of its designer's beloved tube amplification. Joan Armatrading's 'Love and Affection' showed it to be punchy too - although the bass isn't as tight or controlled as Cyrus's CD7/PSX-R, it's decently weighty and ever-so slightly warm. 

True, compared to the likes of Naim's CD5 it's just a tad polite, but the overall effect blends well with the Jupiter's sweet, clean and enveloping mid-band. Indeed, female voices are a joy - there's no hint of shrillness and this player gets surprisingly close to their grains and textures. 

Very 'analogue', the Jupiter goes deep to the heart and soul of the music, leaving very little to criticise behind. The treble is possibly a little over-sweet, and the bass is a tad overblown and detached - but the mid-band is a joy to behold. 

The biggest problem I have with the new Jupiter 2000 is its Planet 2000 little brother. Although the former has a noticeably more generous bass and a more organic mid-band, the latter is just so ridiculously good at the price that it almost makes you want to pocket the cash and go for the cheapie. On its own terms though it's superb - one of the very best at the price, especially if you're into a more 'analogue' rendition of the music. 

MEASURED PERFORMANCE
Rega like to make their products look and feel a little different, the Jupiter being a great example. Luckily, under the skin there are fewer surprises, or at least no nasty ones. This player returned respectable results all round, a smooth wide frequency response being one plus point. Our analysis shows just a slight movement down in high frequency energy but, not enough to add any dullness. 

The noise floor was very low in our -30dB distortion anlaysis - and thereís no distortion as such in there either. Itís a very good result, up with the best. 

Linearity was good right down the players dynamic range, helping toward a high EIAJ dynamic range value of 110dB. With output set at the usual level of 2V this player returned a neat, conventional performance that should see it producing a clean sound with good balance. NK
 

WORLD VERDICT
Superbly musical and engaging player that's voiced for real music rather than hi-fi demo 
discs - a fantastic new contender and top value too.   £