Cambridge Azur 840C versus Rega Apollo

The 840 is more refined, meaning, in this case, with less "fuzz" surrounding a note than the Apollo. That's the compare part. The "contast" part is that it is also more "polite." If it were a singer, it would be the 840 is Ella, the Apollo is Garland. One is more controlled (840) and pulls you in, soothes you. The other (Apollo) is more exciting and grips you by the throat.
I own both, but had been playing the Cambridge all the time. Tonight, before coming in here, I hooked up the Apollo and played Peer Gynt, which, in cut 1, has a violin solo, which has always, on lp AND CD, sounded gutsy, like an Irish jig (which is anything but laidback). I knew, before I even played it, that the Apollo would have more bite, not in the edgy way, but more vivacity and fire. It did. The dynamic nuances are superior in the Apollo. The Cambridge has less "jump." However, it IS more refined, and purer-sounding. This works more to "Ella's" advantage than "Garland." Imagine Ella singing "Clang, clang, clang went the trolley/
Ding, ding, ding went the bell/Zing, zing, zing went my heartstrings/ as we started for Huntington Dell." Now replay it the way Garland sang it, and you'll understand the difference.
The 840 is more transparent (less grain within the soundstage as you go furthur back) than the Rega. Better soundstage, BUT the imaging seems less focused, as in camera lens not totally in focus. The Rega also has more weight in the midbass, upper bass and lower midrange, where dynamics give music power, from my observations.
The Rega has sharper transients, or, as I like to put it, more "bite." The 840 has the slightest rounding off of the transient attack, related, I think, to its lack of jump. Call it a lack of microdynamic thrust, if that's clearer.
On a good system, with the 840, you can hear the floor itself (in some recordings: I've only heard it on one, but that's my system. I imagine if I had a Magico speaker, I'd hear it right away and on more recordings). the Apollo does not achieve the same degree of low-level detail (the noise floor is a little higher).

The Rega's low bass is more apparent than the 840. When subway trains run under the London-based orchestra halls, it's easier to hear them on the Apollo. You still hear them with the 840, but it's more ethereal, like someone weighing 170 pounds walking across a creaky floor and somone weighing 250 pounds walking across the same floor. The footsteps of the bigger person sound more solid, although you can hear both.
The Cambridge's high frequencies are purer, although, again, the sound is just slightly ethereal compared to other players I've had, so you don't feel the shimmer of triangles quite as physically, although you hear them. Also, the ambience retrieval's very good on the Cambridge, although it's not as though you'd then play the same cut on the Apollo, and say "where's the ambience." It's a matter of degree. The Apollo, interestingly enough to my ears, sounds more liquid, perhaps due to the sight "reservedness" of the Cambridge. Again, the better the equipment, the easier it'll be for you to hear it, which is why people are so annoyed with reviewers: they (readers) may have one set of speakers (or, in any 5 year period, have had intimate experience with 3 or four speakers sytems in their own home), have one or two amps. The reviewers hear more equipment in a shorter period of time. To paraphrase Jimi Hendrix said "Are You Experienced"? The average audiophile is not going to have remotely as much experience as even the "average" reviewer.

So, the Apollo might thrill you more for (some)jazz, hip-hop, classic r&b, like Motown, Stax and Cameo labels and singers who belt out their songs. Most black music sounds more "black" (and I'm black, so this is not a hollow analogy) on the Rega. Ethel Merman will sound more credible on the Apollo. Ella, Paula West, Cassandra Wilson will sound fine on the 840, but not Aretha.
That's why I have both.

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