Rega – Saturn MK3 CD Player/DAC

The Saturn MK3 is re-housed in the very latest case designed to match the rest of the Rega range. The Saturn MK3 CD-DAC player offers complete flexibility and integration into any audio system. Essentially two products in one, the Saturn MK3 houses an independent DAC circuit and a high specification CD transport. Both sections are fully remote controllable via the supplied Solaris remote handset.

You will find plenty of connectivity options, up to and including 24bit-192 kHz. The Saturn MK3 has two optical inputs, two Co-Axial inputs, a fully asynchronous USB and an added ‘direct’ digital output from the CD playback section. This ensures the Saturn MK3 integrates perfectly into any system and provides the perfect partner for the Rega Elicit MK5 integrated amplifier.

The Saturn MK3 uses a proven digital to analog converter and analog output amplifier technology coupled with a pair of Wolfson WM8742 digital to analogue converter ICs. The Saturn MK3 utilities a CD section power supply which was a result of the research & development of our reference CD player along with the improved microcontroller and display drivers.

The Saturn MK3 uses a high stability master clock and high capacity power supply in the CD circuitry, high performance PLL digital interface receiver, isolated digital inputs and high performance power supply architecture in the DAC circuitry. Signal switching between the CD and DAC functions are performed in the digital to analog converter stage. The signal path of the CD section in CD mode is kept to a minimum.

The DAC USB input has been improved with asynchronous operation at sample rates of 44.1 to 192 kHz with a bit rate of up to 24 bits. The USB input has the same galvanic isolation as used in the Rega DAC-R. The USB uses dedicated drivers in the computer, enabling full ASIO operation, thus eliminating signal degradation caused by generic windows based drivers.