I’m not saying anything new, and in a way, I brought this on myself. Buying used is a risk. You spend less and accept that, in order to save money. And sometimes also because new items of that quality don’t exist or you don’t like them. I do this with cars. When I’m really forced to replace it, I go for a used one. I don’t like today’s cars, and the costs are so high that used cars are a whole different story. I do the same with guitar effects: you can easily resell them for the same price, so you can try out various ones without losing anything. With guitars, a used instrument is even better—one with a history—it actually sounds better precisely because it’s used. But with hi-fi, I’ve been burned. It’s worked out well for me many times, but I knew the risk was higher with CD players…

On these very pages, I myself warn readers and advise them to buy a new or very recent CD player. But I didn’t do that. I wanted a player from a certain era and from a prestigious British brand, one that would pair well with my “new” Naim Nait XS amplifier (a great secondhand find—honest seller). I looked at Naim itself, Rega, and Cyrus. Of course, budget was also a factor. Buying a new CD player with that budget probably wasn’t worth it. In the end, I spent a few hundred euros and chose a Rega Apollo MK1 from a private seller who had bought it 20 years ago and still had the receipt, the original packaging, plus proof that the laser drive had been serviced. Could it get any better? Not really. Despite everything, I find myself having to send it in for official service, hoping not to receive a quote so high that it’s not worth it. Things that might have happened to the original owner, who would have therefore decided to find a sucker to dump it on.

The problem is that the player actually works and sounds brilliant – it pairs perfectly with the Naim Nait XS. But I can’t switch it off. If I do, the sound stops coming out. At first, it took about ten minutes, sometimes even less. Then the time increased. For a while, I kept it switched on all the time and had no problems. Now it takes an hour or more of ‘warming up’ before any sound comes out, initially intermittent and not particularly well-defined. Then it reaches the level of quality for which it is famous. It would seem to be a problem with old capacitors that can no longer charge quickly and therefore cannot hold a charge. It takes them a while to build it up, but if you switch them off, they can’t manage it – and the time will come when they’ll stop altogether. If it were just the ones in the final analogue stage, it would be a minor issue and a ‘recap’ would actually do it good. There are no problems with the digital output to my DAC. But the last time I played a whole CD on it, towards the end it even started losing the track. So I contacted the official LASA support in Piacenza and packed it up to send it to them. Unfortunately, there’s a risk that it’s not just the few capacitors in the output stage that are causing problems. I’m told there are many capacitors, and not all of them can be replaced without risking permanent damage to the circuit board. And I’m afraid they told the previous owner exactly that, so he decided to sell it at a good price.

But how could he avoid the victim realising there was a problem? The trick was to tell me straight away that the laser had been serviced and that, despite the original packaging, I had to be careful when transporting it, keep it horizontal at all times and avoid potholes. Yet the original packaging has a handle, clearly designed for a more carefree carry, like a suitcase. And how did the Rega Apollo get here from England? Tenderly cradled in the arms of a caring courier? Fat chance!

I should have been suspicious from the off, given those recommendations. They were clearly intended so that he could say to me, ‘I told you to handle it with care’. Of course, the bloke played the CD player with my discs on his system. Surprise, surprise, as soon as he switched it on, it wouldn’t play. The bloke started fiddling with his complicated audio/video preamp, saying he’d connected his new CD player and couldn’t remember where the Rega was plugged in, and that even he couldn’t make head nor tail of all those buttons and dials on the NAD preamp. The back of the preamp was completely inaccessible, being tucked away inside the cabinet. I didn’t really understand the front panel of the preamp either, so I waited patiently. At one point, on the pretext of checking which input it was connected to, he switched on his new CD player and, miraculously, the Rega started playing. I didn’t give it a second thought at the time, but he was probably waiting for the right moment—which he knew—for the faulty Apollo to warm up sufficiently so it would finally start playing. And I bought it.

But when I got home, it wouldn’t play at my place either! I called him right away, but he denied everything and said he’d given it to me in working order, that I should have been careful during transport, that they’re delicate machines… Then I read that a CD player that has been left outdoors for a long time in the winter cold is likely to have problems if plugged in straight away. Condensation can form on the lens, preventing it from reading discs (which was actually happening). After a few minutes, the sound came through, and after a few hours on repeat, the reading problems gradually disappeared too. I even apologised to the seller! What an idiot…

I kept it switched on all the time, just as I did with the Naim, which is recommended by the manufacturer. But at night, I could occasionally hear a noise like a small electric discharge. In the end, I had to switch it off, and I was in for an unpleasant surprise when I switched it back on. The time it took to resume operation grew longer and longer. And on some discs, the reading problems returned. As I write, the Rega is packed up and ready for dispatch. I’ve hooked up an old Cambridge Audio D500SE (which also has a faulty analogue stage) to the excellent Schiit Modius DAC. That works perfectly well too, so listening to music won’t be a problem.

But there remains the bitterness of someone who, in today’s world, still trusts people. And there are unscrupulous individuals who have no qualms whatsoever about pulling off scams like this just to avoid losing a few hundred euros. So what should I do now? Put up an enticing advert and keep the Rega switched on at all times for a potential demo for the next unfortunate victim? I could recoup the same amount of money, but how could I look myself in the face? How does the previous owner look at himself in the mirror? Well, he probably even congratulates himself…