From what I have been told the new laser pickup, controller and decoder chips gave Rega far better reading from the disk (lower jitter, wider eye pattern, lower error rates) and also a lower cost versus the Planet and Jupiter. I think the new drive may be computer CD-ROM derived, though I'm not sure. The computer industry gets rather high performance at very low cost, so it's only natural for hifi companies seeking bang for the buck to ditch audio-specific pickups and go to computer technology. Meridian have done this with their most recent CD players.