From my observations, the A5 is a tonally neutral and well balanced player. It presents the entire frequency spectrum in a clean and precise manner. I find the bass to be well defined and tight, but not emphasised in a way that would please listeners who like a lot of bass or would be suitable for an already bass lean system. It could be that the A5 is not well suited for your Vandersteens or that you have gotten used to the more dominant bass emphasis of your Rotel. Break in could also be an issue as the A5 uses an upsampler that does need a considerable time to burn in before it settles (I don't know how much time as I got my player used). I definitely recommend an after market power cord for this player; made a world of difference in my system. You may also take a look a the recent review of this player in 6moons. I believe the reviewer recommended using an isolation platform for this CDP and the reviewer himself used a maple cutting board which may make the bass sound a little fuller and with more weight (maple has a resonance which may cause). I wish you all the best in resolving the issue.
Musical Fidelity A5 CDP -bass problem
I am having trouble getting good bass out of my MFA5CDP.
Using Rotel 200wpc 1080. Vandersteen 2CE sigs. I am Comparing it with same set up and my other Rotel CD player which has gret bass so I dont want to change the amp/spkrs. I experimented with changing the interconnects with a cheap pair I had laying around and it seemed better , but is there any advice on a rational approach to interconnect selection with a "bass" issue?
Using Rotel 200wpc 1080. Vandersteen 2CE sigs. I am Comparing it with same set up and my other Rotel CD player which has gret bass so I dont want to change the amp/spkrs. I experimented with changing the interconnects with a cheap pair I had laying around and it seemed better , but is there any advice on a rational approach to interconnect selection with a "bass" issue?