Rotel RCD-1520 or 1072?

HDCD playback feature is a cool bonus (the new 1520 does not have HDCD.)

Are there any newer CD players on the market that still decode HDCD's or are they a thing of the past?

Rotel has always made excellent source components for the money. It will be interesting to see if they go the external DAC route soon, possibly at some point this year. I know Rega and other companies are beginning to go this route while continuing to offer CD players.

I have owned few cd players like the new Marantz CD5004 ( Liked the almost no distortion, sweet highs and nice bass )and the NAD C525Bee ( Liked the midrange on this one )but the RCD 1072 is the best so far, it has detail, nice balanced sound and puts emotion to music. I have not tried the new machine but I guess it will be equally good or better. If you can afford the new Rotel maybe you should consider the Sony SCD XA5400ES that plays SACD as well.

BTW I lost my remote so I am looking for one for this unit (RCD 1072). Please let me know if you have some Rotel Remote for sale. Thank you

Does anyone think the Eastern Electric Minimax DAC will interrupt any synergy between my Rotel pre & pro components? The DAC certainly looks very intriguing, especially considering the price. I've never owned tube equipment before. If it does, I'll probably just end up looking for the used 1072. Thanks for the feedback guys!

Used 1072 go for $350 - $400. A great value at this price point.

Mkash3

I’ve got a Rotel RDV-1093, which is sonically superior to the 1072. It was their flagship disc player two - three years ago. I sent you an email via Agon, but I’m not sure if you received it. I will be posting for sale the 1093 probably for less than what a new 1072 sells for, but I haven't gotten around to posting it yet. If you’re interested contact me via the Agon member email system.

Ben

Another area that could improve overall sound is creating a shorter signal path on the circuit board of the player. I'm not saying this was designed in to the new RCD-1520 (could be) but I know on some other brands, new models incorporate a shorter path for the signal to travel thereby minimizing loss. It may be worth asking someone at Rotel about this. Reading over the RCD-1072 technical description at Rotel's website, it sounds very similar to the 1520 overview and even mentions the phrase "minimalist" circuit environment. One Rotel dealer sales person did tell me that the new 1520 is superior to the 1072. Of course, what else would he say? It would be interesting to do a side by side listening comparison. But for the price of a preowned 1072, you can't go wrong as opposed to a new 1520.

Thanks for the responses guys! It does seem like the 1072 is a great machine and I guess I'll look for it on Agon soon. The slot loading mechanism of the 1520 does worry me but I looked around on some forums and apparently it's of good quality.

With that said, I'm pretty sure the specs of the two CD players are identical; the new 1520 simply uses a different DAC and different op-amps. Is that alone enough to contribute to a bigger sound difference?

I couldn't agree more with Adam18. My RCD-1072 is such a great machine and yes I also use it with HDCD discs. The new 1520 does not decode HDCD. Coincidentally, I too upgraded to AQ King Cobra interconnects this year. Same as Adam18. Wow, I guess great "ears" think alike!!

For what it's worth, the RCD-1072 CD player was TAS 2003 Product of the Year.

I too would think that slot loading could contribute more to disc wear than the true "audiophile" drawer loading. Interesting point.

I haven't heard the 1520, but I am really happy with my RCD-1072. It's a very musical CD player, with "analog-like" sound. I have never experienced the typical "digital listening fatigue" with my deck, and its HDCD playback feature is a cool bonus (the new 1520 does not have HDCD.) I'm amazed at how many redbook CD's are done in the HDCD format, and they sound really good.... lots of Neil Young, Joni Mitchell, Grateful Dead, and Reference Recording stuff are HDCD encoded. There are a bunch of good reviews out on the internet for the 1072. The 1072 definitely benefits from using a high quality interconnect to your amp, and I've had great success with the AudioQuest King Cobra. Happy Listening !

Don't forget that some think the slot loading is hard on the CD's playing surface.