Upgrade from Rotel RCD-1072

I'm using a Neko Audio D100 external DAC and it made a huge improvement over the Rotel player. The RCD-1072 is a good budget player for the money but its musical presentation is pretty colored and on the dry side of things. I didn't realize this until I compared it with the Neko which is so natural and effortless itself, but that's what a $1200 DAC gets you. If I never heard the Neko, I'd still be happy with the Rotel.

Pdn, have you considered the RCD-1520? My dealer told me it's a big improvement on the 1072 and is a completely different machine.