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Help me replace my Rotel 1072

The Rotel RCD-1072 has served me very well, and I love its warm, rich sound, but I'm thinking of upgrading.

I'd like to buy a CD player that: a) also has a warm, natural, "analog-like" sound; b) has a little more resolution than the Rotel; and c) is very reliable. If it does SACD or is a universal player, I wouldn't mind, but those aren't priorities.

Here's the trick: I'd like to stick close to $500 used; I'd prefer to buy a single-box player to adding a DAC; and I'm not interested in going the computer/DAC route. I just don't like computers enough to want one in my stereo.

The usual suspects seem to be Marantz SA8004 (reliable?), Rega Apollo-R (again, reliable?, and Oppo 95 (too lean-sounding?). The Sony XA5400ES sounds like it would be perfect for me, but it would be a stretch. Good, affordable CD players are getting thin on the ground with the rise of computer audio... Do I have other options?

Thanks!

Other equipment: Vandersteen 1Ci, NAD C372, Sennheiser HD580, Blue Jeans cables.
ablang
ablang OP
165 posts
 
Probably my only real complaint about the Rotel is that its presentation is rather dry.

The first discs I played when I bought it were Bach's Mass in B minor on Harmonia Mundi (Philippe Herreweghe). Decay of reverberation was truncated and the sense of the hall reduced compared to what I'd heard through my old Marantz changer, my iPod, and even a Sony Playstation 1. Of course, the Rotel sounded wildly better than those players in every other way--that's why I've enjoyed it so much for four years now.

Still, that "dry" quality has been pretty consistent. The background is very quiet, but that quietness also feels like it removes some low-level (amplitude, not frequency) information. My impression is that Rotel--wisely--traded off some resolution to go easy on the ears.

In any case, you all may be right that I should wait till I can afford a real upgrade (maybe pick up one of my "bests" used) and enjoy the Rotel meanwhile. Since I can't easily audition the stuff I could afford right now, I'd hoped for a sense of whether newer players are performing a lot better (more resolution w/o digititus) around the Rotel's same price. Seems like it ain't necessarily so... The DAC option might be moving onto the table, too.
jafant
19,041 posts
 
Nice player. On a Rotel subject, I am always looking for a 991AE cd player!

Happy Listening!
jafant
19,041 posts
 
Check out an Arcam FMJ cd player.

Happy Listening!
gfcf424892
77 posts
 
It's a bit over your budget, but at $1k the Rotel RCD-1520 is the logical choice. But in the meantime, enjoy your giant killer!
zd542
5,339 posts
 
Looking at your system, I have a different option that you may want to consider. My advice is to upgrade your weakest piece. I think we can all agree that your Rotel is not that. Your speakers are exceptional, as well. At their price point, I don't think you can do better. Your NAD is a different story. Its very good but I feel its your weakest component. It has one great feature, though. That is it jumps the amp to the preamp with external rca jumpers. You can use it just as an amp or just as a preamp. If it were me, I would buy a better preamp, remove the jumpers and run it straight into the amp section of the NAD. Upgrading your preamp will make a bigger difference than getting a new CD player.
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