Best interconnects for Rotel 1072cd player

Clear Day Cables IC $165 - competes with cables 3-4X times the price easily. Their Double Shotgun might be outside your budget - $450, but with the savings on the IC you'd be close. The Clear Day IC is hard to beat. If you can't stretch your budget, Kimber 4TC and 8TC are a good option and often on the used market. The Clear Day speaker cable is much better than the Kimber, but the Kimber is still very good. Audioquest cables are very good but in this price range I think Kimber is better. I've heard many brands in this range and up and still feel Clear Day Cables are outstanding. You'll have to spend much more to better them. Very open and smooth and do a pretty good job getting out of the way or being less of a tone control. Pricier cables have a little bigger and deeper stage but again you'll need to spend 4-5X the price. Paul is a great guy and will send you demo sets to make sure they work in your system before you buy. Doesn't get much easier than that. Paul does offer a single Shotgun SC but I've not heard them so I can't speak for them. With your speakers I'd recommend the Double Shotgun anyway.

Audioquest is another consideration.

I know how many on this forum feels about Monster Cable but I'm using a pair of Monster M350i interconnects for my Rotel RCD-1072 connected to my Rotel AVR. My high end audio store here in NJ (Rotel/B&W dealer) sells Monster cable as their more affordable line. I have to tell you the sound out of my RCD-1072 is fabulous. Have had these working now for several years and no problems at all.

ICs seem so subjective.

I was using The Chord Company's Cobra series from my REGA Apollo to my Unico Hybrid int amp. Very accurate but a touch muffled on the transients. I then bought a paid of Audioquest cables from this site. Absolutely hated them. They sounded as if the CDs I was playing had something wrong with them.

I just picked up a pair of LAT Internationals. I think it's model 300. Amazing. Super clear and fast.

I'm using Zu cables with my Rotel to a Headroom DAC and then a PrimaLuna Prologue 3 preamp. (Ash, Gede) I like the combo a lot.

What's wrong with your present cables?

I have demo'd some very nice cables, up to the Nordost Odin. One cable that did not cost a lot yet was very nice, well balanced and extended was the Art Audio IC-3. I would imagine the new IC-3SE would be even better and still in your price range. (no, the odin was much much better and really was very shocking at what it did to my system)