Help me replace my Rotel 1072

Thanks, folks, for the eminently reasonable responses. The Rotel is great, and I've been considering the "just enjoy it" option, but the grass always looks greener...

P.S. --I just told my wife about the "keep the Rotel" consensus. To you all, she says, "Thank you."

Loomisjohnson, the Jolida tempted me back when I bought the Rotel, but I wonder if it (and the Vincent?) might be past their prime by now.

I started looking for something new simply because digital technology seems to improve at a rapid clip. The best digital I've heard (Wavelength, Ayre, Boulder, and ARC) has been phenomenal. All of those "bests" sounded much more resolving than my Rotel (admittedly in different systems) but very relaxed and easy to listen to at the same time.

The Rotel sounds very, very good, but I wondered if a newer player might give me a taste of what I'm missing.

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.

Oh man, in walks the separates option! That is, Zd542, admittedly a very good idea. That or upgrading to a better--possibly tube--integrated.

The NAD is very good, especially its bottom end, and this is the best of the NAD integrateds I've used in my systems...but it doesn't exactly provide the kind of 3D, vivid, utterly natural presentation I've heard from better gear. I already use a pair of ICs as jumpers on the NAD, so adding a separate pre wouldn't be too big a leap--though I do like having an integrated because it limits the number of "boxes" in the living room (that's one reason I've been reluctant to go the DAC route).

All I can say is that this conversation has me considering my options...

OK, folks. Thanks for all the responses and ideas. At this point I'm considering keeping the Rotel and enjoying it while I think about what direction(s) I want to take my system in.

However...I'm tempted to try the Oppo 95 in part because we'll soon have our TV in the same room as our stereo (buying a house). We've not yet stepped up to Blu-Ray, but if one box could do double duty and serve the music well... In any case, I might buy an Oppo to try against the Rotel--if I do, I'll report back.

If anyone has already made that comparison, maybe your input can save me the bother of buying and re-selling an Oppo. Thanks!