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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

Showing 2 responses by loomisjohnson

loomisjohnson
1,968 posts
 
if you're hellbent on change (a sentiment i certainly understand) and seeking warmth, you might try a tube cdp--around your budget vincent or jolida come to mind
loomisjohnson
1,968 posts
 
ablang:
1. granted that digital technology is rapidly advancing, but the extent to which "advanced" equates to better-sounding is open to debate.
2. since the "bests" you list are all well beyond your stated budget, maybe you should consider keeping the rotel as a transport and adding a dac--you'll likely hear more significant difference than by changing from a rotel to, say, a comparably-positioned marantz. i know you said you'd prefer not to add a dac, but you will get more bang-for-buck + it'll be easier to hide from your wife than a new cdp.
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