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Rotel 1072 & Arcam 73 comparison

I compared these two CDPs at a dealership for myself.

Electronics: Audio Research Pre SP 16, McCormack DNA125
Speaker : Quad 21L
(So amplification is quite nice.
Speaker is impressive one for its price)

In general these are good CD player. However, interestingly enough, they are quite different in number of ways.

In short, Rotel can be described as 'A concert Grand Piano played by a rising star pianist.' Arcam is like 'Upright piano played by a maestro pianist.' The strong points of Rotel are rich in information and more air around the sound generators. Arcam's good at balance. Switing from Arcam to Rotel make me say, 'impressive, a deeper sound stage, full body sound'. Switiching from Rotel to Arcam makes everything smaller, but as you hear more you see/hear things are still there and you are adjusting yourself to
the music from Arcam in a nice way.

Well, I like Rotel better. Rotel 1072 is also well balanced for presending many kinds of music. It is just a bit difficult to prefectly balance everything since it chooses to present full of information and musicallity as well. Rotel is closer to analog sound than Arcam. Rotel is more puchier when it chooses to do that. In my opinion, Arcam uses a very good DAC, but not all the parts in its electronics do good jobs. I think that is where the shortcomings are.

Will I buy Rotel ? Not now, I'll search more. As of today,
NAD5xx, Musical Fidelity X-Rayv3, Arcam 73, Cambridge Azur 540/640, are no longer on my list. I am not going to buy Sony this time, because I own one. My short list includes: Music Hall CD25, Rotel 1072, Rega, Ah!, and, well, Sony etc.
Any recommendation ?

Thanks for reading.
augustine

Showing 2 responses by zenaissance

zenaissance
39 posts
 
Vertewax, what was wrong with the CDP-10, Moon Eclipse? I don't seem to understand the logic here even though I admire your decision. One thing for sure- you mentioned finding something that would still keep you "happy with the sound"- well after having the Moon and Classe in your system you will never and I repeat never be happy the same way with either a Rotel or Arcam. I have owned previous to my Classe and Orpheus digital equipment, an Arcam CD72T, Rotel 971 and Rotel 1070. Arcam and Rotels are great if you want "bang for the buck" but coming down from what you have owned seems rather illogical. I can understand if you want a simpler system but to me saving that little extra $$$ (not much if you consider the fact that a used CDP-10 can be had for about $1,400- not much more than a new Arcam 73 and there is simply no comparison between the two units) is not worth it.
The source is always changing and to me other from speakers has the greatest influence on the sound of your system. It is the source that needs to be upgraded often while a good amp and speakers can bide for a little while longer.

Good luck in your quest!
zenaissance
39 posts
 
Vertewax, your choice to try out the Arcam is good- other than the less-than-impressive aesthetics (cheaper/plasticky feel to the buttons etc), the sound I find is generally better than the Rotel. Rotels have a brighter and cleaner sound but is not as full and rich as the Arcams. Besides, the Arcam units are upgradeable as well, but alas coming down from the Moon is something that would be hard for me to take if I was in your shoes. The Classe is a great player for me and works well but the last degree in the lack of excitement (although it cures listener fatigue)is the reason why I went with an external DAC. The CDP-10 makes a great transport and the sound is transformed. IMHO, pace and rhythm is more essential to a recording than transparency. A good toe-tapping session is certainly rewarding itself. So the Classe is still a keeper as a transport.

I think eventually you are going to move up (it is part of this crazy hobby of ours). Sometimes our listening habits change and so do our ears (as one gets older, different music becomes appealing and changes happen all the time). Forget about the Cambridge unit suggested by Hongkongpearl (no offense to his suggestion) but the Arcam is in another class.

Hope it works out for you and let us know of your listening impressions.

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