I have owned the XA20ES and have enjoyed it immensely. I did replace it recently with a XA7ES (its BIG brother) and after a suitable break in the XA7 now surpasses the XA20 in overall enjoyment. The point here is: both CD players required about 200 hours to start sounding real good and I feel the post by Paulwp is negative because he may not have given the XA20 sufficient break-in time. Perhaps he/she may care to elaborate on this. As regards the Rotel, I have heard it at my local dealer and it sounded "lightweight" with very poor low-end response. If we consider build quality the XA20 is way ahead, the RCD 971 is made in china and seems to use nothing but plastic parts. Maybe the RCD971 I heard was new out of box, however since I was put off by its extremely poor construction I did not investigate further.
Sony CDP-XA20ES VS. Rotel RCD 971
O.K., audiophiles, lend me your ears! Since I've resigned
myself to the fact that I can't afford an SACD player like
the Sony SCD1 or 777ES, what's your opinion on this Sony
vs. the Rotel? For the same price, the Rotel has HDCD, but
the Sony does not. Any opinions?
Dave
myself to the fact that I can't afford an SACD player like
the Sony SCD1 or 777ES, what's your opinion on this Sony
vs. the Rotel? For the same price, the Rotel has HDCD, but
the Sony does not. Any opinions?
Dave