Obviously, this is a very subjective question. For sound
quality from source components, I prefer Sony ES over Rotel.
My perception of Rotel has always been "a quality product
at a real world price," similar to NAD. That's not a
negative, but for my money I'd prefer one of the classic Sony
products, i.e. SCD-1, SCD-777 or any of the copper clad 9000
series. The Sony 5400ES gets positive reviews on this forum
frequently. The only negative with Sony products is that if
the laser ever fails, which seems to happen frequently, it can
be a costly repair.
quality from source components, I prefer Sony ES over Rotel.
My perception of Rotel has always been "a quality product
at a real world price," similar to NAD. That's not a
negative, but for my money I'd prefer one of the classic Sony
products, i.e. SCD-1, SCD-777 or any of the copper clad 9000
series. The Sony 5400ES gets positive reviews on this forum
frequently. The only negative with Sony products is that if
the laser ever fails, which seems to happen frequently, it can
be a costly repair.