Musical Fidelity A5 CDP -bass problem

Audphile, that was great advice! Well, the player is 2 weeks "new" so the break in is an issue. I will bring it in to the dealer to hear it with the set up I auditioned with and ask him to let me audition some wire at home. Thanks- I will let you know how it goes!

ok, I'll be waiting

After you burn-in for 15-200 hours, the bass will no longer be an issue. Went thru the same thing with my A5 and the bass is now deep, tight, fast, defined with excellent separation. Hang in there.........

From my observations, the A5 is a tonally neutral and well balanced player. It presents the entire frequency spectrum in a clean and precise manner. I find the bass to be well defined and tight, but not emphasised in a way that would please listeners who like a lot of bass or would be suitable for an already bass lean system. It could be that the A5 is not well suited for your Vandersteens or that you have gotten used to the more dominant bass emphasis of your Rotel. Break in could also be an issue as the A5 uses an upsampler that does need a considerable time to burn in before it settles (I don't know how much time as I got my player used). I definitely recommend an after market power cord for this player; made a world of difference in my system. You may also take a look a the recent review of this player in 6moons. I believe the reviewer recommended using an isolation platform for this CDP and the reviewer himself used a maple cutting board which may make the bass sound a little fuller and with more weight (maple has a resonance which may cause). I wish you all the best in resolving the issue.

I have never heard a players bass create that much more weight after full break-in. Tighter, extended and more musical, but the weight issue is more to do with synergy of the system or the player is just plain bass lean which is not a bad thing for a lot of people. Your Rotel could be engineered to have a thicker bass than the A5 and the A5 could be more musical. If the player is bass lean and you want more then Hartwerger is right about changing power cords trying different vibration control devices. Of course ic's and speaker cables will always come into play.
If you can, let the player run 24/7 for a week then report back. I am betting on a tighter and more accurate bass.