Upgrade from Rotel RCD-1072

I upgraded to a McIntosh universal player - to keep the same faceplate in my system and to add the SACD capability. The Rotel is a tough player to beat for the $$$ - either used or new.

Have you considered using the Rotel as a transport and purchase a new DAC? There are excellent DACs for under $500 and will give you the flexibility of hooking in your TV or CPU also..... I had great success using a Rotel/EAD dac combo!

Thanks folks. I get the consensus and that's kind of what I thought. The Rotel is a tough act to follow. I was thinking of the Rega Apollo. But you're right in that there's probably very little difference in performance.

I'll most likely now look elsewhere within the system for upgrading. Mik971: thanks for the recommendation about a separate DAC. Appreciate that but it's probably not a path I'll take. But I appreciate it anyway.

I'm not having any issues at all with the Rotel. None, it's perfect. It's just that I have the upgrade bug !!

Realremo: The Cambridge and Rotel units are probably comparable British designed machines. If you're thinking of either one, you will be served well by either. Thanks everyone.

I have a 1072 and enjoy it very much. I recently added a Squeezebox Touch and I cannot tell the difference between the two playing the same 16/44.1 song from the same CD, and in both cases using analog out. Yet the Touch provides so much flexibility plus ability to play 24/96 files that I now rarely turn the 1072 on at all. Even better value at $350!

My next step is an outboard DAC for both.

FWIW the rest of my system is Lamm LL2 pre, McIntosh MC275 amp, B&W804S speakers, Rel sub.

I have two systems (one with a RCD1072) and another one with a cambridge 840C, I think the cambridge is a nice upgrade over the RCD 1072 although more expensive. Don't expect miracles though, as most said, the rotel is capable, the nice bonus on the 840C is the inputs on the DAC, which I use with my squeezebox.