"04-30-15: Mkash3
Zd542, both players use Burr Brown DACs but I do believe the Sony chip has much more impressive technical prowess. The spec sheet for the PCM-1796 will reveal that. It's one of BB's top-of-the-line chipsets whereas the PCM-1732 was decent but more noteworthy because of its ability to also decode HDCD."
Yes, but does it sound better? You can't tell how something sounds by looking at the spec sheet, or even what dac chip it uses. CD players can, and do sometimes, sound completely different even though they may share some of the same components.
"However, I think it's safe to assume that the PCM-1732 (RCD-1072) falls short against the technical performance of the Sony player."
I don't see that one either. Who designed the Sony? With Sony ES, sometimes they make it, and sometimes they don't. This market segment is what Rotel does best. And its not a sometimes thing. I haven't read reviews for at least 10 years, but most people here do, so I'll reference one. The 1072 was was given product of the year by TAS. Not budget product of the year, because of its low price, but product of the year regardless of price. Its one of the few times that the magazines got something right. (Just my opinion).
The reason I'm going on here is not to tell you that the Rotel is better. You need to listen to both players and decide that for yourself. I'm going on because there's absolutely no reason at all to think that the Rotel will automatically fall short of the Sony just by looking at some specs. In the end, though, you may have to settle for something like the Sony because its so difficult to find a used 1072. I replaced mine with an Arcam fmj 33. Looking back at the Rotel, I feel the Arcam is a little better, but if I didn't get a good deal on it, and had to pay retail ($2800, I think), I wouldnt have done so.
