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Rotel RCD 991 AE with MSB III Half Nelson DAC

I am thinking of purchasing a Rotel RCD 991 AE CD player.
I presently have a Dynaco CD-1(with tubes) player which I use in conjunction with MSB III half Nelson DAC and Monarchy DIP. Given, the uncertainty with SACD and the low number of titles, I thought the purchase of the Rotel 991AE might inprove my system for the next few years.

I know the 991AE is being discontinued, but it is a great sounding unit (in my budget range). I just am not sure that the improvement will be that significant over my Dynaco unit if I am continuing to use the MSB DAC and Monarchy unit? Am I wasting my money by buying the Rotel or should I wait for more SACD units and titles? Any input would be appreciated. Thank you.
swim
sugarbrie
3,854 posts
 
IMO you're wasting your money, if you also continue to use the Link DAC. The Rotel will only be a transport in that setup and it's internal DAC will not really matter. There is nothing special about the transport mechanism in the Rotel 991. It was the RCD-990 that had the great transport. What can be said about the Rotel is it plays HDCD, but so will the Link DAC if you get the HDCD board. The Rotel 991 is a nice stand alone player for the money.


Actually the Dynaco is only a transport in your setup also.


Believe it or not, the best transport for a Link DAC is a $100 Aiwa XC-35M or XC-37M Five Disc CD Changer. It can be modified and made even better by Stan Warren for another $150.

ccrom30
6 posts
 
I have not heard the dynaco but I did have a rcd991 (not ae)
I home trialed a parasound cbd/2000 and it blew the 991 away. It wasn't even close, the parasound sounded like someone had taken a wet blanket off my speakers. I sold the 991 immediately. Again, that was not the ae version and that was in my home, with my equipment. You need to see if you can home trial it and a/b it against your dynaco.
subaruguru
1,375 posts
 
My original heavy-transport Rotel RCD855 is up for sale at $250 shipped...$325 with Neuance platform. Makes a fine cheap transport, and actually sounds better naked than with a Bel Canto DAC!
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