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Help me replace my Rotel 1072

The Rotel RCD-1072 has served me very well, and I love its warm, rich sound, but I'm thinking of upgrading.

I'd like to buy a CD player that: a) also has a warm, natural, "analog-like" sound; b) has a little more resolution than the Rotel; and c) is very reliable. If it does SACD or is a universal player, I wouldn't mind, but those aren't priorities.

Here's the trick: I'd like to stick close to $500 used; I'd prefer to buy a single-box player to adding a DAC; and I'm not interested in going the computer/DAC route. I just don't like computers enough to want one in my stereo.

The usual suspects seem to be Marantz SA8004 (reliable?), Rega Apollo-R (again, reliable?, and Oppo 95 (too lean-sounding?). The Sony XA5400ES sounds like it would be perfect for me, but it would be a stretch. Good, affordable CD players are getting thin on the ground with the rise of computer audio... Do I have other options?

Thanks!

Other equipment: Vandersteen 1Ci, NAD C372, Sennheiser HD580, Blue Jeans cables.
ablang
ablang OP
165 posts
 
P.S. --I just told my wife about the "keep the Rotel" consensus. To you all, she says, "Thank you."
bgeofft-duplicate-0
174 posts
 
The RCD-1072 was best CDP I've owned for anywhere near the money.
loomisjohnson
1,961 posts
 
if you're hellbent on change (a sentiment i certainly understand) and seeking warmth, you might try a tube cdp--around your budget vincent or jolida come to mind
ablang OP
165 posts
 
Loomisjohnson, the Jolida tempted me back when I bought the Rotel, but I wonder if it (and the Vincent?) might be past their prime by now.

I started looking for something new simply because digital technology seems to improve at a rapid clip. The best digital I've heard (Wavelength, Ayre, Boulder, and ARC) has been phenomenal. All of those "bests" sounded much more resolving than my Rotel (admittedly in different systems) but very relaxed and easy to listen to at the same time.

The Rotel sounds very, very good, but I wondered if a newer player might give me a taste of what I'm missing.
loomisjohnson
1,961 posts
 
ablang:
1. granted that digital technology is rapidly advancing, but the extent to which "advanced" equates to better-sounding is open to debate.
2. since the "bests" you list are all well beyond your stated budget, maybe you should consider keeping the rotel as a transport and adding a dac--you'll likely hear more significant difference than by changing from a rotel to, say, a comparably-positioned marantz. i know you said you'd prefer not to add a dac, but you will get more bang-for-buck + it'll be easier to hide from your wife than a new cdp.
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