Looking for new CD player

[Spearmint]

I am looking for a new CD player, and really I don't know what I want.

For instance I have one dealer trying to sell me A Rotel 1072 CD player as a transport with an external DAC. I have a nother dealer trying to sell me Music Fidelity X-Ray CD player and yet another dealer wanting me to buy Primare CD21 Player.

What I am after is a good CD player to go with my Denon 3805 and Rotel power amps, without taking another mortgage on the house.

Any suggestions?

[Aussie Geoff]

Spearmint.

All the dealer choices are very good but vary a lot in price. Some things to bear in mind:

The Denon 3805 will be a (relative) weak link in the chain here - mitigating the effects of very high quality CD players. If you listen to anything other than pure stereo (no subwoofer etc) the Denon (like 99% of processors and receivers) will need to re digitise the analog CD signal from any fancy DACs etc - so you are often better off feeding it a good digital signal from the Rotel RCD-1072 (on its own) or the Musical Fidelity or Primare (here the differences between the three players are less clear as they are all sending a digital signal into the Denon’s DACs). Equally the Denon (like 99% of HT Receivers and Processors) has analog processing that it not up to the standard of very high quality CD players etc- so even the pure stereo analog signal from a very good DAC will be degraded audibly bu the 3805 (and 99% of other receivers).

So what does all this mean...

Any of the CD players on their own will do a fine job. They do sound different to most people's ears and are also quite different prices in various markets (for example in Aussie where you are the Rotel is about 1/2 or less the price of the Musical Fidelity (list of $899 compared to $2,000). Compare carefully and decide how much the extra sound quality is worth to you...

Some people have also found that a Denon Universal DVD player (like the 3910) equipped with the Denon Link digital connection (thus always using the 3805's DACs) provides the best results for their 3805 and plays DVD, DVD-A, SACD and CDs all reasonably well.

Alternatively others (like me) have upgraded past the 3805 to get better sound quality for our ears... So if you are planning to upgrade the 3805 soon then a higher quality CD player now could be a good long term investment.

Hope all this helps...

Regards

Geoff

[Spearmint]

Thanks Geoff,

I do also have a Denon 3910, although I am not that impressed with playing CD's compared to my old Yamaha CD player connected via optical.

You raise some very good points, although I was not thinking about changing the Denon 3805 anytime soon. BTW the Rotel 1072 CD player was connected via an Elektra DAC into a Rotel 1068 pre and then powered via an Elektra 2ch amp into a pair of Martin Logan’s. Very impressed with the sound, but as you pointed out my 3805 would then degrade the sound.

Price wise all 3x combinations range from approx $1800~$2200 Aus so they are all in a similar price range, although if I just bought the Rotel CD player without the DAC probably be less than $1k.

If I was looking to change the Denon 3805, what would you suggest as a replacement?

[Andrew Pratt]

Why not just try the DAC with your Denon DVD player as the transport and then save up for a better pre amp like the Rotel RSP1068..likely a better long term idea then a new CD player now.

[Spearmint]

Thanks Andrew

I just realised I have a Rotel RTC940AX Tuner/preamp in mothballs, will drag this out and have a play using the RB-1080 amp and current CD player.

Andrew I will see if I can borrow one of these DACs and use it with the above Rotel combination.

Thanks guys, this could end up being a reasonable cost effective up grade, depending on how good the Rotel RTC940AX turns out.

[Spearmint]

Okay I got the RTC-940AX out last night and plugged it into the RB-1080, fired up the tuner part and all is working. I then switched over to the CD input (nothing connected) and turned the volume up full, went and listened to the speakers and dead quite which means the pre amp is not injecting any audible noise into the signal. This weekend will hook up the CD player and try that out as well.

Geoff & Andrew, in you opinions do you think that this type of setup is suitable for 2ch music combined with the Rotel RCD-1072, or would I still be better to invest in something like the Rotel RSP-1068 as well?

[Shane Martin]

Arcam w/o a doubt is the route I'd go.

[audiofan]

spearmint,

You have the exact setup that i have, except dvd player. I have denon dvd-2200. Even though i am pretty happy with the sound from dvd-2200, i am totally amazed at the sound coming from rcd-1072 . My current setup is denon avr-3805, dvd-2200, rotel rb-1080 , and rotel rcd-1072. A lot of people don't favor the sound , in term of 2-channel music, from avr-3805. And I wish i could try different pre-amp/receiver from rotel such as 1068 or rsx-1056. It does not mean that i don't like what i have right now, but i'm still on my path to find the better gear for 2-channel music that is within my budget. I think rsx-1056 is the same prices as denon avr-3805. It may save you some money. However, dedicated pre-amp is a way to go...

[Spearmint]

Update...

Picked up the Rotel RCD-1072 today and have it connected via Rotel RTC-940ax pre amp then into my Crown K1.

This is temporary until the weekend, so far very impressed although there is no bass management on the pre amp the systems sounds fantastic.

Over the weekend I will connect the 1072 via the Denon 3805 and Rotel RB1080 amp for comparison.

Thanks again for the help.

Still looking further down the track to change the Denon over, just need to watch the pennies at the moment.

[Spearmint]

Have just bought a Rotel RSP-1098 to take the place of the Denon 3805 (As per Geoff & Andrew’s advice) haven't hooked it up yet, will need to wait till the weekend.

Quick question regarding the RCD-1072 is it better to use the DAC's in the CD player or connect via digital and use the DAC's in the 1098?

[Andrew Pratt]

Depends on what cables you're using...there's conflicting reports that some prefer the 1072 while others like the 1098's DAC's. I'd start with the CD player's DAC first though with some quality interconnects.

[Spearmint]

Depends on what cables you're using...there's conflicting reports that some prefer the 1072 while others like the 1098's DAC's. I'd start with the CD player's DAC first though with some quality interconnects.

Thanks Andrew

I guess I will have both analogue and digital connected at the same time, so can do a bit of A/B comparisons once the 1098 settles in.