DACs on an RSX-1055?

[Skip]

Hi all. I'm about to switch things up to incorporate my new RB-1080 (just arrived), which I will use to power my mains. I will be relegating my RSX 1055 to center, surround, and pre/pro duty. In any event, this will be a good opportunity to switch things up. I was wondering how the DACS on my Pioneer Elite DV 45a universal player might compare to the DACs on the 1055? Are they DACs on Rotel receivers well regarded? I'll run my own test in the next few days, but was wondering what folks here thought.

Separately, how much of an upgrade would a RCD-1072 be over the Pioneer Elite? Is it something I should be considering?

[Taito]

Not too sure about the DACs in the Pioneer versus those in the RSX, but the RDV-1060 is highly regarded, and I bought the RCD-1072 (and love it) after an A/B comparison between it and the 1060. Not being familiar with the Pioneer, I cannot say for sure, but if you listen to a lot of CDs, the 1072 should give you quite a performance boost. Your best bet is to go out and audition one. My opinion is that the 1072 has a beautifully smooth top end (in comparison to older rotel cd players - RCD-855 & RCD-945).

-Ben

[lmib]

Hi Taito,

what do you mean with smooth top end?
Does the 1072 goes higher up than the older models or
should it mean that high tones sounds smooth and not harsch or
to clinical or thrilling? Cause a lot of cd's are mastered like that and
have a lot of sins in higher regions.

[Taito]

lmib, I currently listen through a pair of speakers which are quite (possibly too) bright. Through my older player (rcd-945), songs like Coldplay's 'In My Place', which has plenty of treble sounded (to me) harsh when things got turned up -for me this quickly caused a headache. Through the 1072 (within my system) I now enjoy songs with plenty of treble, even at high volumes. So by smooth, I meant that it now (to me) sounds 'right', with no 'hard' edge. Even at high volumes, tracks with lots of treble no longer make me cringe, I enjoy it, despite the bright speakers.

This is my opinion, based on my experiences, and if you are considering getting a 1072, I'd recommend auditioning it. One thing I will not hesitate to say... The RCD-1072 is (in my opinion) FAR superior to the RCD-945.

Although I can't quantify it, and indeed hesitate to mention it, it is possible that my dissatisfation with the 945 (altough not a bad player in its own right) is due to certain order harmonics, which are particularly irritating, being present within the (limited) harmonic distortion of the 945.
-Ben