Digital Drive: REVIEW: Rotel RCD-1072 CD Player/Recorder by WayneC Upsamplers, DACs, jitter, shakes and analogue withdrawals, this is it.

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Model:	RCD-1072
Category:	CD Player/Recorder
Suggested Retail Price:	800 €
Description:	Last Rotel model
Manufacturer URL:	Rotel
Manufacturer URL:	Rotel

Review by WayneC ( A ) on April 22, 2005 at 09:06:37 IP Address: 66.251.7.202

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Compared three cd players.

Cal Labs Icon Mk II ($1000 about 1993)
Sony CD-DVD DVP-NS715P ($200 in 2002)
Rotel RCD-1072 ($700 in 2005)

System: Audio Research SP-8, all tube preamp factory updated 1993), Ohm Walch (updated to MK200 2002), Classe’ DR-3 (25watt Class “A” amplifier 1987?), mini monitors Energy eXL 16 (2002).

First question: Why so much old equipment? I visit audiophile stores and I am not impressed with what I hear (until system costs about $40,000.) I no longer live near a friendly audiophile store where I can take home equipment to evaluate nor do I have a relationship with a salesman whose ears I respect. It was not until I bought a smaller speakers and the Sony CV-DVD player that I was convinced that there were improvements.

The Sony had clearer definition of background music. However this was only audible on the Mini’s. What this did was to spark my interest to visit audio stores and try to find better mini-monitors in the price range of $2000-3500. I was disappointed with what I heard. Perhaps it is the difference between my Class “A” and the stores Class “AB” amplifiers.

I listened to the Sony for about a month, then one day I just got annoyed with the sound and switch back to Cal Labs. Second question: Can I find a player that has good detail and background clarity with out being irritating? So this winter I was in the local audio store, listened to the Rotel, and bought it on faith (how did religion get into this?) Again I was not impressed with the sound in the store, but I also was not offended. When I first played the Rotel, I was impressed with the very quiet background. After 3-months of listening, the Rotel “sound” is pleasant.

Comparison Testing:

When comparing the CD players, I was frustrated by the time lapse switching CD’s. I would hear something special in one player that I had not heard before, then switch to the other player and there it was, clear and sweet. Thus I designed the following comparison test. I rerecorded test tracks on a test discs and made a disc copy of the test disc so both would be identical. Thus I could play both discs at the same time. I rearranged the room so that I could reach the selector knob without changing my position. First I compared the Sony to the Rotel. The Rotel was a clear winner. The Sony’s fuzziness was perhaps what the reviewers call a “white sheen”.

When I compared the Rotel to the Cal Labs things got really difficult. Improved background detail could only be heard in mini-monitors. The overblown base (that is required for selling full range speakers) hides most background detail and sweetness of acoustic instruments. (If you read many of the reviews, the reviewer says how quiet the background and how well defined the instruments are with a loud baseline. This I don’t believe!) The mini’s did show that the Rotel has a quieter and more detailed background. What was surprising was the symphonic music on the mini’s with the Rotel had wonderful “space” around the instruments. By this I mean that instruments were “well” placed and you could hear the echo in the music hall. What was equally surprising, was that the Rotel did not significantly improve the sound on solo acoustic instruments.

To improve this test I would have preferred a “blind” test. It is my opinion a blind test would have showed that in 90-98% of the listening the difference between the Rotel and Cal Labs results would have been indefinite.

Recommendations: Depending on the speaker system you might not hear the improvements made between an older classic and the Rotel. However, the Rotel has excellent sound quality, a very quiet background and good background detail. The Rotel is a delight to listen to.

Test Discs contained: Al Hirt Greatest Hits (Can’t Get Started); Chet Atkins Streat Dreams (Classical Gas), Guitar Classics (St Clair Group Label, Moonlight Sonata), Laser Light Indian Flute and Harps, Harry James Big Band (Sheffield Gold, track 8), James Taylor (Carolina in My Mind), Gaither’ Blue Grass Home Coming, Beethoven 9th Sir George Solti , Chicago Symphony; Preservation Hall Jazz Vol. I (Panama), Bach B minor mass (cuts), Bach Christmas Oratorio(cuts). Not in this test, but in my general listening, were various rock, polka, salsa, and other music with a heavy baseline. In general, I did not notice any better base definition. The Ohm’s do test down to about 30 Hertz.

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Product Weakness:	Don't like buttons.
Product Strengths:	Quiet background

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Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	Classe DR-3
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	Audio Research SP-8
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Rotel/Cal Labs/Sony
Speakers:	Ohm Walsh 200
Cables/Interconnects:	Gas free Copper Wire
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	All
Room Size (LxWxH):	22 x 14 x 9
Room Comments/Treatments:	Rugs and Blankets hung on wall
Time Period/Length of Audition:	3-mons
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	None
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

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