I would like to point out that this should be a review of the NEW multiplayer from Rotel the RCC-955, not the old single player RCD-955.

Exciting sound, good bass; "swing"
Solid product. Good value for money.

Occasionally sluggish. Needs good interconnects and a dummy plug to block the digital out socket when not in use.

The Rotel RCD-955AX was a remarkable product at that time. In my opinion it outperformed the highly-praised RCD-965BX, which sounded much more clinical. I liked the warmth of the 16-bit Rotel and I still enjoy its pleasant and easy-going sound. And I haven't felt the real urge to trade it in for a new player. With the Audioquest Ruby interconnect and Sorbothane feet it still sounds pretty good!
I compared it to a Sony CDP-XA50ES player recently. Of course the Sony outperformed the Rotel player, but the difference did not justify the high price of the Sony.
With more expensive speakers and a better amplifier the difference in quality may be much bigger, but when played on my down-to-earth set (Sony TA-FA3ES and Translator Impact 30 speakers) the Rotel survived magnificently well.

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Sony CDP-XA50ES

Last word.

The CD player's working. As a result of the terrible service, Rotel sent me a programmable remote as a "consolation prize".

Well, the unit arrived and IT was obviously a refurbished unit. No directions. The batteries installed in the unit were dead, one leaking.

Rotel's service is the worst. Beware.

Rich warm sound, crisp highs, good punch in percussion

Minimalist remote

Best CD player I've ever owned. I have it connected to my system analog with Audioquest Coral Interconnects and the sound is fabulous. I had been using my Sony dual beam DVP-S500D DVD for listening to my CD's. The difference can be described as looking at a picture in black in white and then in color. The sound is more forward and 3 dimensional. Even poorly recorded rock albums sound good.

My system so far:
B&W CDM-1SE main speakers
B&W CDM-CSE center speaker
Rotel RCC-955 CD Changer
Sony DVP-S500D DVD player - will upgraded next to get DTS
Yamaha RX-2090 Analog Reciever - will upgraded to B&K seps next year
MIT-4 Bi-wire interconnects for LCR speakers
Audioquest Coral interconnects
Kef100 surround speakers.

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Pioneer CDP800

One of the best affordable all in one CD players in its day.

It is what it is...affordable digital technology has come a long way since then. Could still sound a bit "digital", especially in stock form.

16 bit, 4X oversampling, used the now very long in the tooth Phillips TDA 1541 chip (I hope that's the right #-it's been a long time!). This was the 1st affordable (read:"under $500.00")CDP that I thought I could actually sit down, and listen to a CD the whole way thru. I could..if it was less than 45 minutes! Beyond that, listener fatigue set in, as it did for me with most CDP's of the day. A trip to Stan Warren, who was modifying these players,helped. He replaced the output IC op-amp with a MOSFET, did some other voodoo, made this a much more musical player. But time marches on...the Rega Planet-itself now already dated-wiped it. If you're looking for a inexpensive player-maybe for a bedroom system, and you find a mint one for

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Currently using Rega Planet.

warm, rich sound

resolution, imaging

Back in 1992, there were not many choices for non-fatiguing and yet affordable CD player. I bought this then famous CD
player and I was surprised that it actually sounded similar to analog. I am still using it because I could not find an under $1000 player which does better than the ROTEL in every way. I guess my upgrade won't happen in CD format.

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Rega Planet, Marantz 63E

Detail, richness, sound quality

none discovered so far

The new Rotel RCC 955 CD-carousel player deserves a review here (the other reviews under this listing seem to be mislabeled and are for the old 955AX single-disc player). I spent about a month selecting a new carousel player, and in that time I listened to the Adcom GCD-700, the NAD 523, the NAD 515, and a Harman Kardon (the model number I don't remember, because it was out of the running pretty quickly). I did not listen to the Cal labs because it is out of my price range. Among the three just listed, the Rotel was clearly superior, particularly in richness, soundstaging, and timbre; it was clearly better than the NADs in detail, too. I also compared the RCC-955 to Rotel's similarly-priced RCD-951 (the new(?) single-disc player). The 951 has gotten very good reviews, and I wanted to compare the 955's sound to it. On exactly the same system at the dealer's (Rotel receiver, B&W speakers), the two sounded almost exactly alike. The 951 may have had slightly more detail, but even that difference was hard to detect. Thus, the 955 held up very, very well to a single-disc Rotel that has gotten great reviews for a budget player. I bought it. On my system at home, after breaking in, it actually sounds significantly better than at the dealership (I think this is because my speakers -- a kit from Madisound -- are better than the ones at the dealership; also, I installed Tara lab interconnects between the player and my receiver, and they produced a fairly dramatic jump in sound quality). In short, I couldn't be happier; this player is absolutely excellent, particularly at its moderate price (list at $600).

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see review

Incredible sound

Faulty Panel Hardware

I can't believe I'm the first person to submit a review of this incredible product. Is that because the model # is really RCD-955AX? No matter. I've been listening to my machine for close to eight sonically blissful years (the "1995" above was the closest the web site would allow -- I bought it in March of 1992). The difference between the Rotel and its predecessor, a (rather expensive) Nakamichi whose identity I've long since forgotten, made me laugh out loud on first hearing. The detail, clarity, and warmth this player delivers time after time is more than enough to make me forget that the open/close button broke a few years ago. My main complaint at that time was not the breakdown, but, rather, that I would be separated from my beloved Rotel for an extended period. So I took a trip to help pass the time! I'll be waiting to hear from you other 955philes out there; I'm sure I'm not the only one . . .

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Nakamichi (model # unknown)

Service (infinity)

Update: Okay, this is more of a review of Rotel's service. I had problems with my CD player (see below). It was sent to Rotel for "service". After several weeks, I got back a replacement. It was obviously a refurbished unit as 1) there was glue residue on the display where it looked as if a sticker had been placed and then removed; 2) it was missing one of the "feet" on the bottom; 3) it had what appeared to be sawdust all over it; when installed, it played for about thirty seconds and then went dead (after checking the connections and plugging/unplugging it from the power source, it happened again and again...).

This is what Rotel calls service? What a load! As a result of this experience, I would never recommend Rotel to anyone!

Sound: Warm. Realistic.

Rotel's S-L-O-O-O-W service. Curses! My ratings reflect my thoughts about Rotel's service. Hey, if you can't get it fixed or replaced and are left without music, what can you expect?

My old Sony finally died after about 9 years of service. So, I wanted to upgrade and went with the Rotel. I love(d) the sound. The HDCD does make a difference no matter what you hear (sorry about the pun). Anyway, after a few months, all of a sudden the CD player started making a constant "static" noise. I tried different inputs and cords thinking that the problem was elsewhere. No. It was the CD player. Well, I've been without a CD player for several weeks now as it was sent into Rotel for repair.

Hmm, had I bought this at Tweeter and had the same problem they would have replaced it, not sent it into the repair black hole. I guess that taught me a great lesson: Don't buy from SOUNDEX in Willow Grove, PA.

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Denon HDCD Changer (with my alternate system).