Sound & build quality and ease of use for recording.

Trying to find a CD only player on the market that had a great smooth sound was almost next to impossible. I was not interested in getting a DVD-A , SACD or Universal player because I have such a huge CD collection, the thought of replacing it and the money involved was just too much. I had a Nakamichi MB-3s that I was very happy with and was sad when it died on me. I bought a second hand Nak CDC-4A which I really liked the sound of too, but since it was 15 years old, the changer mechanism messed up too many times to be reliable. When I went on the market to look for a CD, I just wanted a single disc player. I was fed up with changers and their unreliable mechanisms. I auditioned Arcam, Rega, Marantz, Denon, and finally I came across the RCD-1072 by Rotel. The build quality is solid, it just has a single disc capability, plays HDCDs, and most of all has a clean, untiring sound that is very pleasing to the ear. From hard rock to dance music, this CD can play them all and sounds great, no matter what the genre. It's nice to have the program function right on the front of the unit, most of the other makes only have this function on the remote control. Overall, I am very happy with the performance of this player. I have it connected to a Nakamichi Receiver 1-circa 1992, and listen to it through a pair of AKG K-500 headphones and also a pair of Totem Mite speakers. The sound, whether on headphones or through the speakers always sound rich and full. This is my first experience with Rotel products, and I am very happy with my decision to purchase this player, even though CDs are going the way of the cassette, LPs, and 8-tracks.

Similar Products Used:

Technics SL-P170, Nakamichi MB-3s, Nakamichi CDC-4A, Rega Planet, Denon CD recorder, Marantz SACD player

Value - Great buy. Quality build, good looks, lifetime product. Detail, imaging and colorless reproduction.

none.

I was lucky enough to get a Rotel 1072, new in the box off of Ebay. I was using an older Sony disc changer, so I was more than ready to upgrade my source. I feel like I put together a good system of midrange hi-fi consisting of NAD 216 amp, Mission 783s, NAD 114 preamp and Audioquest interconnects and speaker cable. So the Rotel was the last piece to my puzzle and boy did it impress me. I christened the player with the Ray Charles CD, Genius Loves Company. Wow. The detail on both the highs and lows are jaw dropping. The accoustic bass on Patricia Barber's Live album is accurate and tight. The Rotel is a master at stereo imaging as well. You can close your eyes during Another Brick in the Wall and literal "see" the heliocopter move across the soundstage. Another feature that Im really enjoying is the HDCD decoding. I never really paid attention to this when purchasing music, but the sound quality is a step up. I have new enthusiasm for the Grateful Dead's Dicks Picks series. Another great HDCD is Double Trouble's Been a Long Time. Bottom line is, for the price and quality I have a hard time believing there's a better buy out there.

Similar Products Used:

Arcam, Sony and NAD.

Engaging and detailed, makes you want to keep listening. HDCD decoding Excellent build quality, Rotel attention to detail.

Not crazy about the funky wings on the front of the unit.

I purchased the Rotel RCD1072 after auditioning the Arcam 73T, Cambridge Azur640C and the NAD 542 in my listening room with my system. I had also intended to audition the Arcam 82T but after listening to the RCD1072 I new it was the one. I would not class myself as an audiophile but the difference in sound quality was amazing in my system. I had previously been listening to cd's on a Pansonic DVDF85 and knew there had to be more. The RCD1072 has litterly brought the music to life. I have relistened to music that I have been listening to for 30 years and hear things I did'nt even know were in the music. My wife who knows absolutly nothing about electronics and never acutally sat and listened to music before has all of the sudden been spending time criticly listening and is also overwhelmed by the sound quality. The highes are clean and clear without being overly bright and fatiguing which was the case with the other CD players we listened to. The bass is deep and extended. The most amazing part though is the pristine silence in passages that are supposed to be quiet. If you are looking for a CD player in this price range you owe it to yourself to listen to this player. A steal at the price and a tremendous value.

Similar Products Used:

Arcam 73T, Cambridge Azur 640C, NAD 542 and Panasonic DVDF85

Clean overall sound. Flat response. No audible distortion in the lowest bass notes.

Susceptible to vibration. Not thrilled about it being made in China.

This player replaced an incredibly old Denon DCD-1500 player (one of the first generation players I believe). Change was long overdue!!! I had heard of the required burn-in period, but even right out of the box, this player was a vast improvement on my old Denon. Actually, I'm not convinced that the burn-in actually improves the sound quality of any given electronic component, but rather, may alter one's perception, and acceptance of the sound over a given period of time. Whatever the case, I am impressed by the overall clarity and very clean bass of this unit, even in the very lowest reaches. I have one recording which contains an organ bass note of 16Hz, which is delivered clearly, without any audible trace of distortion. With my previous player, there was a noticable falloff in response, and a slight distortion on this particular piece (Saint-Saens Symphony No. 3, Organ Symphony - San Francisco Symphony - Philips 412 619-2) Its flat response may cause it not be the ideal player for someone who spends their time listening to rap or power rock, but is ideal for someone with more mature or sophisticated musical tastes. I have one gripe about the unit. I have wooden floors, and walking heavily across the room in the vicinity of the player causes the music to skip (It reminds me a lot of my old vinyl and turntable days). This was never a problem with my old Denon unit.

Similar Products Used:

Denon DCD-1500.

Excellent detail, Good bass extension, spacial accuracy. Value.

Sound is little thin and dry. Clynical sound.

After reading good press about the Rotel, I ended buying one hoping it would end my search for a reasonably priced player that would work well in my Bryston system. Unfortunate it didn't satisfy all my needs. Overall, the Rotel is a very good player; there isn't much to fault technically. Its well built. Its priced right. From a performance standpoint, it does an excellent job extracting all of hte information. It's presentation where I feel this player is somewhat of a let down. All of the information is there but it's not convincing. The soundstage always feels distant. I just feel the sound is a tad on the dry and flat side. There isn't a sense of air in the vocals. I also own a Rega Planet which is an older player but has served me well over the years. Comparing the two players side by side, the Rega is a much more engaging player. Although the Planet is less detailed, it paints a more realistic picture. The scale is also better on the Rega. I've reverted back to using the Planet in the Bryston system. It probably just comes down to system matching. Overall a good sounding well built player.

Similar Products Used:

Rega Planet 2000, MF A3.2 CDP, Heart CD6000, Tjoeb 400

Fabulous detail against a wall of silence. Exciting attack. Timbral accuracy

I do miss the classy touch and feel of the old Sony, and also some of its programming functions.

Only twice in my long career of chasing the best sound for the dollar have I wanted to play all my favourite disks again to hear what I had been missing. The first was when I replaced my Quad 33 preamp with a Hafler in 1981. The second is now, after buying this Rotel. It extracts so much detail from the music that I can hardly believe it, and all against a background of pristine silence. Instruments seem more in keeping with their true personalities - a trumpet has just the right sort of rasp that it is excitingly real but not too metallic. The biggest improvement over my old Sony 338ESD is in the bass, which extends very deep and in a linear manner. You know that a hi-fi component really hits the mark when people who are not really interested in hi-fi want to keep listening, and that's what happens with this machine. I have never heard any of the hellishly expensive machines. Perhaps they are as much an improvement over the Rotel as it is over my old Sony. However, I doubt it. Rotel appear to have used the law of diminishing returns to the buyer's best advantage. I suspect you would have to pay many times the price of the Rotel to gain any significant improvement. I recommend this machine to all music lovers.

Similar Products Used:

Sony, Rega

Musicality, HDCD feature, price

None

I cast my lot on the 1072 based on encouraging initial reviews that it was an improved version of its predecessor the highly regarded 1070, despite the not so good rating from a reviewer. Probably one of the first to own this model in Manila, I have no regrets because out of the box the 1072 had shown potentials as excellent digital front end. As a newly assembled machine it needed to undergo about 50 hours of breaking in to reach its good performance level, which seems to improve with time. The sound it produces with my 2-channel tube-based audio equipment is so natural that one can really feel that the musicians are actually playing in my humble reception room, each one taking up space within a reasonably wide and deep soundstage. The lows, mid and highs are just right for a relaxing musical experience that one craves for in this fast phased living in urban jungle. Feature-wise, this cd player is adequate particularly the HDCD facility that enables one to enjoy the improved sonic qualities of HDCD formatted cd's. Rotel has also managed to offer it at the same price as that of the old model with added features and superior sound. The Absolute Sound, in choosing 1072 as its Product of the Year for 2003, is absolutely right after all.

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Kenwood 7060, Pioneer PD 6300, auditioned NAD, Arcam and other Rotel models

Ridiculously good value for money. Others as noted above.

My first example was defective - higher and very obvious levels of hiss in one channel. Replaced by Rotel with a new one, which has been fine so far. The remote is pretty cheap and nasty.

After reading the extremely positive Absolute Sound review, plus two UK HiFi News reviews - one rather negative and a subsequent highly positive one - I had to find out for myself. The initial dealer demo was encouraging enough for me to take the plunge and I am now reaping the full benefits in my home system. For starters, this product only begins to "sing" after about 30 hours use. Mine has contuned to improve well beyond this and I'm not sure of I've reached its limits yet. When it's just out of the box, the sound is obviously very detailed but rather analytical and lacking in depth and warmth. Once burned in however this machine is simply awesome. Its main characeristic is the capacity to see right to the heart of the music without drawing attention to itself.The incredible resolution on offer is tempered by a wonderful, classy smoothness - especially evident on well recorded jazz cymbals ( eg Eva Cassidy's impeccable Live album or Ben Sidran's "Nardis") -that I have only heard previously with seriously high end equipment. Its tonal pallette is very wide and instruments simply sound fuller and more believable as a result. Rhythmically this is an exciting machine, which successfully conveys not only large dynamic swings but also more subtle dynamic shadings. One consequence is I find I can listen to music at lower volumes if I need to, without losing the excitement and punch of the performance. The soundstaging - breadth, depth and placement of instruments is also excellent. A recording like Gomez's "Hangover Girl" simply cascades from the speakers in every dimension. But really it's a shame to try to DISECT what this machine does. What it has done for me is to bring me dramatically closer to the performance itself.That, in the end, is all that matters... Build quality is generally excellent ( although I have some reservations on Rotels' QA - see below).The case is decently constructed and internally ( yes I had a look) there are plenty of good quality components including a neat toroidal transformer and high grade UK sourced power supply caps. I am using mine with Van den Hull's "The First" carbon fibre interconnect - which seems great match. I've also applied some Goldring UK sourced cone feet which seem to have further tightened up the imaging.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz CD94II ( long term use) Demo'd Arcam CD72

Clarity, forward on vocals, F/R soundstaging, quietness, airiness. Tremendous bargain at $1000 Cdn

A bit dry but that depends on your preference and downstream components

Very pleased with RCD-1072. Traded in 15-yr old Denon DCD-1420. Amazing transparency, forwardness, low-end robustness and details. Very silent soundfloor. Soundstaging is good front to back, OK laterally but I'm still under 100 hrs burn-in time. A bit on the "dry" side but my downstream components are warm and liquidy so it's a good match.

Similar Products Used:

Listened to: Arcam CD73 Rega Planet 2000 Roksan Kandy CD Shanling CD-S100 (Music Hall MMF25)

Great sound quality decodes HDCD quiete operation

none so far

I've had the RCD-1072 for less than 1 week so far. I had to pick one up after a demo of one at e friends house. I could not belive the difference in sound quality compared to a number of DVD players we tried. I have been hearing detail in tracks that I have never heard before. At the price I paid for the player AU$899 I think it is a steel. As far as operation is concerned it has all the normal CD player features as well as a nice remote. I use a Pronto so I'm not really bothered by the remote. Another cool feature is the 12V trigger which I use between my RSP-1066.

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assortment of DVD players Toshiba, LG and Sony Kenwood CD players