This CD Player- a 1990 model- recieved a rave review in Stereophile magazine and was considered to be one of the best players on the market for less than $1000.At a retail price of $399 that's saying a lot. I have owned and used this player for eight years,so I am very familiar with its sound.It is slightly less "lively" sounding than most other players,but also less fatiguing in the treble.Bass has good weight and punch,especially at the low end.
This player sounds great through the midrange and in presentation of images.It is a very neutral player with few colorations.It is also very well-made with a large transformer and power supply- this accounts for a lot of the player's 16 pound weight.
One should use good quality cables with this player.I have used Cardas Twinlink and found it to work well.Even better is Peterson Emerald,if you can find
it.Regardless of the cables used,this player should give a neutral,unfatiguing sound with a naturalness that many players lack.This is simply a fine player.Four stars.

Simplicity, nice sound

Mechanically poor

The drawer mechanism (limiter) failed in three years...disappointing. It does sound great however and has given me 10 years of enjoyment.

My dealer is suggesting I upgrade to the 991. Any comments out there?

Similar Products Used:

None

The 855 is an excellent player. It sounds great by itself, but I have found that it also is a very nice transport, using a newer, 20bit d/a outboard converter. The player is a bit laid back on vocals, but gives very crisp imaging for upper ranges, and clean portrayal of the lower end. It is not the newset model, but it is a quality cd player that continues to sonically outclass many new players. One note - cables seem to make a bigger difference with this player than with others I have tried. But, if you buy smart, and buy used from a reputable dealer, you can get this player and some nice interconnects for far less than current models offering commensurate sound quality.
Four stars.

Hello,I bought the Rotel RCD-855 some years ago, first thing's first this player came with a five year warranty from the factory. Second at $350.00 this single disk player is a steal. I hooked this player up side by side with my brothers multi-disk player and trust me I will change the disk my self for it is worth it.

Great sound, Solid build, great price

Limited features

This is a great soundingm cd player it sounds better than some new cd players costing much more than this did in 1989 (H/K FL-8550). You can always find one of these on ebay for around $200.

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H/K FL-8550