Nice piece of equipment. I put this head to head with my friend's CAL & an Arcam 7. No comparison, if you are looking to spend $700ish on a CD player, do not bother with "Upscale BestBuy / Circuit City Crap" (Sony, Denon, Onkyo, etc.).

Great highs: voices sound nice, cymbals sound like cymbals (finally!), and strings/brass/synth all very distinct. Bass is well articulated. Midrange was very pleasing...this is tough to find...most are so fuzzy in the middle. Mr. 971 wasn't...he was gracious as the middleman & delivered crisp midrange that helped seperate all of the instruments & voices then reunite them together side by side in the order they were supposed to be in.

As a novice, with my first set of "real" equipment just in the past few weeks, I have learned quickly that a component is only as strong as the system's weakest link...maybe the 971 won't "fit" your system...or maybe you enjoy a different sound altogether. Either way, this is a solid player...at least take it for a test drive.

So, do I own it?...no I don't. I was offered a Classe 3 for a pretty unbelievable price (I won't tell you, it will make you sick). But had I not gotten a shot at 1/3 of the price of a superior player...I would have taken this player over the Creek 43 or even my beloved Musical Fidelity's A3 CD for the money...the Arcam & the CAL at this range can't even hang.

This is a solid player all the way around.

Equipment Used:

Musical Fidelity A3 (Integrated)
Rega Planar 3 (2000 Edition)
Classe CDP .3
Transparent Speaker Cable
Transparent Interconnects

Similar Products Used:

Arcam & CAL Audio

Wow! I bought this player largely on the strength of its reviews on this site (being a working college student affords little time for auditioning). I have not been disappointed. This player has very impressive resolving capabilities. I cannot think of any performance area where this player would not rate as "good", and, more likely, "excellent". Its sound is incredibly detailed, while being as full-bodied as all get-out. It images like crazy, too. I never knew that my speakers could image as well as they do with the Rotel in the system. In fact, the limiting component in my system (see list below) is no longer the CD player, but the reciever. I'll have to upgrade the amplifier to keep up with the fantastic abilities of this inexpensive player (I'm a poor audiophile, though, and it'll be a while b4 I can afford to).
In the meantime, the Rotel offers sound that appears to be well past the limits of the rest of the system. And, with HDCD's, the performance jumps a notch higher.

I would recommend an extended break-in period. The player at first sounded a bit grainy and somewhat etched, qualities that I'm sure were only emphasized by the HK reciever. After a few days of continuous play, however, the player sounded sweet and smooth. There is no harshness to the sound except that which, I'm sure, is imparted by the HK. The RCD971 never sounded too laid-back or polite, either. This is one revealing CD player. And the flimsy drawer you might have heard mentioned in other reviews is not really an issue anymore. The drawer and the mechanism have behaved very well so far. You might also have heard that the player takes a long time to switch tracks or initialize discs. This does not appear to be the case on the latest models and, in fact, seems to be somewhat quicker than usual.

COMPARISON: I lived with the HK FL8550 five-disc carousel for a month or two. Sounded decent, but quite lean. For a little more money (the HK = $500, the RCD971 = $629) the Rotel blows this player away in sound and build quality.

Definitely blew away my Panasonic DVDX-410 DVD player, too.

Equipment: HK AVR85 rcvr.
Infinity Kappa 7.1II
Infinity Kappa Video Center/Surrounds
Velodyne CT150 Subwoofer

Value: *****
Performance: **** (I leave the fifth star open just in case there's something better)
Build Quality: ****

I have used the Rotel 971 CD player for close to a year. I have used the Kimber Silver Streak connected to a Jolida Tube Integrated Amp., which is in turn connected to a Pair of Siloloquy speakers. The sound is astounding! The details, spaciousness of well-recorded CDs are evident. The unit is quite heavy, and the built of the unit is not as flimsy as some others might have claimed. In addition, I realized the interconnects are very, very important. Don't go cheap on the interconnects or speaker wires, and your small investment will come alive. Thanks for reading.

Bass response, detail, dynamic range, clarity

Slight brightness on high end with some recordings.

This is a very good sounding unit. I originally demoed a 951 and was impressed, but had an opprortunity to compare the 971 side by side it and found the bass response much better on the 971. Liked it so much I marched on down and bought it.

After a long break in, the unit became much less harsh and musical. The dynamics are fantastic the highs are clear and well defined, but very slightly bright at times. All instruments can be heard and in much more detail than my older Sony unit. The bass is what really sold me. I always had something missing when I listened to other CD players, but this one filled all of the gaps.

Use some good interconnects on this player, because you will really notice a difference. I spent an extra $130 or so to bump up the line on some (the link 100's) cables and it was the best money I ever spent. The sound really comes through.

I think anyone knocking this unit either didn't have it broken in, or they may have been using a the wrong cables. And I have had no problems with the quality at all, it is solid as I have seen and works great. As for the looks, everyone that see's it thinks the slender profile is pretty neat. I would highly recommend it.

Simplicity !

CD tray could have been designed much better using tighter fitting metal parts instead of plastic ;(

I think most listeners will enjoy the player. It features a HDCD capability, and is from "my ears", represents the sound very well. I have read some other listeners comments that are critical of its performance, and will only say that I am pleased.

Similar Products Used:

Carver

neutral, well balanced, focused, natural sound, precise, transparent, spectacular soundstage depend on good match with amplification and CD recording quality, uncompromised for that price

lower level of design for quality that he give

Hardware used overview:

Phase Linear 300 series II power amplifier
Marantz SC500 preamplifier
Tannoy D500 speakers
Transparent Music link 100, Qued qnnect2, Music Boy interconnects,
Cable Ralk 3.1 bi wire speaker cables

*****************

Technical construction of this CD player is very quality and sofisticated work.
In fact it has almost same inspirations in construction like it is reference CD from Rotel (991), a pair od high quality D/A converters or HDCD, the difference is that Rotel 991 has dihter and balanced outputs. This make Rotel 991 a real high end player for budget price.
I may say: Rotel 971 CD player is apsolutely high class level of gear.
Even Stereoplay magazine rank this piece as a high class player same as Thule Spirit player or Primare D20, which are not once but almost twice expensive.
I always try to follow the idea of give/get philosophy.
I even own an amplification on budget level because I have used one older gear, but if I want to enter high end level this could be (if the gear is new) cost like good economy class car. By the way I like old date manufacturing. It is reliable and fulfill with heart of constructor.
So who ever own this player and the system matched him in the best way, be aware that Rotel RCD 971 is a very seroius opponent to high end CD players.

Even this player is nor warmed up properly in its full range(I warmed him for 6 days, 24 hours non stop playing), last night I had a magnificent experience.
The music came to my ears like live presentation. Clasicall pieces was truly something special. I saw huge soundstage, like 20 meters deep (even my speakers are not properls installed, only 50 cm from back wall) and lots of instruments, clear as a sun, playing and have fun together. I had feeling that front of me is a live performance with litlle curtain that separate myself from music.
Yes I feel and hear music. Amazing.
When I put Vangelis CD (Portraits)I was stunning with transparecy. Every detail is so good balanced and clear that most of the readers will say this is not true. But only visitors could be a best judge. I am sure, any listener could feel the same (in other system the experience must be a much different).
To make a conclusion, every instrument or voice have excellent definition, and are very good positioned.
You can even hear which CD is good recorded and which is not.
But, the only weakness is a litlle coldness in sound. Maybe it is because the device is not well warmed yet or my preamplifier must be upgraded with tube one.
I will wait for few days and will inform you about posiblle changes, but I really recommend this player on any basis. He beats all of his opponents like Kenwood 7090, Sony 30ES and I am sure he could beat much more expensive players.
If you want to enjoy in music look no further, this is CD player that will feed your heart and soul.

Similar Products Used:

Sony 30ES, Kenwood 7090, Cambridge Audio D300

Balanced Sound; Simple, Smart Build

Cheap Build

This is a good entry-level CD player with no glaring weaknesses in sound quality, and it is basically musical; it makes good, lively music as far as CD music goes. The latest generation of players avoid the "headache" sound of earlier players, but the lack of "there-ness" stands out a bit more without the "digital glare." Imageing is OK for a CD player, but still "cardboard cut-out" compared with experiences I had listening to my Rega Planar 2 turntable over a decade ago. To know what I am talking about in regards imaging flatness, listen to the Naim CDX CD Player (the first CD player I ever liked; "holographic," revealing and, above all, musical), and then compare the listening experience to the CD 3.5; the CD 3.5 will sound "flattened" in comparison (I haven't heard the CD 5 yet). Imaging is good for a seven-hundred dollar player though - basically stable. I do enjoy just listening to music through this player though, and that is a good sign. The HDCD sounds OK but somtimes strikes me as being subtly artificial in the same sense that movie dynamics sound "enhanced." I am saving to buy DVD-A or SACD player because I am sick of CD. This player does present very good overall balance in high fidelity music reproduction for a cheap CD player; no "hi-fi" qualities really stand out. I have no complaints and can just sit back and enjoy the music. It sounds great through my Linn Majik-IL Amp, Linn Analogue Interconnect Cables, Linn K-20 Speaker Cables, and Vandersteen 1C Loudspeakers. I hope Linn makes a machine that plays all of the new source mediums coming out as well as CD's; I do plan on upgrading, though there is no hurry with this CD player in my system.

Similar Products Used:

1990 Rotel; 1986 Yamaha players

I doubt there is a CD player with audibly superior performance.

there may be some players as good that cost $100 - $200 less. But for a potential savings of $100 - $200, it is not worth my time to find the bargain.

Pasted from my review of Morrison ELAD

The review from the Paradigm Active 40's is pasted below as it applies to the front end electronics as well.
Very flat and clear. Cleaner than B&W based on very subjective comparisons at different dealers.
Only potential weakness is a limited sound stage, but I expect that problem is due to my small 11 x 13 room rather than the speaker. Much better imaging/sound stage was heard at the dealer. No need for a subwoofer, except, perhaps, for some very low organ notes. The "perhaps" reflects my suspicion that the low organ rumble I heard was a result of the recording. Similar low organ material is fine on differnt sources, including live FM.
Electronic front end is a Morrison Pre-amp and Rotel 971 cd player. Both highly recomended. The entire system is new, so I can't evalute the impact of the individual components. But I doubt the electronics make that much of a difference.
I doubt there is any speaker available that is sufficiently superior to justify the higher price and electronics. I was capable of spending much, much, more.
The above system is suffienciently accurate that I can hear splices in CDs and horn players gasping between notes. The role of the preamp in all of this is not determinable without alot of work and time.

Above applies to CD player.

Similar Products Used:

Older bottom of the line Rotel

Sound, price

Cheap remote, less than great shock absobtion/isolation

Got the B&W 804s to replace 15 year old JBLs, great improvement but not as good as the sound in the store. Then got the Rotel RD980BX preamd and RB981 amp and everything sounded much better. (all connected with Tara Prime and Reference cables) While I could have stopped there (no, no really, I'm a music nut!) because everything sounded great, knew I could get more with a better CD player.

Carefully auditioned this with the Planet. Both excellent products at around same price (Rotel about US$250 cheaper). At first, liked sound of planet better. Could make out individual voices better in choral work, individual instruments in symphony. Would have bought it f I only listened to classical music. However, on jazz trio, simple acoustic pop and solo female jazz vocals, liked Rotel better. It had more impact without going too far and being bright. The Planet seemed almost muted in comparison. So, while it might have more resolving power, I went with the 971 for best all-around product in price range and I have not been dissapointed!

Note, it is HDCD enabled. BUY AT LEAST 1 OF THESE!!! The sound is incredible, especially for the jazz and classical that I have in this format.

Similar Products Used:

Rega Planet

as modified by adding LCAudio's L Clock XO and AD825 output OpAmp modeules: very tight bass, excellent definition

with these modifications, none

My views on the unmodified 471 generally reflect the positive opinions expressed in other reviews here. As such, this is mean primarily as an assessment of two modifications from LC Audio: a replacement clock (L Clock XO), and replacement of the two dual output OpAmps with AD825 modules from LC Audio.

Unfortunately, for convenience's sake I made both of these modifications at the same time, and so cannot comment on the separate contributions of each.

The modifications were completely straightforward, following the instructions posted on LC Audio's website (www.lcaudio.com). My only complaint is that LC Audio could have provided a couple of good $1.50 OpAmp sockets; without them you have solder in the replacement OpAmp modules, which makes trying a range of alternative OpAmps unrealistic.

The difference in sound was not even a little subtle, and it took a while for me to get used to the difference: I think this was probably about 1/2 burn in and 1/2 my ears accommodating to the changes. Highs were definitely reduced in their sonic impact, and initially this made it seem as if the player had lost a degree of precision in the placement of voices; after all, highs play the central role here. After a while, I found whatever actual changes had been made in the highs superior to what the unmodified player produced.

The changes in the bass register were astonishing, and I liked them from the onset. There was (at the very least the appearance of) much more bass definition and control. As a case in point, the HDCD Reference Recording of Copeland's Fanfare for the Common Man begins with a monster bass sound of a drum and big gong struck symultaneously. With the modifications, the 471 controlled the huge sound, and sharply distinguished these two instruments in space; it did not do so before. Afterwards, those carefully generated base drum thumps that populate country albums hit with a distinct frontal shock wave they did not have before.

My ratings below reflect solely the modified player.

Other equipment:

Silver Audio Silver bullet 4.0 interconnects
Brystron B-60R integrated amp
homebrew 3-way speakers