[mfsoa]

Hi everyone,
OK, here's what I did, maybe someone can chime in with an opinion-
I have a Rotel 971 cd player, with the LCAudio clock and AD825(I think?) opamp modules. This player was mistracking and got so bad that it refused to read in any disks. So I put her in the basement and bought a Rotel 1072, which is a good player for the money (esp. when your brother is a Rotel dealer )IMO.
So months later I drag out the 971, clean the lens with pure isopropyl alcohol, and it seems to be working fine (not saying the cleaning did it but maybe).
But after a brief listen, I think the modded 971 sounds better than the 1072 - Fuller bass, deeper soundstage - possibly not as wide, less etched treble. Oh, and the theoretically better cables (new Tara RSC Ref Gen II vs. old Tara Prism 22) are still on the 1072.
Of course what matters is my ears and system etc, but would you think that this would be the case? I guess it's possible since the 971 wasn't a bad player to begin with and when I did the mods years ago the sound got Much better. Any thoughts or similar experiences?
Thanks for listening to my rambling!

[TheChairGuy]

I just sold my (stock) RCD-965BX after owning it for 14 years. It sat mostly idle for the past 10 or so.

It was replaced by $4500.00 worth of separate DAC, Power Supply and moded transport.  Yet, still, every so often I'd tote the Rotel out and enjoyed much of what it could do.  Overall, not as good as what I listen to now, but so easy to listen long term to.

I've read that many have installed the LC or Trichord clock to their 965BX and are perfectly happy.  Rotel's stuff is good to start and with a clock change, apparently the benefits are huge.

So, I'm not that surprised that your re-clocked 971 might be more enjoyable than your newer 1072.  But, before ou pronounce anything as better, listen more intently......sometimes what strikes me first off isn't the sonic improvement I care for longer term.

Sounds to me your rich in good CD sound, regardless  

[Jeff_Z]

I am a new member here but I will say this about the Rotel CDP's, I own a 1072 for about 2 years now and it is a great palyer for the money.  One of the differences between this player and older models, besides the obvious addition of HDCD and a new version of the Burr-Brown decoding chip. This player has a Sony drive instead of the of the Phillips.  The reason for the change according to Rotel, was the availability of spare parts for the drive from Phillips.  That particular drive was discontinued and was no longer supported.

As far as mod-ing the 1072, I am considering it but may look in to getting an outboard DAC instead.  Any ideas, comments or thoughts would also be appreciated.  

Jeff

[TheChairGuy]

The fella' that bought my Rotel mated it to an MSB Link and is thrilled.

I had it mated to an MSB Gold LINK III and was very happy for a spell...it took $1600 in transport and upgrades to drmatically better it, I felt.

But, I'm not sure you'd be much happier.  Try a Herbie's CD Mat for $7.00......the product damps your CD.  The result is pretty significant for many - including myself.  It might just save you a ton of dough in the process.

[Jeff_Z]

Well truth be known I have Herbie's CD GrundgeBuster 2 and I also have his Tenderfeet under my CDP.  Yes they did help. At this point I guess it is more curiousity and without dumping $2.5K or better on a new CDP to hear significant difference.
I was thinking about Channel Islands new DAC VDA2 and I know Dusty is a contibutor here.  Just wondeing if I have hit the "wall of diminishing" returns at this point.

I have invested a lot in other portions of my system and wondering if I am really at the end of the road, which is fine.  

Jeff

[warnerwh]

In my opinion an outboard dac is the better way to go. Maybe it's just me but the mechanical assembly of cd/dvd players just doesn't seem built well enough to last for a long long time.

If you use an inexpensive player with a good dac and the player dies then you can get another transport. If it dies after you dumped a bunch of money into it the cost of getting it to work again would probably not be an intelligent investment.  

Have worked with machinery all my life the way these things are built leaves alot to be desired on my cursory inspections. I'd sure like to see a transport built with metal parts and bearings instead of plastic. Something that is likely to outlast you. I guess there's some excellent transports made that last a long time. I think Brian Cheney of Vmps is using the same transport he bought in the early 90's.

The Channel Island VDA 2 recommended above for 600 dollars I'd bet sounds excellent, will last a long long time and if you don't like it I think Dusty will take it back.  Judging by what he told me about the design the thing should compete with 2k dollar dacs. The latter is only an educated guess.

[HumanMedia]

IMO the best sounding CDP Rotel ever made was the 990.

The 991 was a bit bassy, and the 991AE a bit too polite, yet all three of these models sound better to me than the 10xx series.

I have a 991AE (which is like a modded unit and is bristling with Blackgate caps) and have just added a Zhaolu DAC 1.5 and it sounds great - recommended.

If I were thinking about upgrading today I would consider the Zhaolu DAC 2.0 or the Channel Islands VDA.2

[jamesd]

I have a 991AE (which is like a modded unit and is bristling with Blackgate caps) and have just added a Zhaolu DAC 1.5 and it sounds great - recommended.

If I were thinking about upgrading today I would consider the Zhaolu DAC 2.0 or the Channel Islands VDA.2

Interesting. I have a 991AE and have been wondering about mods. Did you do them yourself?

I've also been considering a Zhalou to take my Airport Express signal.