Good CD Changer--Rotel vs Denon

[MBM135]

Hey folks--having some trouble with my Denon DCM-370. It is not quite one year old and giving me fits. It has a static discharge problem that occurs frequently after the drawer is opened. Horrible loud output to my KG-4s. Have to cycle the power on the CD player to clear the fault. And, the drawer mechanism is making funny noises. Also, doesn't know how many disks are in etc. I expected more from Denon. But, it sounds awesome and the HDCD is incredible--can't live without it even though I have only a handful of HDCD disks.

So, I plan to either send it in and have it "fixed" or buy a different unit. I really want to stay with a CD changer. Too lazy to change disks. Does anybody have experience with the Rotel RCC-955? It has HDCD and may fit the bill. Not many reviews on it and the specs are not as good as the Denon. Not many 5 disk units with HDCD. The H/K line seems cheap to me. Any ideas?

Thanks experts!

Mike

[Cruzer]

I have my DCM-370 for a while now, so far no problems at all. Like you said, HDCDs sound awsome. I have played lots of CDs and tryed all the funtions.

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Cruzer

[minn_male42]

i found a great cd/dvd/sacd changer,,,,a sony dvp-nc650v....onlu $399 retail....

very nice unit....performs very well.....and...all funtions can be accessed from the unit itself....even if you lost the remote, you could access all of the functions fron the main deck.....

[Colin]

Over the last dozen years, I have accumulated a used pair of big old Klipsch Cornwall horn speakers, a politely British Rotel CD player (new) and a used Dynaco Pas3 Series II tube pre-amp (remake of the original classic). Last year, I bought a 200-watt Klipsch sub-woofer, on clearance, for that wonderful bottom end in good recordings and movies. Last month, I popped for a new pair of custom Paramour mono blocks (2A3 tube) from Electronic Tonalities.

After a recommendation from Ralph Karsten, maker of Atmasphere OTL amps, who prefers old-fashioned vinyl (and now has a rebuilt turntable of his own, go to: http://www.atma-sphere.com/) I auditioned a pair of Rotel players. The single disc 951 player was slightly better than the five-disc carousal model. But the difference was not as significant as better cables or a disc mat or damping my horns. Both were better than any of the ones that I listened to at the local Sound Advice, including the higher-end models. I do not remember the names. But they all had a coldly clinical way of reproducing the music. More like a crude doctor than a friendly violinist. The British are known for a polite, flat, accurate sound with a very good attention to details. Telarcs digital 1812 Overture with its black powder cannon shots is not on their list of favorite Test CDs.

http://www.rotel.com/html/products7.html

I recently heard a wonderfully cohesive system with a liquid smooth mid-range and sparkling high-end. It was comprised of the French made Focal JM Labs speakers and French made Audio Refinement (YBA) components. The player, however, was the newest version of the British Rotel.

I have heard good things about Marantz units, especially those modified with tubes, like the Ah! $579 AH! NJOE TJOEB (pronounced "new tube") 4000 CD Player. See the also Heart CD 6000, also a Marantz modified player, at the same source: http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0102/heartcd6000.htm.

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Colin's Music System Cornwall 1s & Klipsch subs; lights out & tubes glowing!