Rotel 951 vs 991 (1 Viewer)

[Javier_V]

I´m thinking about upgrading my 951 to 991. Any opinions about 991?

Thank you.

 

[KeithH]

Javier, the Rotel RCD-991 has a good reputation, and I've only heard in briefly in a store on one occasion. It is a few years old, so it may not be the best buy in its price range. In addition, Rotel has supposedly replaced the '991 with the RCD-1070. The '991 may still be available, but you ought to look into the '1070 as well. Also, don't limit yourself to Rotel. There are several good players out there in your price range. Look at Sony ES SACD players too.

 

[Javier_V]

Thank you Keith.

You´re right, 991 is about 4-5 years old, and there is this brand new RCD 1070. As far as I know, this 1070 does not replace 991, and is a cheaper model. About all these SACD players, I´m quite skeptical at the moment, there are so few titles available... Of course Sony builds very good SACD players, but I don´t know if, in this price range, they match a CD player -like 991- in pure CD performance.

 

[KeithH]

Javier, someone on Audio Asylum had posted awhile back that the Rotel '1070 replaced the '991 and was actually better, despite the lower price. That is only one opinion, of course.

I understand your skepticism towards SACD, as it is a relatively new format. However, evaluate Sony's ES SACD players as CD players first. You might be pleasantly surprised. They are excellent products. In Spain, you may be able to get the Sony SCD-XA333ES, which has garnered excellent reviews in British hi-fi magazines (What Hi*Fi? and Hi-Fi Choice). If you are impressed with one of the SACD players with CD, SACD is an incredible bonus. Something to consider.

 

[Mike_Ch]

Javier,
The RCD-1070 is not built as massively as the 991, and according to some comments on other forums and a dealer, does not sound as good as the 991. The 991 used Burr-Brown PCM63 DAC's which were one of the best available at the time of make (also used in some Krell components and ME Sound's standalone dac), and matched to a quality analog output stage and the filter (I think the Pacific Microsonics PMD-100 for HDCD though I might be wrong) gave really excellent sound. I didn't manage to buy it on special at $500, and am now looking at getting the Sony Keith mentioned. Btw, the Sony is about twice the price of the Rotel, although it has recently been lowered to 1000 pounds at avland.com. You can get the Sony from HK for about half-price as a direct import from Japan if you are interested. Hope this helped,
Cheers,
Mike
EDIT: My bad, the link should read Link Removed

 

[Javier_V]

Very useful info.

Yes I think this XA333ES is available here in Spain, I´ll take a look.

Mike, you´re right about 991 HDCD filter.

The point is that I don´t want to be another victim of this battle between DVD-Audio and SACD. I think there are currently much more DVD-Audio software than SACD, so maybe I´d rather wait and see if there´s a winner.

Thank you.

 

[KeithH]

Mike,

Good information. Thanks for posting it. I read comments from one individual on Audio Asylum's Digital Drive about a month to six weeks ago saying that the '1070 was better than the '991 despite the lower price of the former. That's one opinion, of course. I haven't heard the '1070.

Javier said:

I think there are currently much more DVD-Audio software than SACD

I don't know about relative availability in Spain, but worldwide, there are far more titles available on SACD than DVD-Audio. I read about a week ago or so that there were around 150 titles out on DVD-Audio. By contrast, there are over 500 titles available on SACD. In any event, I understand your concerns about a "format war". I bought into both formats by buying an inexpensive DVD-Audio player. You could always buy the Panasonic DVD-RV71 for DVD-Audio, which has gotten good reviews in the British magazines. I don't think it is too expensive. Of course, it could serve as a DVD-Video player as well. Alternatively, you could buy the Pioneer DV-747A "universal" player, which plays both SACDs and DVD-Audio discs. I don't how good an audio component it is, however. Finally, as I said before, if the 'XA333ES is a great CD player to your ears, SACD is a bonus. Don't worry about buying into SACD early if the 'XA333ES is a great CD player. No matter what happens to SACD, it will still play your CDs.