arcam cd73 vs NAD 542 vs rotel 1072

[beck]

any experiences? i've got it narrowed down to these three....thanks beck

[BillyB]

[QUOTE=beck]any experiences? i've got it narrowed down to these three....thanks beck[/QUOTE

I've had the Arcam 73T for about 3 months now and it's a good player.I haven't listened to the NAD but did listen to the Rotel 1072 and liked it quite a bit.I picked the Arcam because at the time I was trying to tone down some bright B&W 703's I had and the Arcam is generally considered a more laid back player.I also liked the fact you can upgrade the Arcam to an upsampling player with future hardware changes through Arcam dealer.All that being said I have since changed speakers to Quad 22L's which are fairly neutral sounding and I'm not so sure I'm thrilled with how the Arcam and Quads are interacting.I wonder if the Rotel which I thought had more resolution at the high end might have been a better choice had I not been wrestling with my speaker issue.Anyway they're both good players but very different sounding so be careful with your choice.I also hear great things about the new Cambridge Azur 640C Version 2 which now uses 2 Wolfson converters with one dedicated for each channel and it's actually slightly less expensive than the Arcam and Rotel which I believe both retail for $699.Hope I've been of some help and good luck with your final decision.

[beck]

thanks billy b, i'm running vintage kef model 104/2 speakers, which are pretty transparent but draw lots of power, NAD C272 amp + a vintage NAD preamp....i'm hearing about the rega apollo, any thoughts? i'm going to check out the cambridge azur....thanks again

[likeitloud]

thanks billy b, i'm running vintage kef model 104/2 speakers, which are pretty transparent but draw lots of power, NAD C272 amp + a vintage NAD preamp....i'm hearing about the rega apollo, any thoughts? i'm going to check out the cambridge azur....thanks again

I've used a couple rotels, the latest the RB-991(200wpc) and they can not be beat
for the money. I also use vintage speakers (Pioneer HPM100 or JBL 4311) and
that amp just pounded my speakers with very clean, musical power. I recently
found a Pioneer M90(also 200wpc) that "softened" the sound, but the rotel
is staying. I use an EQ to "cut" any brightness issues, and both sets of speakers
have l-pads to tone down the highs and mids, so thats never an issue. Good Luck.

[BillyB]

thanks billy b, i'm running vintage kef model 104/2 speakers, which are pretty transparent but draw lots of power, NAD C272 amp + a vintage NAD preamp....i'm hearing about the rega apollo, any thoughts? i'm going to check out the cambridge azur....thanks again

I might be off on the price of the Cambridge.I've seen it as high as $850 and as low as $570(on line of course).The fact you can buy Cambridge on line does help with price but of course a store demo is the only half-way safe way to pick a model.Arcam isn't sold on line so I paid a slightly discounted $620 at my local audio dealer.Good luck with your choice and hopefully more reviews for the 640C V2 will be available soon.This stuff is so objective as I've already heard everything from the 640C V2 being nothing short of incredible for the money to some people saying they think the original version is more musical.I don't know enough about the technical stuff to be able to say that dual converters automatically means better sound.It seems like a nice idea and I do know that it's a feature more common to much more expensive players.How Cambridge is keeping the price range down on this machine is a mystery to me.I would assume that the converter is the most expensive part of a CDP but I'm sure they must still be making a nice profit at their price point or why bother.

[accastil]

have not heard any arcam yet but have owned both rotel and cam audio azur. the rotel is a better player for me. the azur sounds good but it lacks the effect of a third speaker where the voice comes out and the air in the sound is not felt. with the rotel, it is as if the voice is coming from a third speaker and that the overall sound is floating with the air around your listening position.