birdy33

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $11300.00 from ebay

Summary:
Picked one up on ebay for $113.00, great sound!! My old CDs have come to life again. Very musical will not regret this purchase, it was a steal!!!!

Strengths:
Very musical, via analog I invest in some good ones and it sounds great.

Weaknesses:
A little noisy, can have problems with scratched cds.

Similar Products Used:
sony, pioneer nad

Price Paid:  $600.00 from Roberts Audio Video

Summary:
I probably should have posted this review much earler to let other people know that what Wade says in some postings below is quite true. My story is similar but a bit different than Wade's. I had problems with the RCC-955 and its companion stereo receiver the RX-975. Furthermore there are quite a few postings on this forum stating problems with the RSX-965 A/V receiver as well as Rotel's ineptitude when servicing products. I was replacing my trusty old SONY CDP-C525 when I came accross the beautiful sound of the Rotel RCD-971 and RCC-955. To this day I have yet to find moderately priced Red Book CD players that can compare. Unfortunately I chose the convenience of the RCC-955. At first it became fussy about recognizing the Table of Contentsading discs. Next it would stop in the middle of play back of a disc (with a great deal of static). At that point I couldn't get any CD to be "recognized". I sent this unit back to the Factory twice and of course they couldn't find anything wrong. So, I sent the Factory Service Center (in MA) a GRP CD of Tom Scott that the player had never been able to read. Using that CD, the Factory Service realigned the laser and the returned unit (missing some screws and with scratched CD) worked again. However with prolonged listening sessions, the player began to skip again. Note that this behaviour is very similar to "many" reports on the Denon DCM-370 at this site. In fact the 2 players look and handle remarkedly the same. As "willing" as the Factory service was, they proved to be inept. I had a great dealer but these problems came up about 6 months into ownership. I had an additional problem in that the "unbuffered" power switch caused a high pitched "crackle" in my speakers. I never bothered Rotel at that issue. The sound of the RCC-955 is superbe (warm but detailed sound) but the tracking/stablility problems were unmanagable. Again, we are not alone, the Denon DCM-370 owners are suffering too !!! Unlike Wade I gave up and replaced the unit with a SONY DVP NS755V (SuperAudio on the cheap - too bright on Red Book however).

Strengths:
Fabulous warm yet detailed sound. Quiet mechanism when it is able to recognize and read CD's

Weaknesses:
Unable to recognize all Red Book CD's depending on the TOC formats according to Rotel Factory Service in MA. Unstable circuits which cause playback to fail in the course of playing a CD. Unbuffered Power Switch which sends "electronic pulse" through preamp to speakers.

Similar Products Used:
Denon DCM-380 Sony CDP-C525 Sony DVP NS755V

Price Paid:  $450.00 from Local AUdio Dealer

Summary:
This is an update to my previous review. I had said that this unit does not have random play within disc but it does have. I re-read owner's manual. Like all mid to high end audio this changer is cable (coaxial and rca, sensitive). I never believed cables, especially interconnects, really made a serious difference until recently. But they do. I also didn't want to believe HDCD makes a difference but it does. Incidentally, don't let a retailer tell you you need an HDCD player if your amps decodes this format. My Rotel RSX1065 receiver decodes HDCD and when I used an older Sony shelf system with optical out, the receiver decoded the HDCD anyway (of course the quality was not as good as the Rotel changer). Yes, the digital "ones and zeros" are NOT always transported the same. System so far: Rotel RSX-1065 A/V Receiver Rotel RCC-955 CD Carousel Altec Lansing 3 way Speakers (USA) Acoustic Reseach Performance Series cables and interconnect AMX Silver Plated Digital Coaxial (for o minidisc recording purposes) SOny Satellites (garbage?) Onkyo DVD; Sharp md-mt877 Portable Minidisc Recorder

Strengths:
Musicality; build

Weaknesses:
Black box "'80s" look; no power on remote

Similar Products Used:
technics,denon,sony

Price Paid:  $450.00 from Local Audio Dealer

Summary:
Bought this unit based on reputation of Rotel and strong internet reviews. Got the Rotel RSX1065 receiver recently and was so happy with Rotel that, as my cd player needed upgrade, decided on RCC-995 after looking at offerings from Denon (dcm370) and Marantz (OSE4000). This changer is the most compelling changer musically on the market in it's price range. I was wondering why Rotel is no longer making it so I grabbed it before its too late. Percussion is excellent and placemennt of instruments can be deduced. Paid a little more but it is built solidly compared to other changers. Seems to share parts with higher priced Parasound changer. Unlike previous reviews here this unit does show track time elapsed (recent upgrade??) by Rotel.

Strengths:
Rotel reputation of quality, build and sound. Stereo separation; HDCD; 20 bit rather than the standard 1 bit; Pacific Microsonics DAC; coaxial output

Weaknesses:
No power on remote and overall diffcult to use, but use Rotel universal remote anyway; no random play within disc (who cares?); no headphone output

Similar Products Used:
denon,sony,technics

Price Paid:  $600.00

Summary:
I'm very pleased with this player, as I expected to be. I've already got an RMB-1095, and have an RSP1066 ordered. Anyway, this is the most musical sounding CD player I've ever heard. It put much of the analog soul back into my CDs. Most noticeably, the bass is tighter, fuller and more well-balanced. I even like the remote. I think the MSRP listed here is an error.

Strengths:
Musicality

Weaknesses:
None that I've found

Similar Products Used:
Sony, Pioneer Elite