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Should I use my Rotel RCD 1072 for HDCD instead of the Mcintosh MCD 201 cd player?

jjay

jjay

Member
I have ordered a new MCD 201 SACD player which I will receive this week. My question is: will the the new Mcintosh MCD 201 without a HDCD encoder sound better than a Rotel RCD 1072 cd player with a HDCD encoder when playing HDCD cds? I am determining whether I should keep the Rotel cd player in my system once I take delivery of the Mcintosh? Does anyone have any experience with comparing cd players with a HDCD encoder vs a Mcintosh MCD 201? The Rotel sounds very good on HDCD discs.
Thanks for any help,
Jim
 
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jjay said:
I have ordered a new MCD 201 SACD player which I will receive this week. My question is: will the the new Mcintosh MCD 201 without a HDCD encoder sound better than a Rotel RCD 1072 cd player with a HDCD encoder when playing HDCD cds? I am determining whether I should keep the Rotel cd player in my system once I take delivery of the Mcintosh? Does anyone have any experience with comparing cd players with a HDCD encoder vs a Mcintosh MCD 201? The Rotel sounds very good on HDCD discs.
Jim
Click to expand...

Keep the Rotel, you will always need a standby unit when you pyrchase a 201, just in case!!
 
Its good to have a spare unit...but I dont think HDCD is that much of a diff anyway...My Parasound CDP-2000 does HDCD, but i couldnt care less.
 
I am in the same boat. I have the Rotel 1070 and have for almost a year. I bought a MCD 201 to replace it with, believe me when I say their is no comparision between the rotel and the Mac. The Mac will sound better on Red Book than the Rotel does on HDCD. I know this with some Dire Strait album that I have that are good recordings in both HDCD and Red Book. The problem is that I had the 201 two days and it started it's stuff. I'm sure glad that I had the Rotel while the 201 went for a month turn around to the factory. My thinking was that I would send the unit back to McIntosh and let them fix it rather than the dealer and McIntosh use me as a BETA Testing center. I might add that this seems to have worked out. The unit has had only 2 lock ups on a 18 track SACD in 6 days and I have been running it 24 hrs a day in a repeat all mode. Speaking of that this thing has inproved by about 30% in Quality of produced sound it just keeps getting better. I was one of those who didn't believe in burning equipment in I thought it was all BS. but I'm going to have to back up and say I WAS WRONG. :scratch2::thmbsp:
Glenee
 
Before I give hard cash for anything, the bugs had better been taken care of....I am no lab rat!


Glenee said:
I am in the same boat. I have the Rotel 1070 and have for almost a year. I bought a MCD 201 to replace it with, believe me when I say their is no comparision between the rotel and the Mac. The Mac will sound better on Red Book than the Rotel does on HDCD. I know this with some Dire Strait album that I have that are good recordings in both HDCD and Red Book. The problem is that I had the 201 two days and it started it's stuff. I'm sure glad that I had the Rotel while the 201 went for a month turn around to the factory. My thinking was that I would send the unit back to McIntosh and let them fix it rather than the dealer and McIntosh use me as a BETA Testing center. I might add that this seems to have worked out. The unit has had only 2 lock ups on a 18 track SACD in 6 days and I have been running it 24 hrs a day in a repeat all mode. Speaking of that this thing has inproved by about 30% in Quality of produced sound it just keeps getting better. I was one of those who didn't believe in burning equipment in I thought it was all BS. but I'm going to have to back up and say I WAS WRONG. :scratch2::thmbsp:
Glenee
Click to expand...
 
We have discussed the problems with the transport & tracking errors on the MCD 201. That certainly is important but that is a different thread. I want to determine whether the HDCD function in the Rotel RBD 1072 on HDCD encoded discs will sound better than the same disc on a Mcintosh MCD 201. Is Sound quality better on the Rotel or the Mcintosh 201?
thanks,
Jim
 
READ MY LIPS. No Question it is better on the MAC unless your 108 yrs old and can't hear a damn thing.
Glenee
 
Glenee
I hope you didn't take my response wrong because you were the only one that supplied the kind of answers I was looking for. I am looking for any experience with HDCD vs the sound I get with a MCD201. I am just anxiously awaiting MCD201 delivery.
again,
Sorry
Jim
 
keep the rotel, it's always nice to have a spare unit, wether the primary unit works or not.

who knows you might add another system in the future and then you don't immediately have to spend it on a cd player. Or when the 201 haves a breakdown or so.
 
jJay, No offense, I just thought you didn't read my post. The Biggest thing is that when you get your MCD201 is to stick the longest CD's ( Usually Most Tracks) of all genre SACD, Red Book, and burned CD's into the player and set on repeat all. This will require you to push the small repeat button twice on the remote. Let it play 24 hrs a day even when the rest of the equipment is off. This will help check the reliability of the unit, it may hang up on the SACD but keep playing it. When you first get it listen to 1 or 2 very familiar CD's.After about a 100hrs or 5 days, and any where in between just pop one of those 2 CD's in and listen this was a total shock to me, it was absolutley stunning the change in this player at 100 hrs, I know have 150 hrs on it and it has gotten better but nothing like the time between 50 and 100 hrs. Please if you can listen with the XLR connections in 2- Channel. I hooked up both with Digital coax and the XLR's. The 2-Channel just rules through my McIntosh MX-135. Hooked up the Rotel to CD2 on the MX-135 and flipped back and forth with the same Dire Strait album in each ( Have two copies just for this stuff) No Question the 201 sounded better right out of the box, but after 100 hrs. Whew Boy this thing is GOOD:yes: If it wasn't so damn good it wouldn't be in my house right now.
Glenee
 
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Glenee said:
READ MY LIPS. No Question it is better on the MAC unless your 108 yrs old and can't hear a damn thing.
Glenee
Click to expand...

I say if your 108 years old and can't hear a damn thing, DEFINITELY go with the 201 for the aesthetics alone. We all love the Mc "look."
The loud spinning noise of the transport won't be an issue, (due to your hearing loss) and heck you may be so senile you won't even notice when it locks up. :yes:
 
Celt said:
I had a Denon with HDCD and toggling between it and standard playback didn't strike me as an improvement one way or the other.
Click to expand...

Sorry for the side question.
How did you switch arround the two formats on the Denon? I have a DVD-5910 and I can't figure it out.


I have not used either one of those CD players. However, I have compared HDCD against Redbook CD. The comparasion was between Denon DVD-5910 (HDCD Player) and Denon DCD-S10 (standard player). Same CD and system. Volume level adjusted with Rane RTA/SPL meter for settings.

HDCD did not sound better AT ALL. I actully don't like the way it sounds. Lacked depth, emotions and softness. Redbook version on the DCD-S10 was 10 times better. To me, HDCD is like an overkill "loudness" setting.
 
It's riduculous that a player that retails for 3400.00 should have any problems at all.

How is it acceptable if it only locks up a few times, or doesn't read this disc or that, or is so loud you put it in a closet? That's unacceptable.

W'ere talking about over 3 Thousand dollars! This player should be perfect!
 
jmorgan32 said:
I say if your 108 years old and can't hear a damn thing, DEFINITELY go with the 201 for the aesthetics alone. We all love the Mc "look."
The loud spinning noise of the transport won't be an issue, (due to your hearing loss) and heck you may be so senile you won't even notice when it locks up. :yes:
Click to expand...

:lmao::lmao::whip:
 
Glenee said:
The Biggest thing is that when you get your MCD201 is to stick the longest CD's ( Usually Most Tracks) of all genre SACD, Red Book, and burned CD's into the player and set on repeat all. This will require you to push the small repeat button twice on the remote. Let it play 24 hrs a day even when the rest of the equipment is off.
Click to expand...

Been there, done that. Mine never made it through the night. Not once. :tears:
 
I may be sinile but I'm not deaf yet.:yes: I am hoping for the best with the noted problems. I will get a guarantee from the dealer before I take possession of the unit. In this state, you have 3 days to return anything. I hope the MDC 201 is perfect.:thmbsp:
Thanks for the help,
Jim
 
Rather than listening to all this hoopla, why don't you decide for yourself when you receive the Mac, since you have ordered it already. Compare them side by side. I am not knocking either one, but honestly, let your ears decide. I personally really like the HDCD on the RLC-1072.
 
Inspiribomb said:
Rather than listening to all this hoopla, why don't you decide for yourself when you receive the Mac, since you have ordered it already. Compare them side by side. I am not knocking either one, but honestly, let your ears decide. I personally really like the HDCD on the RLC-1072.
Click to expand...

I will do this. I will keep the Rotel 1072 cd player either in the current system or down in the home theatre. I will let my ears decide. I'm just hoping for a big jump in sound quality from the Mcintosh 201. I demoed the mcd 201 cd player with a MC 252 amplifier which I also ordered at the dealer but I have found that just is not the same as listening at home
thanks,
Jim
 
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