CDP Upgrade

"...what I can expect by upgrading [my CD player]?"

Like all audio upgrades, you can expect to feel happy with the improvement, or to feel you have spent too much, or to vacillate between the two perpetually. Most dangerously, you can feel your audio appetite only stimulated by the upgrade, not at all sated. You may find yourself wanting more, and more, and… well, it can get silly pretty quickly.

Seriously, as a general rule, I have found that if done wisely, upgrading your source will always make you happy if you love music. There is no substitute for getting more musical information in the audio chain, which is what a good source does. And of course, what constitutes upgrading wisely is auditioning as much equipment as possible before you buy.

I made a similar move way back when from a decent Rotel player, such as yours, to a Cary 306-200, then to an Ayre CX-7. I also thought the Rotel player was fine, but I can assure you, you'll be amazed and very suprised with the sonic differences of a well regarded player. My suggestion is for you is to do some reading here for popular players and try to find a hi-end audio store in town to "demo" the equipment.

Ask your wife to join you in demoing. Your living room will never have sounded so good and that will go a long way with her. At least it did with my wife. Good luck!

IMO buy a dac, it will be cheaper and sound better even using your Rotel as a transport. There are plenty of really good DACs for sale under $1500 used on Agon.

Happy Listening.

Well, I told my wife that the Cary was about $2500, so I guess that's my limit. But I'd prefer to spend less. Used would be okay.

If it were ME with those parameters, I would unhesitatingly pick up a used Ayre CX7e, they are going for $2200-$2300, and since its a recent model, they can't be too old. You will not be dissapointed! Others worth considering (also used): Naim, Meridian, BAT. I personally am not familiar with the Cary you are thinking of, but am sure its also quite good.