Rotel RCD-855
Little is documented about the Rotel RCD-855 from the factory. There are no brochure specs, no service manual details, and not even production years have surfaced in the usual archives. What survives comes from a handful of period magazine tests and a glowing quote that followed the player around in later advertisements.
HiFi-Stereo (March 1990, p.54) published a full test report by Julian Hirsch of Hirsch-Hauck Laboratories. The RCD-855 had a wireless remote that duplicated all front-panel controls except power. The front display showed total track count and total playing time when a disc loaded. On the bench, the player reproduced a -80 dB test signal with less than 1 dB of level error. At -90 dB the output was 5 dB low. It handled a 2,500-micrometer data interruption with no audible effect and only lost tracking on a 3,000-micrometer interruption (Track 37 on the test disc).
The model also earned an enthusiastic shout‑out from Lewis Lipnick of the National Symphony Orchestra, subsequently reprinted in Rotel dealer ads running through Audio (September 1990, p.121 and March 1991, p.95). Lipnick noted that about twenty of his National Symphony colleagues planned to buy the RCD‑855 and called it "practically a giveaway" at its $400 price. That word‑of‑mouth — from working musicians — probably tells you more about what this player sounded like than any spec sheet could.
- Type: Compact disc player
- Remote: Wireless, duplicates front-panel controls except power
- Display: Shows total tracks and total playing time
- Price (1990): $400
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