Calling Rotel patrons

[admin_exported]

So, have you owned a Rotel? How did you find it? Please share your experience with Rotel gear with me.

I have heard that Rotel equipments are 'bright' (okay, no arguments over "one man's bright is other man's detailed"). All I wanna know is: is it comparatively brighter than Denon/Marantz/harman Kardon? Is it brighter than an Yamaha or a Cambridge Audio?

Looking forward to hearing experiences of Rotel users and general opinions on Rotel's reputation.

 

[Anonymous]

No I wouldnt say they're bright.

 

[Anonymous]

I would say that general opinion is that they are built like the proverbial "brick you-know-what house". Large sized power supplies make for solid amps.

Personal experience is of an RCD-1070 CD player which I love, and I wouldn't say it was bright, but then it's going to depend on what you pair it with, and I'm not the best person to advise on that!!

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the feedback mr_wazoo.

[quote user="Mr_Orange"]

I would say that general opinion
is that they are built like the proverbial "brick you-know-what house".
Large sized power supplies make for solid amps.[/quote]

Good
point. I did notice that all Rotel amps (or may be most) feature large
sized toroidal transformer, true? I was reading through the litereature
of series 06. They also mention they make use of UK made capacitors.
True again? Stupid question I know, if the literature says so then why
ask. But still, just to make sure what they write is what they do.

Can you please also mention what speakers are you using with your Rotel gear?

 

[Anonymous]

I literally bought a second hand RA-1062 amp last week, had it for about 5 days and i absolutely love it to pieces. The 60 watt rating is VERY modest I feel, it has far, far more weight and control than my supposedly 60 watt A5 had. Also seems very neutral sounding not bright at all, maybe due to partnering equipment but...who knows. The only amp of a comparable quality that I personally can compare it to is the Arcam Alpha 9, which is also great, but the Rotel seems to make listening more fun!

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="ranjeetrain"]
Can you please also mention what speakers are you using with your Rotel gear?

[/quote]

Sure. I have a pair of B&W 601S3s, which until very recently were driven by an Arcam A65+, with QED Silver Anniversary Biwire.

'Twas a very pleasant, engaging sound indeed.

 

[Thaiman]

I had 1062 for little while and bright is the last word I would use to describe them! I quite happily go back to them if I all done with Hifi adventure!

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="Mr_Orange"]Sure. I have a pair of B&W 601S3s, which until very recently were driven by an Arcam A65+, with QED Silver Anniversary Biwire.

'Twas a very pleasant, engaging sound indeed.[/quote]
I am very pleased to hear that. So you are/were using 601S3s with your RCD-1070? What amp? Did you also have a sub to go with it?

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="ranjeetrain"][quote user="Mr_Orange"]Sure. I have a pair of B&W 601S3s, which until very recently were driven by an Arcam A65+, with QED Silver Anniversary Biwire.

'Twas a very pleasant, engaging sound indeed.[/quote]
I am very pleased to hear that. So you are/were using 601S3s with your RCD-1070? What amp? Did you also have a sub to go with it?
[/quote]

Yes. I am using the 601S3s with the RCD 1070. Amp was an Arcam A65+, but I have just replaced that with an Audiolab 8000AV pre-amp and 8000X7 power amp.

I have got a sub, but only use it for home cinema duties, but with the 8000AV, I have the option of using it for stereo replay as well, so I may well investigate that.

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="Mr_Orange"]I have got a sub, but only use it for home cinema duties, but with the 8000AV, I have the option of using it for stereo replay as well, so I may well investigate that.[/quote]

Looks good. So that makes me conclude 601S3s can handle stereo duty on their own, without needing a sub. Does it go low? I mean do you play music that has some beats or drum sounds. Do they hit you? Or do you play mostly jazz/country?

Well, 601S3s being able to do full fledged stereo duty would be a big news for me (will save me many bucks).

 

[Anonymous]

The 601s were fine. I listen to a huge and diverse range of music from heavy metal to jazz and hip-hop along the way (and even the odd pop-tastic girl band!!!!). I often crank the volume up as well and never heard any distortion.

I would give them a go, and if after a few months of listening you're not happy, you can always add a sub.

 

[Anonymous]

If its LF performance your after go for the 602 s3's i think you'll find most people agree bass performance is very impressive

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="joeparnell"]
If its LF performance your after go for the 602 s3's i think you'll find most people agree bass performance is very impressive
[/quote]

Good point.

 

[smbmetal]

I have RA-01 running as a pre-amp into two RB-03's monoblocked, into B&W 602 S3's I've been really pleased with this setup and have had them for a few years.

My only issue is that at higher volumes my setup sounds quite harsh. I've bought an Arcam CD92T player which has certainly improved things but it is still pretty harsh. I guess that will mean bright? I'm looking to upgrade something in my setup, but don't know what!

If anybody has any suggestions of what I can do to improve the 'harshness' it would be appreciated!

 

[Anonymous]

Not 100% sure if this would work, but maybe an Arcam pre-amp might take the edge off the sound.

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="smbmetal"]
I have RA-01 running as a pre-amp into two RB-03's monoblocked, into B&W 602 S3's I've been really pleased with this setup and have had them for a few years. [/quote]

Sounds good. Thanks for sharing.

[quote user="smbmetal"]

I have RA-01 running as a pre-amp into two
RB-03's monoblocked, into B&W 602 S3's I've been really pleased
with this setup and have had them for a few years.

My only issue is that at higher volumes my setup sounds quite
harsh. I've bought an Arcam CD92T player which has certainly improved
things but it is still pretty harsh. I guess that will mean bright?
I'm looking to upgrade something in my setup, but don't know what!

If anybody has any suggestions of what I can do to improve the 'harshness' it would be appreciated!
[/quote]
I will take my setup (yes, all of it) to the nearest dealer and experiment by changing components one at a time.

 

[Anonymous]

[quote user="ranjeetrain"]I have heard that Rotel equipments are 'bright' (okay, no arguments over "one man's bright is other man's detailed")[/quote]

That's what I was told by the dealer at the shop, but I insisted on trying the Rotel RA-05. Turned out it was a great move, I absolutely love the sound. I listen mainly to classical music, and I was really impressed with the "detail" even in busy orchestral bits, and I don't think it's bright to the point of it being a negative trait.

Tested it with the Wharfedale Diamond 9.1 and the Tannoy Mercury Custom F1.

 

[smbmetal]

[quote user="[url="http://whathifi.com/members/ranjeetrain.aspx"]ranjeetrain[/url]"]

I will take my setup (yes, all of it) to the nearest dealer and experiment by changing components one at a time. [/quote]

I'll try that. Thought you might say something like that! Will probably go for a better pre-amp I think. Thanks for your advice!