New Rotel RC-1570

[JorisC]

Hi all,

i'm looking for a preamp with DAC or with a seperate DAC (Arcam irDac) to partner my rotel equipmant RCD1072, RT 1080 tuner, Sonos Connect and RB1070. My speakers are B&W 805S. I mainly listen to rock, triphop and some metal.

currently i use my RA1062 as preamp and the DAC of my RCD 1072 is broken, thankfully the cd player has digital output. Reason for buying a DAC and a pre amp.

has someone listened to or bought a new RC-1570? It has cool features phono, 4 analogue and 5 digital inputs.

Is the Wolfson DAC an upgrade for my Sonos?

A future upgrade would be a more powerfull power amp: Lyngdorf SDA 2170 or Rotel RB 1080 or 1582 (2x 200W).

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Hi JorisC

Also consider and try listening to Rega's DAC, Audiolab M-DAC, Audiolab 8200DQ and if budget allows Benchmark DAC1 and Naim's NAC 172 XS.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[JorisC]

Thanks for your advice, unfortunately the Audiolab is a 300€ more expensive than the Rotel. The others lack analogue inputs that I need for my other sources (phono, tuner, Aux (=pc)).

In the mean time I managed to fix my Rotel RCD 1072 by changing the laser (not that difficult but requires a solder bolt to remove the solder from the new laser unit), and the DAC of the RCD1072 seems to work fine. Guess it was the laser that caused the noise in the speaker and of course the skipping.

I'm trying a 2nd hand RB 1080 tomorrow, and start saving up for that new Rotel RC 1570.

 

[JorisC]

First online review of Rotel RC 1570 preamp:

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/rotel-rcd-1570-cd-player-rc-1570-p7-preamplifier-and-rb-1552-mk-ii-power-amplifier/

when will Whathifi publish a review? It was announced in the News section.

Haven't bought/auditioned one yet.

 

[dap33]

i too am waiting for a whathifi review as well

 

[DaveyBoy1980]

I'm currently running a Sonos Connect into an M-dac into a Rotel ra-1520 with Kef R500 on the end. I am loving the sound. Very open and detailed with nice tight bass.

I was listening to The Pretty Reckless's new album last night and I couldn't pull myself away from listening to it! The Kef's are said to get much better as you give it better amplification but the 60W of the ra-1520 is not leaving me wanting anything better!

I would definitely say that adding a DAC to the Sonos would be a good upgrade. I was sceptical as I thought the sound out of the sonos was decent. but it always left me feeling a little uninspired. Adding the M-dac was the best thing I ever did. It brought my music back to life and has given it a sense of high end hifi.

I'm now loving music at home again

 

[dap33]

how big is the room daveyboy1980, been looking at the kef r500 as well as possible new speakers

 

[DaveyBoy1980]

My listening room is my livingroom/kitchen in a small apartment. The total room size is around 6mx4m. It's not large at all.

The speakers look fairly large but they sound great at all volumes. There is no over the top bass and no shortage of it either. I always thought I wasn't a fan of KEF and never thought I'd own a pair after hearing the LS50s. They did nothing for me at all.

Then I demo'd the Kef R500 in store along with Monitor Audio GX200 and Sonus Faber toy towers and my own Dynaudio X12. Of those 4 pairs I thought the Kefs were by far the worst for me. No sparkle and the bass was too much.

But then I got an offer to try a gorgeous walnut pair at home for a couple of weeks. For the first 1.5 weeks I was certain I was going to return them, they had no sparkle, no detail or depth. Then in the latter part of the 2nd week after around 50 hours of run in, they started to really open up and grab me! Now I can't stop listening to them and I never want to hear anything else! :dance:

It just goes to show that you need to demo speakers in your listening space and always ensure they have had a proper running in!

But, my Dynaudios that I'm now selling have more overall top end detail and a much faster and tighter mid range punch. They also go deep into the mids and upper bass notes but they just can't extend as low as I'd like them to. Completely different beasts though. I wish I could afford to keep the Dyns as a 2nd room setup but funds won't allow

 

[JorisC]

@Davey, have you auditioned the irDAC as well? Would the M-Dac be worth the extra money?

If I can find a RC-1082 cheaply (same series as my other stuff, so nice visual integration), I wouldn't mind buying a stand-alone DAC.

still curious how the dac in Rotel RC1570 compares to stand alone one.

my room is a bit smaller (also appartment) 5,5x4,5 m.

 

[DaveyBoy1980]

Hi Joris,

I didn't try the irDac. I wanted to try the M-dac first due to not liking the Arcam A19 when I auditioned it. The moment I got the M-dac home and connected it up I was just amazed at how much I had been missing out on!

I really can't say how the irDac compares to the M-dac as I've only ever heard the M-dac. But I also love the 8200QCD and I believe that the M-dac is a slight step up from that in terms of SQ.

I was also considering selling my 1520 and buying the 1570 when I saw one BNIB on Ebay for £850 not long ago but I hesitated too long and someone else bought it.

I would be very interested to know if I would hear much difference between all the decent quality DACs out there. But I am very happy with my setup now and have found the sound I've been looking for.

I'd say the R500s would be fine in that space and also large enough to take with you if you move somewhere bigger in the future