Rotel Ra-04 Upgrade options

[admin_exported]

hello, I have been thinking of upgrading my system. I have a rotel ra-04 amp, could i connect a power amp to this to improve the sound. I have it connected to a pair of monitor audio RS1 speakers.

any help would be great. thanks

 

[fatboyslimfast]

What sort of improvements are you looking for? If it's for a more powerful sound, I would suggest changing your speakers to RS6s - for me, doing that would keep all of the positives of the 1's, but with far more "punch" and weight.

I demo'd my RS6s with the RA04, and the combo sounded fantastic...

 

[Anonymous]

Ooops, I was about to ask if the RA04 will be able to do justice to MA RS6's...but then I saw the rest of your post. On that note, will a pair of RS6's and an additional Rotel RB06 poweramp be a worthwhile spend? I have a RA05 and a pair of Kef iQ3's and I must admit that the MA RS series have crossed my mind too many times..

 

[d_a_n1979]

Adding a power amp and/or the RS6's would be a huge improvment sound stage and power wise.

The RS6's are superb speakers and will suit Rotel well.

Adding the power amp also helps to open up the sound stage more increasing the bass depth and timing whilst maintaining a decent, smooth midrange and good, crisp treble.

 

[Cypher]

I have a Rotel RA-04 and had the RS1 speakers. The RS1 speakers in my opinion are not that good. The treble is harsh with a lot of recordings and when the music is very complex/busy the sound gets confused. The bass is not tight, a bit loose.

Try some Dynaudio or Canton speakers with the RA-04.

 

[Anonymous]

Cypher:
I have a Rotel RA-04 and had the RS1 speakers. The RS1 speakers in my opinion are not that good. The treble is harsh with a lot of recordings and when the music is very complex/busy the sound gets confused. The bass is not tight, a bit loose.

Try some Dynaudio or Canton speakers with the RA-04.

I agree with that analysis. I used to have the RS1s on my RA03 and found it a bit lacking.

An excellent purchase would be a pair of used/ex-demo/discounted Dynaudio Audience 52 or 52SE with the Rotel RB03 power amp too. Dyns are current hungry but this would be the way to sort that out. That combo would sound much better than the RS1s.

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for your opinions everyone. I am pretty happy with the RS1's at the minute., plus I need standmounts so the rs6's are out of the picture. I don't really want to spend to much, maybe up to £150. I have looked on ebay and there are a few rotel power amps on there that fit the budget. How does the power amp work with the ra-04. Does it replace the 40watts of the ra-04 with more power or just add to it. As you can tell I am fairly new to this but have got the bug of wanting to upgrade even though I am happy really with what I have got.

There was a Rotel RB971 mk11 power amp for sale on ebay. would somthing like that be ok.

 

[fatboyslimfast]

You could Bi-Amp - basically, run the speaker outputs of the 04 to the tweeter terminals (remembering to remove the bridging connectors from the speaker terminals) and the power amp to the bass terminals...

That way, you would connect the power amp to the pre-out sockets on your 04, and away you go... You would certainly get more power and control, although I don't think you would gain much in the bass amount department...

 

[Anonymous]

The problem I have for that is my speaker cabling is in the wall so unless i have the extra cabling looking a mess I can't do it. Should have thought of that when I was having the room done.

 

[fatboyslimfast]

Is it plastered right in? I had the same thing, but managed to gaffer tape a length of aerial coax to the original and pull it through, then add the second cable to the original and pull it back...

Failing that, I can't see that adding a power amp of that vintage is going to make £150 of difference to the 04 I'm afraid...I would keep your cash!

All you would be doing is replacing the power amp section of the 04 with that of the power amp, hence why I don't think you would gain much...

 

[Anonymous]

yes it is plastered right in the walls. So no to the older power amp then. how about the newer rb-06 would that just give me more power and keep the same sort of sound. Thanks for the help by the way.

 

[fatboyslimfast]

On actual volume levels, not really - it's only 30w more, which while sounding a lot, is only really a bit more (when you hear differences in volume, you can only detect doubling or halving in sound pressure).

The 06 isn't noted for being as punchy as the 04 either...

The next worthwhile step up from there would perhaps be something in the Roksan Kandy K2, Naim Nait 5i, or Cyrus 6vs2 territory...the RA-04 will hold it's own up until about that price break!

 

[d_a_n1979]

Yeah im in agreemwnt with FBSL - I'd keep your money and save for an upgrade OR think about selling your amp and and adding the budget you had for a power amp (and maybe more after Christmas 😉 ) for a better integrated.

The Roksan Kandy LIII integrated amp can be had for very good money now as can a number of decent integrated amps such as the NAD C352 or the NAD C355BEE integrated amps. Theyre a more similar sound to the Rotel amps.

Would you consider going down the 2nd hand route for a 'new' amplifier? If so there's always a good integrated amp to be had on eBay (Cyrus 6v2 or the 8v2 integrateds, Arcam Alpha 10 integrated or the Arcam DiVA A85 integrated). The Arcam's, IMO, work the best with M/A speakers

 

[Anonymous]

I Guess i better get saving. thanks for the help!

 

[d_a_n1979]

No worries; thats what this forum is all about 🙂

Kepp us posted to how you get on and also if you have any more thoughts...

 

[Anonymous]

Hi I added a Rotel power amp to my set-up (MA Silver 8s, Rotel Ra-02 and Rotel CD) and the sound improved massively - much more control, better bass, more clarity - more room-filling sound.

I bought the power amp second-hand on Ebay - it was a huge improvement and I just wired the speakers straight into it.

Worth a try in my opinion.

Cheers

 

[Anonymous]

which power amp did you use? thanks for the advice, anyone else got an opinion on this?

 

[Anonymous]

Hi

It is the RB-1070 - worth every penny! (2nd hand anyway, not sure that the price new would be a worthwhile move as its over £500).

I just use the RA-02 as pre-amp now. Find one 2nd hand and you won't regret it.

Cheers

 

[fatboyslimfast]

Yep, that sort of power amp will make a difference - just didn't think the 9-series rotel would...

 

[Anonymous]

that amp is a little out of the budget and they don't come along on ebay very often. For that sort of money i could sell my ra-04 and get a naim nait 5i or something along those lines.

Would a cd player upgrade be more appropriate or a dac that could be used with my media centre pc as a music server sort of thing. I have the rotel rcd-06 spinning my discs at present. it has dropped down to 3 stars in the mag now.It ws a 4 or 5 star player when I purchased it. I take it there are newer players which are better. I have ready some good things about the arcam players on here. should I

A.... get a new more expensive cd player or

B get a dac and use my pc as a transport

Again any help & opinions would be great. thanks

 

[d_a_n1979]

Save your £££ and wait for the sales or eBay price drops come the nea year and see if you can get yourself a better amp and/or CDP at that time.

With your budget now its not worth it IMO and i still think the Rotel amp and CDP youve got now is a stunning set-up for the money and cant be bettered that easily.

If the money is burning a hole in your pocket have you considered going down the Beresford DAC route?

The M/A RS1's are good little speakers BUT they do need the right partners. The Rotel set-up you have is fone for the RS1's BUT id still say that you need decent stands that are mass loadable and the right speaker cable/interconnects.

Have you considered going over to the Chord Carnival Silverscreen speaker cable and Chord Crimson interconnects.

With my RS6 speakers i found that the Chord cables really opened up the soundstage and the bass was soooooooo smooth and deep it was sublime!

 

[fatboyslimfast]

I would probably say that the DAC would make a smallish improvement on your Rotel. I use a Beresford with an Apple Airport Express, and it is noticeably better than my Arcam Alpha 6, but your rotel is quite a bit better than that...

 

[d_a_n1979]

Hmmm Arcam Alpha 6 CDP...

One of the smoothest and warm sounding CDP's ive ever heard, with the right amp and speakers its sublime 🙂

I had mine matched with an Arcam Alpha 9 integrated and Acoustic Energy AE109 speakers.

Really miss that system!

 

[Anonymous]

As far as upgrading the speaker wire I am stuck with what I have as it is plastered into the walls. Its is QED though so it shouldn't be that bad and sounds fine. Don't get me wrong I think what I have sounds fantastic and I make good use of it. I listen and think this sounds amazing, then start thinking if this sounds this good how much better would the higher end gear sound. I think I am going to start another system in the dining room for when poeple come over, something that isn't to expensive and connected to my pc for a choice of all my music. I may go for the squeezebox duet with a small amp and speakers.

Has anyone got a suggestion for the amp. Can you get the fatman amp without the dock?

 

[d_a_n1979]

2nd hand Cyrus 2 integrated amp and a Rega Planet CDP...

Lovely combo (if you want a CDP that is as well as your PC for the sources).

Acoustic Energy AE100 standmount speakers (or the AR109's if you want some floorstanders) would be a very good choice. Can both be got for less than £100 currently on eBay.