Rotel RA-04SE - suited to my system?

[admin_exported]

Hey guys!

The time has come (in fact, it's well past due) for me to replace my ageing Technics receiver. (I put it off for a long time, as other commitments didn't leave much time for music... But now I'm back, and re-addicted!)

I have an Aiwa XC-700 CD player and Mission M33 floorstanders. I'm looking at the Rotel RA-04SE as the amp to sit between these.

Is this likely to be a decent partnership? If not, are there any alternatives I should consider?

Thanks very much!

Simon

P.S. I listen to a lot of rock, but it's quite varied, and spanning quite a few decades!

P.P.S. I'm considering ripping my collection to FLAC and streaming the music from a NAS at some point in the future.

 

[d_a_n1979]

The Rotel is a cracking amp and will really suit the Mission speakers.

However I feel that your CDP is definately the let down in the system and can be easily beaten by some budget CDP's on the market as well as decent 2nd hand CDP's via eBay etc...

Do you have a budget in mind?

What would be handy to know is what speaker cable and interconnects do you use as well?

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks for that response! 🙂

The budget for the amp is ~£300, so the Rotel is spot on, and it sounds like I'll definitely be going for that now.

You're right in that the CD player should really be upgraded, too. However, as I said, I'm thinking of moving to a hard drive-based system. (The schedule for this is limited more by my free time than anything else!)

I have a netbook that rarely gets used other than when I go away; I'd be happy to use that as the player. As far as I know, then, I'd just need an external hard drive for my library and a DAC. Is this right?

I've just been reading about the Musical Fidelity V-DAC, which sounds the business, as is quite reasonably priced. (The other one I saw was the Pro-ject DAC Box FL, but I couldn't find so much info on that.)

Sorry, this is getting a little off-topic, but I suppose it's all still related to my impending upgrade!

You asked about cables. To be honest, I don't even remember which interconnect I have! But I remember it cost ~£20 and was fairly well reviewed at the time. Speaker cable is QED Bi-Wire. (I'd be happy to buy a new interconnect for the DAC, but the speaker cable will have to stay.)

Thanks again for the response! It's nice to have my choice confirmed before committing to buy. 🙂 Really looking forward to doing some proper listening again now!

 

[d_a_n1979]

Remember to demo the amp first; more so with your speakers if possible.

It could be that the Rotel isnt the right amp for you. It may be worth checking out the NAD C326BEE integrated amp as well as the Cambridge Audio 540/640 amps.

Have you also considered the 2nd hand market (via eBay etc...)

A quality NAD C352 or an Arcam Alpha 10 integrated amp as well as the Arcam DiVA A85 integrated amps will work very well with your system IMO.

 

[MUSICRAFT]

simonbrads:

Thanks for that response! 🙂

The budget for the amp is ~£300, so the Rotel is spot on, and it sounds like I'll definitely be going for that now.

You're right in that the CD player should really be upgraded, too. However, as I said, I'm thinking of moving to a hard drive-based system. (The schedule for this is limited more by my free time than anything else!)

I have a netbook that rarely gets used other than when I go away; I'd be happy to use that as the player. As far as I know, then, I'd just need an external hard drive for my library and a DAC. Is this right?

I've just been reading about the Musical Fidelity V-DAC, which sounds the business, as is quite reasonably priced. (The other one I saw was the Pro-ject DAC Box FL, but I couldn't find so much info on that.)

Sorry, this is getting a little off-topic, but I suppose it's all still related to my impending upgrade!

You asked about cables. To be honest, I don't even remember which interconnect I have! But I remember it cost ~£20 and was fairly well reviewed at the time. Speaker cable is QED Bi-Wire. (I'd be happy to buy a new interconnect for the DAC, but the speaker cable will have to stay.)

Thanks again for the response! It's nice to have my choice confirmed before committing to buy. 🙂 Really looking forward to doing some proper listening again now!

hi simonbrads

I too will also suggest that you also consider the NAD C326BEE as an alternative to the RA-04SE.

Thanks

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Anonymous]

Thanks, guys! I hadn't considered that one, but it certainly looks like a possible alternative. I certainly like the fact that it's a little cheaper than the Rotel, and that it has a remote.

Unfortunately, the only proper hi-fi store that I know of near me (I'm in Cardiff), Audio T, stocks NAD but not Rotel. (There's also Richer Sounds (which is £100 cheaper for the NAD!), but I don't think it's really possible to demo stuff there.)

P.S. Anything known about sightandsounduk.com? (Cheapest I can find for the Rotel, and equal with RS for the NAD.)

EDIT: Just noticed that the NAD has only one set of speaker outputs... That's not going to work very well with my bi-wire speaker cable, is it? That's a little disappointing: I'd just about decided the NAD was the better option, considering the £50 price difference and remote control! Or can I just join the two wires into a single banana plug at the amp end?

 

[matthewpiano]

In reverse order - yes, you can just join the speaker cables together at theamp end. This is what I have done and it works fine.

sightandsoundUK is the website for a bricks and mortar dealer in Preston. It used to be a branch of Sevenoaks but the proprieter pulled away from them to give him more freedom to put good deals together for customers and to stock a wider range of kit.

The NAD C326BEE and the Rotel RA-04SE are both superb amplifiers and I think you need to set up an audition to compare them. Personally I prefer the NAD because I think it has got a little more life to it, but the Rotel should not be under-estimated and is a nicely built and capable piece of kit.

 

[d_a_n1979]

As MP said; you can still bi-wire; just connect both ends of the speaker cable in to one plug at the amp end and then connect to all 4 binding posts on the speaker end 🙂

As for sightandsounduk.com; they're very good and I'd highly recommend them.

The NAD is a belter of an amp and for me it outperforms the Rotel.

 

[Anonymous]

It wasn't really possible for me to set up a demo, so... I'm about to order the NAD from S&S.

Thanks, everyone, for the guidance! 🙂

 

[MUSICRAFT]

simonbrads:

It wasn't really possible for me to set up a demo, so... I'm about to order the NAD from S&S.

Thanks, everyone, for the guidance! 🙂

Hi simonbrads

Great choice. The C326BEE is excellent.

Thanks

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[matthewpiano]

Very nice choice. It really is an excellent amplifier. Let us know how you get on with it once it is set-up and playing!

 

[Anonymous]

Hi guys!

It was a long time ago now that I started this thread -- and it's been a while I've had my C 326BEE set up. I just wanted to thank all who offered me advice. I'm very happy with the upgrade: this amp is solidly built, and it sounds great! I didn't really realize quite how much I was missing at the low end.

I also decided to go the whole hog and bought a Musical Fidelity V-DAC at the same time. I think I finally, for the first time, have a system I'm completely happy with. 🙂

Cheers,

Simon

 

[d_a_n1979]

Very nice

Get some pics up of your system!