Rotel RA-10 Speaker Pairing

[GregZA]

I am about to pull the proverbial trigger on an entry hifi setup. I am based in Durban, South Africa and have grown a little tired of iPod dock setups and am yearning to get back into hifi separates and the “coolness” of vinyl in an exercise to relive my youth!

Im not into loud house parties and similarly not expecting the last word in audiophile detail...

After a lot of deliberation I have selected the Rotel RA-10 amplifier due to its talented phono stage, quality, simplicity and of course price. I will either be buying a Rega 1 (performance pack) or a Pro-Ject Essential II – depending on availability.

The room I will be using is approx (l/w/h) 7m x 5m x 2.2m. It is tiled and Im a fan of minimalist furnishings. I do not intend using the setup for AV purposes. The speakers will be stand mounted reasonably close to the back and side walls although I do have a little room to work with.

My music formats consist of Vinyl, CD and iPod. I know that the Rotel does not have a DAC and that it is a strictly analogue affair but I do intend on using the 3.5mm jack to connect to my iPod and laptop / Mac.

My music taste vary greatly from Coldplay, Lana Del Ray to Metallica, Led Zep with some trance / modern house thrown in.

Im looking for forum members and experts to advise me on an appropriate speaker choice. Being in South Africa we do not have the selection of kit that is otherwise available in the UK or US.

I would like fellow Rotel RA-10 owners to comment and guide me with pairing choices per the list of speaker choices (this is what is readily available) listed below.

B&W 686S2 / 685S2 (Not my first choice due to price but Ill leave these in incase they are the obvious "go-to").

Q Acoustics 2020i

Energy CB-20

Energy Veritas 5.1

MA BX2

Polk RTI A1

Poll TSX220b

Boston Acoustics A26

Cambridge Audio Aero2

If any owners / experts can comment on their suggestions re the above pairing combinations it would be greatly appreciated.

Regards

Greg

 

[Al ears]

Hi Greg, welcome to the forum.

Can I applaud your descision to go the seperates route. You have a good sized room so I wondered why you are only looking at stand-mounters.

Do you actually have speaker stands already?

Also when you say 'readily available' do you mean you can actually audition them in a dealers?

If we are looking at your list as a 'thats it' function I would say (not having heard the Polk or even heard of the Energy speakers you list) my money would be on the Cambridge Audio Aero 2.

 

[GregZA]

Thanks for the welcome Al.

My intentions are to have a setup thats discrete and functional without being too dominating. Ive sized floorstanders such as the 2050i, BX5's, various Klipsch models etc and they are on the large side. In addition floorstanders do cost a lot more and given the 40w/channel I think the baby Rotel may struggle a bit.

I have auditioned the Concept 20's and B&W 685S2 at a dealer but they were being powered by higher end Rotel (think it was a 1570) kit. I also auditioned the Yamaha AS500 with the 685's and it didnt sound as rich/full/muiscal as the Rotel hookup.

re the CA Aero2's - infact when I first began my journey I was looking at pairing these speakers with the humble CA Topaz AM10 / SR10 but after reading reviews and stalking forums I was put off by some negative comments re the Topaz CA phono stages (and CA in general - no disrespect to CA fans).

I can audition most of the speakers listed but unfortunatley not with the RA-10 combo - I was/am hoping that some Rotel RA-10 owners own or have tried out some of the speakers I have listed.

Do you own / have you auditioned the Aero2's / where you using Rotel kit to drive them?

Cheers,

Greg

 

[Blackdawn]

If you're going down the CA route go for their Azur range. The Boston Acoustics A26 are nice sounding speakers from your list. For me it would be a choice out of the A26's or the Aero 2's.

 

[Ketan Bharadia]

Hello, the obvious choice really is B&W's 685 S2. The combination with the Rotel sounds terrific. If the B&Ws are a bit too pricey give Wharfedale's Diamond 220s a go.

 

[Al ears]

Hello, the obvious choice really is B&W's 685 S2. The combination with the Rotel sounds terrific. If the B&Ws are a bit too pricey give Wharfedale's Diamond 220s a go.

'I would like fellow Rotel RA-10 owners to comment and guide me with pairing choices per the list of speaker...'

'Tis a pity they are not on his list of available speakers....*biggrin*

I know what you mean though because I would have suggested them as a possible pairing to.

 

[ID.]

B&W 686S2 / 685S2 (Not my first choice due to price but Ill leave these in incase they are the obvious "go-to").

These are an abvious go to. Pretty much the first speakers I'd want to audition if I were buying a Rotel amp. It may seem more expensive now, but to be honest, with cheaper speakers I think you could well get the upgrade bug pretty soon (could happen with the B&Ws too, but...). Personal preference would be the 685s2, but the 686 are pretty nice too. A vast improvement over the original 686 which felt like a joke of a speaker tacked onto the series so they could have some cheap, small speakers as rears in a surround setup.

 

[Reijer]

IMO Rotel/B&W is not the best match, certainly the R-10-11-12 series. To flat, undetailed to me. Maybe because of my dutch ears but it's not the greatest match.

The eye-opener for me was an audition. If it's possible: do it!!!

 

[GregZA]

Thanks for the feedback guys. My local dealers also reccomended the B&W's as they are part of the same stable and the new S2 derivatives are already well renowned. I have looked for the new Wharfdale ale Diamond 220's in South Africa and drew a blank but I will perserve. The kicker is that the B&W's are almost double the price! I can also source some Kef's such as the Q300 and LS50 - the latter being very pricey indeed. I was hoping that someone would reccomend the MA bx2's as they aren't that fussy wrt placement but have read that they can be a little bright and whf reviewed them as being fussy with partnering equipment.

 

[matthewpiano]

I've spent some time in the past with a Rotel RA-04SE/Monitor Audio BX2 combo and it worked rather well. Plenty of detail and good soundstaging but without veering into brightness. The RA-10 isn't much different to the previous RA-04SE.

The B&W 686s2 is worth considering. Everyone seems to push towards the bigger standmounts - 685s2, KEF Q300, Dynaudio DM2/7 etc - but often I find that the smaller model gives a better overall balance, particularly in a normal domestic space. It all depends what is most important to you.

 

[rainsoothe]

hi

I would look at the B&W 685 s2, Dynaudio DM 2/7, Q Acoustics Concept 20, Dali Zensor 3 and Boston Acoustics A26 standmounts and Q Acoustics 2050i or Dali Zensor 5 floorstanders.

Try to audition before purchasing though, and let your ears decide. Also, care with bass, since rooms with little furnishing and tiled floor and generally highly reflective surfaces will make bass sound more bloomy then normal and highs stronger as well.

goodluck

 

[Ketan Bharadia]

I wouldn't go as far as the KEF LS50s with your amp. The Q300s are a better match in terms of performance.

 

[GregZA]

Thanks for all the replies and feedback guys.

Ok so I have checked that the Wharfedale Diamond 220's arent available in SA (well as far as I have investigated). It seems that the safest bet, despite the price, are the 686S2's and/or the 685S2's. I note that the 685's are more sensitive and as a previous contributer has stated, slightly more upgrade proof which is an important consideration.

I will investigate what discounts can be had and make a decision from there.

Thanks all !

Greg