Rotel RA-12 Amp Anyone?

[smbmetal]

Was wondering if anyone had heard or purchased the new Rotel amp yet? If so, what are your thoughts?

I notice it has a decent internal DAC as well. I wonder if it's better than my Squeezebox Touch's?

 

[stevebrock]

A guy on av forums has one and rates it

Regards to the DAC just bypass the squeezebox DAC and un it straight in the rotel

 

[plasterman]

A guy on av forums has one and rates it

Regards to the DAC just bypass the squeezebox DAC and un it straight in the rotel

That'll be me lol.

To the OP, the Rotel is a cracking amp and well worth a demo. As it's new theres not a lot info on the net beyond the promotional stuff.

My thoughts on the amp, first of all it's an easy listen with my b&w 685's and grips them well with it's 60w,

Sound wise it takes you fairly deep into the mix, the detail is good but never to sharp or cold. Bass is well rounded and defined without being boomy.It's fairly open in the mid range without being grating or wooly.

Right now I'm listening to Blondie parallel lines and the growl and the gurggle of debbie harrys voice is such a joy to listen to.

There's so much more space around the instruments and voices than my last amp the Marantz PM 6004(a WHF fav).

I have my cdp marantz CD6004 connected to the the Rotel DAC through coaxil and what a difference that makes, it's like a thick veil as been removed and I'm hearing thing's that were once vague.

I'm no expert in the influences of DAC's on SQ all I can say is that the DAC in Rotel aint shabby at all.

I could go on but my 2nd bottle of leffe blonde is calling as well as ton of un played cd's.

 

[stevebrock]

O yeh I remember now, we were discussing the merits of the pm6004, I've sold it now and got myself a Rega Brio r, I demoed the Rega DAC as well......sweet holy Jesus it sounded ace.....it's my next upgrade, however I still bought the Rega Brio r

 

[plasterman]

O yeh I remember now, we were discussing the merits of the pm6004, I've sold it now and got myself a Rega Brio r, I demoed the Rega DAC as well......sweet holy Jesus it sounded ace.....it's my next upgrade, however I still bought the Rega Brio r

I'm selling my pm 6004 too and with the money I'm going to buy an external dac.

 

[plasterman]

.

 

[Cypher]

So when you have the Rotel RA-11/RA-12 you can connect the CD player to the amp with normal RCA cables or you have the option to connect the CD player with a coaxial digital cable.....bypassing the DAC of the CD player and you use the DAC of the amp ?

Is this correct ?

 

[plasterman]

So when you have the Rotel RA-11/RA-12 you can connect the CD player to the amp with normal RCA cables or you have the option to connect the CD player with a coaxial digital cable.....bypassing the DAC of the CD player and you use the DAC of the amp ?

Is this correct ?

Yes that's correct, there are two coaxial and two optical inputs.

 

[smbmetal]

A guy on av forums has one and rates it

Regards to the DAC just bypass the squeezebox DAC and un it straight in the rotel

That'll be me lol.

To the OP, the Rotel is a cracking amp and well worth a demo. As it's new theres not a lot info on the net beyond the promotional stuff.

My thoughts on the amp, first of all it's an easy listen with my b&w 685's and grips them well with it's 60w,

Sound wise it takes you fairly deep into the mix, the detail is good but never to sharp or cold. Bass is well rounded and defined without being boomy.It's fairly open in the mid range without being grating or wooly.

Right now I'm listening to Blondie parallel lines and the growl and the gurggle of debbie harrys voice is such a joy to listen to.

There's so much more space around the instruments and voices than my last amp the Marantz PM 6004(a WHF fav).

I have my cdp marantz CD6004 connected to the the Rotel DAC through coaxil and what a difference that makes, it's like a thick veil as been removed and I'm hearing thing's that were once vague.

I'm no expert in the influences of DAC's on SQ all I can say is that the DAC in Rotel aint shabby at all.

I could go on but my 2nd bottle of leffe blonde is calling as well as ton of un played cd's.

Good review! Think I will have to get myself to Sevenoaks for a listen! Has to be better than my current RC-03 & RB-03 though to justify £600.

 

[Blackdawn]

[/quote]

I'm selling my pm 6004 too and with the money I'm going to buy an external dac.

[/quote]

So Plasterman, would you say the DAC built in to the Rotel amplifier RA-12 sounds nicer than the Marantz CD6004 using its own DAC? If so, why the need for an external DAC? Is the Rotel good at low and high volumes equally and is there any channel imbalance? Would you say the amp is bright, warm sounding or just right? Sorry for the questions, cheers.....

 

[Cypher]

So when you have the Rotel RA-11/RA-12 you can connect the CD player to the amp with normal RCA cables or you have the option to connect the CD player with a coaxial digital cable.....bypassing the DAC of the CD player and you use the DAC of the amp ?

Is this correct ?

Yes that's correct, there are two coaxial and two optical inputs.

That's fantastic. Every amp should have this from now on

 

[MUSICRAFT]

A guy on av forums has one and rates it

Regards to the DAC just bypass the squeezebox DAC and un it straight in the rotel

That'll be me lol.

To the OP, the Rotel is a cracking amp and well worth a demo. As it's new theres not a lot info on the net beyond the promotional stuff.

My thoughts on the amp, first of all it's an easy listen with my b&w 685's and grips them well with it's 60w,

Sound wise it takes you fairly deep into the mix, the detail is good but never to sharp or cold. Bass is well rounded and defined without being boomy.It's fairly open in the mid range without being grating or wooly.

Right now I'm listening to Blondie parallel lines and the growl and the gurggle of debbie harrys voice is such a joy to listen to.

There's so much more space around the instruments and voices than my last amp the Marantz PM 6004(a WHF fav).

I have my cdp marantz CD6004 connected to the the Rotel DAC through coaxil and what a difference that makes, it's like a thick veil as been removed and I'm hearing thing's that were once vague.

I'm no expert in the influences of DAC's on SQ all I can say is that the DAC in Rotel aint shabby at all.

I could go on but my 2nd bottle of leffe blonde is calling as well as ton of un played cd's.

Good review! Think I will have to get myself to Sevenoaks for a listen! Has to be better than my current RC-03 & RB-03 though to justify £600.

Hi smbmetal

For roughly half of the money you can have Rotel's superb RA-1062 which is significantly better then the RC-03/RB-03 Add a Cambridge Audio DacMagic Plus or Rega's DAC you'll have an excellent amp/dac combination :rockout:

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[WishTree]

Hi smbmetal

For roughly half of the money you can have Rotel's superb RA-1062 which is significantly better then the RC-03/RB-03 Add a Cambridge Audio DacMagic Plus or Rega's DAC you'll have an excellent amp/dac combination :rockout:

Hi Rick,

How would you rate the Rotel RA-12 with th built in DAC vs Rotel RA-1062 + Cambridge Audio Dac Magic?

 

[MUSICRAFT]

Hi smbmetal

For roughly half of the money you can have Rotel's superb RA-1062 which is significantly better then the RC-03/RB-03 Add a Cambridge Audio DacMagic Plus or Rega's DAC you'll have an excellent amp/dac combination :rockout:

Hi Rick,

How would you rate the Rotel RA-12 with th built in DAC vs Rotel RA-1062 + Cambridge Audio Dac Magic?

Hi WishTree

I've not heard the RA-12 yet. It'll be interesting to hear how the RA-12 compares to the RA-1062 and the truly great Pioneer A-400 though.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

 

[Frank Harvey]

How would you rate the Rotel RA-12 with th built in DAC vs Rotel RA-1062 + Cambridge Audio Dac Magic?

No one is going to know, not unless they buy an RA12, track down a used RA1062, and then give their subjective opinions, based on the speakers they're using in their own unique room.

Of course, if any one of the (what must be by now, tens of thousands of) RA1062 owners wants to pop in and compare, feel free

 

[WishTree]

Hi WishTree

I've not heard the RA-12 yet. It'll be interesting to hear how the RA-12 compares to the RA-1062 and the truly great Pioneer A-400 though.

All the best

Rick @ Musicraft

Thanks Rick. May be when you get to hear the RA-12, please share your views. RA-12 was high on my radar but then I decided the other way and went for the Pearl Lite Amplfier. They are not in the same price range but some times some products perform comparable to the expensive ones. I am hoping RA-12 to be such an ace!

 

[WishTree]

No one is going to know, not unless they buy an RA12, track down a used RA1062, and then give their subjective opinions, based on the speakers they're using in their own unique room.

Of course, if any one of the (what must be by now, tens of thousands of) RA1062 owners wants to pop in and compare, feel free

Yeah.. I would assume the same.

I am also keen to know the thoughts on RA-12 DAC performance. It would be good to read how it matches up with DAC Magic at the least.

But, I guess we need to wait till the time comes when some users do some test.

I am almost sure that even if WHF does a review of RA-12, they will not say it clearly the internal DAC performance vs an Arcam DAC or Cambridge Audio DAC Magic etc

So I would wait for actual users to share the thoughts

 

[smbmetal]

Lets hope that the RA-12 can at last beat the RA1062, I would have loved to have heard the 1062. I hope WHF give the RA-12 a review at some point.

 

[Cypher]

I always thought that both the RA-04 and RA-04SE were good amps..........but a little bit too clinical/cold sounding.

The thing I like the most about the Rotel sound is the very tight and rhythmic sound.

I'm curious how the RA-10/11/12 amps will sound but the built in DAC is a big plus for me.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi everyone, about time i registered on these forums! I always have a look at them...

I have had a look at the new rotel series, look good, i have 683's. I dont think enough to drive them, im saving for a rotel pre/power...

Does anyone know if the are bringing new ra series out to replace the current rc1550/rb1552, for example??

Thanks!

 

[Cypher]

I think the new RA-12 will have enough power for the 683 speakers

 

[Anonymous]

I think the new RA-12 will have enough power for the 683 speakers

Hi Cypher, i have been saving for the pre/power combo, nice big units, power etc, at the moment i run my 683's off the rotel ra-02....i like the sound! upgrade time though.

What do you think, do you like the sound/specs of the ra-12?

 

[Anonymous]

I think the new RA-12 will have enough power for the 683 speakers

Hi Cypher, i have been saving for the pre/power combo, nice big units, power etc, at the moment i run my 683's off the rotel ra-02....i like the sound! upgrade time though.

What do you think, do you like the sound/specs of the ra-12?

 

[Cypher]

The RA-12 looks like a very nice amp...............but have you thought about the RA-1520 ?

 

[Anonymous]

I have mate, i was set on that lol, great reviews, did research some guys at another famous forum, didnt think it would drive them too good one from experience, i know the pre/power im thinking is £1100, 1520 is £700..... what do you use?

At last Rotel have done a bit of work on their site....

Rotel ra-12, nice specs.