[fewtch]

Quote:

Originally posted by dsavitsk According to Rotel's web site "Please note that in order to maintain the highest standards of customer service, Rotel dealers are prohibited from selling our products via mail order, or over the internet. In some circumstances, dealers may provide information and accept payment for product through these methods, but the completion of the sale requires the dealer to personally deliver the product, or the customer must visit the store to pick up their purchase and be fully informed of the products' operational features." -d

As well intentioned as this may be, imo it's a 'backward' approach that will only lose sales for Rotel.

 

[OakIris]

I am also interested in the Rotel products - finally going to start putting together a new stereo system. Any other good or bad experiences with their integrated amplifiers?

I live in Listen Up's home state so, luckily, will have a chance to listen to the amp (I hope) and purchase them as well. I agree, however, that it seems a poor decision on Rotel's part to not allow mail-order or Internet purchase of their products.

 

[Music Fanatic]

Quote:

Originally posted by fewtch As well intentioned as this may be, imo it's a 'backward' approach that will only lose sales for Rotel.

Yep, I think that this is especially true in more specialist areas of audio. However, I notice that quite a few audio dealers are surprisingly easy to corrupt ....

 

[GlowWorm]

Quote:

Originally posted by fewtch As well intentioned as this may be, imo it's a 'backward' approach that will only lose sales for Rotel.

I agree fewtch, it seems like a very unwise policy by Rotel. Their only going to lose out on potential customers, especially so for those who don't live near a Rotel dealer. I frankly don't see any advantage for them not to do mail order sales, their only going to lose money because of it.

 

[Hirsch]

As soon as a company starts allowing mail order sales, a couple of things happen. First, a number of its dealers will drop it, as they can't compete with the company itself. Second, those dealers that will carry it are going to start discounting unless the company controls pricing rigidly, which can sometimes be illegal. Rotel has apparently reached a position that it wants to maintain via a retail dealer network, and it's not about to upset that applecart in order to enter internet price wars. You'll find that's true of many high-end products. Those that do enter mail order usually do so through outlets that keep a firm grip on the price.

I've owned a Rotel 955AX for many years. Nice player, built like a tank and running strong after who knows how long. I think I got it in the early 90's. The brightness mentioned in posts above entered the Rotel line after this player, and was quite noticeable on the next player out, the 965AX. The 955 actually seems to roll off the highs a bit. I usually use an external DAC with it these days.

 

[tom hankins]

I prefer Rotel gear that I've heard(amps and Pre-amps, and some cdp's) over any of the other brands you have listed in your thread. I have never heard anyone complain about there Rotel stuff having quality control issues. I would would rate Rotel as mid level gear. There amps are some of the better deals in audio IMO. The only amps I like better in there price range are Parasound.

 

[dudlew]

A long time ago, I remember hearing a rotel integrated with some TDL RTL3 speakers... I cant remember the source, but it sounded good to my ears.

I also heard a rotel player compared to A marantz CD63se and an Arcam Alpha XX , the rotel costing 250 pounds and the other two about 350 pounds and it favoured quite well just sounding a bit dry, but having the best timing of the bunch to my ears but was not as lush as the other two. Of the lot I would have picked the marantz, having similar speed to the rotel but with a richer more fuller sound with smoother highs. The Arcam just sounded too sluggish for my taste, being mushy and to me the worst of the lot.

This was in 1995, and I remember it like yesterday.

My brother has a Rotel cd player that is quite good RCD971 I think, just a little bright and lacks a bit of timing, but it adds life and energy to the music not showing its weakness until compared to something else. They make good products and if I could have afforded them I wuld buy there stuff.


D

 

[dsavitsk]

Quote:

Originally posted by fewtch As well intentioned as this may be, imo it's a 'backward' approach that will only lose sales for Rotel.

Clearly there is a downside in that less people can get stuff, but there are several up sides as well.

First off, the power of the internet is information. If the only people who have Rotels are the people who auditioned them and liked them over other components, the word of mouth over the internet will be good. OTOH, if lots of people order them and don't like the Rotel sound, the word of mouth would be worse perhaps leading to lower sales in the future.

Second, high end audio is about personal attention whereas internet commerse is about large volume and low profit margin. My guess is that Rotel's fear is that their specialty dealers will be run under by the big retailers who can afford to do internet sales. This in turn allows the big dealers, after the small sellers have gone under, to dictate terms for Rotel rather than the other way around which again could be bad for Rotel in the long run.

I think I prefer it how it is. I would rather buy my gear from a locally owned shop than from Best Buy online.

-d

 

[Alex Altorfer]

Guys,

I think some people's definition of mid-fi and hi-fi is a bit distorted. I've auditioned a Rotel setup with B&W speakers and wouldn't call that 'mid-fi' in no way shape or form. Sounded like a live performance when I closed my eyes.

Cheers,
Alex Altorfer

 

[utep10]

I've owned a few pieces of Rotel equipment with no issues at all.
I've owned an RB980 two channel amp for about 7-8 years without an issue. I also have their first HT receiver for the past 3-4 years without issue.

In fact, my brother bought an intergrated Rotel amp and cd player back around 1990 and they still work flawlessly today.

Luckily, we have quite a few dealers here in the bay area that sell Rotel.

All I can say is that the Rotel sound matches very well with my
Vandersteen speakers.

 

[qwerty870]

Quote:

Like this 380 watt x 2 @ 8 ohm < 0.03% ThD BEAST, the Rotel RB-1090

I own a RB-1090 now and have owned a RB-1080 in the past. Both are excellent amps. They work especially well with my B&W 805S's.

I'd also like to mention how good their customer service is. Once I fried an entire channel's worth of power transistors (it was my fault, I shorted an input). They fixed it for free and shipped it back free all within a week.

 

[OakIris]

Glad to hear about the good experiences with Rotel amps, etc.. I plan to go to Listen Up tomorrow to audition some Rotel "stuff," including (I hope) their RA 1060 amp, RT961 tuner and RCC955 CD player. All units have a 60 month warranty, which seems like a lot more than the ususal 90 day warranty most manufacturers seem to give these days! (Or is 60 months a normal warranty for better quality audio gear??) Anyway, Listen Up has some decent speaker selections, too. I hope to listen to some B & W speakers with this set up....

I'm hoping to get a decent stereo system for under $3000....

Edit: Does the Rotel 1060 amp have a headphone jack?

Gotta have that, and the specs don't mention it.....

 

[dariusf]

Quote:

...the customer must visit the store to pick up their purchase and be fully informed of the products' operational features.

I like this line 'fully informed of the products operetional features'

push 'play' to play CD, 'stop' to stop

 

[Music Fanatic]

I have a Rotel RLC-900 AC line filter and power sequencer. I know of no other product quite like it (for power sequencing). It users a sensor that plugs into my receiver to allow me to turn off my entire system with one button press. I like it a lot!

But it was a little complicated to optimally set up, and I don't remember any tutorials at the store.

 

[pbirkett]

No quality issues here either with my new RA-01 amplifier, which I've had for nearly 1.5 years. I still regard it as being one of the best buys I've made in my system, and for its price, the very fact I've not been tempted to upgrade (and I've since upgraded everything else) speaks highly for its quality IMO.

Not only that, but its build quality is superb, greater than most amps available for its price or even above, and it even looks expensive.

The amp is only 40 watts per channel, but gives a gutsy display within its limits, and as long as one doesnt expect it to shake their foundations, they wont be disappointed. Being as it is a 40 watter, its probably not suited to large rooms, more for a bedroom really, but still.... And it sounds excellent with B&W loudspeakers - I heard with the DM602S3, and although I preferred the Missions, I didnt really have the room for the B&Ws. Almost wish I had tried the smaller B&W DM601S3 now...

@ OakIris, the Rotel RA-1060 does come with a headphone output, and the quality of it is not bad at all.