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Whatever happened to Rotel?

Deacon

Deacon

Humble Servant
Back in the S&V days there was a time when every request for suggestions of amps and pre/pros would garner a dearth of shout outs and recommendations to Rotel.

Never heard anyone complain that had a Rotel.

Never saw any bad reviews about Rotel.

And as I think about it I have not heard anyone mention Rotel gear anywhere in years.

What happened to Rotel to make it fall out of favor so much. Did Outlaw completely supplant Rotel as the de facto budget separates?
 
I think part of it is, at least as far as I have noticed, is on this forum we just don't have the same number of discussions about the subject.

If the right deal came along on a Rotel I wouldn't hesitate to buy it. I love my ATI and I would like to have a Bryston piece someday.
 
My first separate amp was a Rotel (1070 if memory serves). I complained about its noise. I sent it back and bought a Parasound Halo A23. And then bought two more A23's.
 
Having a couple Rotel amps I've kept tabs on them pretty well. Right around the time they came out with the RSP-1572 Surround Processor, they revamped the entire line. Not only did they change the designs visually, but for 4-5 years they were producing almost exclusively, class D amps. Which I know, wouldn't really fly amongst this group. Now they are producing some fresh new products again including new AB designs. I'm still a fan but have access to products it wouldn't make sense for me not to buy. So I've gone with different brands.

All that said, I've been incredibly happy with my two used Rotel amps. (RB-1090 & RMB-1095).
 
I loved my RSP1066 pre-pro. It's boxed up now because its outdated.
 
I remember debating the value of Rotel over Anthem, Parasound, Outlaw, and other mainstream semi-afforable gear. I was never a big fan and tended to put Parasound above them and took a ton of crap for my position. I didn't like the way the B&W dealers were marketing them in the stores, either - often suggesting the only best match for B&W speakers was Rotel gear, which is just silly.
 
^^
I remember that. When I took mine to shop in N Austin for firmware update, the salesman ask me what kind of B&W speakers I had.
Another thing I remember about Rotel was they seemed to not have the latest bells/whistles, just basic stuff.
 
I also questioned the expense of the faceplates versus the quality of the innards. It seemed to me, back then, that they spent relatively too much on the heavy-duty extruded faceplates while the innards were accepably good, but not nearly as good as the faceplate. It felt like marketing gimmickry to me and caused me to question their quality and motives versus the prices they were charging.

That said, I never felt they were poor performers. They were good at their jobs. I did see more failures than with other brands, but that could have been due to more people having their products rather than a sign of lower quality.
 
I still have a 5 channel amp in the mix of stuff, 1095 I think, and bought it either 10 or 11 years ago this month. Been very happy with it. I also have one of their receivers just sitting in the basement next to a pair of B&W N803's that I haven't used since I went with SVS speakers six years ago. I don't how well there stuff is now, but I've been very happy with what I have bought.
 
If you go to their website now, it looks as if they only have 1 A/V receiver and 1 pre-pro. Both are out-dated and only support 7.1 channels with none of the new processing. Lots missing here compared to today's A/V equipment.
 
Flint said:
I remember debating the value of Rotel over Anthem, Parasound, Outlaw, and other mainstream semi-afforable gear. I was never a big fan and tended to put Parasound above them and took a ton of crap for my position. I didn't like the way the B&W dealers were marketing them in the stores, either - often suggesting the only best match for B&W speakers was Rotel gear, which is just silly.
Click to expand...


Don't forget all those topics about how Rotel (or was it Yamaha??) doesn't mate well with Klipsch speakers.


I have a Rotel RB-850 I bought about a year ago. I like it.
 
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