Rotel Owner's Thread

I've seen a number of references/comments about Rotel products in various thread, but I couldn't find one dedicated to just owners.

I thought I'd see if there is any interest in an "Owner's Only" thread. This would be a place for support, comments and suggestions from current owners of Rotel products. Granted, there is always Club Rotel , but that may not satisfy everyone.

Anyway, just for the record, my first purchase was an RB1070 amp that I was using with a Denon 2805 as a pre/pro. I found that it did wonders driving a set of Klipsch RF5s.

Because of that improvement, I began thinking of creating a stereo only setup just for music. I added an RC1070 preamp and was even more surprised at the difference. There is now a much better defined soundstage.

As you can guess, the next step is adding the RCD-1072 CD player. My local dealer doesn't stock them, so I have one on order, which should be coming in next week.

With the sad state of DVD-A and SACD I'd be surprised if that happened. Don't get me wrong, I'd buy one because I have a nice collection of DVD-A and SACDs, but there just doesn't seem much support (with few exceptions) for those formats any more.

You will have one heck of a system once everything is unboxed and up and running.

Nice system. I haven't checked out the "D"s yet. I'm still trying to decide whether or not to replace the speakers in the system.

The 1080p DVD player sounds interesting.

I just picked up my Rotel RCD-1072 CD player today and have been listening to some of my favorite CDs just to see if a $700 dedicated player makes that much of a difference. Boy, does it ever.

I had to re-listen to some things just to make sure I wasn't imagining things, trying to convince myself that the purchase was "really" necessary.

As an example, I'm way to familiar with Once More With Feeling, the soundtrack from the infamous Buffy musical episode. Whereas before I heard a mass of sound, I am now actually able to pick out individual voices in ensembles.

I put on the Alison Krauss/Union Station Live concert, and not only is there pinpoint locations of each performer, but a greater sense of "air" or space around them.

This thing is built like a tank. I suspect I will be tied up for several days discovering nuances I have never heard before.

Actually, I think that any Rotel product is fair game for discussion, as long as we don't get too far afield.

Before the Rotel, I was using a Pioneer Elite 45A DVD/DVD-A/SACD player, as well as a Mitsubishi DD8020 DVD/DVD-A player. Those are both fine players and in fact I am still using the Pioneer as my main DVD player and for DVD-A and SACD playback.

However, since I started on this Rotel journey and have discovered there actually are useful, audible improvements in a dedicated stereo only setup, I got really curious about what the 1072 could do. Every review I could find basically confirmed each other that this would be a solid performer, so I decided to give it a try.

I've now had an opportunity to listen to a few more CDs from the collection which which I am extremely familiar. I am definitely hearing things I haven't before, such as subtle harmonies in choral passages. There is also a depth to the soundfield which seem to extend out from the speakers, almost as if I had surround channels kicked in.

The is a greater sense of overall presence. Now, factor in that these are only my perceptions not backed up by any scientific measurements. At this point I would have to agree with others who have said that I would be amazed at how good a standard CD could sound, given the right equipment.

For the record, I am a web designer and have no vested interest in Rotel or the B&W group, so don't take any of these comments as a "sales pitch".

Obviously I am quite happy with the purchase.