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Top Ranked Products from ROTEL.
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Rating
Reviewed by:
Yann
(Audio Enthusiast)
Review Date
August 14, 2009Overall Rating
 4 of 5
Value Rating
4 of 5
Used product for
Less than 1 month |
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Review 1 of 29
Price Paid:
$0.00 Summary:
Just bought this on ebay to complement my RA 971 mk2 and Acoustic Energy AE120s.
Oh man what a difference! I've had my system for 8 years, despite the fact that I enjoyed it greatly, I always found it a bit limited on the bass side. The added 8 year old 981 gave it punch and control, a totally new experience on such an old system. Who would believe it.
The problem was that my lovely AE120s were power hungry and the integrated amp struggled to deliver the juice at times... I like it loud at parties.
There you go, 125GBP power amp that rocks my world!
Yann
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Rating
Reviewed by:
Flammen
(Audio Enthusiast)
Review Date
June 16, 2008Overall Rating
4 of 5
Value Rating
 5 of 5
Used product for
More than 1 year Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5,
1.00 votes
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Review 2 of 29
Price Paid:
$0.00 Summary:
Well, it´s often emphasized, that this amplifier sounds very good in bridged mode.
Granted - but there´s an even better way of doing it if you can live with a little less on the effect side compared to the bridged mode, namely "pseudo-balanced" mode.
You´ll of cause need two RB 981´, and then you short-fuse one channel on each of the 981´s by the help of a shortfused jack. Then connect each channel of the cable connecting the pre-amplifier to the remaining channel on each of the 981´s - and the power-anplifiers are in pseudo-balanced mode.
The result is an astonizing amount of control because the transistors in one side of this stereo-amplifier now is dedicated to "dampen" the signal when needed. The noise-floor comes down to virtually nothing and the dynamics gets astonising - even copared to the bridged mode.
WARNING: You are never to "pseudo-balance" an amplifier that´s in bridged mode - make sure, that it´s in the normal stereo mode before you try this trick. You can´t do this with a "class a"- or a tube-amplifier either, but you can off cause do it with any "normal" solid state amplifier.
I have listened to my combination of two Pseudobalanced 981´s for years and would´nt dream of switcing them with anything else. Well - not at this price at least...
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Rating
Reviewed by:
jleonardk
(Audio Enthusiast)
Review Date
December 30, 2006Overall Rating
5 of 5
Value Rating
5 of 5
Used product for
More than 1 year Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5,
2.00 votes
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Review 3 of 29
Price Paid:
$380.00
from ebay Summary:
Rotel RB981 Amp ? It's wonderful. Very good build quality. I am now using a Rotel RC972 preamp and the noise level is non existent. With CD in pause and the volume turned up above listening level the speaker output is nill. Hit play and my room comes to life. I have no balance adjust, but no problem Dianna Krall is center stage. The highs are crisp the mids clear and the bass tight. Every instrument sounds natural and the detail is incredible. My speakers are Phase Technology 745ES, the tweeters are precision, lively, never harsh - can listen for hours and not fatigue. I really like Phase Tech speakers. CD's I thought were poor recording quality now sound incredible. If you have this amp and don't like it, then you need to try a better source. There is absolutely nothing bad too report on the RB981. Similar Products Used:
Sim Audio, Audio Research, Carver
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Rating
Reviewed by:
hein88@sbcglobal.net
(Audio Enthusiast)
Review Date
July 29, 2005Overall Rating
5 of 5
Value Rating
5 of 5
Used product for
More than 1 year Visitors rate this review
3.20 of 5,
5.00 votes
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Review 4 of 29
Price Paid:
$600.00
from Classic Stereo Summary:
I love this amp. Its a Rotel classic for sure. I have pushed Infinity Overture 1's,B&W 805's, B&W 801's and Legacy Classics with this amp and I have never been dissapointed. Always true to the music, never bright and never shy with the bass.
I recently bridged this amp to drive the HTM4S and I must admit that it sounds better then the Marantz MA 700's.
If you can find this amp on E-bay or garage sale, don't hesitate to purchase. Strengths:
Detail, great bass for the size, never runs hot, reliable, sound,sound,sound Weaknesses:
Rotel discontinued it Similar Products Used:
Hafler 9085, Marants MA 500, MA700 Rotel 980bx, Adcom 5802
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Rating
Reviewed by:
krazeboner
(Audio Enthusiast)
Review Date
July 24, 2005Overall Rating
5 of 5
Value Rating
5 of 5
Used product for
More than 1 year Visitors rate this review
3.67 of 5,
6.00 votes
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Review 5 of 29
Price Paid:
$400.00
from Ebay Summary:
This amp has been in my system for a little over a year. I picked this amp off Ebay based on previous positive expereince with Rotel products, as well as the endorsement of the midfi shop where I bought my speakers(Paradigm Studio 40s). I have not been dissapointed, to say the least.
What I was looking for was an amp that wasn't afraid to give me some low end, and had the power to accurately define both instruments, and where they were within the mix. Boy did this amp deliver.
For rock, this amp has been heaven. Guitars sound just as they should, and the bass slides in below and just drives the music. Vocals are laid out well on top. There is enough detail to pick up the nuances of each piece of music, but not so much that it sounds overly-analytical.
Chamber music has been stunning as well. Lower-voiced instruments are robust and well defined; mid-voiced instruments have plenty of detail and warmth, and the higher instruments are able to sing without being strained.
To my ears, this amp has also been able to handle full-orchesta just as well. Sections are defined both musically and spatially. The dynamic range provided by this amp truely shined here. Strengths:
Full, warm sound. Plenty of power. Weaknesses:
None Similar Products Used:
Carver ???
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