Price Paid:  $700.00 from Roberts Audio Video

Summary:
This review is a bit late in that this model has been replaced by the RX 1050. I hesitated to post this review in that I had many problems with the RX-975 and its companion CD changer RCC-955. I wanted a "warm" sounding 2 channel receiver, especially in the "presence" range. I planned to buy the Denon DRA-755RD but it was just discontinued at the time (Feb 2000). After listening to Onkyo and Marantz products I found and purchased the RX-975. The first sample had a persistent "hum" audible when music was played at low levels in quiet rooms. This "hum" came from the "preamp" section. I came to find that even the dealer's unit had this problem. Three units later both I and the dealer recieved the "modified" series which had a distinctive "blue" seal on the box. Though the new unit did not have the "ground hum", it did still produce a midfrequency "pop" in the speakers when turned on. I just accepted this as a high-end "feature" with a lack of "relays/capacitors" in the switching circuits. To summarize the sound, it has as warm midrange for solid state, yet adequately handles the details of cymbals and violins. The sound is laid back, a quality I need when listening to Jazz that contains a significant amout of brass. On the down side of the sound, the deep bass is lacking and the midbass could be better controlled. It also is a bit "slow" with dynamic "theater" sounds. I use the receiver with B&W DM-603/604 S2 series speakers. At times I used a Integra EQ-35 equalizer in the preout/mainin loop to boost the bass to my taste. This leads to my current and most troublesome problem. I found that the DIGITAL Volume control circuit to be unstable, especially when an external processor is used in the pre-out/main-in loop. When I bought the RCC-955 changer, the unbuffered power switch of the RCC-955 would cause an electical "pulse" to be send reciever and cause a high pitched "crackling" sound at the speakers. Also, the receiver's volume would "drop", though the digital display on the amp did not display this problem. One touch of the RX-975's volume control would restore the original volume level. No processor was used in this case. The worst aspect of this problem was when the Integra Equalizer was connected to the pre-out/main-in loop. In this case the unbuffered power switch of the RCC-955 would cause an electical "pulse" to be sent to the reciever and cause a high pitched "crackling" sound at the speakers at MAXIMUM VOLUME. Yet, receiver's digital display on did not display this problem and again one touch of the volume control brought the volume to normal levels. To avoid this problem, I removed the equalizer and made sure the CD player was turned on before or as the same time the Receiver was powered on. Again this digital volume control problem was due to the "noisey" power on ciruitry of the Rotel Changer. I did not have this problem with any other CD player or source. I would count this "volume" control issue as just bad luck with the RCC-955 changer if it weren't for the fact that the "volume control knob" now has problems increasing the volume of the unit even though the "remote" controls the volume properly. I had originally thought that the unit was "over built" but for the past year we have been hearing all sorts of "creaking" noises from the chasis as the unit plays for an hour or more. As much as I like the sound of this unit (and the Rotel sound in general), I cannot recommend it. I would caution other people to try in-home demos or ask the sales staff to turn on/off associated equipment when considering Rotel products. Just as an aside, the Rotel Factory seemed willing but unable to remedy these problems. The RCC-955 CD changer eventually died its own death out of Warranty despite the factory's attempts to save it. Also note that there are numerous postings documenting problems with the for the A/V Rotel RSX-965 off this same era.

Strengths:
Warm midrange for solid state, yet adequately handles the details of cymbals and violins. The sound is laid back, a quality I need when listening to Jazz that contains a significant amout of brass. Lots of inputs - excellent preprogrammed remote.

Weaknesses:
Unstable digital volume control which can be "max'ed" by the power on cycle of other Rotel products with unbuffered power switches. Lack deep bass and lacks dynamics. Early units had ground "hum".

Similar Products Used:
Denon DRA-755RD, Denon DRA-685, Onkyo 8511, Marantz SR-68, and older Onkyo TX-37 and TX-SV313PRO

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I thought I should add the following to my previous review: I just conducted a little wiring experiment that is so good, it's become permanent. Yes, I think the Rotel has a pretty good preamp section. But if your CD player has a variable output, try plugging it directly into the receiver's preamp input. I'm now using a Denon DCD-1650AR, and its little volume control is better than the digital control in the Rotel. Soundstage much improved. Tube preamp is next. Happy listening. -Josh¿

Price Paid:  $700.00 from ListenUp in Denver, Colorado

Summary:
I stumbled onto this baby during my search for a good pair of speakers. I was building a system from scratch, and knew relatively little about audio. I discovered the Dynaudio Audience 52s, which are absolutely superb speakers. The shop that demoed them was powering them with this receiver, and the sound and build quality of the Rotel greatly impressed me. I had previously been considering 5.1 receivers, but I began to see that you can't touch this quality of sound with a 5.1 receiver, unless you want to spend over 2X as much. 700 bucks is a steal for this unit, and it should keep me happy for years to come.

My system:

Rotel RX975 Receiver
Dynaudio Audience 52 speakers
Velodyne VLF 810 subwoofer
Sony CDP-CE375 cd player (eventually to be replaced by Musical Fidelity A3)
Monster speaker wire, interconnects (also hopefully to be replaced)

Strengths:
crisp, detailed, powerful, easy to use. The thing is typical Rotel--built like a tank.

Weaknesses:
none come to mind.

Similar Products Used:
looked at various sony, denon, onkyo 5.1 receivers. hehe.

Price Paid:  $630.00 from GNP AudioVideo

Summary:

A whole season had passed since I accidentally shorted the speaker connections and fried my Kenwood VR-2080. I thought that thing (overrated at 100wpc) would keep me happy for a long time, but after its death, I started playing with much better stuff like my brother's Marantz SR-63, which I'm told is among Marantz most 'beefy' receivers.

Because of the good experience I had with Marantz, I wandered to our trusted audiophile shop, GNP Audio Video in Pasadena, CA, with full expectation of purchasing a Marantz SR4120. I was then introduced the soon to be phased out Rotel RX-975. I gave it a listen and was very amazed with its performance and was instantly sold despite it being in a higher price range. when listening, the word "control" kept popping up in my mind. I took it home and hooked up my Clements 107di bookshelves. All I can say is GAWD! Sub-bass out of a bookshelf speaker! Indeed the 107's respond +/- 3dB down to 40Hz, which the Marantz SR-63 brought them down to often, but never with this much precision and musicality. I already loved the 107's, but the RX-975 made them sound like full range floor standing units. I can't wait to hear what it will sound like when I get my 207di(A)'s, Clements' top end bookshelf.

Imaging was as crisp as ever, but the biggest draw to this unit is its authoritative control over the entire band of sound, no matter how challenging the music.

My system:

Marantz CD-46
Monster Cable 300 MkII Interconnect
Rotel RX-975
Tara Labs Prism speaker cable
Clements 107di (on spiked stands)

Strengths:
Clean and powerful sound results in effortless control of the entire frequency range, more inputs than I know what to do with, nice programmable remote, excellent build quality

Weaknesses:
Speaker terminals don't seem up to the same build quality as the rest of the unit

Similar Products Used:
Marantz SR-63, Kenwood VR-2080

Summary:
The best two channel receiver out there. I have been auditioning more expensive separates for months and thought that was the way to go. Wrong. Why would somebody want a preamp or integrtaed with no tone controls, headphone jack or phono board? Look no further and save hundreds or even thousands. And you say you're an audiophile?...huh.

Strengths:
detail, clarity, warmth (almost tube-like)

Weaknesses:
none at this price

Similar Products Used:
arcam, krell, b&k, etc.