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ROTEL RB-1050
ROTEL RB-1050
MSRP: $ 399.00

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Rating
Reviewed by:

Rick Carra

(AudioPhile)

Review Date
October 10, 2008

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

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Review 1 of 7

Price Paid:  $250.00 from ebay

Summary:
I bought this amp after I purchased Paradigm studio 40's. The 1050 replaced a Parasound HCA 1000A. The Parsaound was to bright with the 40's for my taste and i had a rotel rb 971 that i was using and it sounded good with my new speakers so I bought the 1050 to use in a bi amp configuration with the 971 and I must say it sounds pretty good. I have always liked the rotel sound It really matches with the paradigms The highs are silky smooth and the mid range is excellent! It sounds like the instruments are right there in the room with you. You cant go wrong with this amp, For a budget system It is hard to beat!! This amp does not get hot at all.

Strengths:
Imaging, Power, durability.

Weaknesses:
None!

Similar Products Used:
Rotel Adcom Parasound Yamaha


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Rating
Reviewed by:

ryandunk12345

(Audio Enthusiast)

Review Date
October 2, 2007

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 3.00 votes

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Review 2 of 7

Price Paid:  $400.00 from eBay

Summary:
Excellent amplifier for the price! This amp drives my B&W DM602 S3's. They claim it it 70WX2 channels, I'd have to say this is a conservative estimate. This amplifier has all the power I'll ever need! And, even if I turn up the volume to deafening levels - this amp doesn't break a sweat! It is hardly even lukewarm to the touch - at very high playback levels - awesome! Very detailed, accurate, uncolored sound, a truly great bargain! You certainly will have a hard time doing any better than this for 400$ If you're on a budget like me - but still want a powerful but musical & accurate amp - you really can't go wrong with the RB-1050.

Strengths:
Plenty of power, more than I'll ever use, uncolored, detailed, a great performer. Nice and heavy - appears to be very well constructed - it has a HUGE transformer inside - heavy duty components like these in such a modestly priced amp is great.

Weaknesses:
None.

Similar Products Used:
Sony, Crown, NAD, Sherwood Newcastle, Arcam


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Rating
Reviewed by:
mdunjic
(AudioPhile)

Review Date
December 25, 2006

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

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Review 3 of 7

Price Paid:  $0.00 from Oakville Audio

Summary:
I use this amplifier together with RC 1070 preamp and pair of Monitpr Audio Radious 90 monitor speakers as my second stereo / AV system (DVD, Digital Cable receiver and TV hooked up to it) in my living room.

The sound is very nice, no listenning fatigue, movie dialogue and music are crisp at normal to loud listenning volumes which is perfectlly fine with my listenning style. At louder volumes than normal for me signs of compression may pop up.

I am very satisfied with sound quality although I agree with many that RC 1070 pre-amp is the weak link although decent in its own right. I may replace it with Dolby Digital Processor one day.

My main stareo system consists of Krell KRC-3 preamp, pair of Quad 909 power amps and Neat Motive 3 floorstanding speakers. It sounds better but it costs 3 times more!

Strengths:
Afordable price, lots of power reserve, mostly civilised highs, good bass and good midrange not far from Quad quality for third a price :-), robust and can be daisy chained for convenience.

Weaknesses:
Compression at very high, head banging volumes (who cares :-). Nothing else.

Similar Products Used:
Quad 306, Quad 909.


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Rating
Reviewed by:

gbod

(Audio Enthusiast)

Review Date
July 14, 2005

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
4.50 of 5, 4.00 votes

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Review 4 of 7

Price Paid:  $400.00 from soundsmart

Summary:
I use this amplifier with the Rotel 1070 pre-amp and the 1070 line CD player. In fact I am so pleased with the performance, and the way it drives my Krix Liryx loudspeakers, I am getting a second one for bi-amping. On the unit itself, although Rotel market it as a multi-purpose amp, what you get for relatively few dollars includes strong construction, a cool running amplifier, with enough power supply stability and reserves to provide excellent dynamics, bass and an open stage. The amplifier is built around a fairly massive toroidal transformer, and is equipped with individual power circuits for each channel. The signal capacitors are WIMA (a so called audiophile brand) and the power reservoir capacitors are by BHC. The circuitry for each channel is symmetrical, with heat sinks separate for each set of transistors (like a "dual mono" set up). Interestingly, ROTEL do not adverstise the fact that the construction and components used are the same as the higher power (and more expensive) models, making this amp more of a bargain. The 70 W per channel rating is imho conservative, as it seems to peak higher than that, and provided you use efficient speakers, should be ample for rock, classical and more intimate jazz music. On the pre-amp, I think this is the weakest link, being based around mid-level op-amps, and I suspect I will get a lot more insight and detail out of the power amp if I upgrade it. Recommend you have a listen even if your budget for a pre-power combination is higher than the cost of this unit, but I would try out with other pre-amps as well. For the dollars get a lot more in componentry , construction and sound quality than any other product I've looked at, even at much higher cost.

Strengths:
Power supply, dynamics, soundstaging, components used

Weaknesses:
Some brightness and treble grain but possibly contributed to by the pre-amp.

Similar Products Used:
Arcam integrated


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Rating
Reviewed by:

AAG

(Audio Enthusiast)

Review Date
February 20, 2005

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
4.75 of 5, 4.00 votes

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Review 5 of 7

Price Paid:  $749.00 from Len Wallis Hi-Fi

Summary:
I bought this amplifier (purchase price is in Australian dollars) after upgrading my speakers when I found I needed greater power than my 300B monoblocks could deliver. I'm more than happy with this amp - it has clear, delicate and nimble performance which compares well to much more expensive amps - I'd describe it as a "poor man's Bryston". It is a high current design, which makes it seem to pack much more punch than its nominal 70W output would suggest. Exceptional value.

Strengths:
Clear, crisp sound which never seems to struggle. Pretty much uncoloured.

Weaknesses:
Can sound just the slightest bit bright with some speakers, but it is a very minor quibble. Nothing else in the price range compares.

Similar Products Used:
NAD, Pioneer, earlier Rotel, Arcam, Technics, Panasonic


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