5Hero

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
Less than 1 month

Price Paid:  $50.00 from eBay

Summary:
Came accross one of these a while ago, £50 on eBay, not working. Soon traced to a set of blown outputs on the left channel. Replaced the outputs on both channels and soon realised what a nice sounding amp it was. The key here is 'what you see is what you get' - for the money you can't expect tank like build or enough power output to weld sheet metal but what you do get has been well thought out.

Had it running from a Soundblaster Audigy platinum soundcard on my main PC driving a pair of Celestion Ditton 4's (virtually unknown mid size floorstander, twin 8" bass and soft dome tweeters), nothing more than an Alps volume control inline between it and the soundcard. The Audigy is a mid level soundcard and has never been that musical but the first thing I noticed was how open the midrange had become, combined with a tight punchy bass and sparkling treble...sparkling but not overpowering by any means.

Ran that system for a while, I'd always liked the Dittons but this amp really made them sound good...even running .wav and DVD audio from a PC. Maybe not club sound level stuff but a nice system to really sit down and listen to, especially on acoustic and vocals...very transparent with a good soundfield.

Did try it once in my main system, from a Pioneer reference CD driving my Celestion A3's. Slightly disappointed there, it did sound a bit too pushed and the treble was far brighter than before. But then the A3's are a mammoth speaker and the Rotel would've been punching way above its weight if it could drive them - I think the recommended amp is 250-300w/ch there, go figure.

All in all a nice amp, was quite sorry to see it go.

Strengths:
Less is more...what you see is what you get, no-frills audio. Decent quality 4mm speaker plug sockets, gold plated input sockets, Black Gate elcaps, toroidal transformer, symmetrical amp layout...all jargon for nice quality audio.

Good power output and tight bass at volume for the rated power output...a good choice for a first venture into higher end audio.

Can be run bridged mono for greater power output if you have another one for the other channel...be careful though, it's pushed hard when bridged, especially if you have low impedance speakers. Probably the reason mine was broken.

Weaknesses:
Single power supply transformer, Might sound slightly bright on some speakers, especially ones with metal tweeters.

Only has a single set of speaker terminals so no bi-wiring capability.

At first glance it's black, like 99% of consumer grade audio gear (did they ever make these in other colours?). But at least the front panel is skinned in brushed metal and looks nice quality up close. Not visually stunning by any means but then it's not designed to be, it still looks very decent.

Similar Products Used:
Technics SE-A900 pre/power

Pioneer A400

Price Paid:  $1000.00 from Axent Audio

Summary:
I decided to buy two of these little amps and bi-amp them to my Monitor Audio speakers I was using at the time. The sound? Punchy, good detail and nice transparent midrange. I've been a firm believer that you'll be more surprised by great sounding budget gear in the right system than by mis-matched overpriced high end gear, and these amps are no exception. I now run Castle Harlech quarter wave floor standers and except from a 'bloom' at the bottom end the Rotels can't be faulted. A previous reviewer mentioned he had trouble driving his Castles, I have had no problem at all and I suggest perhaps this is due to his room shape or floor construction - this can have an enormous effect on the sound of any hi fi. I've now bought another 2 RB970's off Ebay and will now have a tinker with monoblocking 4 of them. Or try multi channel music with my DVD audio player and Castle Tays (3 of them, centre & rears) Good fun this hifi stuff! Micromega T-Drive/T-Dac Rotel RB990 Pre Rotel RB970mk2 x 2 Pro-Ject Perspective/Trichord Dino phono stage Nordost & Audioquest cables

Strengths:
A Ferrari disguised as a Ford. Why pay more?

Weaknesses:
Makes me feel sick remembering how much money I've spent chasing the high end! Speaker terminals could be better. Boring black ?

Similar Products Used:
Plinius pre/power Nad Silverline Integrated Musical Fidelity class A integrated

Price Paid:  $400.00 from Hi Fi Center Vancouver

Summary:
I have used 3 60 watt amps in my life so far. All were high current designs. The Denon was good, but had a bit of harshness to its sound and wasn't as powerful on music peaks. The Luxman was the smoothest sounding of the 3, but lacked current on music peaks and was the weakest of the three amps. The Rotel however was pretty darn good. On bass notes, it was strong and tight. This amp has plenty of current on music peaks. On some classical music it scared me when the woofer kicked out. I haven't heard that quality from the other two units I've owned. This amp has plenty of current for 60 watts. I say its under rated. More like 70. Anyway the highs are quite clear with not as much brittleness or harshness like the Denon had. I say its a little bright though. I had Paradigm 5 SE Mk2 speaker which the treble was a little soft, so that helped me a little. The soundstage was quite good, though I have heard better imaging from higher end amps. For the money though these are great buys. I sold off my Rotel gear and am currently running my old Luxman, but I'm now looking for an amp to compliment the Lux since its power output is rather weak. I'm looking for the RB-1050 which is the 970s current model. As a side note I had the 980 Rotel preamp running with my old Rotel amp.

Strengths:
Lots of current for music transients

Weaknesses:
A little bright in the high end

Similar Products Used:
Denon PMA-300, Luxman LV-103

Price Paid:  $300.00

Summary:
Got a great deal to get these power amps...

I used 2 of this AMPs in conjunction with the RC971 to do bi-amping...Yielding a total of 120w to drive my NHTs....Wow, simply amazing, I got layers of layers of soundstage coupled with realsitic imaging. Bass is taut and clean, instruments sounds accurate and vocals sounded grain-free....

Certainly makes a great combo when used in a Bi-amp config.

My conclusion is that : If you are after a warm and relaxinf sound, look elsewhere....But if you want razor sharp and accurate sound, with a rthymic ability to get you involve with the music, then this is it....

Strengths:
Great power, smooth sound, very analytical

Weaknesses:
Lack a bit of warmness at the midrange

Similar Products Used:
Marantz PM7000, MF X series, Exposure 20, Jolida Hybrid, Nad 370

Price Paid:  $200.00

Summary:
Current system:
Rotel 971 cd
Spark 110 tube preamp
Linn Tukan speakers
Sunfire True sub
Kimber PBJ and 4TC cables

The 970mkII in my system lacks involvement and musicality. I have no idea why this occurs however the little 930 sounds so much better. The 930 compared to the 970 is more involving and just sounds down right musical.

If you know of someone who wants a 970mkII I have one that I'm willing to part with!!!

Strengths:
None that I've heard

Weaknesses:
Not very musical, hard to listen to for extended periods. Two dimensional.

Similar Products Used:
Luxman M-02, Rotel RB-930, Carver 1.0t