Price, performance

power cord

At first listen I was dissapointed. The more I listened the more I liked it. Then I started tweaking. First the spakers cables. From Nordost to RhinoCables (JR design) opened up the highs and smoothed out the vocals. Then I changed the power cord to the RhinoCables.com cord and fell in love with the amp. Wasnt a big believer in power cords until I threw away that skinny OEM cord. Cymbals are more noticeable, bass guitar and kick drum became tighter with better pitch. With a little tweaking this is a great amplifier.

Similar Products Used:

Denon, NAD, Marantz

Awesome, smooth power output. Exceptional detail.

none!

What can i say? I have read and studied hi fi for many many years, and i searched hia nd low, and listened to alot of equipment before i chose the Rotel to power my system. While slightly overbudget, it is not a choice i would ever regret! Rotel deserve every accolade they get for their amps - they are indeed giant killers. This amp is overpowered for my speaker selection (Miarge F3''s) but what it does most importantly is handle the large variety of music i throw at it - pop, rock, dance, hip hop, classical, it does it all. The power on tap makes dynamic shifts in music particularly delightful. I tested this amp against a Parasound pre/power combo (which cost alot more) and sililarly priced Denon and Rotel integrated amps. There was no comparison - the Rotel was streets ahead in the power and the detail of delivery. Incidently, this amp does moveis very well also, but i primarily use it for two channel music listening. Make no mistake - this amp proves that two box pre/power amplification is unbeatable.

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Variety of similar and lower priced Denon, Marantz integrated amps.

Powerfull, Smooth Sound, Price

Tranformer Hum

For anyone interested in a high powered, sweeting sounding amplifier this surely is a MUST to audition. Many people are put off by Rotels relatively low prices which they sometimes associate with poor quality.Well beleive me nothing is further from the truth and these amplifiers can really mix it with the best.

My setup is fairly typical of most nowdays and is asked to perform well in both two channel and multi channel home theatre environments. This in itself is a dificult task as it requires both a degree of finesse and outright power. The RB1070 is just perfect for this with its huge toroidal transformer, well filtered power supply and carefully selected components it is capable of a massive 130WPC while still remaining in full control over the speaker.

Sound wise I would describe it as very open and neutral while at times it can be just a little bright in the treble. As stated in other reviews on this site this is certainly not a serious problem and never results in listener fatigue.

In my system I actually use two 1070's and bi amp my B&W P6's. This brings a definite improvement and removes any trace of brightness that was otherwise present. I would however like to stress that this is certainly not a necessity and one RB1070 on its own is a more than capable perfomer. As a side note the Rotels seem a particularly good match for B&W speakers. I have heard several systems now that consist of products from these two companies and they always seem to sound just right.

From a features point of view the RB1070 is also well specified. On the rear panel is the usual RCA input sockets which are of course gold plated. The speaker binding posts are of a large 3 way design that, after removing the small rubber plugs from the ends, will except bare wire, spade terminals or banana plugs. Also of interest, especially to those of you who are likely to have mulitple amps in your setups, is the connection for a remote voltage trigger. The socket excepts a 3.5mm headphone style plug and which when feed with a voltage between 5 to 30VDC will bring the amplifier out of its standby state ready for operation.

Internally the amplifier features electronic short circuit protection which rapidly disconnects the load should a short circuit condition occur. A small red LED on the front panel will light to notify you when this has activated. Also found under the cover is a small jumper which allows the amplifier to be reconfigured for bridged mono. In this mode the amplifier is capable of producing a whopping 300 WPC but I would not recommmend this for anything other than perhaps driving a subwoofer as the noise floor goes through the roof in this mode.

As for the appearance of this amplifier you will either love it or hate it. It is finished in a black brushed alluminium which is generally very well machined. It looks to have its heatsinks mounted on the front but this is not actually the case and is more cosmetic than anything else. This gives a very agressive look to the component which is perhaps more suited to a powerfull home theatre system than an elegant HiFi but this is a matter of personal taste.

On the whole this is a very nice and affordable amplifier and as I said at the start of this review if you are in the market for an amplifier of this power it is definitely worth a look.


My System consists of:

Tag Mclaren AV32R
Rotel RB1070 x 3
Rotel RB970BX
Sony DVPS7700 DVD/CD Player
B&W P6 Front Speakers
B&W HTM Matrix Center Speaker
B&W P4 Rear Speakers

Similar Products Used:

Rotel RB970BX

Tight and powerful bass, fair mids and highs

Highs just a bit tizzy, but not causing listener fatigue

I didn't actually purchase this, my friend did. I listened to this amp through Dynaudio A50's, a Rotel 972 preamp, and a Rotel 955 CD. The bass on this unit really opened up my Dyns. With my Audiolab, the bass was wooly, though extended. With the Rotel, and similarly suited ATI, the Dyns were more dynamic, and the highs became more prominent, though not fatiguing. The ATI was not as clear through the mids. I also recently auditioned a Bryston 3b. This unit was more refined than all of the above, and still maintained the visceral bass quality as well. For the money, the ATI and Rotel represent a good bargain.

I listen to rock and pop primarily. I used several Sting albums to audition these amps, as well as a Natalie Merchant and Sarah McLaughlin cd.

I hope this helps someone.

Similar Products Used:

ATI 1502, Audiolab 8000S, Bryston 3b

Power, Very detailed sound

None

What can I say? Nothing has prepared me for this upgrade to say the least. I've decided to put on a Rotel
RB-1070 Stereo Power Amp to beef up my rear channels. So what is the result? Nothing short of stunning.
What steered me to this decision was that I found that my rears were a bit weedy in power, at the same time
my Marantz SR-680 while powerful, seemed to struggle during heavy scenes which led to compressed sounds
coming from the rears. With the power channeled to rears, I noticed that my front was also affected.
This was of course noticeable in the forms of grainy, bright and suppressed superficial loudness that can be fatiguing at times.

Well not anymore! With this Rotel amp powering my rears, my Marantz receiver now just has to channel
all its might towards the front right/left speakers. When I first switched on the Rotel RB-1070, I was utterly amazed
by its lightness, enveloping aural sound coming from my Tannoy M1s (listening to Astro Radio). I was stunned at
how clear and crisp were the sounds from the rears in DPL. I haven't noticed this before from any system I've auditioned from Hi-Fi demo HT systems.

Next I put on Final Fantasy trailer, and guess what?….. I'm stunned yet again. The warmth and power now snap
into focus. Clear, crisp and rich bass can be clearly audible from my listening position. All the sounds now match
my front channels superbly. Sound effects now come from above, behind and eerily very near beside me when
called for. This goes for the Hollow Man trailer as well.
Again and again this Rotel marvel piece stun me to the spot. Playing The Patriot trailer literally nail me to the wall.

I found myself determining to review my whole DVD collection again. Power is the word. Crisp and clear sound
icing the sound quality of my ever improving system. Now I have 3 amps powering 3 different sets of speakers.
This I think is what makes this buy the best upgrade I've ever done to my system……..yet!

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Marantz MA500

Clean sound
Loud
Dynamic
Good Bass
Good Mids and Highs

None that I can hear

I did lots of research on a good amp that didn't cost an arm and a leg. After visit audioreview and many other sites, Everyone was loving Rotel, so I decided to go and listen to one. Man did it sound good the 1070 had just come out. When I brought it home and plugged into my McIntosh pre-amp and Yamaha speakers with my Denon CD player it was like Eric Clapton unplugged was playing live in my room. Just great for the money its just great this amp made everything on my stereo sound soo much better. All I need now is a pair of B&W speakers and I will be set. I highly recommend this one.

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McIntosh

very good power.can listen also on low level without going down on music.

none

i have also the rc1070 preamp.very good match.come-on and enjoy.

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marantz inter.

good power, solid build, great sound

No a and b option but not a big factor

I love my system and set-up, consisting of three basic components: Energy Audissey 3+2 bi-polar towers, Rotel 1070, Marantz CD 6000 OSE, and homegrown cat5 speaker cable. Since the Marantz has volume control, I run its analog outs directly into the Rotel. I did three months worth of exhaustive research before settling on these components and it was well worth it. Total system cost was a little less than $2k.

In the appropriate room and set-up, this system produces a very wide, three-dimensional soundstage that is clean, accurate, balanced and neutral. On good recordings I close my eyes and it feels like the musicians are in the room. The Energy’s are never hard to listen to and as a result, I don’t suffer from listening fatigue like my revious “mid-fi” system.

I used to consider myself a music lover first (I listen in droves and play musical instruments), however, recently I have developed symptoms of “audiophilia” (I read books on audio and acoustics nearly everyday). I can hear you saying “so friggin’ what?!” Well grasshoppers, due to a recent move to a larger home with lots of room and experimental space, I have realized just how much the room affects the sound – it’s one of the key elements of great playback - it’s even more critical with bi-polar speakers. Very forward sounding systems may not be as sensitive to this.

I have set-up this system in five different rooms with radically different dimensions and shapes and have gotten a wide variety of results. Currently, I have it set-up in the largest area of the house - a somewhat shallow rectangular dinning room that opens into a asymmetrical foyer and living room area with vaulted ceilings. The speakers are 9 feet apart and “near” the room corners, 2.5 away from the side walls and 4 feet away from the front wall. About three feet in front of the speakers, the room opens up to the larger living area where my listening position sits about 12 feet from the front plane of the speakers. Although the listening triangle is a bit large, this set-up sounds produces super realistic “concert hall” playback. The rectangular dining room keeps the sound focused and the rest of the area opens it up. I have learned a lot from experimenting with different rooms and set-ups – I suggest you do the same if you have the room and a very supportive spouse – thanks Robyn!

As far as the electronics of my system, including the Rotel, I could not be more pleased. If there is one weakness of my system is the slightly “loose” bass response at the lowest end of the musical spectrum. This only occurs with electronic based music and is not a problem with more natural acoustic instruments. I believe this is primarily a function of the speakers since they only house 5.25” drivers. If I were to get an excellent sub such as a Titan or Rel, I’m certain this slight weakness would be eliminated (don’t plan on it since I am very happy with the current results). The Rotel gets plenty warm but not super hot, feels heavy and seems very well built. I plan to keep it so I hope it lasts me a long time.

I truly believe that I have an excellent entry-level audiophile system that will rival more expensive systems in terms of musical listening enjoyment. It’s not the most expensive and loudest system around, but since I value my bank account and sense of hearing, neither of these are critical factors of mine.

Great product Rotel!

PS – I often read about people who suffer from listening fatigue…here are some cheap tricks.
1) If your room will allow it, move your listening position back away from you speaker plane a couple of feet – you will not believe how well this works.
2) If you have harsh sounding tweeters, place a thin slice (experiment with thickness and foam density) of open-cell polyurethane foam in front of it. If you listen with the speaker grills off this may not look very nice (its good to place on the inside of the grills). Be sure that the foam does not come in contact with the tweeter. I have done this with a variety of speakers with excellent results.

“Fight the hype, close your eyes and let your ears be the judge”
DV

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Denon Integrated

Build quality, sound detail, power

none

When my 40 day old Audiosource amp3's right channel died, and I was unable to get a live person from Audiosource on the phone to issue an RA, I realized I was in a pickle, and had to take drastic measures...That's when I did what I should have done originally, and paid a visit to my local Rotel dealer, and picked up an RB-1070. Now, This is an Amp! It is built beautifully...The front face plate is over 1/4" thick, and fronted by a huge, gorgeous heat sink. It has a fifth foot in the middle for leveling, and its a thing to behold. I like the sensitivity of its input stage, in that the receiver/preamp volume knob can be turned down several notches, and play the amp louder than the 20 watt more powerful Amp3. The sound is incredible...Sweet, yet dynamic...I'm hearing inner detail which heretofore, were ghosts, but now is plainly there. People, that this amp isnt discounted should be of little concern...at its listed $699, its still a bargain! I was going to go for the RB-1080 and its 200 watts, but I'm glad I didnt...Its totally not necessary...This amp is very powerful..My receiver's volume produces 75 db out of the amp when turned to just 9:00! And it shoots up extremely quickly from there. And I dont have a small listening room, measured at 12 X 26 X 8. This is one purchase I'm very glad I made...

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audiosource amp3