I dont think this kind of amp pulls any tricks, it doesnt add what isnt there in the music or colours the sound to instantly grab you by the throat impression at the demo room. Decatur Mobile Truck Repair

None . .

I've been through a lot of amps in my two systems. I tried many Rotel amps, including RB980, 990, 991, and another I can't remember. Also tried Bryston 4Bst, Dynaco 150, Dynaco 400, an Onkyo Integra, and the latest was a McCormack DNA1 Revision A, supposedly one of the best amps you can buy. I liked the Rotel 990 better than the other Rotels, primarily because of the excellent bass slam. The others had the detail (esp the 980), but lacked bass. This also included the mighty McCormack, which is stunning in detail, but noticeably lacking in bass mass. I've had the 990 in a system with B&W CDM9nt speakers and a Carver C-1 pre (I like tone controls). It sounded great there, but it was my secondary system. When my DNA (in the main listening system, with Audio Prism Mantissa tube pre, JM Lab Mezzo Utopia speakers) went into the shop for a minor repair, I swapped the Rotel 990 into that system. The result was, in a word, STRIKING. Suddenly I was completely engaged in the music again. The music now had authority and mass. Perhaps a smidgen less detail, but the overall listening experience was improved immensely. I liked it so much I sold the McCormack and bought another 990 off ebay for $300. Wow. Such a deal!

If anything, it could use a bit more detail in the upper registers, and maybe a little more bass control, but we're talking minor improvements. It's a heck of an amp, and certainly at the used prices!

I just picked this up and hooked this up to my ROTEL RA 1572. I wanted to be able to power my fronts which are (B&W 684S1) while leaving speaker A and B on my 1572 to power ceiling/wall speakers- which is probably overkill at 120 watts per channel. I notice a whale of a difference from using the 120 watts versus the 200 watts. Everything is richer, deeper, clearer, etc you name it! I've heard these speakers need 200 watts to really sing and I now realize what they mean by this. I'm very impressed. I was going to drop $1500 on a 1582MKII, but I'm glad I found a used RB990X on ebay for a cool $300. Very pleased

None so far other than it does seem to get a little hot

I got the rb990bx from the original owner to replace a Rotel 1603 rx receiver. I use it to power a pair of Eminent Technologies LFT 3. The sound is very detailed and free of any additional "coloring". I have heard these speakers through an Adcom GTF 555 and a Meitner 100 mono blocks and i can say the Rotel is on par with the Meitner and much better than the Adcom and my vintage Rotel receiver. I highly recommend it.

Depth
Sonic Range
Repair - almost never
Quiet (no fans)

Heat - modest

I can not say enough about the RB-990BX. I personally have three.

I have turned many a friends on to rotel amps. They don't sway, they have reserve and can drive demanding loads.

My main speakers are Magnepan 1.6QR and IInfinity 6 series in different rooms.

I have even drivin a pair of B460 Subs with two of these amps, they can produce current - I have neighbors that unfortunately can attest to it ;-)

If you can aquire one you will be happy. I've had a ton of listening sessions at my house with many speakers... friends buy by rotel if they can not afford McIntosh.

The RB-990BX/RB-1080X can be had for $600-800 on ebay - a steal if you find one.

For the many years I've had these amps I've only had two reapirs, that were both less that $100 US. A bargain.

I still like my MC-2500 pairs, and MC-2255 pairs, but the rotel are really close and priced right if you can snag them.

Enjoy!!

Similar Products Used:

McIntosh - MC-2500
McIntosh - MC-2255
Yamaha .......

No frills, only sound. Built for a lifetime. Audiophile joy, still in 2007!

Audiophile idiots like I am, want to open the case to have a look inside or even modify some things. The quality of the screws (and case) should be better. It's sometimes difficult to get them back in. That really is the only thing I could think of.

It's an incredible amp.

Rotels story on powersupplies I think is correct. Speakers continuesly show changing Impedance, so amps are asked to give a lot of power very quickly, continuously too. That's why the transformer in the first place must be able to deliver this. That isn't very difficult, but it is expensive. Therefore Rotel produces them theirselves, according to their own specs, so within the pricerange of a device, more can be spent on high quality capacitors for example.

Retailprice of the RB 990 was 1150 euro's = 1600 dollars or so. It delivers 200 Watts at 8 Ohm and 330 at 4. Dampingfactor is 1000. Lay out and design were based on the famous Michi line of the 90's. This all gives you powerfull, controlled, transparant and detailed sound.

Bad recordings are easily disguised. Roteldevices don't add or take away a lot from the original signal taken from cd or other sources. So it's very pure. You can easily tell about the way the recordings have been done. If the system used for that was warm and bassy sounding, you will probably hear a cool and thin, lack of bass recording: adjustments of the producer, because of warm sound in the studio and personal preferences maybe. And vice versa: thin and cool studiomonitors tend to result in recordings with much to much bass for example. You can hear if quality of recoring ecuipment and setup was good or not.

TOO OFTEN this example is said to be the insufficiency of the playback ecuipment under review!!! TOO MANY recordings are really bad.

Other possible sources of such 'insufficiencies' : cd players, pre-amps, and speakers that are not able to reproduce a tight bass (again: for example). Even cables and interlinks can play a role here. Also very important: acoustics of your room! And setup of listeningtriangle!

It's possible you want more Bass in this case for example. It's possible you like other brand amps (or cd players, pre amps, speakers etc.) which give you that (they add it...) Then you have too look for that. I can tell you this: if a recording is good (tight, pregnant and low Bass, smooth mids, well recorded voices, transparancy, silky highs etc) this Rotel is unbeatable at the price.

So this is what you get through the RB 990. In the complete chain of recording music, and than playing it back in your acoustic listeningroom, the Rotel just gets out of the way. If only the other elements in this chain were that good..........

This one is to enjoy for many years, even though it has been around for more than a decade. I know this all because I owned it for 6,5 years. I bought the twice the price RB 1090 poweramp lately: see review. This even gives me more of this all!

For this price I think it;s hard to find competition for the 990. If you want one and see one secondhand: don't let it go...

Hey Paul K.: I know you will enjoy this one for many years! I'm glad my baby has found a good new home.

Similar Products Used:

Integrated RA 980 BX, Poweramp RB 991, Poweramp RB 1090.

Power, performance. Grain free extended highs. Excellent tight bass response!

None

The Rotel RB990BX is a killer amp for its new price & for its used price, makes it, one of the great buys of all time. First off forget about Acom, & NAD, this one offers a huge 3D soundstage with power & sound quality that rivals some of the most expensive amps. No wonder, it has a massive encapsulted toroidal transformer with four large Hyperfoil output caps & build quality is over the top! Connect a quality preamp & your there! Highly recommended component!

Similar Products Used:

Too many to list.

transparant, power, bass reproduction and price

I do like the look of the newer 991 and 1080 better but it''s all about what''s inside !

Thanks for all comments at this site. I used those many times. OK, I do own now the RC and RB 990 and RCD 991, modified with new powercords. What an upgrade coming from a Luxman integrated amp. This amp really drives and plays my B&W 801. Great choice that Rotel products and good priced

airy, smooth,sweet & musical!

needs expensive gear & the right cables.

I bought this amp very very cheap s$450/-( US 225/-)initially to be used as secondary system, but tried it on
my primary system, I was stump! with "black diamond racing cone:3" under it driven by "monarchy audio 18B" feeding signal from "sony DVPS 7000" & reclock by "monarchy DIP"
run thru by digital cable "VDH THE FIRST" with interlink
"VDH D 102 MK 3" & speaker cable "VDH THE WIND" & it hold my "SONUS FABER ELECTA AMATOR" in a vice like grip! with its focus,sweetness & transparency rivaling those high end pretenders (read expensive).And guys & gals I've returned the 'krell' to my friend (he let me used & considered sold if I like it) & relegated my 'MUSICAL FIDELITY F 15 to my bedroom! what else can I say.
what a shame there's no gold stars!

Similar Products Used:

musical fidelity,krell 100.

Neutral sound, enough power.

A tiny bit soft in the low-end range

I use two RB990BX's to drive my Avalon-speakers. I got these very expensive Avalon's for very, very little money but had to buy an amplifier for normal money. The RB990BX has enough power and it's biggest quality is that is does nothing wrong. There are better amplifiers to go alnog with the Avalon's (and they certainly deserve it), but the Rotel actually sound quit pleasant. Later I bought a seconde one so I could bi-amp. I think you will be hard pressed to find a single amp that is a good for the same price as two of these in a bi-amp configuration. Best quality: very neutral and pleasant sound. Lot's of power. Only critic: maybe a little soft.