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| Model: | RB 1070 |
| Category: | Amplifier (SS) |
| Suggested Retail Price: | $700.00 |
| Description: | Stereo Power Amplifier 130 WPC bridge mono to 330 WPC |
| Manufacturer URL: | Rotel |
| Review by Belgarchi on March 26, 2010 at 12:45:35 IP Address: 216.80.143.3 | Add Your Review for the RB 1070 |
Very nice looking, cheap for a 2x130W power amp, large toroidal transfo, 4 power caps of 10,000 microFarads each... Sounds good...
But a first disappointment comes when opening the case. The splendid front radiators are... purely cosmetic, the 6 power transistors are cooled by small, internal aluminum radiators!
As for the sound... a huge disappointment. Thin. No low bass. No soundstage. Agressive highs. There are 'Best Buy' receivers that sound better than this. The worse power amp I owned (total of 15), equal to the Rotel RB-1050 (same sound, same look, less power).
| Product Weakness: | Sound really bad. |
| Product Strengths: | Look. |
| Amplifier: | Bryston 2B-LP, Parasound HCA-1000 |
| Preamplifier (or None if Integrated): | Rotel RC-1060, Adcom GFP-750 |
| Sources (CDP/Turntable): | Classe CDP=10 |
| Speakers: | B&W N805, B&W M802-2 |
| Cables/Interconnects: | Monster Cable, Audioquest |
| Music Used (Genre/Selections): | Various |
| Room Size (LxWxH): | 30 x 18 x 15 |
| Room Comments/Treatments: | Neutral |
| Time Period/Length of Audition: | one year |
| Other (Power Conditioner etc.): | Monster Cable |
| Type of Audition/Review: | Product Owner |
Best Rotel is the 1552 MK 2 120 wpc, Excellent Build sound & value the more powerful 1582 MK 2 has insufficient gain , absurd input sensitivity 2 volts should be 1 volt for best compatibility with various pre-amps.
I have to agree that the RB-1070 is not a great sounding amp. I got ahold of one recently, and find it to be rather bland, lifeless and unmusical. Sterile, even.
-Wildcat-
What speakers? maybe………...
Too much is never enough
It doesn't have the finesse of a Class A amp and to compare it to equipment that costs 100s or 1000s more than it is not really fair. It is what it is. As to the heat synchs - yeah that blows but paired with my DQ20s and Adcom GFP 565 - it sounds reasonable till I have a couple bucks to spend on something a bit more upscale. It beats anything at Best Buy hands down. No comparison whatsoever....
it doesn't even run with the 50% more expensive Parasound A23.
Too much is never enough
I would agree with the review when I first had a Rotel RC-1070/RB-1070 in my system. Bright and hyper-detailed. But after owing the pair for a couple of years it sounds very good to me with B&W 685's, CM1's and Vandersteen Sig II's. Very good sound stage and depth!Also own McCormack RLD-1/DNA-125 and Conrad Johnson CAV-50 and yes these sound better but for the cost of the Rotel combo, I would say it's not bad mid-fi gear.
Now the Acurus DIA-100, I used to have, that was bright!
Vinny
Edits: 03/30/10
I had a RB-1070 for a few months mating it with Magnepan MG1.6s
They never declared peace and I had to get rid of the Rotel in favor of more power. Don't forget the RB-1070 is NOT rated at 4 ohms, though it does have an 8 ohm bridged rating of what.....? 330 or so? I believe that to be the correct power 'bridged'
This implies about 165/side at 4ohms, which given the way I run should have been enough for the panels. I suspect the problem may also have been with the NAD1700 tuner/preamp from the late 80s. Rotel / NAD synergy is near-zero.Even playing fairly loud, it only got warm, even though I knew going in the side heatsinks were fake.
I suspect the keeper would have been the more powerful RB-1080 followed by a new preamp.
Too much is never enough
Edits: 03/06/15
I have a Rotel 1050 amp and when I first got it, I had B&W 602S2 speakers and it was not a good match. The amp sounded a little thin and forward in the highs. At that point, I decided to sell the B&W's and bought Castle loudspeakers which have a warmer, more refined sound than the B&W's. The Rotel sounds fine with them. I should add that I am fronting the Rotel with a Quicksilver LS pre. I notice in your review that you are using B&W 800 series speakers, which I would bet are not a good match for the Rotel. My B&W's sounded best with a tube amp, but when that blew up, I bought the Rotel.
Well, I do have many speakers...
A speaker with a recessed high medium could minimize the harshness, but not restore the soundstage or the missing low frequencies...
And there are good amplifiers in the same price range than the Rotel : Adcom, Parasound, NAD are pretty decent...
I don't know how the newer Rotel sound.
Yves
I like NAD amps and use an NAD receiver in another system. However, before I bought the Rotel, I tried a C270 power amp with the B&W's and I didn't care for the way it sounded. The Rotel was much more articulate. I can't comment on the low bass capability of the Rotel because my current speakers don't do low bass very well, but in my system, the Rotel presents a large, nicely focused soundstage.
I'm very happy with my RB-1080.
Perfectly possible, I didn't listen to the RB-1080 and there are good Rotel amps, but I cannot imagine that an audiophile can defend the RB-1050 and RB-1070.
Yves
The Amp is a damn good amp for the $700 I paid for it 7 years ago. Yes it is a bit hyper detailed and bright and performs best after it is warmed up for a bit. Is it the best amp out there - heck no but it is decent and not much different then those from parasound or NAD or comparable. I'm looking to pony up for a bryston down the road but it has filled in adequately for a pair of adcom monos that died on me and powers a pair of Laser 7s or DQ20s; both of which need some juice to shine. and .... FWIW - A little irony - below - came across this the other day and remember the scathing review by same author. I leave you with the first takes by the "AudioPhile."
Submitted by Belgarchi a AudioPhile
Date Reviewed: June 14, 2004
Bottom Line:
Gorgeous looking power amp, affordable price ($700), Bridgeable, Impressive toroidal transformer, Powerful sound.
A little bit too much mid-highs, slightly bright sound.
Expand full review > >
Used product for: Less than 1 month
Duration Product Used: AudioPhile
Product model year: 2003
Price Paid: $550.00
Purchased At: Ebay
I went from a Denon AVR to a Rotel RC-1070 preamp/RB-1070 amp driving my B&W N804 and was ammazed at the improvement in overall sound/sounstage/and dynamics. For the $1000 I spent on the pair (new) I was very satisfied unti I upgraded. I sold the pair for $700 to my B-I-L and he has been very ahppy, too. BTW, the RC-1070 has a very nice MM phono stage - many say well worth the price alone. Rotel makes very nice, affordable equipment for the entry into HiFi.
I had also an excellent Rotel preamp, the RC-1090.
But the RB-1050 and RB-1070 power amps are really terrible.
A Parasound HCA-1000A, an Adcom GFA-545-II or even GFA-535-II are a lot better.
Among my audio gear, I purchased a similar rotel (1050) for bedroom listening. Overall I did not like it at all.
About the same time I picked up an APC power conditioner (H15 version), which curiously looks a lot like Rotel's power conditioner.
Anyways, the APC made a huge difference in my house (your mileage may vary), especially with the Rotel. This indicated that the Rotel did not deal well with the dirty power conditions in my house but the APC + Rotel worked well together.
I don't use the Rotel very often but have to say it sounds pretty good especially at low volumes before it kicks out of class A. For the price of the 1050 + APC, this is a pretty decent set up.
Fake heat sinks?
That's dishonest design. Absolutely unacceptable.
Perhaps, Rotel or an apologist magazine reviewer will respond.
Good for you to point this out!
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