Rotel RB-991

Advantages: Solid Build, Looks, Good sound production, price
Disadvantages: Slighlty uncontrolled bass, no optical out may put some off

...out for rca lead and a digital coaxial output, it has no optical connection though which i wan't fussed about as i am using it as a transport, and to be honest digital coax is the better of the 2 IMO. Now as mine is used a transport( i think i've mentioned that already) its not actually using the internal dac of the cd player, so the actual sound processing is done by my Dac-X (£1200) , So for this review i disconnected the Dac-x and am using the rotel as a standalone player. Now this player cost me £300 (rrp £350) so its not really going to compare when run through a £1200 Dac, but i'm still confident this player will perform well. I'm using a Cyrus PreVs2 pre amp Audiolab 8000m mono bloc power amps and Totem Arro speakers ( see seperate review) Now when ever i test or demo a piece of hi-fi equipment i tend to use a select choice... Read review

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Advantages: real hi-fi sound !
Disadvantages: not much for the money!

...I have owned this amp now for about 18 months and i still enjoy listening to music through it , i have the amp connected to a pair of quad 11L speakers a cambridge audio cd and digitail tuner and a project turntable. The ROTEL RA-01 is a intergrated amp with five inputs including a mm phono input for turntable Tone controls bass and treble , with a tone defeat switch (switches the bass and treble off keeping the sound as close to the original as possible). Two pairs of speakers can be connected with switching between the pairs or both pairs of speakers on at the same time.(4 in total) Power handling is 2 x 40 watts ,8 ohms , don't be put of by what seems to be a low power rating this amp will go far louder than you can imagine , how loud a hi fi can go is down to the sensitivity of the speakers (i.e how easy they can be... Read review

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Advantages: fantastic smooth sound, "analogue touch", very good reading of scratched CDs, best buy
Disadvantages: no optical digital output, scarce functionality

...It was a typical phenomenon. I was perfectly happy with my Rotel CD player. Excellent sound, solid construction and all the functionality I needed. Until I discovered its successor. Suddenly my old CD-player, looked old-fashioned and had the appeal of a worn off antique sofa. The product in question is the Rotel RCD-950, a £350 CD-Player, top-rankings player in its price range, recipient of endless awards from the major audiophile publications, and sex-symbol of stereophiles seeking a budget entry to the world of high-end equipment, until, well until the RCD-951 entered the market in late 1998 for the same price. I immediately went to my Rotel dealer, left a deposit and took the new RCD-951 home for a week, and expected my 950 to look really old when tested against the 951. Surprisingly (considering how easily I usually waste money... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful