Rotel RCD-06 cd player

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...

willsby 09.02.2008 · Read review
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Review of Rotel RCD 06

ROTEL RA-01

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...

janey300 06.08.2005 · Read review
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Review of Rotel RA01

One to Withstand the Tests of Time

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...

From_The_Continent 10.07.2001 · Read review
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Review of Rotel RCD-950

Top quality entry level Amp

Advantages: Value for money, excellent sound, bi wire abilty and upto 4 speakers
Disadvantages: plain looks if you like shiny things

......

andyyaris 29.11.2007 · Read review
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Review of Rotel RA01

The NAD musically slams into the market

Advantages: Plenty of slam, bass depth, wide soundstage
Disadvantages: Typical "dull" NAD looks, little else at this price

...I have been a fan of NAD electronics ever since the extremely infuriating moment when my first amplifier, a Rotel, suddenly cut itself off and the sound was never to return. I have to say with my previous 2 amps which have been NAD amplifiers, I am very impressed. Essentially NAD have 2 unmistakable characteristics; firstly their unassuming and arguably bland looks but more importantly, they also feature highly on the words sound quality. So with this latest offering of NAD I was of course eager to find out how these new one fared against the rest of the competition and whether this would continue NAD's tradition of putting sound quality first. Firstly for the looks of this amplifier, they perfectly sum up the description I gave above of the typical design. While this is no bad thing because it essentially makes NAD instantly...

grandchamp 04.09.2009 · Read review
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Review of NAD C326BEE

Not a bad little amp

Advantages: Smooth sounding all rounder with no problems in a powerful performance
Disadvantages: no remote control

...The Arcam Alpha One Amplifier for is price (around £200) seems to work very well with anything that you might want to put with it. Although it power rating is only 35W it seems to handle dynamic swings in music movement as well as any amp in its class I have heard. In its ambience it seems to be a half way house between something like a warm sounding Rotel and a sharp sounding Yamaha. It versatile enough, in that it has five line inputs, a tape loop and a headphone socket. In general it’s a bit of an all rounder and I feel it performs very well in all departments. Baring the fact that it does not come with a remote control, its really a very safe bet and I have been very pleased with the Alpha One's performance. I do not think there is much better for the price....

ncostall 19.08.2001 · Read review
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Review of Arcam Alpha One

Not a bad effort, but rather superseeded nowadays

Advantages: price, general sound quality, build
Disadvantages: Remote, looks, problems with CDrs

...I purchased my Marantz CD6000ose at Richer sounds for the bargain price of just £150 - half the new price, and have owned it for about 2 years. When new, the player was certainally the top player in its class. Generally described as smooth (in the traditional marantz style) but with the ability to reproduce voices and dance beats effectivly. This is certainally an appraisal that I agree with. However, having moved my other componets a little up the hifi rung, i have noticed that in comparism with other £300ish players (from rotel and NAD) that I have listened to, the Marantz is missing something. Now this may sound a little vague - but it is how it is. It lacks sparkle - what grabs you and makes you think 'what a wonderful voice' or 'what a great track' and so on. The Rotel in particular attacks, where the Marantz sounds woolly...

AlecHodgson 29.09.2003 · Read review
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Review of Marantz CD-6000OSE

A great CD player for the money

Advantages: Sound quality, Great features
Disadvantages: Not all features can be accessed without the remote

...This CD player looks pretty average at first glance. It has that pretty standard "Made in Japan" look to it. As with money other good HiFi systems however its not until you actually plug the system into a wall and an amp that you realise where your money went. For the money the amp in quite simply amazing. The sound quality is of the usual excellent quality provided by Yamaha. The player also comes with heaps of handy features such as "Peak Search" which scans a CD for the loudest section. This is really useful for recording. The remote is fully featured and in fact some features can only be accessed from it. I would recommend this CD player to anyone looking for a great value budget system. I've paired mine with a Rotel RA-931MkII amp and B&W 601s. Don't forget that forking that bit extra for proper speaker cable and interconnects...

kempson 16.08.2000 · Read review
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Review of Yamaha CDX-493

CAMBRIDGE AUDIO P500 Power Amp.

Advantages: Clarity Of Sound *** Deep SoundStage *** Value For Money.
Disadvantages: The P500 Can Not Be Bridged If Bi-Amping.

...At the time of writing this review, you will probably be very lucky to purchase a P500 that is brand new, having said that I have noticed that the second hand market for P500's is very much alive and kicking. Hence an honest and reliable review from a guy who has two of these wolves in sheeps clothing from new...me! I purchased my P500 in 2000 for £99.99 along with the C500 at £149.95 after burning them both in for around a 100 hours, I wasn't expecting sonic miracles for around the £250 mark but I was pleasantly surprised by the smooth response but WAS amazed by the deep soundstage, but it was to controlled for my taste, "ZZ TOP sounded like they had suits on" is the best way I can describe the sound. I was then surprisingly offered (cheap) a Rotel 980 BX Pre Amp, which I replaced the C500 (just to see if there was any difference...

HonestBagger 09.03.2005 · Read review
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Review of Cambridge Audio P 500

The best AV-AMP on the market for 200pounds

Advantages: Performance, Cost, Build Quality, Features, Value
Disadvantages: Size? (to some people)

...dynamic range, full frequency coverage and a sweetness when it needs it. The RDS tuner is good and is nicely sensitive. Even with the piece of wire supplied good reception can be achieved. There are more presets than most people will need too. I bought one of these to replace my ageing Sherwood Tuner and Dolby Pro-Logic Amp. Twinned with a new DVD player (Philips 710) the combo is excellent. It has good enough audio quality to have comfortably replaced my ageing Rotel HiFi Amp too. An absolute bargain, even at twice the price. But fortunately, it's not ;-)...

marc_ely 25.02.2001 · Read review
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Review of Sherwood RVD-6095 RDS