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

Mamiya RB67

Advantages: Quality, solidity
Disadvantages: Weight, evil ergonomics

...Mamiya RB67 When I decided to buy a medium format camera, I looked at an RB67, and easily dismissed it. You need hands the size of a gorilla, and it really ought to be sold with a Benbo tripod welded to the bottom. A kind friend lent me her ?new? RB over Christmas - £250, and a lot of black paint missing. I still won?t be buying one: it is a camera I respect, but I certainly don?t love it! But if you want (or need) the versatility of bellows focussing, you may buy one. If you need a camera engineered like a battleship (and every bit as user-friendly), you may buy one. If you want excellent results, and don?t mind ergonomics that are just right for an octopus, you may buy one. If you take landscapes or portraits professionally, there?s a good chance you already own one. An RB67 offers enormous scope for doing things wrong...

Dudler 31.12.2000 · Read review
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Review of Mamiya RB 67 Pro SD

R&B Collection 2009 - all the hits!

Advantages: Comprehensive round up of the big tunes of 2008
Disadvantages: No beyonce! shock, and some horrible non-R&B on CD2

...As another year draws to a close and the Christmas madness begins as sure as sure can be you know you the music store shelves will be packed full of compilations. Restrospective compilations are still the flavor de jour, and R&B Collection 2009 (As it is oddly entitled) features a round up of all the tracks that did the business in yes, 2008. What we have is a nicely packaged, although the cover is a little bog standard, 2 CD set with a bonus DVD featuring 15 music videos. This will undoubtedly set this one apart from a lot of the field. But more importantly on a compilation such as this one, how does the track listing measure up! I will now take you on a whirl wind tour of the 40 tracks featured on the album commenting on some of the more stand out efforts. It is also important to note for those of you who will be interested to know...

josef_wardle 14.12.2008 · Read review
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Review of R&B Collection (+DVD) - Various Artists

R&B Yearbook 2006

Advantages: Songs for all moods, happy, sad, angry etc.
Disadvantages: A couple of dud songs on there to watch out for

...Ok, so I bought the previous R&B yearbook in 2005 and thought it was alright, but listening to this one really lifted my impressions of R&B music. I saw the CD from a Tesco store near me for about £15 and decided to give it a shot, little did I know until I got to the checkout till that it was their last one in stock (just shows how popular it must have been). It contains mainly R&B music with some Hip-Hop, some Rap and even a little bit of Reggae in there as well! The first CD begins with a few of the biggest uplifting hits of the year in my opinion (Deja Vu, by Beyonce, and the wonderful Hips Don't Lie, by Shakira). Not to mention "Beep" by the Pussycat dolls ft. Will.I.Am (from the Black Eyed Peas). "Beep" is a nice number in a minor key, great to listen to at any time of day. Then the mood is taken down a notch with Ne...

Mattjc91 10.04.2007 · Read review
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Review of R&B Yearbook 2006, The - Various Artists

Essential R&B? Is it?

Advantages: Light, easy listening, well known tunes
Disadvantages: Some dodgy songs on there

...Essential R&B.... let's see shall we... The first song on this album is Eamon's F*** it. Pretty good way to start the album, admittedly its an old tune now but it probably was the most popular and most played (well one of the) of 2004. Who didn't hear that song? It includes a lot of the most popular chart songs of 2004 and before, such as 50 Cent's In Da Club, R Kelly's Ignition Remix, another classic, and Usher's You got it Bad. The songs on the album are varied - there's a couple of hip hop type songs, a few slower songs that are more love songs than anything, and of course, a lot of R&B. The second disk starts with Outkast's Hey Ya, which gets the disk off to a good start! No Scrubs and Hot in Herre are also present, as well as, strangely, Natasha Bedingfield's Single? I found that pretty strange. I believe this...

ice_pink 07.08.2006 · Read review
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Review of Essential R&B - The Very Best Of R&B Summer 2004 - Various Artists

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

Mamiya Rb-67 a true photographic workhorse

Advantages: large negative size,quality enlargemts, rotating film back
Disadvantages: only 10 shots on a roll of 120, heavy camera to use initialy

...The Mamiya RB-67 is an excellent piece of photographic hardware. When I was window shopping for a medium format system to upgrade to I was concentrating on the Bronica systems , Namely the SQ and GS1. Until that is I had a play with an RB-67. Its not a light camera, infact its quite heavy at first, but one soon gerts used to the weight, It is the same basic layout at as other medium format cameras , Interchangeable lens,body,waist level finder & interchangeable film backs. But what makes the RB outshine others is that the film back can be rotated 90' so you can switch from landscape to portrait format without moving the camera, which is very useful at times. It is a sturdy camera, built to last & take a beating,I ve used mine in a studio to on top some of south wales highest peaks without a failure to work ever. The camera...

Gareth_Bailey 24.08.2000 · Read review
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Review of Mamiya RB 67 Pro SD

P!nk's R&B Days

Advantages: Lots of big R&B tracks
Disadvantages: A couple of tunes let it down

...?Can?t Take Me Home? came out as the debut album from the Pennsylvania-born R&B, Rock and Pop singer Pink. This one came out in 2000 and was her breakthrough release as she performed in a style which appeared to fit in more with the Soul influences which she was raised on (which later went more towards the Rock and Pop world) as she got backing from the R&B singer and producer Babyface. 1. ?Split Personality? Getting the album going, you have a track which has here performing in a manner which really appears to fit in the style of 1998-2000 R&B, and it draws especially close resemblance to what Kelis was doing around this time and so it was really current in what it does for a decent opening cut as a tune to introduce what this has to offer from her. **Three Stars** 2. ?Hell Wit Ya? You see as we move on through the thing, you get...

XICripZ 03.08.2009 · Read review
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Review of Can't Take Me Home - Pink

One Man Tank

Advantages: Great vocals, lyrics
Disadvantages: Not as well known as should be

...**Introduction** If you have regularly read my music reviews over the last few months then you will know about my plan to review some of my favourite artists albums, basically all the albums I own from the chosen artist. Following on from my recent reviews of Tank's Third album Sex, Love & Pain and his debut album Force of Nature I have decided to review his second album entitled "One Man" This completes his discography for now as he is due to release a new album later this year which I will of course be reviewing at a later date. **One Man** One Man was released in 2002 as Tank's second album release, Whilst It reached number five in the R&B Billboard Chart. At 383,295 copies it has sold just under half the amount that his debut album Force of Nature which has sold 655,034 copies. Whilst Tank may not boast the kind of sales...

jcneil 31.01.2009 · Read review
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Review of One Man - Tank (R&B)