Pavlov
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Rotel RA-1062 - opinion
Yiangos
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Actually most,if not all Rotel sound like that.A bit bright and dry/Not much but enough to to rob the emotion from the music.I'd go for NAD.I find them more musical.

Buddha
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Not to bring up an age old debate, but...

Keep it on and playing music, even when you aren't home, for the next week or two.

I do think there is a little bit of "seasoning" that takes place as a new component settles in.

Check each day to see if you can hear the sound "evolving" at all.

Best wishes!

Monty
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I've heard the Rotel and even own an older version of that integrated. My RA970BX is a bit dry on top as well. However, as with most budget gear, the careful partnering with other components that do not exhibit the same short-comings can produce very satisfying sound.

The Rotel has quite a few virtues that even many expensive amps can't seem to capture. Acoustic space, ambience and the ability to capture the recording environment are strong points for that particular Rotel. Still, you can't throw highly revealing speakers into the mix without messing up the overall sound.

I've found that speakers that lean a little more to the dark side of neutral (PSB, Dynaudio) work very well with Rotel while speakers that lean more to the vanilla side (Totem) just aren't very musical. It's that old system synergy thing rearing its head...especially when assembling a system with budget gear.

I think a lot of people try to build a system on a budget and throw too much money at the speaker end without considering that very revealing speakers will simply be very revealing of the electronic shortcomings of the upstream components.

For what it's worth, I've had good results taming the Rotel with Audioquest Type 4 speaker cable and either Tara Labs Ref. Gen. II, Audioquest King Cobra or Cardas Cross interconects. I use Kimber PBJ and prefer it with the Rotel, but it's not as tame as the others mentioned above.

Pavlov
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Quote:
I use Kimber PBJ and prefer it with the Rotel, but it's not as tame as the others mentioned above.


Decided to give the Audioquest Type 4 a try. Definitely took away some of the edginess with possibly a little loss of detail - an improvement nonetheless. Now for the interconnects - can you please elaborate on your preference for the PBJs?
Thanks

mrlowry
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You might try a better power cord. I know it might sound crazy but I've had a lot of success with Rotel and using better power cards. I've had positive outcomes from using the Transparent High Performance Power Link. I've also hear good things about the Shunyata Venom. Both are around $100.

Monty
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The Type 4 will take over 100 hours of continuous play to fully open up and settle. Still, it rests on the warmer side of neutral and isn't going to be the cable to compete in the frequency extension department. However, its limitations are intended to work well with entry level gear that have their own set of limitations.

The PBJ is a very well balanced IC that is quite resolving without being etchy. What you don't get with the PBJ is the last word in bass extension and depth. Like the Type 4, it is easy to live with and is remarkably clear and open for such little money. I think the PBJ's relatively high resolving ability compliments the warmth of the Type 4 and would likely assist in retrieving much of the perceived loss of detail of the Type 4. I've used both for many, many years and have played around with gobs of other cable/IC combinations and have come to appreciate the well balanced attributes of both products.

In contrasting the PBJ with the other ICs I mentioned earlier, the AQ King Cobra is very similar to the PBJ...with a slight loss of midrange clarity, but with a notable increase in control of the bottom octaves. If you need lower frequency extension, it's a good partnership with the Type 4 as the Type 4 benefits from a little help in this area.

The Tara Ref. Gen. II IC is a very mellow cable with a distinct loss of high frequency extension and a small notch in the mids. However, it has a wonderful harmonic richness and air around the notes that reminds me of tube gear. It also has excellent depth which also resembles a good tube sound.

Regardless of what you decide to go with, I hope you will post an update to how the system's sound evolves with a little time on the cables and combination.

59mga
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Quote:
I've found that speakers that lean a little more to the dark side of neutral (PSB, Dynaudio) work very well with Rotel while speakers that lean more to the vanilla side (Totem) just aren't very musical. It's that old system synergy thing rearing its head...especially when assembling a system with budget gear.

What about B & W speakers? Beings they are "family" to Rotel
I would think that at least one of the B&W series would work well with Rotel. I recently read an opinion that the BW 600 and CM series are a good match for the Rotel. And that the 700 and 800's are well suited for Classe.

Recently, I had been auditioning new equipment and listened to the 1062 via the 704 and 703. Both sounded great.

Monty
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Yeah, I was generalizing in making the point that partnering amps and speakers involves more than specifications. Flushing out the tonal character of the particular gear involved, regardless of brand is important to achieve a synergistic match. This is particularly important with the entry level stuff that will often have distinct characteristics that can be overcome or exacerbated by the contributing components. This isn't to say that the more expensive stuff doesn't have character of their own to address, but the budget gear is usually further away from neutrality with one or more distinct characteristics that you don't want to multiply in the chain of components.

Most audio geeks have been wowed more than once with inexpensive combinations that have been carefully selected to compliment each other.

Pavlov
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I am familiar with the B&W 601. They have a somewhat veiled sound that would probably work well with Rotel.

Just swapped the Type 4s for some Cardas Crosslink. Too early to tell but the bass seems to have tightened up without any additional harshness.

I stumbled on an article the other day that reviewed several interconnects. The PBJ was recommended as well as the Canare LC-1 which was tops. I'm also curious about Blue Jeans Cable, who's name keeps popping up in forums. They also make a relatively inexpensive (Belden)LC-1.
Any experience with these?

Monty
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Nope, I've never heard those cables. I'm sort of a cable freak, but you can't blink without seeing a new cable roll around. It's kinda like coat hangers. If you put one in a closet, the next day there will be 27.

59mga
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Quote:
Yeah, I was generalizing in making the point that partnering amps and speakers involves more than specifications. Flushing out the tonal character of the particular gear involved, regardless of brand is important to achieve a synergistic match. This is particularly important with the entry level stuff that will often have distinct characteristics that can be overcome or exacerbated by the contributing components. This isn't to say that the more expensive stuff doesn't have character of their own to address, but the budget gear is usually further away from neutrality with one or more distinct characteristics that you don't want to multiply in the chain of components.

Most audio geeks have been wowed more than once with inexpensive combinations that have been carefully selected to compliment each other.

You are correct, Monty, there is more to it than matching numbers. I don't have the time or patience to search out and audition gear. Besides, I'm not THAT critical of a listener...anymore. (That's why I'm "trading in" accumulation of equipment for a very simple system - the fewer pieces the better.) I guess what I have purchased, so far, is considered entry level audiophile gear but I still want a good quality sound. The eletronics are all the same brand and made to complement each other. Now it's just a matter of finding speakers that I like.

USAudio
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Quote:
... I stumbled on an article the other day that reviewed several interconnects. The PBJ was recommended as well as the Canare LC-1 which was tops. I'm also curious about Blue Jeans Cable, who's name keeps popping up in forums. They also make a relatively inexpensive (Belden)LC-1.
Any experience with these?


I too saw Blue Jeans Cable referenced in the forums and so I decided to check them out. They were tested and very highly recommended at audioholics.com as well. At those prices I decided to give them a try and ordered some speaker cables and interconnects. They're located here in Seattle and were kind enough to accommodate me and let me pick them up the *very next day* directly at their facility! Custom cables in 1 day, can't beat that! Nice guys, the order was correct, the price is right and they're high quality but no-frills cables.

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