Rotel Quality Control going down hill??

[Orange Peel]

I will chime in here, so far with the 3 brand new Rotel pieces I got, 1098, 1095 and RT 1080, things are going VERY well, no problems, etc. I did have the hum issue, solved it though with the Monster HTS 2600, and ever since then, it's been pure heaven in my theater You have to expect some issues with electronics, they are mass produced and sometimes you get a bad part, simple as that, as long as they take care of you that's what matters. If they stop taking care of the customers issues, then things get bad and they lose business.

I'm very happy with my Rotel equipment and don't regret it one bit, I would recommend them to anyone looking for a nice setup, and silver is the way to go hehe

[Kirby]

Hi folks. I am having a problem with my 1056. I am experiencing a snapping sound through my speakers, the worst was through one of my rear speakers and I actually tested it to see if it was blown. This is my second attempt to own a Rotel product and I am once again disappointed. With my first Rotel receiver the video upconversion sucked big time. I returned the unit and went with a Denon, everything worked but the receiver was a pain if you wanted pure stereo since the speakers have to be adjusted in the menu from small to large and the sub has to be turned off. I got a HD satelite receiver which meant the video upconversion was no longer an issue so I bought another Rotel 1056. This one has the snapping sound so now I think I will go back to my Denon as it may not be the best but it does not do anything badly. I really want the Rotel to work but having read through all the problems people are having from blown amps, hiss, snapping, video issues, etc I believe Rotel has serious engineering or quality control issues.

[Kyle]

I am still new to Rotel, but my 1068 was DOA. Sort of. All digital signal processing was broken, but analog pass through worked. Since I bought it via mail order, I had to go through who I bought it from, and Rotel wouldn't ship them a new unit till they had "run tests" on mine, so I'm working on 2 weeks since I "got" my 1068, and I still haven't used it (hell, i don't even have the replacement yet!).

[Fraise]

In a review of a Classe SSP-60 Pre/Pro in Stereophile’s Guide to Home Theater, the first SSP-60 was faulty and returned, and the second SSP-60 failed with a different problem.
The reviewer reported, “…the few bugs I encountered (with the SSP-60) seem to be the norm for how the high-end often is.”.


Cracking!

any idea what the versions he tested were? i have the last version before the delta series came out and its been bug free except for the very occasional volume control freezing up from the remote. i'm talking once every couple of months or so.

[Cracking Oboe]

any idea what the versions he tested were? i have the last version before the delta series came out and its been bug free except for the very occasional volume control freezing up from the remote. i'm talking once every couple of months or so.

Hi Fraise,

Don't get me wrong, I think Classe has some sweet stuff, (and the SSP-60 is no exception). I was just pointing out that in the world of high end audio equipment, faulty units occur and Rotel is no different than anyone else (even higher end manufacturers such as Classe). The review was in the November 2003 issue of SGHT and did not mention the version.

Cracking!

[spirited]

Classé is NOT independently owned and operated. The owner that is currently there is only a figure head. I used to work there! Apart from the day to day oprations, most of the key decisions come from B&W London. As a Classé staff member I had a 50% rebate on ALL Classé, Rotel, and B&W equipment. However, it didn't matter much to me or most of the people who worked there. We couldn't begin of even dreaming to afford any of the equipment. Rebate or not.

[Raphie]

any idea what the versions he tested were? i have the last version before the delta series came out and its been bug free except for the very occasional volume control freezing up from the remote. i'm talking once every couple of months or so.

That's the bug i have sometimes remote just don't want to raise volume, what is the solution for this?

[Fraise]

That's the bug i have sometimes remote just don't want to raise volume, what is the solution for this?

i usually just press mute and them volume up and it works fine.

Don't get me wrong, I think Classe has some sweet stuff, (and the SSP-60 is no exception). I was just pointing out that in the world of high end audio equipment, faulty units occur and Rotel is no different than anyone else (even higher end manufacturers such as Classe). The review was in the November 2003 issue of SGHT and did not mention the version.

dont worry i know it wasnt an attack on classe. i was just wondering if maybe there was an update for mine that i wasnt aware of.

[ZeeOHSix_pilot]

it's threads like this and others from 3 other HT forums that steered me away from Rotel completely, plus my past experience with Japanese pre/pros has not been good(Sony ES and Elite). Don't know why they just kept breaking on me.

I just bought Anthem separates, built in the lovely Canadian province of Ontario. We'll see..........................

[DrJRapp]

So much for Rotel "great" service

I'd always heard that Rotel had such great service when there was a problem, but I thanked the stars that I never had to avail myself of it.... until my six week old RB 1080 blew it's left channel and had to make a trip to the Rotel Doctor. My dealer informed me that Rotel normally has a turn around time of 5-10 working days.

Well, as of Thursday Rotel finally shipped out my 1080 to my dealer and hopefully, I should have it by Tuesday. And hopefully it will be problem free. As of now it is 6 weeks since it went to Rotel. To date Rotel has had my unit longer than I have.

Needless to say I am fit to be tied, with good reason. Every time I have sincerely tried to once again warm up to Rotel as a company they manage to prove that they are really not at all customer oriented, at least from my perspective as a customer. I've been through letdowns by Rotel before, such as when they broke their trust with their customers by stopping software support and upgrades of the RSP 1066, five months after I bought one based on their "future proof" advertising.

I am now sitting here and seriously contemplating weather I should even allow Rotel a third chance, or just get rid of the stuff and go to a more reliable line of equipment with a company with better integrity.

One thing is for sure, no matter what I ultimatly do with my personal gear, in my professional life I build extreme high end luxury homes ( 1.5 mil and up) all of which are equipped with dedicated theater's and AV centers. In the past I have always strongly recommended Rotel to my customers, since it is the equipment I use, however, now I can not with clear concious give the strong endorsement, I have in the past. This may cost Rotel many thousands of dollars in sales a year.

[Nick M]

Talking about all these Rotel amps with blown channels, you guys are making me nervous regarding the purchase of an RMB-1075, especially if repairs have 6wk turnarounds! :E

[DrJRapp]

Talking about all these Rotel amps with blown channels, you guys are making me nervous regarding the purchase of an RMB-1075, especially if repairs have 6wk turnarounds! :E

I wouldn't be, the 1075 has a far better track record than the 1080 and 1095. However, I would be concerned if anything happens that it will take awhile to get it repaired. My dealer informs me that I am not alone in the long turn arounds...nuff said.

[Elvis]

It sounds to me like a love/hate relationship,Rotel is digging a hole they may not get out of.

[Andrew Pratt]

I obviously can't deny that Rotel does have some issues with some of its products as is evidence by the existance of this thread but as far as I know they're still pretty rare and all my gear has been near flawless. My 1098 did have a problem with its amp triggers but that was easily fixed and doesn't seem to effect any of the new units. My 1080 and 1075 amps have been rock solid since day 1 :yesnod: I can also say for sure that Rotel cares about its customers more then any other company I've ever dealt with and that they are working hard to resolve these issues. At least we have a 5 year warrenty vs. the more typical 1 year found on most other gear.

[PiDD]

I can also say for sure that Rotel cares about its customers more then any other company I've ever dealt with and that they are working hard to resolve these issues. At least we have a 5 year warrenty vs. the more typical 1 year found on most other gear.

I think they just care about you Andrew. I got two emails into Mike and have heard nothing... its been almost a month!

[tipex]

So far I bought 3 Rotel products, two of three needed to go back to the dealer within a week. One RB-1080 with a blown fuse (which never happened before according to the dealer, yeah right). Second my brand new 1068 which isn't showing the menu anymore

[DrJRapp]

I think they just care about you Andrew. I got two emails into Mike and have heard nothing... its been almost a month!

I have to agree with PiDD. Andrew, as a moderator on this forum, and a high profile communicator with Rotel, I do think you get preferential treatment. I emailed Mike with my 1098 issue at the suggestion of my dealer. I did get a response within a day or two. Only politeness keeps me from saying here what I really think about his hollow response.

I now understand why one of the dealers I used to buy my gear from always tried to push me away from Rotel, and their Rotel gear was tucked way back, almost invisably, in a corner of thier showroom.

It's one thing to have a run of faulty equipment, that can happen even to the best, but the true mark of a company is how they respond to it. Six to seven weeks to repair a new unit is not an adequate response to infant mortality, immediate replacement is. If the failure rates are really as low as Andrew claims, this should not be too much of a strain on Rotel. I know there has to be intellegent and careing life out there somewhere, just not at Rotel.

[Azeke]

I believe as Moderator of this forum, Andrew is trying to keep things as cool as possible, panic never solves anything and always spread quickly.

Andrew is it possible to conduct a poll, of Rotel equipment, and customer satisfaction or dissatisfaction?

Perhaps, it could put some of the issues to rest, one way or another.

Just my thoughts,

Azeke

P.S. I also really believe that Rotel, is now deligently trying to resolve this issue due to the recent influx of components that have experienced this problem. Just my humble heartfelt opinion. YMMV.

[H.Donald]

These companies need to understand how important our equipment is to us.When a piece is missing it affects our entire day.I had a receiver a few years ago that went in for "repairs".During the many weeks it was gone ...I hated going into our family room.When it came back to me it still had the same problem...and off it when back to be "repaired" again.After that,I went out bought a new system and swore off that company forever.Which is how we all show our support...with our wallets.
DrJRapp,I feel your pain..and I don't mean in a Clintonese way.It is easy to say that it is a small but vocal minority that are having these issues,but it makes us all nervous.
My own history with Rotel has been fairly good.My first RMB 1075 had a blown fuse issue.As soon as it was plugged in it would blow a channel.It did it right in front of the dealer and instead of sending it out for repairs he exchanged it.That's the best service!!The new one worked great untill I traded it in for a 1095 that buzzed liked crazy.After several cures...I found one that worked and have been happy since.I have also been happy with my RSP 1068.What this all means to me is that I will follow these threads among others and hope my units continue to function.But also,when I am ready to upgrade again my choice will be influenced by what I am hearing.

[Andrew Pratt]

As Azeke correctly points out the majority of Rotel owners are very happy and aren't seeing problems with the items they purchase. From what I've been told Rotels rate of returns is very low and of those items that are returned more then half were found to be "no fault" returns meaning it was an install problem not a defect. As these products get more and more complex with so many options I see that becoming an issue for all manufacturers and its one reason Club Rotel does as well as it does. Now that's not to say the problems that people in this thread are talking about are user problems as that would be nieve but i'm just letting you know what's going on from a corporate stand point. The 1080 amp here in North America does seem to have a higher failure rate (blown fues) then the rest of the world market and its something Rotel is working hard to track down and fix.

Rob I don't know what to say about your issues but I'll see what I can do as you deserve better then that.

With regard to Rotel the company and who owns what here's how it all works out...

"The Equity Company is the trading name of the B&W Group in North America it markets the four brands Rotel, B&W Speakers, Classe Audio and i-Command. The B&W Group owns Equity Inc. but does not own the Rotel Company, the Rotel Company of Japan is an independent manufacturer and has been for 44 years owned by the Tachikawa family. The B&W Group controls 75% of Rotel's international sales and marketing but Rotel is still privately owned and managed..."

[mitch57]

DrJRapp,

Sorry to hear that your having problems with your Rotel gear. Have you done any surveys of your customers home theater equipment to see what kind of failure rate they are experiencing?

I have a Rotel 1095 and have had no problems with the exception of a very, very slight buzz which can't be heard from the listening position. You have to have your ear right up to the tweeter to hear it.

Six weeks is way to long to wait for repairs. If I were in your position I would probably do the same thing. If you move to another equipment manufacturer who will you go with? Bryston, Anthem, Halo, Adcom, Sherbourn?

I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on what you consider to be a more reliable line of equipment.

I am relatively new in the Home Theater arena but I am definitely hooked! I went from a few multichannel DVD audio and DTS disks about a year ago to a growing collection of over 110 DVDA and SACDs. Not to mention about half as many DVD movies.

If you do decide to move on to another equipment line please keep us posted.

[rotel&energy]

I was one of the guys who had a channel out issue with the RB-1080. However, it turned out that was mostly me and a crappy interconnect then the amp itself. I've had my RSX-1055 and RCD-1070 for two years with no problems. The RB-1080 has had absolutely no problems since I got rid of my bad interconnect. Also, the dealer that I've bought all my Rotel gear from has been very good to me and they prominently display their Rotel gear and never talk bad about it.

My dealings with Rotel Customer Service has also been great. I've always received emails back from someone at Rotel within a day, usually within several hours. I can say that I traded 10+ emails with Rotel Customer Service about the RB-1080, plus a few phone calls, all helpful.

Just my 2 cents.

ck

[Bob Knarly]

Put me in the camp of no Rotel replies,I contacted them a few times and thats the last I ever heard,call it good service if you like.I do wish Andrew was in charge,at least he tries to help.

The only slack I can cut Rotel is its a fact many of these"problems"are user related which really sucks for the rest of us.I would never make a complaint until I had done due diligence in trouble shooting but how does Rotel know?So often I see "my blah blah don't work right" then a day later its"oh its my fault"this don't help people w/legit complaints,they just think everyones confused or inexperienced.Everyone needs to go from start to finish when there's a problem,check every single possibilty,if nothing works to resolve it,then make it an issue.

[PiDD]

Bob,

That is what I (we) use this forum for. It's nice to have a community that is so helpfull.

[Andrew Pratt]

Rob you're right, one reason I set up Club Rotel was to take some of the pressure off the over taxed staff at Rotel. Maybe there's something we can do as a group to help them even more but given the nature of business it might be difficult to establish anything more formal then what we already have in place.

[PiDD]

Well....

First thoughts would be a Rotel troubleshooting guide by model.

eg.
Model Symptom Fix
1095 Humm Gound issue....

Make this a sticky and keep it updated. When someone has an issue it would be the first place to look.

When Rotel is contacted can they point people to this forum?

So the order of events would be...
First, self help looking at the troubleshooting sticky
Second, ask the question on the forum.
Third, go to their dealer.
Forth, Go to Rotel.

Just a thought.

[DrJRapp]

DrJRapp,

Have you done any surveys of your customers home theater equipment to see what kind of failure rate they are experiencing?

In the past two years I have delivered three homes where the purchasers have taken my recommendations and purchased Rotel gear. Of the 3 one 1095 had hum issues and was replaced with a B&K something, I don't remember what. Another 1095 stopped working because of a power switch issue after 12 months and was returned for repair. The other 4 homes I built in that timeframe chose other brands of equipment, mostly less costly items such as Denon receivers and DVD players, all have functioned without any hitches according to the owners.

Six weeks is way to long to wait for repairs. If I were in your position I would probably do the same thing. If you move to another equipment manufacturer who will you go with? Bryston, Anthem, Halo, Adcom, Sherbourn?

I would be very interested to hear your thoughts on what you consider to be a more reliable line of equipment.

That is the whole point of my aggrivation, as I said earlier every manufacturer experiences problems at one time or another, it's how well and how promptly they handle it that makes all the difference. I am a very patient individual by nature, and it takes a lot for me to feel abused. Rotel has just gone way way too far. My wife is even pushing for me to get rid of "that Rotel junk" as she puts it and get something good. That in itself says a lot. How may wives do you know that encourage you to spend money on an upgrade? This is the time of the year we get a lot of company down here in Florida from the frozen north. We like to entertain and the theater is a big part of our entertaining.

I am considering Anthem (very high reliability according to my dealer, near zero problems with both hardware and software). Halo, (also very reliable according to the folks at Club Halo). Aragon (non-existant failure rates according to two dealers and the folks over at the Klipsch forums). I will probably wind up with a mix. Thinking along the lines of an Anthem Statement D-1 with an Aragon 2007.

[Aussie Geoff]

Rotel troubleshootign guide

Pidd,

Are you volunteering to start this? If so I am happy to edit, format etc and make a sticky :T

Geoff

[Claude D D]

I find the quality of Rotel gear to be on par if not better than anything in it's class.Many times people blame their gear for a specific problem that they may be having.Specifically I'm speaking of "hum or buzz" issuses.We had one customer that had 2 RMB-1095's taken out to his place that "hummed" yet when we hooked them up in the store there was no "hum".The problem wasn't the amp but with the power in his home.
I do not mean to offend anyone that has had problems with Rotel(or any other brand) but please try not to jump on a product about it's quality when there may be other things causing the problem.I own and sell Rotel gear and can say with confidence that Rotel equiptment is built to very high standards and is very reliable. :T

[Fraise]

That is the whole point of my aggrivation, as I said earlier every manufacturer experiences problems at one time or another, it's how well and how promptly they handle it that makes all the difference. I am a very patient individual by nature, and it takes a lot for me to feel abused. Rotel has just gone way way too far. My wife is even pushing for me to get rid of "that Rotel junk" as she puts it and get something good. That in itself says a lot. How may wives do you know that encourage you to spend money on an upgrade? This is the time of the year we get a lot of company down here in Florida from the frozen north. We like to entertain and the theater is a big part of our entertaining.

I am considering Anthem (very high reliability according to my dealer, near zero problems with both hardware and software). Halo, (also very reliable according to the folks at Club Halo). Aragon (non-existant failure rates according to two dealers and the folks over at the Klipsch forums). I will probably wind up with a mix. Thinking along the lines of an Anthem Statement D-1 with an Aragon 2007.

Have you ruled out classe as an option? on 2 occasions i have had to send my CAV-180 out, once for an update that was supposed to make it run cooler and the other when i hooked up some car speakers and blew one of the channels. one both occasions i had the amp back in perfect working order in less than 2 weeks.

[aud19]

I find the quality of Rotel gear to be on par if not better than anything in it's class.Many times people blame their gear for a specific problem that they may be having.Specifically I'm speaking of "hum or buzz" issuses.We had one customer that had 2 RMB-1095's taken out to his place that "hummed" yet when we hooked them up in the store there was no "hum".The problem wasn't the amp but with the power in his home.
I do not mean to offend anyone that has had problems with Rotel(or any other brand) but please try not to jump on a product about it's quality when there may be other things causing the problem.I own and sell Rotel gear and can say with confidence that Rotel equiptment is built to very high standards and is very reliable. :T

I've got to agree with that. Another thing, all manufacturers have some sort of techinical difficulties here and there. Look at the Arcam Thread in HT. I mean it's ARcam stuff (very nice) but this one still had a glitchy OSD. I think what we're also looking at abit here too is that smaller high end companies just don't have the trouble shooting ability/resources as HUGE companies like Denon, Pioneer, Yamaha etc

[spirited]

How much are you willing to pay?

Have you ruled out classe as an option? on 2 occasions i have had to send my CAV-180 out, once for an update that was supposed to make it run cooler and the other when i hooked up some car speakers and blew one of the channels. one both occasions i had the amp back in perfect working order in less than 2 weeks.

When I worked at Classe it was organized chaos. If your fortunate to live in North-America, you might get your amp back in a couple of weeks. However, if you live anywhere else you are going to wait a very long while. Good luck to you dealing with there so-called "service centres'". BTW Fraise how the hell is an update suppose to make it run cooler? :nonod:

[DrJRapp]

Classe is NOT an option since it is handled in the same service center as Rotel, according to my dealer.

[PiDD]

Are you volunteering to start this? If so I am happy to edit, format etc and make a sticky

LOL actually I was trying to hint at Andrew to do it!

I think its a real good idea tho... I will have a look at it this weekend.

It would be nice to have some input from Rotel tech to help start it.

[tipex]

Well I contacted my dealer today about the problem with my 1068 he couldn't help me, the importer couldn't help me out either so I was going to take it back.

However the importer called my dealer because they had something I could try. Apparently the importer read my message on a forum (I guess this one?), so they do check the forums. Anyway this is good service I think so I thought I'd mention it here.

[Andrew Pratt]

Tipex if that doesn't work out email me and I'll make sure someone from Rotel gets in touch with you. It looks like PPid's situation is being dealt with now as well.

[PiDD]

Yes. Mike replied to me yesterday and is taking care of me. They are making sure my replacement is working before they send it!

I think they are listening! Thanks Rotel!

[Fishy]

They might not be listening via mails and phone calls, but they like most manufacturers read the forums. Forums are open world-wide, so have a much further impact on their business/customer base.

So posts of good service are good publicity.

Fish

PS. Just like to say that my Rotel kit is working fine as present.

[tipex]

Tipex if that doesn't work out email me and I'll make sure someone from Rotel gets in touch with you. It looks like PPid's situation is being dealt with now as well.

It tried what rotel advised, it was something I had tried before but I tried again to make sure, no luck though. I'm taking it back to the dealer this saterday. At this moment there isn't much that Rotel can do for me unless they have a look at the unit itself I think. The dealer said they would try to have it fixed asap and offered a replacement in the meantime. Got my old denon 3801 back in place now so that isn't necessary. I allready wish my rotel wasn't broken as it sounds a lot better then the denon, sigh

If it takes a long time to get it fixed I'll send you an email to see if you can speed things up allthough I hope I don't have to make use of that but thanx for the offer.

[will1066]

I've got to agree with that. Another thing, all manufacturers have some sort of techinical difficulties here and there. Look at the Arcam Thread in HT. I mean it's ARcam stuff (very nice) but this one still had a glitchy OSD. I think what we're also looking at abit here too is that smaller high end companies just don't have the trouble shooting ability/resources as HUGE companies like Denon, Pioneer, Yamaha etc

Hey, that's my Arcam! :

[aud19]

Hey, that's my Arcam! :

Notice I put "very nice" in brackets after it :B :

[will1066]

LOL aud

[lazermike]

I guess I must tell my story about Rotels response to a blown channel on a third or fourth owner 991 amp. Bought a used one I guess a little over a year ago. It worked great, then after a few months , the right channel died. I opened it up to replace the fuse, and I couldnt believe my eyes. A previous owner had loaded it up with roach poison pills and such. The fuse was not the problem, nor the roach motels. I emailed Rotel, got a quick response. After telling my story, and cleaning out the roach garbage, they said send it up, we will take care of it for free. It was turned around in like a week, so with travel time I was only without for not even two weeeks total. I have three other Rotel pieces, the mighty 1090, which I had to get as I virtually stole it, the price was so good. The 1075, and the 1066 Processor. The sound in my setup is soo nice now, I will always use Rotel, unless I win the lottery. Im one happy guy, and all my pieces were bought used thru the internet, with no other problems at all. I did however sell the 991, and I believe the guy who bought it is still using it. Cant beat them with a stick.

[DrJRapp]

I guess Rotel does a better job with people who buy used gear than those of us who pay the freight for new. I picked up my 1080 from my dealer today. Seven weeks to the day from when I dropped it off. At least it is working. I can ignore the scratch on the top of the case, and a little black paint will renew the little black screws that hold the case on which were obviously removed and replaced by power tools which disturbed the paint. At least it is working.

[ds22030]

Man take a look at the thread topics......it really does give the impression that Quality control is not job 1 at Rotel....