ROTEL RELIABILTIY, is it a issue?

[Kevin Allan]

I titled my first thread as "Another New Member", but should have had a subject in title bar that would get more and various responses. I had two helpful replies, and thanks for those!

The brief of the subject was that I have read a lot about various problems with some Rotel equpment. I am interested in RMB-1075 or 1095, and have been told these are terrific units. I also learned that the main problem with noise issues was with simply ground loops or cable on the 1095. The 1075 is apparently a top performer.

I am almost ready to quit looking, and purchase, but would value further input from you folks (THE experts).

Down the road I want to also upgrade my pre-amp, but I am reading lots of threads on the 1066. Any opinions?

Thanks!

[Fishy]

Kevin, I have a 1075 amp and the 1098 processor and can say that I have no problems with ground loop buzz/hum.

Depending on what pre you currently have and what speakers you are running would give us a better chance to give you better advice.

Fish

[alkalay]

First thing's first, been meaning to welcome ya at that "Another New Member" thread so,

Welcome aboard Kevin, as for my experience here it's a great place to hang around.

Just wanted to say What Issue? Sure at production volume like Rotel's I believe there are some issues at some percentage but I think that as far as for Rotel, the majority would say :T .

I'm with Fish about you giving in some more details about your system.

Itai.

[soundhound]

The 1075 is a sweet, reliable machine. You will have a hard time finding ANY complaints about it. The only consideration is will it be powerfull enough to drive you're speaks @ 120/ channel as That is what the other posts were after I would suspect.

[MICHAEL STRO]

I'm running two 1075's 10 channels ( 7.1 setup) the front three are true biamped .the sound is amazing

[soundhound]

Hear Hear to biamping.........(no pun intendid)

[Kevin Allan]

To reply to both Fish and Itai, as to what I'm running now for a system could be basically summed up as a decent consumer grade package of a late 90's H. Kardon avr-65 into a H.K. PA-2500, 5 channel block @ 80RMS X 5 and about 100RMS X 2. Speakers are a mid 90's consumer brand that at the time I thought were good. The only saving grace was I got the speakers (5) for a song as I was aware of the bottom line price and the ridiculous mark-up.

Anyway this will all soon be history if all goes well. My aim is for the Rotel equipment and a pair of B & W 703's for the front to start. Of course some cable/connectors with that.

I appreciate the offers for help/advice on my current system, but it will be replaced with some much better electronics. By the sounds of what has been replied so far to my concerns about the Rotel line, I feel more at ease with going ahead with this. "Soundhound" mentioned the 1075, and I'm on the fence, so to speak, as to how much power I really need. I like my audio up there, but surround has added dynamics that I find a bit much at higher output.

Haven't looked into a processor yet, one step at a time.....................

Kevin

[Radec]

Keep in mind that when you read about the problems with a product on ANY forum, there will always be those who are having problems and looking to solve them. These people will be by far a minority to those with no problems whatsoever. My wife and I have 2 cars, and as another hobby I frequent a few of their boards. 99.5% of the problems brought up in these forums people have with their cars, we do not have.
To me, a better question is how does the manufacturer handle those customers with problems? From what I have seen Rotel does a pretty darn good job of recognizing problems and solving them to their customer satisfaction. If for example, if I was to read that Rotel's answer to some of these popping issues was "sorry folks, no design flaw", I doubt I'd be a Rotel owner

[wywong]

I have the RMB1075 and RSP1068 for 4 months now and with absolute no problem. This combination sounds better day by day as the unit got break in. To really take advantage of the 1075, you should also buy the 1068 pre/pro. It makes a big difference to me. I have the Martin Logan speaker and the amp just really drive it to its max. capability. I also like the B&W sound but feel like the Martin Logan high end is better. If you like the B&W, get the 804. The price is not that much difference than the 703 but it sounds much better.

[Stevebez]

Hi there I started out with the 1075 and love it. To enable 7.1 I got a 1080 to power fronts ... two 1075's though sound awesome for a 7.1 setup though with either some bi-ampling or zone 2 use.

I had a 1066 front end and have upgraded to 1068 about 6 months ago... and I think it is alot better piece of kit. Seperate thread out there on the differences... but there are quite a few significant ones which relate to every day functionality and sound.

Speakers at mom are B&W 803D's on the 1080 and Boston micros ops: surrounds on the 1075. The 1080 is probably not doing the 803's justice and a 1090 would be next on my list here ... Fantastic thing about that amp is its effectively to monoblocks in one chassis.

Even if I got a 1090 I dont think I would get a 1095 as I really enjoy the 1075 so much ... the surround power required for small surround speakers is minimal compared to large speaker requirements, so if I upgrade surrounds to large then a 1095 would be the answer.

1075 I will never sell, even if I get a 1095, I will use it for zone 2 or something.

Rgds Steve.

[cb2005]

I'm also with Fish about giving more input about the equipment, i had the rsp 1066 and rmb1095 and had no problems with noise and i no longer have the rsp1066 cuz i'm in the process of upgrading to the rsp1098, overall i'm very pleased with the sound of the rotel products, very clean sound. Can't wait to get my rsp1098 and get get it back hooked up, blows away receivers any day. So i would go ahead and get the rmb 1075 or rmb 1095 along with the rsp 1098 depending how loud like it.

[H.Donald]

I have been thru Rmb 1075,a 1095,a 1070,an Rcd 1072 and a Rsp 1068 and have loved each and every one.At first I blamed Rotel for my noisy and buzzy 1095...but having found the cure,I would not trade it for anything,save a Krell perhaps.

[Alex Goulart]

My 1067 is giving me problems with allot noise out of all speakers. I think theres a grounding problem with this unit. It would be nice if they didn't build these in China!! That was a let down when I saw that on the back of the Receiver..

[Kevin D]

The Chinese factory is actually owned by Rotel and has a lot higher level of standards than most other factories there.. There's more to quality than what country stamp is on the back.

Kevin D.

[DrJRapp]

Recent Problems

Last week I received a replacement RSP 1098 from Rotel service. It worked fine for a week untill last night I started to have intermittent picture loss thru component V2.

In my lifetime I have owned a total of 7 pieces of Rotel gear and now out of the seven three have failed. The alarming thing is that the three that have failed are the three most recent, all acquired within the last six months. They have all failed within 30-60 days of receipt. All have failed because of faulty internal components (bits and pieces). It appears that Rotel is having a lot of failures in internal components of late.

I really love the sound of Rotel, but I really don't need so much practice installing and disinstalling my gear from my rack.

P.S. Two weeks ago I helped a friend configure an RSX 1056 that I talked him into getting in lieu of a Denon 2805. I spoke to him today to ask how he was doing, only to find out that he has also had serious problems with his receiver. He is very exhasperated.

[arrow]

It is a grab bag. I mean for 1k what can you expect for some of this. They send it you one to replace it. I know it is a pain but you save alot of money and eventualy you will get a good one and it will last for the duration

[NewBuyer]

I just recently bought an RSX-1056 receiver and it appears to have internal grounding issues as well. Hiss and hum on all channels, volume independent, audible from the listening position as soon as the volume is at "1". Worse, the pre-outs make this hum problem louder when an external amplifier is used, and the amplifier itself checks out to be hum free. I've had an electrician and a professional HT installer both come out and check for any other causes (i.e. AC noise, ground loops, problem equipment, bad cable routing, etc) and it really is coming from the receiver internals.

Very disappointing.

[arrow]

I mean i can not rat on rotel with out saying i have killed a yamie reciver the thing overheated dew to faulty wiring. Rotel has issues but what mass prduction product does not. If you buy a Mcintosh you will get one off perfection to be expected. with rotel i would expect a little more reliability however i am not supprised at all by the amount of dsp deaths and recivers. The more complex the construction the more faults you will find from non-skilled workers. I just am waiting ot hear how well rotel takes care of there dead units. I hear so far they are doing well, however if the rate increases i would think they will ither have to step up qc or offer better warenty program. It is all a game Dell runs the numbers just like rotel the amount of machines to fail over a given period.

[Kevin D]

I wouldn't go so far with the Mac comments, they have their share of issues..
We lost a $2800 DVD player sale due to Internet complaints of their transport problems.

Kevin D.

[ds22030]

Whereas problems are inevitable with any mass produced products, I think there should be less such problems when you start paying the money people here do for Rotel equipment.

If I forked out $1200 for a receiver, it would piss me off to no end to have such issues on such expensive equipment....that is why I recently decided to wait on upgrading my HK receiver that I am using as pre-pro for my 1080 amp (which I did not have any problems with). My HK with preouts cost me $300 (refub) and has not had QC issues..knock on wood....but even if it did, its a lot cheaper.....I am going to hang around and see how the QC issues are addressed....

[KathyMason]

Alex Goulart, Now you know that you know better! Just because any product has "Made in China" does not mean it's a bad thing. Most all products, including computer equipment are coming out of China. That's just the way it is now, many American companies are setting up factories over there. Now stop being so silly and look at the back of most new products and you will see "Made in China". Silly Dilly Boy! :rofl:

[hired goon]

G'day,

The brief of the subject was that I have read a lot about various problems with some Rotel equpment. I am interested in RMB-1075 or 1095, and have been told these are terrific units. I also learned that the main problem with noise issues was with simply ground loops or cable on the 1095. The 1075 is apparently a top performer.

I had a 1075, but it blew a channel after a few weeks. Dunno why. I replaced it with a 1095, and I haven't been able to eliminate the buzzing. I've tried a few tricks mentioned here, but to no avail. Ditto with the RB-1090. However, there does not appear to be any buzzing from the amps themselves, so maybe a few more tricks will eliminate the buzz.

As for the 1066, I was not impressed with the sound, and quickly traded up for a 1068, which was more pleasing. However, I'm having quite a few video issues with this machine right now. My TV signal keeps degrading (getting washed out, and losing signal), and there seems to be crosstalk to the other video inputs. I thought it may be interference from other cables, but if I switch the cable from Video 1 to Video 2, it seems to solve the problem, at least for a while. Eventually the same problem reoccurs, and I have to change the cable from Video 2 back to Video 1. If I bypass the 1068 altogether, then there's no problem. I'm going to try a few more things before I give up and contact Rotel support.

So I've got one failed amp, two buzzing amps, and a pre-pro that appears to have some video issues. How much of this is intrinsic to the products themselves, or is an external problem that can be quickly rectified, is an open question. But I mention this FYI, just in case.

--Geoff

[Kirby]

As you have probably read in my other posts, I too have had issues with Rotel. I bought a 1056 which by the way is $2,000 in Canada and after having three defective units I decided to go to a Denon and no more problems. When you pay a couple of grand for a receiver it should not hum, buzz or have video issues. I have experienced all 3. For now I will stick with my Denon until I can afford to buy Anthem.

[arrow]

we should start a count on how many people have had issues with rotel

[soldonandy]

Well Kevin it looks like at least half of the folks that have responded have had some sort of issue with their Rotel gear. However, one of the respondents indicated to me that he didn't have any experience with the RMB 1095 but in another post stated that he had the 1075 and the 1095 so who knows. Personally, I had a Rmb 985 that buzzed and had a bad transformer and both a 1056 and a 1066 that popped. All in all I invested several grand into Rotel so I have somewhat of a qualified opinion. I have also owned a 1075 which I recently sold which was pretty decent and a few Rotel DVD players which were excellent. I think Rotel does a nice job of giving you the taste of the higher end at an affordable price point with the compromise perhaps being at quality control/manufacturing end. I do however consider Rotel a safe risk because they have a decent warranty and do stand out to be subjectively classier among the budget audiophile offerings. I was recently considering the rmb 1095 as an upgrade to my 1075 but went with the Anthem MCA 50, for close to the same money I decided to go with Anthem because of my positive ownership experience with my AVM 20 thus far. Also, I didn't like the vibe I was getting with the 1095 around the web and I felt the Anthem build was better. Ultimately, the thought that stood out in my mind in my decision making process was when I had to call Sonic Frontiers with a question on my AVM 20, I received a call back from their technician who spent an hour on the phone with me willing to discuss anything and everything pertaining to audio/video. Even though my Anthem gear is considered "budget" to a similar extent, I think that for the same money, Anthem raises the bar from what I would expect on the purchase of audio equipment, Rotel is a tough recommendation for me head to head in the amp/pre-am department for these reasons. I will say that if you are capped at a grand, it is hard to beat the rmb 1075.

[Dmantis]

I don't like this thead.... I just ordered a rsp1068 and a rmb1095. I left B&K to come over to Rotel due to personal preference with my new speaker package (Dynaudio).

I have however Installed many Rotel rsx1055, rsx1065's with no issues at all.

Dan

[mjb]

I think this thread should be removed - its gotten out of proportion. OK, a few issues - but this is normal with anything. "buzzing" has more to do with cheap/bad interconnects and/or noisy power and is a problem on ALL equipment, regardless of price or prestige. Forums are generally places where people raise problems, but reading this thread leaves a very sour taste.

[Kirby]

Truth is sometimes a terrible thing!!!!!

[TimGRA]

Every company has a few issues. Anthem is not perfect either.

Dmantis, ENJOY your new stuff. For the price nothing out performs Rotel.

EVERYTHING hums and buzzez. High current amplifiers, if not properly installed will always give you some niose.

Just last week I pulled out my 1068 to do the upgrade. Re-installed it and what do you know I has a noticable hum. I had not cleaned up the wires in the back. Pulled it all out moved the power cables away from the signal cables and guess what.....NO MORE HUM. Nobody talks about that. It is not only ground issues, but people running power cables next to signal cables. In a perfect world, if you have to cross the two cables, power cables and signal cables need to cross at 90 degree angles.

And then there is the great service ROTEL gives when there is a prblem.......

Random thoughts

tim

[Andrew Pratt]

The problem with putting numbers to threads like this is that there are really two types of people who go looking for Club Rotel on the web...the enthusiast and those that have a problem. With that in mind you'll often find forums like this with a higher then average number of problem threads. I can say that from Rotel's tech support stand point they're well within the average for number of calls per unit sold so I don't beleive there's anything wrong with them on the large scale. Sure there's the odd issue that is legitimate like the fuse issue on the 1080 that's been addressed but for the most part things aren't as bad as you might assume given this thread.

[fordster]

I think that's a fair comment from Andrew. Problems occur with kit from most (if not all) manufacturers (personally speaking I will never buy another Denon product after having problems with a 2800II DVD player). It's true to say that most of the people on these forums probably come here for advice, either before buying or afterwards for setup issues or faults so the figures are probably skewed.

For me, it's not so much whether there are problems (within reason, I wouldn't buy something where there seemed to be loads of reported issues) but how they are dealt with. I've got a probelm with DVDA on my RDV1060 which I've posted on here and contacted Rotel about. As long as I get the problem resolved in a timely and efficient manner without major inconvenience I'll be perfectly happy and will continue to recommend Rotel (the reason I wouldn't recommend Denon is due to the poor customer service I received).

[Aussie Geoff]

Hi,

I agree with Andrew. I have a bunch of Rotel equipment (all bought retail) in the last 2 years it has all been flawless, except for the (well documented fuse issue with the RB-1080 which I have been one of the rare people to get -easy fixed with no trigger). I have several friends with Rotel and except for one with a dead RSP-1066 on delivery - also no problems...

I do know that problems exist though - seems to be there with many brands of AV equipment where they get manufacturing batches that are "bad" and have more than normal faults due to out of tolerance components etc from one of the suppliers... Forums such as this always (very understandably) attract people looking for help with a problem - creating a (perhaps) biases impression). All that aside - my heart goes out to those of you who have had a faulty component - always very annoying!

Regards

Geoff

[Kevin Allan]

Hi,

I guess my thread has run its course! I have plenty of feedback, and then some to make a desicion.

Thanks to all for your responses. I didn't mean to cultivate negatism on Rotel, just needed the opinions/replys.

Thanks to all.

Case Closed.

Kevin

[Andrew Pratt]

Kevin if you want my to close this thread just ask.

[Kevin Allan]

Hi Andrew,

Yes, please close this one down. It has run its course.

Kevin