Rotel = "mass-market" ?

[moe32274]

I googled "rotel.com" today and the byline on my search result was:

"Mass-market Japanese manufacturer of full range audio electronics."

That's a very generous use of the term, in my opinion. Since when has Rotel been "mass-market" ?


Moe.

[aud19]

My mommy once told me: "don't believe everything you read on the internet" :lol:

[gianni]

I have yet to see Rotel at Best Buy.

[DrJRapp]

I searched with dogpile and got : Rotel designs and manufactures affordably-priced, audiophile quality, home theater electronic components including: DVD players, surround-sound receivers ...

[RobP]

Funny, I Googled Rotel and I got some kind of chopped tomatoes in a can. Weird.....

[bzrk]

Rotel is the brand name of a line of canned sauces made of tomatoes and green chiles. There are different varieties of Rotel in varying degrees of hotness and spiciness. It is one of the two main ingredients in Carlos Tejeda Gonzalez's favorite dish, consisting mostly of velveeta cheese and Rotel (original).
Rotel is also the name of a manufacturer of high-end audio equipment (amplifiers, CD-players, etc.).
Someone's asking for a copyright infringement law-suit.

wikipedia :rofl:

[RebelMan]

Here is what I got at Yahoo...

manufactures home theater and multi-room audio systems for including stereo receivers, surround sound processors, DVD players, multi-channel amplifiers, and custom installations.

:P

[Cornchips]

There are different varieties of Rotel in varying degrees of hotness and spiciness

Must be in the next software release?

[abqnmusa]

No matter what we call the Rotel equipment it has served me well with quality sound.

[craigdcan]

If you can afford Wilson, Krell, etc...then Rotel is mass market in comparison.

In my eyes Rotel is one of the greatest values in audio - they can compete with the best, but their cost is reasonable.

[jim777]

In the dictionary, "Mass-market" only means "produced in large numbers" so that just means that Rotel is a very popular audiophile brand

[Lex]

Actually, mass market gear is sold via all outlets including online. Rotel is only sold by authorized dealers with no online sales approved, making it much more exclusive than "mass market".

[JKalman]

These definitions seem to be fairly universal wherever I go both online and in my personal library of dictionary definitions.

This one is from my Apple Dictionary version 1.0.1 (1.0.1) on my Macintosh:

mass market
noun
the market for goods that are produced in large quantities.

verb (mass-market) [ trans. ]
market (a product) on a large scale.

Just looking at the number of posts in this forum compared to the other club fora on this website pegs it as mass market IMHO. This isn't a bad thing, it means that B&W Group has succesfully produced a good price to quality ratio compared to other brands on the market in its market segment by catering to the price conscious high-end audiophile client. This has allowed them to proliferate a wider base within the high-end audio market.

This assumes you consider Rotel high-end though. If you don't consider it high-end, then it is hardly mass market within its market segment, since Denon, Yamaha and a few others have it beat for sales in the mid-end market. It really depends on where you define the line between mid-end and high-end gear and whether or not Rotel falls on the mid-end or high-end of that definition. Rotel sells a lot more equipment than most high-end companies, but sells a lot less than most mid-end companies. Of course, if you choose not to divide the audio market into segments, then the cheapest equipment with the most well recognized and received brand name is often going to be a mass market manufacturer.

You've got to love relativity via definitions. The meaning of mass market depends on which market you place Rotel in and how many market segments you define. I need to stop procrastinating and start studying for the LSATs...


gianni,
I'm not sure about Rotel being at Best Buy, but Magnolia Audio, which was recently aquired by Best Buy and is now located within quite a few Best Buy stores, sells high-end audiophile gear more expensive than the highest priced Rotel gear. Gear some people consider better quality. A few chains besides Best Buy are starting to buy up independant audiophile stores and open them as sections within their stores to try and cover the entire market and not just the low end mediocre equipment most of these chains, like Best Buy, usually sell.

[JKalman]

Actually, mass market gear is sold via all outlets including online. Rotel is only sold by authorized dealers with no online sales approved, making it much more exclusive than "mass market".

The term "mass market" existed before online was used to sell products. I haven't seen the terms "online sales" or "internet sales" included in any definitions I have found for the term mass market thus far.

[Mitchell]

My 1080 was originally a lemon not a tomato. It is now peachy however.

[chinets]

I searched for ROTEL and it gave me Roach Motel ,a Roach killer type of home where Roaches enter and die.
I think my Rotel make me die and go to heaven when I listen to that great equipment.
Different strokes for different folks I guess!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!