$7,500 Rotel gear vs. $200 Sony receiver

[sirbogey]

Hi guys, yes, it's pure frustration

RDV1060 broken again for the 3rd time in over 4y. Has been sitting with Rotel Hong Kong for 6.5 weeks now; apparently they are still waiting for the parts from London.

RMB1075 problems with right surround speaker. Sitting with Rotel Hong Kong for 3 weeks now. Initially I was told nothing was wrong with it, then I was asked to bring in my RSP1098, after insisting there's a problem. And they are telling me they are waiting for some parts, to test the amp (yes, you heard right "waiting for parts to test" not to repair)

I asked them to give my an older receiver, so that I can at least watch something :twisted: Nope, nada. Ended up buying a new $200 Sony receiver. And guess what?! I'm happy with it! At least it doesn't break :W and if it does I just throw it out the window and get another one. That's still $400 vs $7,500.

So how much more time should I give them before I lose my mind and request all the unrepaired gear back (worth $7.5k) :B

So, after 8y of Rotel ownership I'm ready to throw in the towel. Yes, there was the RSX1055 in the past, with some health problems on it's own. I really don't think Rotel's built quality is any better from the other mainstream gear.

Please prove me wrong. I came to the understanding, that if you do own Rotel you ought to have every model twice, just in case your first choice ain't working...

so nuff philosophy :rofl:

[miner]

I have the RC-1070, RC-1090, RB-1070, RB-1092, RCC-1055, RCD-1072, RLC-900, RLC-1040 - some for 4 yrs now. Only problem was fuse issue on RB-1070 when speaker cables got crossed. No other problems to date. Sorry for your frustration. I still feel Rotel price/performance is tough to beat.

[artv4]

i would be patient and stick with the best

[impala454]

If you're happy with it bud, the only person you have to justify it to is yourself.

[joetama]

I've switched all my Rotel stuff with Sim Audio & an old MOS-FET PA amp and I couldn't me more than happy.

I'm looking now to sell my RB-1080 & RSP-1098 because the other gear preforms so much better. I honestly was shocked when I started changing over equipment in my system. I used to be pretty impressed with Rotel. But I'm not anymore. I really want to try some Bryston Equipment out, but it is a bit out of my price range ATM.

[artv4]

i will take your rb-1080

[joetama]

You really want it?

[PewterTA]

What are you crazy?!?! There's no way that a $200 sony could even come close to the ultimate superiority of Rotel. Heck, Rotel is better than Classe, Bryston, any <uber elite system mentoned here>!!!!!!

LOL

Okay, sorry had to get that out for the elite Rotel fanboys out there, you know they'll want to chime in.

Anyways...

I agree if I had, had all those problems with my Rotel stuff, I'd be getting rid of it all as well. Luckily I have yet to experience any problem with my 3 year old (RSP-1098/RMB-1095/1080/RT-1080) equipment.

You have to go with what works for you. If the Sony sounds as good and you are happy with it, bonus for you since you just saved/made a bunch of $$$!

Don't listen to all us, go with what you think sounds good and is reasonable for you!
-Dan

[joetama]

What are you crazy?!?! There's no way that a $200 sony could even come close to the ultimate superiority of Rotel. Heck, Rotel is better than Classe, Bryston, any <uber elite system mentoned here>!!!!!!

LOL

Okay, sorry had to get that out for the elite Rotel fanboys.

I agree if I had, had all those problems with my Rotel stuff, I'd be getting rid of it all as well. Luckily I have yet to experience any problem with my 3 year old (RSP-1098/RMB-1095/1080/RT-1080) equipment.

You have to go with what works for you. If the Sony sounds as good and you are happy with it, bonus for you since you just saved/made a bunch of $$$!

Don't listen to all us, go with what you think sounds good and is reasonable for you!
-Dan

I'm just curious what Rotel product is better than Classe, Bryston, Sim, etc etc.

I've used Rotel, and now I'm using and/or have tried the others and I just don't see how you can say that.

[esaleris]

I believe Pewter's comment was sarcasm, if you read closer.

[wettou]

What are you crazy?!?! Heck, Rotel is better than Classe, Bryston, any <uber elite system mentoned here>

Maybe you should listen to Rotel next to Classé first and then talk?

[btf1980]

Jeez, it's pretty obvious that Pewter was kidding.

[PewterTA]

Yeah guys, I didn't think it was THAT hard to figure out that I was mimmicing the complete "fanboy" scenario! lol

I even edited the post to help enhance the fact that I was just joking.

...and honestly surprised there hasn't been more people stating Rotel = God. :E :rofl:

[DL86]

I have 3 pieces of rotel equipment all of which have worked flawlessly. Rotel rb-1080, rb-1090 and an RMB-100. Couldn't be more satisfied at the moment. Got my technics sl1200mk2 turntable now with a ortofon 2m bronze cartridge and it sounds truly phenomenal. I need the power of the rotel amps to drive my paradigm's, tried a receiver and it sounded pretty flat.

[JDH]

I have the RDV-1060, haven't had a problem with it, (had it about 2 years). Only Rotel product I had issued with was the RB-1080 ie. left channel failure issue. Also recently purchased the RSP-1069 and to be honest I'm also happy with that too. Seems like you have had a bad run, it would be good to know what the statistics are on Rotel failure compared to similar brands.

JDH.

Hi guys, yes, it's pure frustration

RDV1060 broken again for the 3rd time in over 4y. Has been sitting with Rotel Hong Kong for 6.5 weeks now; apparently they are still waiting for the parts from London.

RMB1075 problems with right surround speaker. Sitting with Rotel Hong Kong for 3 weeks now. Initially I was told nothing was wrong with it, then I was asked to bring in my RSP1098, after insisting there's a problem. And they are telling me they are waiting for some parts, to test the amp (yes, you heard right "waiting for parts to test" not to repair)

I asked them to give my an older receiver, so that I can at least watch something :twisted: Nope, nada. Ended up buying a new $200 Sony receiver. And guess what?! I'm happy with it! At least it doesn't break :W and if it does I just throw it out the window and get another one. That's still $400 vs $7,500.

So how much more time should I give them before I lose my mind and request all the unrepaired gear back (worth $7.5k) :B

So, after 8y of Rotel ownership I'm ready to throw in the towel. Yes, there was the RSX1055 in the past, with some health problems on it's own. I really don't think Rotel's built quality is any better from the other mainstream gear.

Please prove me wrong. I came to the understanding, that if you do own Rotel you ought to have every model twice, just in case your first choice ain't working...

so nuff philosophy :rofl:

[TommyV]

I am over 3 years in on my RSX=1057 and it still works like a champ.

[cfrizz]

Wow that is some bad luck with Rotel gear. I bought my first Rotel gear back in 1990 & it lasted through 15 years with me & another 3 with my brother before finally dying!

If I had all the trouble that you had, I be looking for another company to do business with as well.

Good luck.

[yourtoys7]

1057 for 3years, 1080 for 2years and they are running very well.

[sirbogey]

Interesting read. Thanks for all the replies. Of course the sound from the $200 Sony is not even close to Rotel. But then again, neither is it close to other high end stuff. It just amazes me how many trips I've paid to Rotel service department in the last couple of years... I'm just wondering whether spending all that cash is really worth it. I could go with some 1k receiver and be hasslefree...

[PewterTA]

Could or you could get that $1k receiver and have a ton of problems as well...

Or you could get a new Rotel units and not have a single problem...

It's just the way of the manufacturing process and shows not everything is identical from one unit to the next.

At this point I think you should start demoing all receivers/processors that you are interested in and get the best sounding one. Then go from there, you might or might not have problems with it.

[sirbogey]

GREAT NEWS!

got all my units back today! They were fixed, finetuned, upgraded with latest software versions, massaged, pampered and polished. And for all my troubles and long waiting time, I wasn't charged a penny!

ROTEL RULES after all. And yes, the sound of my Rotel gear is just so much better over Sony.

But I'm sure I'll get another Rotel receiver just to be on the safe side (should sth happen again)...

[brmh16]

Just to chime in a bit….I have a 1068, 1075, 1072 and 1062 (1062 and 1072 are part of a bedroom system) all are 3 to 4 years old. Couple of months ago the 1068 had a major met down. The met down coincided with an electrical storm not really sure if related. Anyways I took the 1068 to my local dealer they boxed it up and sent it to Rotel. For a stop gap I purchased an open box Pioneer VSX-1017TXV receiver. I really thought that the Pioneer using my adcom 5500 for the mains and the 1075 for center, surrounds and rear channels would be a match for the 1068. It did not take long to notice that the 1068 was much better at processing digital signals and was in another league using the analogue signal from my Music Hall CD player or a rotel phono stage.

Anyway. The 1068 was back in my hands in 3 weeks time, no questions asked, was not charged a cent. Not to sound like a fanboy but it is hard to top the cost/performance ratio that Rotel targets. And I am now very happy with the service provide when a piece of equipment did fail.

[howburger]

Check out Emotiva's website

I've been reading a number of posts in different forums(fora?) about different Emotiva products, processors, amps and speakers. They seemed to be pretty positive. It looks like they may have taken Outlaw's business model and taken it beyond. Worth a look! Their prices are amazing.

By the way, I'm a happy Rotel guy. RSP1068, RMB1095, RB990BX.

Harold

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