Bought a whole rotel system many years ago and still working beautifully. Two rb1070 bi-amped rc1070 pre amp rc1072 cd player. Matched wiith a rega rp3 turntable (nagaoka mp110 cart) and old kef q75uniq speakers the sound is stunning and powerful. Over the years I have used my test cd (led zep, callas. Mary Black “columbus”’,roxy music “avalon” ) and pestered many hi fi stores in Sydney doing comparison tests. (Yes it was me) Quite eye opening and shocking the hype that’s out there surrounding equipment. Hi fi is very subjective. So many factors and components involved including the listener. I have always looked for a neutral accurate sound and the rotel rb/rc series supply this. As you get into the heady world of class A equipment the Krells Magnaplaner world the law of diminishing returns applies. For every $1000 spent you get a 1% improvement.

Some mention brightness in the treble but matched with the rc1070 pre amp and Kef speakers I found no such problem. Very realistic accurate and powerful.

Well, this unit ain't a bargain, but most hifi gear ain't, only you buy a great case, a nice transformer , cooling blocks and when bought new, some nice caps. The amp stage is as allways ,with most brands superbasic..also the expensive 8000dollars once and i openend mrefurbished goldnote , and the endstage was a simple tip 142 147 driven bij a tip 35c and and nice class a transistor stage...which makes the difference offcourse. But why do you guys buy
an old amp and if it doesn't right, sell it again. Won't you first open the unit which contains allmost nothing and at least measure or replace the powerstage parts, which are cheap, and
same for the wires. And if you have no education or know how about electronics, you're better of buying new gear. I have my master micro elec. and i'm sick, so time enough to refurb old gear and never had a mismatch with speakers since often impedance is the problem, which you can correct. I bought a 2001 version and allready had most parts needed to upgrade the amp
and the resistors didn't match at all anymore and also replaced the powercaps,which wasnt needed in a hurry, ...well it sounded very sweet with sonus faber venere 3.0, which ain't the sweetest speakers to listen to with most gear....harsh sound....mainly caused by a cheap crossover. But since it's 15 years old, which is the standard time to replace or refurbish electronics, i would just download the service manual and also use better components where possible. Rotel is like roksan caspians amp, standard buildtopology, and the 5000euro amps use nothing special, that's why i love them..... And the 1070 has sooo many space ....you can build improvements in it on seperate boards. But don't overpay, since the electronics in it have no value, but the case is perfect if you want to build an amp yourself....you don't buy that for under 250 euro. Great for a hypex dual mono amp. 2*400watts or even the 180watts modules will do.Dsp possible.... But those units sound great, better then the rotel offcourse and you find those amps and the smps powersupplies in 8000euro amps, while those powersupplies just cost 300euro 1200watt. Yes you get ripped of, but that's allways with audio. And that nonsense from mid and budget high fi... There is no such thing, only the best what is available on the market is hi-fi, the rest is commercial nonsense. Budget F-1 cars???
And the outside counts for 50%.... So no-one on these fora owns real high fiiii, just audio gear.

First off the last review is comparing a Nelson Pass design Amp which I have owned over the years, hence the old name "Threshold" and I will agree with the reviewer, beautiful made Amps. But this is at best a good Mid-Fi Amp and does what it says it does, heck it even ran my Magnepans with zero issues. So if your looking for a great sounding fast and decent bass Amp you can pick one of these up for $300-$500 bucks used which is worth every penny. Comparing a Honda Accord to a Ferrari is not in the best interest of anyone on here. Very few negative reviews, the best thing anyone can do is demo one for yourself, great Amp for HT setup or a
good pair of bookshelfs, and it can run any floor stander as well. And the speakers used where both 4ohm speakers, so hogwash on it not being able to run low-impedance speakers. I have seen your same review over at other sites.. same drivel, granted the 1070 isn't the best Amp they have ever made, but it sure isn't horrible.... Heck the value rating alone gives it 5 stars for what you get.

I came from another mid-fi power amp, an older Carver, to the Rotel, due to some noise within the Carver from aging capacitors. With the Carver sidelined, I put the Rotel into the system last autumn. I could immediately hear a difference, and not a good one. I have since replaced it with a far better Nelson Pass-designed "Stasis" amplifier that puts both of these amps to shame, but it is interesting to note the Carver is actually closer to the Pass than the Rotel.

So, what is it about the Rotel? One thing I notice is how it sucks the life out of music. It is not a musical amplifier--the sound is sterile, bland and lifeless. And it is not neutral by any means. The midrange does not have the open, flowing quality I expect in better power amplifiers. The soundstage is also presented flatter than the other two amps, not projecting much of an image beyond placing sounds between the left and right speakers.

It also fails in power delivery and bass response. There is no weight to the lower octaves at all, not like the other two. Granted, the Rotel has a lower power rating, but I am not talking about playing music at levels near the peak power output of any of these amps--this is at average levels between 90-95 decibels. This is indicative of an anemic power supply section. Another indication of this anemic power supply is the amp's inability to properly drive low-impedance speakers, and the dire warning about not using the amp in bridged mode with impedances lower than eight ohms, making it essentially useless to drive speakers such as electrostatics, planars or ribbons.

I can't fault the quietness of the amplifier--you cannot hear any background noise unless you are right up against the speaker. Thanks to the delay circuitry, there is only a barely audible turn-on thump. There are no hums or rattles from the amplifier either. The build quality is also superb, although the chintzy fake heatsinks on the front ring somewhat false with me. (The real heatsink, to which the power output transistors are attached, are inside the case.) One annoying aspect of the amp, however, is a "snap" through the speakers when it is turned off--for an amp of this caliber, I expect better than that.

Overall, the sterile, anemic sound of this amplifier prevent me from recommending it. You can do far better for the money.

just get it few days ago,and its pure pleasure to listen to it with my castle speakers :) really good and deep sound,dynamic,plenty of power,and stage... ! its perfect match to any stereo ! its a monster! this thing need a speakers to run!

Just bought this amp today attempting to add more power than my RB-970mkII has. Hooked up the 1070 and immediately noticed a difference. Unfortunately it was worse, much worse. Put the 970 back in and am willing to part with the 1070 if you are interested. I rated this amp one star because it doesn't sound good in my system consisting of a Mac 220 pre amp and CDM9NT speakers. It may very well be a great amp with other components, just not mine. The 970 is very musical, was hoping the 1070 had the same character but just higher power. Owned the 1090 several years ago, which was pretty good. Believe it or not the best sounding Rotel I've heard so far is the little 930ax. More power doesn't mean better sound all the time.

I have had this amp for four years, never any problems what so ever. Got it new at Audio Visions. It sounds outstanding, movies and definitely music compared anything in its price range and above. I would not sell or trade it. Thanks Rotel youve done it again!!!!

finally, an amp that can drive B & W speakers! i could never understand why the music sounded 'not good' on B & W speakers with Marnatz or any other receivers... finally got the rotel combo of amp and pre amp and behold, awesome!!! these can drive B & W like a horse..and no fatigue with speakers because Rotel delivers pure music every itme according to the recording!

If possible, and if time permits, I'd like to thread 4 yellow rubberrings around my husbands erect manhood and walk naked through the streets of an high-income neighbourhood. In summer of course, or else the rubberrings might fall off.

Plenty of power for transient notes
Clean power
Nice looking amp
Good basic design
Quality parts inside

Not as smooth sounding or soft as tube like amps
Might be a bit bright which is typical of Rotel gear

I bought this amp in April 2006. Having had Rotel gear before with a RC 980 preamp mixed with a RB 970 BX II amp, I knew what to expect somewhat. I use this amp with a RC 995 preamp today. I bought mine as a demo since it was all they had left. That saved me 25% off the list price which ended up being $750 Canadian. I was very happy about that. The same day I got the amp I also picked up a set of new B&W 602 s3 speakers. I used to have the 602 s2 before, so I also knew what to expect. With the 995 pre and 1070 amp- I get a decent quality sound that one would expect in this price range. It can easily crank loud if needed, but I dont often go beyond 9 oclock on the preamp. The sound is smooth and works well with the speakers. Ive heard many times Rotel is a good match with B&W speakers. Not suprising the two companies are owned by one parent company. I heard Classe components with the B&Ws and though nice, did not impress me considering they are high end. Rotel many not be as refined, but can pass for quality. My stereo room is not setup at its best due to space considerations, so I cant give an impression much on the spacial-dimensional quality of this amp. When it gets moved into another place with a bigger room, then I can tell how good it is. But based on what I've heard so far, its a good amp. I has plenty of power to pound on those high impact moments with classical music. The juice this thing puts out reminded me of my previous Rotel 970 amp- its got balls. It may not be as smooth or soft as I had it with my Luxman hybrid integrated amp I had years past, but that unit had tubes- so there is the difference. But the Rotel definately has the extra power for transients unlike the Luxman. I'll give another review in the future when I get to know this system better. My plan in the future is to keep the Rotel and have it power the bass speakers on a set of B&W 804s, and run a tube amp for the mids and highs. I may switch to a tube preamp by then which means my Rotel preamp will get duty elsewhere or be sold off. Keep in mind Rotel is starting to produce Class D digital power amps, so how long these old design amps will be around is anyones guess.

Customer Service

Though I didnt need it for this amp, I did need customer service for my preamp. It needed some feet since they were taken off many years ago. Rotel service in Europe sent me a set of free feet for my preamp no charge! Excellent service.

Similar Products Used:

Rotel RB 970 BX II amp
Luxman LV 103 amp
Denon PMA 300 amp