Hello

Been an audio enthusiast for the better part of 30+ years and was happy with the rc-1580 until the upgrade bug set in again. Now i own to my dissapointment a rc-1590 looks great but isnt (avoid). Previous preamps were the rc-1550/1580, which to my ears were not worlds apart.
But both very very good. Deep bass, good soundstaging , great mids , good highs.
Both the rc-1550 and 1580 kill the cr-1590 in the bass department. This new preamp does not except any kind of bass correction or dac/proccessor on its analog inputs, it will clip crack/bang so if you have a difficult or large room and need equalization or correction avoid the rc-1590.
With the 1550/1580 or with any other preamps/amps i never had any problems using bass correction on the analog inputs.
With th rc-1580 my b&w cm10s sounded great albeit with room correction. The rc-1590 sounds thin , shouty and extremely bass shy ,(almost no bass), rolled of between 60/80hz, great for warm bookshelf speakers in a small room with a sub , but not for floorstanders with metal domes.
Ignor the upgrade urge and stick with the rc-1580, its better and built to last.

Previous rc-1580/1550 had both
Now rc-1590 , regretfully just sold
rb-1582
b&w cm10
rc-1570
rt-12

I bought pre-amp 3 months ago. I had listened to several pre-amps in this price range, none of them had the control and precision over the music like the Rotel. The bass is more defined, drums and guitars sound very natural, but horns and piano are off the hook. I use this pre-amp with a Rotel Rb-1552 stereo amp, and I tried several sets of speakers and they all sound Great! If you can get tha chance, demo these against others in a similar or higher price range you will notice the difference. Trust me the demo is free!!!

very quite noise floor ,very detailed and subtle
but at same very very natural,it's drive the music without manipulate
the signal in audioble way,as others do in this price.
it's transparentsy comming very close to gear triple the price!
no competition in this price level.

I bought this preamp to replace my old Citation, which finally ran its course. This preamp is wonderful. The transparency and clarity is better than my old Citation and the unit has all of the functions one would want. I have it hooked up to my B&W Active 1 speakers and the sound is smooth and natural with no coloration.

This is my first Rotel product, and I am very impressed. You don't have to spend a fortune to get great audiophile sound our equipment.