Full, warm sound. Plenty of power.

None

This amp has been in my system for a little over a year. I picked this amp off Ebay based on previous positive expereince with Rotel products, as well as the endorsement of the midfi shop where I bought my speakers(Paradigm Studio 40s). I have not been dissapointed, to say the least. What I was looking for was an amp that wasn't afraid to give me some low end, and had the power to accurately define both instruments, and where they were within the mix. Boy did this amp deliver. For rock, this amp has been heaven. Guitars sound just as they should, and the bass slides in below and just drives the music. Vocals are laid out well on top. There is enough detail to pick up the nuances of each piece of music, but not so much that it sounds overly-analytical. Chamber music has been stunning as well. Lower-voiced instruments are robust and well defined; mid-voiced instruments have plenty of detail and warmth, and the higher instruments are able to sing without being strained. To my ears, this amp has also been able to handle full-orchesta just as well. Sections are defined both musically and spatially. The dynamic range provided by this amp truely shined here.

Similar Products Used:

Carver ???

Lovely presentation, brings vocals forward in a naturall manner, while keeping instrumentals slightly "behind" the voices. Warm and revealing. Powerful and clean bass.

None at this pricepoint...and significantly above

I purchased this amp because I got a great deal on it, WOW was I surprised when I hooked it up; So far I prefer the sound to an Aragon power amp and an Arcam 290 integrated, both are priced at multiples of this unit. I found that the sound is perhaps not as revealing as the Aragon BUT brings vocals forward in a very appealing manner. Whereas the Aragon was flatter in response, almost cold sounding. Instruments seem like they are naturally placed, if you listen to purely instrumental or clasical I suspect that the "clean" Aragon sound would be better but for Vocal music I much prefer the cheaper Rotel. A bargain for me! This is an upgraded and newer model than Stereophile's Class B winning RB-980BX I am under the impression that all Rotel power amps do NOT sound the same, but this one sounds just right :) Current System: Rotel RCD-971 (IEC upgrade) Arcam Delta 290 int (used as preamp/biamp) B&W P4 compact floorstanders (love these) Cables: Ecosse, Canare 4S11, Signal cable analog2 Way to go Rotel!

Similar Products Used:

Aragon, Arcam, Creek, Pioneer A400,

This Amp blows my Denon 3802 away when listening to music. The sound comes out of my power hungry speakers is absolutely beautiful. It puts in such a live-tone in the music that I feel the band is playing live right in my big living room. It works very well with the RC-972 preamp that is also from Rotel.

Power and Finesse, Large power supply - never runs out! Tank like build quality, Dual mono circuit layout - bridgeable!

None, other than give this baby it's own supply - not from a multitap!

I just recently bought the Rb-981 to go with a RC-972 pre I purchased on Ebay, and have to say that this power amp is absolutely fantastic. System:- Rotel RCD-971 Rotel RC-972 Rotel RB-981 JMLab Chorus 715 Van Den Hul The Bay C5 Interconnects Van Den Hul MCD352 Speaker Cable The RB-981 is built around Rotel's "balanced design concept" which basically means that you get sound per pound performance. The Rotel has a fantastically huge power supply, and the build quality is amazing - looks and feels like a tank (10.3kg), 500 damping factor into 8ohms! and ohh...it draws 400 watts from your power supply :0) But onto how it sounds...and it sounds like an absolute beast - a powerhouse. This is exactly why you buy a power amp - for true endless dynamic power! 'Tubular Bells 2' by Mike Oldfield is dynamic and premise hitting with a great sense of endless control. The good thing also about this power amp is that It can also go to the other extremes and is particularily good at finesse as well at any volume. 'Brothers in Arms' by Dire Straits is absolutely immense - every guitar note is heard with again a great sense of control and great listenability factor.

Similar Products Used:

Arcam 8P, Arcam 9P, Arcam P75, Naim Nap 110, 140, 250, Linn LK85

Value, Clean clear inviting sound, doesn''t run hot like some of the others.

discontinued

This is simply a great amp. Even though it is the least powerful of all my amps, it is my favorite. It will handle and sound great with both efficient and non-efficient speakers ex: Klipsch to Martin Logan. Yes I''ve used it on both Cornerhorns and ReQuests (that I owned). It has a very clean clear but inviting sound that makes you want to listen to more music, not get bored with it. Great build and value. I have never had a problem with any Rotel amp I''ve owned. (See my review on the RB-993)

Similar Products Used:

Rotel, Acurus, Krell, Acoustat, Golden Tube, Carver.

Great dynamics, tight exended bass, great detail.

No longer being manufactured...

Bought this amp to power a pair of relatively inefficient Newform Research ribbons. Was using Rotel 971 preamp. While Bass extension/speed was good, and treble mid range and treble was smooth, something seemed missing. And that persistant hum was annoying, even though only detectable a VERY low music levels, or when nothing ws playing. Tried a new preamp - Classe, and hugh diference. Clearly the amp was not the week link. Now dead silence when no muci playing, woth volume cranked. Much better detail, and bass is even tiighter. This is a great amp for the price, that can be matched with much higher end sources and preamps, with noticable improvements. Runs very cool. I am very happy with this purchase, and have a hard time imagining an improvement, even at 4-5 times the price. Next upgrade is the CD player. This amp will stay in my system for a long time.

Good value, plenty of power for most home applications, Clean, transparent sound - not harsh at all, bridgable to 360 watts as a monoblock

plain looking

I borrowed a RB970 ( 70 w/p/c ) from my dealer and thought that on loud peaks it was a little underpowered for my B&W P5 speakers in my rather large (400 sq ft.) listening room. Next I tried the RB981 - It was not only louder but cleaner sounding especially at the frequency extremes at the low and top end - I was impressed so I bought one. After careful listening through my CD player and Rotel 995 preamp I like the sound BETTER than the Krell KAV300i integrated I used to have - Sold the Krell because it didn't have enough inputs for all the gear I have.
Soundstage is plenty wide and deep - although the preamp has something to do with that also. Tried the Chesky demonstration disc - track twenty something ?? in which David Chesky walks left and right with a tom-tom drum. On good systems the sound appears to be coming from the left of the LEFT speaker and to the right of the RIGHT speaker ( outside the boundary of your two speakers).Instrument attack and decay are also well defined giving a better sense of depth to the music.
Some people knock Rotel products because although they are designed in England, they are made in China. The build quality on mine is excellent - I think they offer great "bang for the buck" - especially people like myself who can't afford megabuck high end products ..

Similar Products Used:

Rotel 970, Krell KAV300i

Power, Dynamics, Soundstage

none

This is my first amp. I wasn't sure if it would REALLY make a difference to my system. I connected my new B&W CDM7NT speakers to my Denon 2801 A/V receiver and listened to a song that I know well (highs and lows). My new speakers sounded beautiful. Then I connected the 981 amp and put on the same tune. It was just like someone had cleaned the wax out of my ears. GREAT sound, I was blow away.
Highly recommended. Can't go wrong for the price.

Similar Products Used:

nad

Clean, warm, dynamic sound. Well built.

None that I can see

I'm using the RB981 with a Chase RLC-1 passive pre-amp, a Yamaha CDC, and power hungry Magnepan MMGs. Sound is crystal clear, smooth, dynamic and warm. This is an excellent amp for the price!

Similar Products Used:

Adcom, Yamaha

Sound and price match perfectly together

Transformer hum

I use 4 of these amps for quite some time now. In my actually setup, two RB 981 are used for biamping front speakers, and the other two bridged to mono amplifying 2 subwoofer in my 5.1 home cinema.
I could not be more happy.
Especially when bridged to mono these amps can rock earth!
They drive my subs with incredible precision resulting in a clear extreme tight deep bass.
on the front speaker side the RB981 can reveal finest details in the mid/high section good with air and space in the music.
Even at very demanding levels the RB 981 only is slightly hand warm so that placing one over the others is not a problem.
Transformer hum can be noticed with the ear close to the speaker.
At his price point this amp is a winner.