Power, Value, Great Sound For Little Money

A great amp for not a lot of money. The detailed sound and large power capability make it an excellent match for my B&W Nautilus 805s.

Similar Products Used:

NAD 2100

Build quality, power for the buck, XLR connections

Some may not like the front heat sinks

Just added this to an Onkyo Tx-ds656 receiver, what a difference. Compared the 991 with other amps in the same price range (Adcom, Parasound, Anthem) and the Rotel seemed to deliver a broader range of sound. Both bass and the high range. The front panel heat sinks are a nice touch in my opinion, but I know that it may not be for everyone. This amp is definitely not for the Krell or Levinson crowd, but to attain significantly better sound, a significant amount of extra money has to be spent. Next step is to get the RC-995 preamp.

Excellent power. Precise control of speaker drivers. Removeable power cord (IEC). Big Heat sink on front! =p

None to complain about... Other than the price associated with equipment above the mainstream. While this unit is not in the Mark Levinson price range, it does cost a pretty penny.

This unit was the final step in upgrading my system. The upgrad started with Rotel's RCD-971 cd player, I noticed a much "louder", and significantly more defined signal feeding into the HK. Next came the RC-995. The soundstage literly exploded! Never realized how much of an improvement a preamp would make to a system. It revealed much more subtle details than the preamp portion of the HK (I suppose this would be a no brainer to some people out there!).

Then came the beastly 40 lb RB-991. Expecting much louder volume levels (60Wpc -> 200Wpc) I was surprised that it did not increase the sound level significantly. The amp takes a LONG time to break in, so low level details take a while to reveal themselfs! This amp definitely solidifies the bass and makes for a great sonic impact, it will not make up for speakers that do not have good bass response to begin with! Music has more energy and is much more enjoyable to listen to with the RB-991. If you take a floor model home with you for a trial period, chances are you won't be taking this amp back to the store! I ended up paying $900 (brand new) for this unit. I only wish it did not have to cost this much to begin with! I guess I shouldn't complain as many reviewers say the item performs above it's price range. This makes me scoff, to think that anyone would have to pay more than $900 for this level of performance and definition! While many people say the amp is "warm" sounding, I would characterize it as being very neutral and thankfully not cold or bright. Sure the amp leans toward the warm side, but is definitely not a warm amp. Anyone who is looking for an neutral/slightly warm amp will not regret purchasing this unit.

Of course there are people who enjoy bright/tizzly amps... like Krell, and think they are getting great sound, but are paying most for a big hunk of metal (the case). Always remember, Rotel's top units are at the thresh hold of diminishing return. If you buy more expensive equipment, the value decreses significantly. Unless you like harsh bright music, buy Rotel.

Current Equipment:
-RCD-971
-RC-995
-RB-991
-Linaeum Tower (Ribbon hybrid speaker)
-Monster 850i 1M pair between both cd and pre, pre to amp.
-Wireworld Horizon BiWire Speaker cable.

Similar Products Used:

Harmon/Kardon AVR20mkII(whole unit/and amp only while using RC-995 before RB-991)