Good dynamics, great seperation, will drive pretty much any speakers. Big & controlled bass.

Bright at the top end. Needs neutral sounding Interconnects unless tweaking sound of patnered source components.

Yamaha DSP-A1 (as digital pre-amp)
Marant MK63 KI signature (as CD transport)
B&W CDM 7SE (Front pairs)
B&W CDM 1SE (Rears)
B&W CDM CSE (centres)
QEDconnect 4S (interconnects)

Much better than using the Yamaha's internal amp. I will be purchasing a dedicated pre-amp porbably the TAG McClaren.

Noticed immediate and significant improvements in sound dynamics and seperation. Much bigger soundstage. Top end (Treble) a bit too bright, I think this may be due to my interconnects which are silver plated and hence not the most neutral sounding around. Will be changing these and will post the results.

No hum whatsoever, a miracle considering power output. I was expecting it to run very hot, but did not encounter this problem.

With Miles Davies "kind of blue" and Cassandra Wilsons "travelling miles" bass was bigger and more controlled. Notices some timbral notes on the left channel which I couldn't even detect on the DSP-A1.

I am very much in love with this amp, having demo'd many other similar amps. I look forward to coupling this with a quality dedicated Pre-amp.

A note on the interconnect. I use QED connect 4s which is silver plated and get plenty of detail - possibly too much at the top. Will be looking for a much more neutral sounding interconnects.

I completely recommend this product, don't be fooled into spending much more on similar but more expensive kit. If they are better sounding (and i doubt that very much) you'd certainly be paying over the odds for it.

Build quality is pretty o.k, not spectacular, but hey believe me you woulding be moving this AMP around too often. It weight a ton.

Got mine in the U.K for £1100 which is around $1800.

Anyone got any tips on a good quality pre-amp.

Almost limitless power, DB-25 input for convenient single wire connection to suitable AV preamps.

none really.

Its very difficult to justify spending more than this for
a five channel amplifier. It can drive any speaker with ease. Audio magazine did extensive technical measurements in one of the last issues they published and the results were superb. (high current, very low distortion, excellent S/N, damping factor, frequency response, its all here).

Associated equipment:

Rotel RSP-976 AV processor
Waveform Mach Solo Loudspeaker (main)
Waveform Mach MC (center & surrounds)

Similar Products Used:

none.

Clear Sound. Elegant Looks. Heavy Stuff.Powerfullllllll.

Probably the weight. But that's OK.

Used a few other integrated amps till date. But this one is awesome, stunning, beautiful crisp sound. GREAT.
I have used it only for a month now.
I was used to integrateds till now.
But now I feel on a completely new higher level of sound, quality, feel.
At first i felt this wasnt as good as i expected it to be, but after a couple of weeks Man!!!It felt like something.
I have never heard my speakers sound so crystal clear and great till date.
Worth every buck...
If your are looking to but an amp within 2500-3000$. This is it.

Rotel RMB-1095 Power Amplifier
Rotel RSP-976 Pre Amplifier
JMLabs Cobalt 820 Front Speakers
JMLabs Cobalt 807 Surrounds
JMLabs Cobalt CC20 Center
Velodyne CT-150 Sub
Panasonic DVD Player
Sony 34" Wega

Similar Products Used:

I have only used Integrated Amplifiers like Marants SR-19, Harman Kardon AVR-7000.

CLean enough for quality music listening w/out fatigue, loud enough for THX movie specs. Great value for the $$. Ability to bridge down and produce more power on lower ohm speakers.

Heavy w/ sharp edges.

I haven't used anything else myself since stepping into the audiophile arena. But, I have compared it to the equipment my friends own. And I may have a biased opinion, since it is mine, but compared to the Marantz, SONY ES, NAD, Bose, and Yamaha components I've heard, my piece stands alone. A nice combination of sound quality and power, for the money, Rotel is VALUE.

Run w/ 4ohm speakers it produces near 1800 Watts.. There are more powerful, and cleaner; but rarely the same package for under $3000. At around $1/watt, for an upper class amp, who can complain?

Similar Products Used:

none

seemingly endless power, authority, and clarity.

didn't fit in my rack (too tall)

I had to drive to IA to pick this amp up as Rotel dosen't allow its products to be ordered and shipped over the internet. It was well worth the drive as the great people at Audio-Video Logic have the RMB-1095 and the RSP-985 packaged together for about $2000. This is less than many recievers cost! And this system completely blows away any and every reciever on the market!

My only disappointment was that after lugging the refrigerator sized box home I found that it would not fit in my rack as it was too tall. This was solved with the purchase of a Salamander rack w/ adjustable shelves.

I should also compliment Rotel on the design of the box itself as it makes the arduous task of removing the amp less strenuous.

I wont repeat all the raving compliments that everyone else has said, just let it be known that I wholeheartedly agree w/ them.

price, performance

size- hard to fit in the rack and allow enough ventilation

Great product, highly recomended for home theater which is what I mostly use it for. Unlimited dynamic range or so it seems. Very hard to beat for the price. using it with a Denon 3300 receiver ( used as a pre-amp)and its a huge improvement over the internal amps. Now I have to buy a better pre-amp/processor. Suggest you match it with decent interconnects such as those by Rhinocables.com and speaker cables such as Nordost.

Similar Products Used:

NAD,Denon

Power,clean sound,softness,12V trigger-remote power on.

I had to reweld my Bell`oggetti rack in order to slide it in.

Best piece of electronic equipment in my house, period!
At first You have to listen to Enya-A day without rain,`best seller of all time-as of today`, on that unit.The reason I say that is a combination of Rotel 1095 with my Martin Logan Aerius I speakers (superior female vocal reproduction) supported by REL storm III subwoofer.Rotel`s combination of power and smoothness moves You to a room that has no walls.Yes there are B&W big speakers that sound even better with this CD, but please check that price tag.If you want to hear best of it just buy `Vertical limit` DVD,for your home theater.For DVD-A listening,it works well too. My equipment:

Amp:Rotel RMB-1095
Pre Amp:Anthem AVM2
Speakers:Martin Logan - Aerius I (front & rear)
Center spkr:Martin Logan - Cinema
Subwoofer:REL Storm III
Conditioner:Monster Power HTS5000
DVD-A:JVC XV-D723
Cables:Audio Quest Vipers,Cinema Quest,
TV:Pioneer SD-582HD5

Similar Products Used:

Anthem MCA 5, Krell KAV-250

wonderful sound
it has wheels to help you put this monster in place
12V switch to switch it on via your preamp

'industrial' look: not elegant.

I bought this one because I couldn't reproduce the sound of my speakers like I heard them in the shop. In the beginning, I thought that it was the notorious break-in period of the B&W CDM 9NT's, but although it improved, I was still missing the feeling of being in the same room as the musicians, especially when playing at low volumes.

So I concluded that the receiver (DENON 3801), that I bought together with the speakers, had been a wrong choice. My first thought was to replace it by a pre-amp power-amp combination, but I decided to first give it a try by buying a power amp, and using the DENON as pre-amp. It's almost unbelieveble, but I bought that $2400 amp, without even hearing it, nor any other one the same price range. (I live in China, and it's almost impossible to find a dealer who uses this in his listening room. They either use receivers, or otherwise some bloody expensive stuff like Classe). I ordered it, based on the comments on this web site.
And I don't regret it. This machine compensates for the weaknesses that I already knew of my denon, but I even discovered some details that I never heard before (This is a cliche, ut that's really what happens when you hear someting on better material than you're used to).

Major difference with my previous setup: I don't have to play loud te hear everything and to get a good bass.
For me this is a top scorer, perfectly comparable to the classe's and others that cost 2 or 3 times more.

My system:
DENON 3801 receiver, used as preamp
ROTEL RMB1095 power amp
B&W CDM9NT front speakers
KEF Q35 surrounds (my old main speakers)
SONY CD player
A 'cheaper than cheap' centre speaker (next component to be replaced.

Similar Products Used:

none

Tremendous dynamic power. Looks, Sweet, sweet sound. Endless power reserves. Build quality, and rear casters to assist in moving this heavyweight.

Very heavy, and not easy to move, even with the aid of the rear casters.

Hello all. For a long time I was using the Denon 4800 as my all in one. Great receiver, plenty of features, excellent build quality, good power supply. I liked the Denon. But then I upgraded my speakers, and decided my new speakers were really worthy of a pure power amp. Thus the search began.....

I first listened to the Rotel. Immediately I was struck by its looks. It looks like a giant radiator, but you know this thing means business. After about 15 minutes or so of playing some music to let the amp warm up, the serious audition began. I first listened to Stevie Ray's Tin Pan Alley. A great, laid back tune. The way the song was portrayed through the Rotel was magnificent! Very sweet, soft and mellow, I could almost taste it, truly. But I could just feel that this amp was begging for something hard hitting and heavy. At this point I knew it could handle the soft stuff with poise and ease. I really wanted to open it up and see what it could do. Okay, I pop in Rush Moving Pictures. Went to Camera Eye, a 10+ minute song. It starts out soft and slow and then builds momentum. Same deal, the Rotel handled it with such grace. Literally letting the tune just ooze out in the beginning. Well once Neil Peart gets going and really kicks it in and hammers away, it was like all of a sudden a window just opened up, and everything let loose. Drum hits were so sharp and snappy, I could get a feel for them right there in the room. Bass was very tight, and very dynamic, all the while staying in complete control. Vocals were amazing. Geddy Lee's voice was just piercing, not overly done or bright, but just like it is in real life. But it was also very subdued sounding on other tracks. Everything was very sharp, and very accurate. By the way, the speakers used during the demo was a pair of Paradigm Monitor 11's. I like the Paradigm line, but their speakers are not for me. Well, mated with the Rotel, I could have brought them home and lived with them, that speaks volumes for an amp.

Next, dvd, Lost In Space. I could honestly feel the dynamic power of the Rotel. What I really enjoyed most was just the little extra subltelist of details that became very apparent. I knew this amp was going home with me. I also gave a listen to the Parasound and the Anthem, just for kicks. Both were very nice amps, but I just didn't get that "feeling" like I did with the Rotel. You could just sense that this amp was looking at you and saying, come on gimme something challenging! I just got a sense about the Rotel, I don't know.....

I have now had the Rotel in my system for 7 months now. I can honestly say it is my favorite piece in my system. I use it to drive Dynaudio's, and as you may or may not know, the Danes are not an easy speaker to drive.

I truly notice things in both cd's and dvd's that I never had before. I won't say that I am hearing these things for the first time, but with the Rotel, the subtle things are really brought out more. For example from The Yes Album cd, track 5, A Venture, there is 1 part in the song when the music stops and it's just the band singing in unison, I can hear every band members voice. I can hear each voice separated like it was a solo. Also from the David Sanborn cd Songs From The Night Before, track 5 Spooky, I can hear the sound of bongos throughout. This is a very complex tune, with lots of different instruments playing, but I can pick up every little nuance in the recording. The Danes mated with the Rotel is just about as good as it gets, without getting into the stratosphere in cost/performance. I have run the Rotel in 5 channel stereo through my processor, with all 5 speakers going for hours on end, and the Rotel just gets lukewarm. I don't know how Rotel has managed to put together such an impressive piece for the money, but they have done it.

1 other quick note, when I auditioned the Dynaudio's at my local shop, they were demod using some high end McCormack separates, with some of the heaviest duty cable I've seen. The speakers sounded incredible. But I was concerned that I was hearing them on a high end, strictly 2 channel setup with superior electronics. And although the Rotel is a fabulous piece, I was just wondering if it would be able to do as much justice as the high end setup in the store. Well when I got the Danes home, and fired up, I played the exact same tracks I had at the shop, and if anything, they sounded better through the Rotel. Diana Krall sounded so smooth, airy and effortless in the shop with the McCormack supplying the power, but if anything, the Rotel kept everything as smooth and effortless, but brought her that much closer into the room. Whereas in the shop, the vocals sounded great, but they seemed to be just set back a bit further. I did not notice this until I got home and played the same tracks through the Rotel.

Sorry this was so long, but I hope sharing my experience with this amp will help those trying to decide on which amp is best for your system.

Here is my complete setup:
Denon AVR4800 - preamp
Rotel RMB1095 - power amp
Onkyo Integra DPS-5 - dvd player
Pioneer PD-F908 - 101 disc cd player
Pioneer 51 inch rptv
Dynaudio Audience 82 - mains
Dynaudio Audience 122C - center
Dynaudio Audience 52 - rears
Dual SVS 20-39CS with Samson amp - subs
Transparent MusicWave Plus speaker cable for mains and center
Transparent MusicLink interconnects throughout
Esoteric in-wall speaker cable used for rears (soon to be replaced with Transparent in-wall cable.)

Thanks for reading, and feel free to email

Have a great day!

Similar Products Used:

Denon AVR4800, Parasound HCA2205A, Anthem MCA5

Works well with a large number of speakers, sweet sound, powerful

None

This is an excellent, powerful amplifier!
It is a tad on the sweet side, which works well for
home theaters, given that many movie soundtracks are on
the bright side. In addition, its "sweet" characteristic
allows it to be used with many speakers, and will likely last a longer time for owners of this amp as they upgrade their speakers in the future (I have no intention of upgrading my speakers ... for a while, at least). I have Paradigm version 1 Reference Studio speakers (Studio 100s for front left and right, CC-450 for center, ADP-450 for surrounds, Servo 15 for subwoofer). These speakers are (very slightly) on the bright side, so the Rotel RMB-1095 works great with these speakers. The Rotel RMB-1095 can be turned up at reference level with no
listening fatigue, unlike many other amps that are more on the bright side. The bass delivered by the Rotel is excellent. Very tight bass. I run my front left and right Paradigm Studio 100 speakers full range, and the remaining speakers as "small". Even though I already have the Servo-15 subwoofer (an excellent subwoofer that is capable of delivering high levels of bass below 20Hz), the Rotel further improved the bass response of my system, especially the front left and right speakers, which are driven full range (formerly, I was running the front left and right speakers with 85 watts per channel). I also tried biamping my front left and right speakers, using the left and right surround channels of the Rotel to drive the woofers of the Paradigm Studio 100s, and the left and right front channels of the Rotel to drive their tweeters. Before doing this biamping experiment, I was skeptical that I would hear a difference. Surprisingly, the quality of the sound was significantly better biamped! There was greater detail, clarity, and bass. For now, I'm using my receiver's internal amps to drive the left and right surround speakers so that I can leave the front left and right speakers biamped.

Note that the latest versions of the Rotel RMB-1095 amplifier has a 12 volt remote trigger-on capability. This
was a nice surprise, since earlier models did not have this capability (as indicated by some reviewers below).

Enough said. Overall, a great amp!!!

Similar Products Used:

Denon receiver, Marantz MA700 monoblocks, NAD amp.