Hello All

After dabbling in audio for the best part of 30+ years ive found this preamp to be one of the better preamps that ive had. Great imaging, deep bass , good mids and treble and extremely reliable/simple build, a definate keeper. Works well with bass correction for difficult situations, and will push the lowest registers.
Unfortunately i recently upgraded or shall we say downgraded to the rc-1590. More money doesnt always buy better sound . The rc-1550 just blows away the new preamp in the bass department and just sounds better overall.
The rc-1590 is all mid and hi, it seems like they roll of the bass under 60/80hz so your stuck with a shouty, tinny, annoying sound, good for warm book shelf speakers but not for b&w cm10 with metal domes. Remote on the 1550 is better, overall operation is nicer.
Ive tried everything to get a warmer sound or at least some low bass but to no avail, the rc-1590 will not except a proccesor/dac or bass correction on its analog inputs , if you try youll overload the inputs resulting in cracking and loud banging noises. The 1550 or other preamps ive had had no problems with this.
If you want all midrange and highs buy the rc-1590 , the b&w dealing is waiting for you to come back to buy a sub.. If you want a great sounding preamp built to last get the rc-1550/1580 .
Avoid the upgrade urge and stay with the 1550..!

I bought the thing 2 weeks ago and i was afraid of loosing the ''PRESENCE'' of my hold ADCOM preamp (At the time,25 years ago ADCOM was a price/quality bargain). I was astonish to listen to the powerfull bass and the sub-bass that produce great ''presence''; the MID's are delivered with precision and the HIGH's are crystal clear; all that spectrum is bring with no agressivity even at high volume and are able to identify each instrument mostly with acoustic type of music. I was afraid off the selector knob because with the time they become noisy but i was surprise that ROTEL use relay to switch audio source inside to minimise that kind of problem. It comes in black with blue LED to identify the knob position, even this soft design add to the quality off the product. In conclusion i was more than impress with the sound and to add to those qualities more you listen to it more it seem to deliver sharpness and presence, it is may be because i'm in love with it !!