Looks, transparancy and simplicity. I understood from specialists that the power supply is much better than the newer RC 995 and with the proper modifications, there is a lot to gain

Remote. Ugly and you cannot control the source from the couch and I am lazy as hell

For me it''s difficult to write a review of a pre-amp since this a my first pre/end combo. I just bought the RC RB 990bx combo and discovered a new world of amplification. Sounds great and can drive my B&W 801 speakers far better than my old Luxman integrated amp

I've owned this preamp for 3.5 years. When shopping, I compared it with the Adcom 750 and a McCormack (sp?) unit and the Rotel won hands-down. I listen to mostly LP, using a low output MC. The Rotel has a superb phono section, a 100 ohm low output (high gain) MC, and a standard 47kOhm high output MM section.
The Rotel sounds clean, transparent, tight with great grip and control. The sound is a good balance between "detailed and analytical" and "warm and lush". It's a no-nonsense, no frills ("on" button and function selector only) preamp with superb sound and good reliability.