Rotel

Rotel is one of two of our companies that have introduced an entirely-new line this year. With so many new products, it's impossible for us to talk about them all in detail, so we'll have to settle for some of the highlights. In the 2-channel area, there is a new CD player, the RCD-1520 at $999, a new integrated amplifier, the 60 watt/channel RA-1520 at $999, two new preamplifiers, the RC-1550 at $699 and the RC-1580 at $1299, two new Class-AB power amplifiers, the 120 watt/channel RB-1552 at $899 and the 200 watt/channel RB-1582 at $1499, and three new Class-D power amplifiers, the 65 watt/channel RB-1510 at $599, the 100 watt/channel RB-1562 at $799, and the 250 watt/channel RB-1572 at $1499. Some of these models such as the RCD-1520 and the RA-1520 are slightly more expensive than their predecessors, but that's because Rotel decided to take the high road and improve the design and sonic performance for the new 15-Series models. Some, like the RB-1562 are slightly less expensive than last year's version without any decrease in performance.

Both of the AV receivers and the RSP-1570 processor are fully HDMI 1.3 compatible, have all of the latest Dolby and DTS decoders, are 4-zone capable, and are Dolby 7.1 compatible. The RSX-1550 has five Class-AB channels on board, and the RSX-1560 has seven Class-D power amplifier channels built in. The RSX-1560, with its cool-running Class-D power amplifiers, will be particularly well suited for placement in cabinets and enclosures where ventilation is problematical. Both the RSX-1550 and RSP-1570 are at exactly the same price as their predecessors but have improved features and performance, and the three multi-channel Class-D models incorporate Rotel's latest design features for this class of amplifier. All in all, we think that the new 15-Series is a very strong offering from Rotel and, combined with the company's 5-year warranty on all models but the CD player, should make many customers very happy.