I also owned a RHC-10 and RHB-10.I have searched in vain for a Rotel Owners Club and suspect there is enough love out there to warrant one...
I owned three Micho marvels until earliet this year when I foolishly parted with them in order to fund a regrettable speaker purchase... RHB-10 power amp, RHC-10 passive preamp (probably the wekest link in the chain) and RHQ-10 MM/MC phono stage apologies for stock photo):
A few months ago, having missed out on rare RHCD-10, I bought a wonderful RCD-991 Audiophile Edition as recounted here:
In October I started re-assembling a mixed vintage Rotel stack and managed to find a mint RB-991 with its lovely balanced inputs:
This week a rather more recent pre arrived, a lovely RC-1570 with balanced outputs, built in DAC and fabulous connectivity:
Hi Tony, It's interesting to contrast your experience with your Rotels with mine! I use RQ/RC/RB970BX x2 I preferred the sound of bridged monos to the bi amping alternative into my ProAc Tablettes.Here's my current Rotel Stack. RC-980BX Preamp (no tone controls) and twin RB-850 power amps. I've owned a RB-850 since they first came out (used then with a QED passive preamp). More recently I decided to get another one to try them in bridged mono, but I found a much more recent pair for £200 (as shown in the photo). I tried them initially in bridged mono but didn't really need all that power so switched them to the much sweeter sound of bi-amp. Each power amp plays in stereo, one powering the tweeters and the other the bass drivers. Overall, the biggest step up was adding the RC-980BX. It added so much texture to the sound.
Hi Andy. The speakers are Kef IQ5SE, so nothing really special (recommended power 15 to 130 watts, 88db sensitivity) so they don't really need the 150 wpc that bridged mode brings. I certainly noticed the improvement in control when going from 1 amp to 2, but the preamp made more difference. Like you say, the differences are what makes the hobby interesting.Hi Tony, It's interesting to contrast your experience with your Rotels with mine! I use RQ/RC/RB970BX x2 I preferred the sound of bridged monos to the bi amping alternative into my ProAc Tablettes.
What speakers do you have?
The extra power available wasn't an consideration to me, rather the preferrable, to me at least, sound quality.
This kind of apparent paradox is what makes this hobby so fascinating!
I've enjoyed mine for 26 years and they've never missed a beat which says a lot about the build quality especially at the price.
Andy
Synergy is a big part in the matching components.Hi Andy. The speakers are Kef IQ5SE, so nothing really special (recommended power 15 to 130 watts, 88db sensitivity) so they don't really need the 150 wpc that bridged mode brings. I certainly noticed the improvement in control when going from 1 amp to 2, but the preamp made more difference. Like you say, the differences are what makes the hobby interesting.