Are Rotel amps and preamps any good?

If Rotel is what you can afford, go for it. If you can afford even 50% more, don't buy it. There are infinitely better products out there for the money. Clearly identify what your power needs are and don't spend money on wasted watts and go for lower output and quality instead.

Elinor,
If he CAN afford 50% more ($3K), what should he consider? Curious to know... Maybe a VK-220 from Balanced Audio Technology?

Cheers.

I recently purchased a Rotel RC-1070 pre and RB-1070 amp after doinng much research. I paid less than $1200 with tax. For me this was a big purchase, my first for seperates. I am very happy so far. I am coming from Denon products so I feel I ahve definately upgraded.

I think it is well known that Rotel makes excellent sounding amps. To out do them your going to spend considerbly more and the improvements are in very small increments. If you want to bring these amps to a higher level you can invest in a better preamp, maybe consider a quality tube preamp. I didn't find Rotel preamps as satisfying but maybe the new line preamps offered by Rotel have improved.

I don't like Rotel stuff. While I haven't heard every component under every circumstance I found the amps either bright, boomy in the bass, or veiled / fuzzy sounding. The CDP wasn't much better. Cambridge audio is pretty bad too.
I like NAD better and generally NAD is fuzzy but none of the other faults of Rotel. IMHO Rotel is just another budget mfg'r who has positioned themselves to the "audiophile" market.
There are comparably priced Harman Kardon, Sony and Denon amps that are in the league, and maybe better, than the Rotel RA-01, etc. Just not hyped as audiophile stuff here in the US. Nor are they set up for critical listening in stores. But check out the Brit mag's (or hifichoice online) and you will find a more open minded viewpoint.