Are Rotel amps and preamps any good?

In the RIGHT application they can make beautiful music. In particular, I'm familiar with two systems that feature Rotel integrated amplifiers feeding Vandersteen 1C and and 2Ce speakers that serve all recorded music extremely well. However, I've also heard a less than satisfactory pairing of Rotel separates of the same vintage with a pair of
Thiel CS2.2s. I don't think there is anything wrong with either component, but the combination was not very pleasing. The lesson for me was that blanket statements regarding the performance of any brand or model of equipment should be regarded with healthy skepticism. Try before you buy!

I still own a mac mc252 which is beautiful to behold but pales in comparison to my RB1090, and previously auditioned RB 1080. The preamp I use is also the 1090(forgot the letters). The 1090's offer excellent sonic performance and in my mind give up only to the vacum tube equipment as far as sonics go, of course and obviously there is a sacrifice as far as power is concerned. So the match up is not a fair one. It clearly eclipses the NAD and lower powered Macs. I think for the money and sonically they stand up on their own to many comparisons and are nothing to be ashamed of. Terrific stuff...good luck and enjoy.

funny you bring up the thiels 2.2
i originally powered the thiels 2.2s with the mc252 and was terribly disappointed...but when i tried the 1080 and subsequently upgraded to the 1090 things were considerably different. the rotel handled the very difficult speaker considerably better and brought them to life. since then i use the rotel to power a set of usher dancers which makes wonderful music

So how good is the RA01/02 really? Hi Fi Plus loved it . . .

My first "audiophile" purchase was a Rotel pre-amp/amp pair. I exchanged the pre-amp within a week or two for a more expensive Classe unit, but lived with the amp for a couple of years. I still have it in my second system.

In short, I think their amps are better than their pre-amps. Not fancy looking, but nice big power supplies and clean insides. Really a good value, and good sound. A bit "lush" as others have said.

The pre-amps on the other hand seem to be trying to have a lot of "features" at the expense of clarity. A variety of pre-amps (admittedly, all a bit more expensive) sounded much better in my system.

- Eric