Are Rotel amps and preamps any good?

If you like an " extended" high and a bit forwarding sound or should I say in a nicer manner " it brings you closer to the soundstage" as some reviewers stated, then Rotel sound will be your cup of tea. Nothing wrong with Rotel gears...they are not bright but too much up front type of sounding often resulting a feeling of listenning fatigue .

Depends on your budget. I've been through lots of Rotel gear, and some of it is better than others. If you're loaded, you can buy better sounding gear. One thing I've noticed about big bucks gear vs. inexpensive gear is that if you want great bass definition (that is, not just big bass, but big 'defined' bass), you have to spend money. But for "low-end high-end", Rotel can't be beat. And it's durable. From what I've owned, the RB 980 bx is a GREAT amp for under $300. Better than far more expensive amps I've tried. The RCD 975 is a real nice CD player for $300, and the RC 995 is a good preamp for $400. I almost sold my Rotel RB990 amp until I tried it in my second system, and now it's a keeper--I have it paired to the RC995 and B&W CDM9nt speakers, and it's great--esp for the money. That illustrates another point--some components sound better with certain other components and in certain rooms. Enjoy!

Rotel has exceptional customer service. I believe their amplifiers are built robustly and perform like workhorses with a robust and rather forward sound. Unfortunately, my experience with their preamps only tested how good their service and customer service departments were; I had three consecutive preamps returned with electronics issues before being upgraded for free to the next higher model. That unit was defective within a year as well. It sounded fairly good, but I don't think I'd buy Rotel again. I've owned Arcam equipment in the past as well, and I think that might be a better choice for a bit more money.

Calgarian

My Rotel pre has been exceptional from a quality vs. cost standpoint. It is absolutely dead silent in the system (as is the volume control). Very nice phone stage as well. No repair issues whatsoever.

It took a PS Audio PCA-2 at 4 times the price (5 times once I buy a phono preamp)to take make me see what I was missing...

What exactly is "lacking" in Rotel's preamps?