"Rotel", IMHO is not really in the same (class) as the "Pass Labs", or "First Watt", amplifiers, which is Mr. Nelson Pass other company. I still have eight or nine of them "The Rotel's", as they do have their uses. But there is simply a huge difference in not just the design, but also the build quality and I am not even mentioning the sound differences!
"Rotel" is no slouch for sure! But NOT anywhere near a Pass amp for sure!
I will say one thing though, A few years ago I needed/wanted a third "Pass", "X-350", to match my other two in a tri-amped system I was building that had a calculated 6Ohm load from the (64), transducers per side. "(42 tweets), (14, 8" mid's), and (8-12" Mid-woofers). The eighteen ten inch sub's were separate with their own amplification.
But I could not find a decent example of another X-350 anywhere!. "At that time there was a waiting list for even a "Used", X-350". And I heard this from a few different places I did business with at that time. So, to hold me over I acquired a used "McIntosh MC-402". I thought the power matching between the two amps would be fairly close. With the Pass amp at 350wpc. and already quite a "Legend", for the power it put out. And the Mac at 400wpc., with similar specs but, I had never heard a word about this amp.
Man-o-man was I wrong!
That "Mac-402", very literally "Scared", me. Which was a new experience in my book. out of me as soon as I powered up the rig. I didn't melt anything...."I could just imagine in my minds eye the (42)-Mag-planar tweets I had it driving just melting their ribbons"! And I could just tell that the amp was barely even breathing. And when the same load was applied to an X-350? They had it running pretty hard. That "Mac", amp barely ever became warm while I owned it.
Part of that difference was of course in the design parameters with the Pass amp going farther in "Pure Class A", while the Mac's auto-formers made the load just easy as it could be. At least that's what I thought after calling and mentioning it to "Ken", at "Pass Labs".
And blindfolded I could not have told the difference between the sound of those two amps either. And believe me....I am NOT a "McIntosh" fellow at all really. Too "Clinical", is how almost all of the Mac's sound to me. But everyone is different!
