Audio Emporium Newsletter 3-1-2008

Rotel RCD-1072 CD Player, $700

   Why would we be bragging about a good old stereo CD player, especially one that has been on the market for about three years? It doesn’t have a special button, dial or gadget. It isn’t made of tubes or unobtanium wiring. What’s the big deal?

   It’s precisely because of all these things that we want to refocus your attention on the RCD-1072. The sound of a CD player is based around part choices, not tricks. In this day and age where there are fewer red book (regular CD) players available, very few pay any attention to providing robust, clear sound south of a thousand bucks or more.

   For $2500-3k there are a number of fine players out there, like the Rega Saturn and Bryston. But for $700 all you get is lightweight OEM options. OEM units are made by job houses that make a bunch of different brands, and rarely do they make them reliably. Rotel makes all of its products in house- not jobbed out. The consistency and reliability is assured!

   What most companies give you is a flimsy power supply, a generic laser reader and the lightest weight mechanism they can, which results in tinny sound and mistracking in a year or two.

   The RCD-1072 is built like a battleship. It has stood the test of time. We’ve sold hundreds and it is very rare that we see any come back for any reason. If you go to our home page and click on the left where it says Rotel/B&W 2CH system, you’ll get far more detail.

   Some folks come in and start with, “I read on the internet…” that product this or that uses a new chipset. Never mind that the unit weighs one pound and has the same type of laser reader you’ll find at Sam’s Club for $49. They’re under the impression from reading, that the chipset makes unit XYZ a good buy. It doesn’t.

    For music lovers that want their CDs to sound great, don’t settle for the mediocre audio of a cheap DVD player or DAC in a surround receiver. Give the Rotel a listen!

Rotel’s STEREO Receiver, $900

   We’re finding a number of our customers have stereo receivers, circa 70s/80s, that are wearing out. When we do the math we can see that many of these old units are 20-30 years old and no longer repairable. NAD for example, made some of the best stereo receivers out there and after about a dozen years… they don’t support parts on these units because it doesn’t make sense to repair them.

   If you’re looking for a replacement to last you the next 20-30 years (let’s hope WE last as long!) I heartily recommend the Rotel RX-1052 STEREO receiver. For openers the Rotel has 100 w/ch and a nice array of features. It features AM-FM, comes with remote control and phono. It has a five year warranty. You can get it in black or silver. It has zone two out so you can feed another amp to drive the rest of your house with a different source (or the same!). It has inputs for CD & four high level inputs in addition to a good old fashioned tape loop. It even has a headphone jack and speakers A-B.  This array of features was pretty much standard 20+ years ago. Today it’s hard to find a stereo receiver PERIOD, much less one that is any good.

   The best news about the RX-1052 is that it sounds better than whatever stereo receiver you’re listening too now! With its toroidal transformer, large power supply with Black Gate caps out of Europe, double sided glass boards with film caps, RX-1052 is a cleaner, smoother sounding receiver than anything we sold back in the day. Even if your receiver was spectacular in the 70s or 80s, odds are very good its caps are drying up now and not producing nearly what it did new!

Gutsy Tube Amp: Rogue Stereo 90 $2500

   A lot of audiophiles, veterans and novices alike, consider tubes in their quest for better sound. This hobby is all about fun so giving tubes a listen along the way is something you might check out. For years there have been a number of outstanding tube amps. But most of them have big prices and low power. As good as a number of them sound, audiophiles turn them over quickly because the lack of power is always a sticking point.

   The Rogue Stereo 90 is a solid 90 w/ch at a mere $2500. Most American built tube amps run $5000 and have 50w/ch. You can listen forever to nuances among amps, but to be in the $2500 price strata normally means you have an amp from the Far East made in a job house. The same facility makes half a dozen different brands of amps, radar detectors and other electronics!

   Rogue is a proudly held American family company. The gear is built well and priced fairly. They also make the Atlas, a 55 w/ch amp for only $1500. They make matching tube preamps as well. The Perseus runs $1800 and the Metis is only $1100. Both preamps have phono, remote and headphone jacks. Great American stuff and fair prices!

Eric Himy: Homage To Schumann

   Stop in to pick up this great new CD! Robert Schumann was an outstanding young pianist. His wife Clara was even better. As Robert went from pianist to composer it didn’t hurt that his wife, one of the foremost traveling virtuosos of the 1800s could champion his works. Schumann had the advantage of Clara’s continuing exposure of his works so they couldn’t get lost. There weren’t many CD players back then… so for music to be kept alive it had to be performed live. Many of Schubert’s works, for example, were virtually lost from his death in 1829 until Artur Schnabel started performing them regularly 80 years later.

This CD features three of Schumann’s finest compositions. The Arabesque. Carnaval. The Symphonic Etudes. All stand on their own today, just as when they were new. Himy’s playing is unrushed and grand.

What makes this CD extra fun is the SOUND. These works have been recorded well in the past. But this recording will knock you out. It is the first recording on the Steingraeber Phoenix piano. They claim superior action, power, sustain and clarity from prior piano mechanisms. Listening to this CD will prove- they know what they’re doing. This is likely to be the best sounding piano disc in your collection. It’s very cool that it’s of some of Schumann’s best works! Centaur CRC 2858.