Thank you everyone. I am now wondering if I shouldn't give the amp another try. I actually wondered if it might take more than the 2 hours I gave it to come to life. But that's all the time I could spend with it. I should have left it in the system, even if I was just watching tv, and tried listening again after a day or 2. Someone asked about speaker cables. I am using Synergistic Research Alphas left and right and a new Wire World Oasis v center. I have heard others describe Rotel as having a "bright" sound. My amp does not come across that way, but on the other hand, I've been using it for years and years.
B&K harsh sound
I recently auditioned in my system a used B&K 1430 amp, which is 3x200 into 8 ohms. I have monitor audio silver 5i speakers. My current amp is a rotel rb960bx, which is only 60 watts per channel. I almost couldn't listen to the B&K. It was so bright and a little ragged on the top end. Imaging was bad as well, both right to left and depth. Has anyone else had this experience with B&K amps? I wonder if it is just a bad match for the Monitor Audio speakers, or perhaps it is just this model. Should I give up on B&K for my system?