Rotel RB-1091 Mono's vs Parasound JC1 Mono's B&W

With all bias aside being a Parasound dealer....Well, it's impossible to completely take it out of me. :-) But, IMHO, there is no better amp on the planet than the JC1 in it's price range. The JC1's are extremely popular and we use them with bookshelf speakers all the way up through speakers costing $30K. I actually use them with my Dynaudio C1 multi-channel system with extraordinary results. I also had the pleasure to dial in the C1's with an Eggleston Soundworks system a couple of weeks back. The end result was kick a$$.

Rotel makes a decent amplifier, but they have always colored the sound often sounding dark and closed.

For the money you are talking Im going to give you some good advise that will make you very happy. Buy a Anthem P5. Statement sound and its like 400+watts x 5! Ive seen it as low as $2300 used, and as much as $2800. This is a steal!

I own B&W 802D and I tried many amplifiers including JC-1. By far the best amp is Spectron Musician III SE Mk2 - the same price as JC-1. You will be criminal not to try Spectron for your 802/803D

All The Best
Rafael

They sound like great amps, do you use yours as a monoblock or a stereo amp? My only issue with it is that it's a D-Class. Used the JC1's seem much much cheaper but I've only seen the one Musician III SE Mk2 on audiogon.

With the D-Class operation do you find any noise actually coming from the amp? My D-Class rotels both have a very high pitch trasformer squel just as the 1092 did the Home Theatre Store. While I was having my home built and living in an apartment I was very close to the amps and the squel drove me nuts at low levels! Have you heard this with your D-Class? It had to be close and it had to be a person with ears in good shape. The older home theatre store employee was def over the 8,000 hz range and couldn't here it but the young employee could.

Hello Mstang,
No, I do not hear any noise - and please remember that Spectron design their own amplifiers whereas Rotel and bazzilion others buy ICEpower from O&B

All The Best
Rafael

I'm glad it doesn't exist in all D-Class Amps :-) Perhaps I'll find a place around Austin, TX to demo them before I decide on new amps. Thanks for the help!

Hello Mstang1988,
Try Galen Carol Audio - excellent dealer and he can provide you with a demo..

All The Best
Rafael

Mustang,
I do not hear a squeal from my RB-1092 and I purposely put my ear next to it after I read this topic. Have you had your monos in for repair for this?

When you get ready to upgrade contact me about your RB-1091 monos.

Miner42

I contacted Rotel but no, I have not sent them in for repair. Once I found out the brand new units did it I didn't want to send in my equipment, have them tinker just to find out there is no difference. Mind if I ask your age? A good friend of mine could not hear them at the age of 40 so I'm definately thinking many people might miss it with age related hearing loss. The original owner could not hear the noise and was just going into retirement. I'm at 25 so that might help and have very good hearing. I've been able to hear every TV's high pitch noise too. I can always tell if they are on/off without even looking. Interestingly the brand new 1092 at Modia (Home Theatre Store at the Time) in Austin, TX made the same exact noise!

Now that I'm sitting a good distance away from them it doesn't bother me (I can't hear it that far away). The squeal only exists while they are powered on.

I'll let you know about my 1091's when the time comes but I may end up keeping them as I still love them! There is a pair of 1091's on ebay right now if you are interested in those at 1600/pr. That's almost a 50% discount over new. Not sure about the seller but I know he's close to Houston/Austin so he most likely bought them at Modia.

It's actually a similar noise to http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/12/technology/12ring.html so if you can hear that then you should be able to hear the amp noise. Noticed the chart on the left with hearing loss / age. I can still hear the 17K ringtone at 25 with no problem.