Rotel RB-880 1984-1987

I can't comment on the RB 880 but I did have the (?)RB 991 which was a great sounding amp. Since that, I've gone from tubes to battery powered amps and now have a Burson integrated which, now that I think of it, sounds very similar, in some ways, to the sound of the Rotel RB 991: big, upfront, alive, never shrill, even handed, deep and tuneful. The Burson has the edge on detail, ambience, tone and separation, enough to justify my having it. But on it's own merits, I miss that Rotel amp.

Old thread, I know, but the info it still useful.
The Rotel RB-880 was an outstanding amplifier, standing out from the rest of their product line.  It was indeed engineered as a truly high-end flagship design, in a pretty ordinary chassis.  In terms of low impedance stability, power supply design, and circuit design, the only amplifiers they have ever made since which would match or top it would be the RHB-05 and RHB-10 (circa 1992 or so), part of their original Michi line.  The RB-890, 990, 991, 1080, etc. are all inferior amplifiers and built for a more value-oriented market, increasing the watts-per-dollar ratio.  This doesn't mean they don't sound good (they are great bang-for-the-buck), but the RB-880 was considerably superior in both sonic accuracy and subjective power output, particularly with more challenging loads.  If you ever have a chance to get your hands on one, I recommend you do so.  They are very, very rare, however.