I’ve heard the Rotel 1080 a while back and while it was quite good for the price but the highs were a bit grainy when not paired with the right speakers.
However, the new and current model of Rotel 15xx series class AB amps are way way better than their old 1080 or other old 10xx series amps. The newer 15xx series amps such as the RB-1582 Mkll or the RB-1590 or the RMB-1585 class AB amps are way more refined and musical than their old 10xx serlies amps and that grainy treble that you heard from the old 1080 is gone. The new Rotel RB-1590, RB-1582 Mkll or the RMB1585 class AB amps have very smooth highs, midrange bloom and the tonal is warm whereas the old 1080 sounded kinda cold. The new 15xx series amps are voiced very differently from the old 10xx series amps.
The new 15xx series class AB amps eg RMB-1585, RB-1590, RB-1582 Mkll are much more fluid and solid And have more body and texture with much more fuller sound with better image depths than their old 10xx series amps such as the 1080. And the new 15xx class AB amps are much quieter than the 1080 as a result of a better better noise floor (S/R).
And the new 15xx class AB amps run much cooler than the old 10xx series class AB amps due to better internal heat management and heat dissipation system and better heatsink design too. I remembered the old 10xx series class AB amps run warm to the touch. The new 15xx series class AB amps run cool at all times no matter how hard you drive it.
Even the Rotel RA-1592 stereo integrated amp sounded spectacular and musical especially for its $2500 asking price and has good sounding built-in DAC for what it is.
Rotel newer current products especially their amps have been vastly improved in comparison to the old Rotel 10xx series amps and the price increases are totally worth it. However, I wouldn’t get the Rotel class D amps though. But I highly recommend their new 15xx series class AB amps such as the RB-1590, RB-1582 Mkll or the RMB-1585 amps.
