Best For a Rotel RA-1592

MikeFinn

Hello everyone,

If I want a 'neutral' sound and I insist on buying a Rotel RA-1592, what CD-player, cables and loudspeakers are best?

Someone recommended I should look at Dali Rubicon 6, Bowers & Wilkons 702 S2 and Monitor Audio Silver 500 and Gold 300. The cable I was told is good is the Kimber Kable 8TC, and someone also made a quick comment about Audioquest's Rocket 88.

Someone did mention Sonus Faber's Venere 500, almost forgot that one.

If we are going to limit the selection to these loudspeakers, what is best? CD and cables I have no idea, will be happy to receive many suggestions! Thank you for any help.

Ugg10

Rotel and B&W are owned by the same company and are often used together - I would start the audition list with the New B&W 703's

B&W 704 Speakers | B&W | Audio T

but would also consider PMC - these are on sale and look a good deal Twenty.24 - PMC are an acquired taste but may suit you as they tent to be pretty clinical but with good bass extension (transmission line cabinets).

PMC Twenty 24 Discontinued Finishes - Trade In Available

The obvious choice for the CD is the Rotel RCD 1572

https://www.hifix.co.uk/rotel-rcd1572-cd-player

MikeFinn

A Swedish retailer told me the Marantz CD-8006 is good. But so new there are no reviews yet as far as I know.

BlueWizard

I would also look into the Bowers-Wilkins 700 Series, I heard them somewhat recently and was very impressed with them.

Bowers-Wilkins 702-S2 - £3300/pr -

702 S2

B&W 702 S2 Floorstanding Speakers  - Superfi

If you are getting the Rotel RA-1592 Integrated, then you might as well consider the -

Rotel RCD-1572 - £945 -

Rotel RCD-1572 CD Player


It would be helpful if you gave us a working budget for each item.

To start with the Rotel RA-1592 cost about £2100 -

Rotel RA-1592 Integrated Amplifier

That implies speakers in roughly the £4000/pr to £6000/pr range, but better you tell us than leave us to guess.

Wire and Cable are a black hole, both for cost and in terms of discussion and highly polarized opinions. While it is impossible to say that expensive speaker wire does not make a difference, there is no reason based on logic and physics to think that it does.

One guideline I use is to BUDGET about 5% of the system cost for ALL Wire and Cable. Use that as a starting point, and then spend what you want.

I did a survey in both the USA and UK, though somewhat limited sample size, and most people were well under 5% for ALL Wire and Cable, and they system prices ranged from US$50,000 to UK £25,000.

UK -
                                                                                                                                               

USA -
                                                                                                                                               

Though ...again.... your money, your life, I would say your wire and cable costs are excessive.

Speakers are another problem area partly because each speaker sounds different, so it is important to match the Speaker to You, and your Circumstances.

- What kind of sound are you looking for? Heavy bass, Forward, Sweet, Mid/High Emphasis, Other?

- Specifically what is your budget for Speaker? As I suggested common guidelines would put you in the perhaps $3000/pr to $6000/pr. But anything is possible - substantially more -  substantially less - whatever you like, but to help you we need to know the budget.

- What are the dimensions of the room the equipment will be placed in?

- Are there any special considerations in the room that might effect the available choices? Most commonly large windows and/or a fireplace.

Better you say it, than leave it to use to guess. In the price range you are in, all the speakers are good, so the underlying question is, which better suit you personally and your circumstances?


Dali Rubicon 8 - £3999/pr -

Dali Rubicon 8 Speakers (Pair)

Focal Aria 936 - £2500/pr -

Focal Aria 936 Speakers (Pair)

Focal Aria 948 - £2900/pr -

Focal Aria 948 Speakers (Pair)

Focal KANTA - £7000/pr -

Focal Kanta No2 Anthracite/Walnut 3-Way Floorstanding Speaker (Pair) - Focal  - AudioVisual Online - UK Home Cinema and Hifi Specialists

Focal Kanta No2 Ivory/Walnut 3-Way Floorstanding Speaker (Pair) - Focal  - AudioVisual Online - UK Home Cinema and Hifi Specialists

Bowers-Wilkins 702-S2 - £3300/pr -

https://www.hifix.co.uk/bowers-and-wilkins-702-speakers

Bowers-Wilkins 803 D3 - £6750/pr -

https://www.hifix.co.uk/speakers/hi-fi-speakers/floor-standing-speakers/bowers-and-wilkins-804-diamond-d3-speakers-pair

Monitor Audio Gold 300 - £3000/pr -

https://www.hifix.co.uk/speakers/hi-fi-speakers/floor-standing-speakers/monitor-audio-gold-300-speakers

Monitor Audio Platinum PL300 - £8000/pr -

https://www.audiovisualonline.co.uk/product/27196/monitor-audio-platinum-pl300-ii-santos-rosewood-floorstanding-speakers-pair/

Monitor Audio Platinum PL200 - £6300/pr -

https://www.audiovisualonline.co.uk/product/25026/monitor-audio-platinum-pl200-ii-piano-ebony-floorstanding-speakers-pair/

Quad Z3 - £2500/pr -

https://www.hifix.co.uk/speakers/hi-fi-speakers/floor-standing-speakers/quad-z3-3way-floorstanding-speeakers-piano-black-pair

Quad Z4 - £3200/pr -

https://www.hifigear.co.uk/quad-z4.html

Sonus Faber Venere 3 - £3300/pr -

https://www.audiodestination.co.uk/loudspeakers/floorstanding/sonus-faber/sonus-faber-venere-3-0-loudspeakers-pair

Sonus Faber Venere S Signature - £5000/pr -

https://www.audiodestination.co.uk/loudspeakers/floorstanding/sonus-faber/sonus-faber-venere-s-signature-floorstanding-loudspeaker-pair

As you can see, the list is quite extensive, and remain so until you give us some information about what it is that will serve you best to help narrow down the field.

For example, here are very basic 2-way single driver speakers -

https://www.audiodestination.co.uk/loudspeakers/totem-acoustic-forest-signature-floorstander-pair

Here are massively more complex speakers -

http://www.tektondesign.com/ulfberht-pmd-monitor.html

I'm guessing you are somewhere in between, but where?

Again, in the price range I am assuming, they are all good speakers, so you need to find speakers that fit your personal taste and your circumstances.

Back to Wire and Cable, this is one of the most contentious issues on the Internet. While some people swear by their very expensive cable, a vast majority are going to urge restraint in this area as there is a considerable bit of snake-oil being thrown around. Generally, the middle ground is best.

Fisual S-FLEX Studio 2.5mm² - £2.50/meter

Van Damme Blue Studio - 2.5mm² - £2.50/meter

I'm guessing that is considerably less than you planned to spend.

I don't think I could bring myself to go much over this -

https://www.audiovisualonline.co.uk/product/6029/audioquest-cinemaquest-type-4-speaker-cable/

Two 3 meter cables with Banana Plug terminated ends would be - £150.

The Kimber Kable because it is spiral braided Litz wire tends to be low-inductance, but high-capacitance. While generally not a problem, some amps don't like the high-capacitance.

That should get the ball rolling.

Steve/bluewizard

MikeFinn

I will visit a dealer and have a look at some, I might take a pic or two and share here.

BlueWizard

I don't think there is a Marantz CD8006, there was a SA8005 that played both CD and SACD, but today I think it is the ND8006 which is a combines CD-only player with Network Streaming.

Marantz UK | ND8006

Given that the RA-1592 has Network Capability, the NA8006 is redundant. Though the Rotel might need some additional software.

This is the older version - CD/SACD -

Marantz UK | SA8005

The Rotel RCD-1572 should be fine for CD only playback.

If you use this system for movies, and you want SACD Playback, then at least consider the OPPO 205 Universal BluRay Player -

OPPO UDP-205

OPPO UDP-205 Multi Region

This will play ANY disc, and has external access to the internal DAC, has high quality ESS Sabre DACS with analog outputs, as well as, obviously, HDMI out.

That might seem expensive but when you consider everything you get, it is pretty much right on the money.

Steve/bluewizard

MikeFinn

ND8006 - sorry! I keep getting that one wrong.

At first, I will use it only for CD. Possibly attach some form of player sometimes. But mainly CD only.

Mark.Yudkin

I'd have suggested that given your reasons for your choice of the Rotel RA-1592, the obvious companion as CDP would be the Rotel RCD-1572, since it has the same design philosophy.

For speakers it's more complicated. I strongly recommend visiting your Rotel dealer telling him your (secret) budget and auditioning using the Rotel you've chosen. If you're not single, take your better half with you; this not only assists with domestic harmony, but also gets you another pair of critical ears - likely better than yours too (biology works that way ) and more neutral.

gibbsy

If it's an improvemet on the 8005 then it really will be good. I have the 8005 and the detail it can extract from a disc is wonderful. I've got it mated to a Rega Elicit-R via Chord Clearway interconnects with the same cables to my KEF R300s. Brilliant combination. I think I bought my 8005 just at the right time, half it's original price.

Daft Joe

I just bought a Rotel 1592    B&W 705s2 will be a week before delivery.  I'll be using a Panasonic DMP-UB900EB for films and CD. From now on I'll only be buying downloadable HD albums.

I hear on a few forums that B&W do their R&D on 600 and 700 series speakers with Rotel amps and the R&D for 800 series with Classe amps. Both Classe and Rotel are owned by the B&W group.

You need to demo in person at a shop. I liked what I heard from the 705 s2 paired with the Rotel A14 it was far better at everything than my  Arcam A85 with B&W  602 s3.