Greetings all,

I'm slowly trying to move my way up the high end food chain, and would
like some advice. I'm looking at a Rotel RA-1062 and a Arcam A65plus
integrated amp. Both have features I need....MM board, pre outs for
sub, no display, tone control bypass, and modest price. It would be
paired up with a pair of Paradigm Monitor 5 speakers, a Music Hall CD-25
cd player, and a Denon DP-47F w/ bluepoint cartridge. My dream (and
yes, I know it's impossible) would be to get that Creek / Sugden sound
but at a price I can afford. Would at least like to get the system to
"lay back" a tad more then the Denon receiver I have now. Will you
share your opinions on Rotel and Arcam integrateds, please........thanks
in advance.

Nev.

"B. Smith" wrote in message
...
Greetings all,

I'm slowly trying to move my way up the high end food chain, and would
like some advice. I'm looking at a Rotel RA-1062 and a Arcam A65plus
integrated amp. Both have features I need....MM board, pre outs for
sub, no display, tone control bypass, and modest price. It would be
paired up with a pair of Paradigm Monitor 5 speakers, a Music Hall CD-25
cd player, and a Denon DP-47F w/ bluepoint cartridge. My dream (and
yes, I know it's impossible) would be to get that Creek / Sugden sound
but at a price I can afford. Would at least like to get the system to
"lay back" a tad more then the Denon receiver I have now. Will you
share your opinions on Rotel and Arcam integrateds, please........thanks
in advance.

Nev.

I am not an expert on either brand, but have heard some of each line
recently at various dealers. This experience did not change my impression
from a few years ago - that the Rotel's tend to be slightly bright and
"yangy" and the Arcam's tend to have a slight high-frequency "grain".
However, take this with a grain of salt as these were casual samplings of
sound. If you want slightly laid back, you should also addition the NAD
separates. They are in your price range, and have a rep for slightly mellow
but excellent high-end sound.

"B. Smith" wrote:

Greetings all,

I'm slowly trying to move my way up the high end food chain, and would
like some advice. I'm looking at a Rotel RA-1062 and a Arcam A65plus
integrated amp. Both have features I need....MM board, pre outs for
sub, no display, tone control bypass, and modest price. It would be
paired up with a pair of Paradigm Monitor 5 speakers, a Music Hall CD-25
cd player, and a Denon DP-47F w/ bluepoint cartridge. My dream (and
yes, I know it's impossible) would be to get that Creek / Sugden sound
but at a price I can afford. Would at least like to get the system to
"lay back" a tad more then the Denon receiver I have now. Will you
share your opinions on Rotel and Arcam integrateds, please........thanks
in advance.

It's probably not your Denon receiver that seems insufficiently "laid back"
to you. It's your speakers. You'd do better to audition some new ones. Try
moving up the Paradigm line, for starters--a little extra bass might make
the overall sound a bit less forward. For the price of those integrateds,
there's a variety of creditable speakers, including something that will be
to your liking.

bob

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The NAD C352 integrated amplifier is a very nice sounding unit for the
cost and rather full featured. It does lack an internal phono stage,
but that is actually a blessing as you can choose your own and spend
as little or as much as you like. Another fabulous sounding unit that
has a bit less power, but really should be heard is the Rega Brio. It
has a built-in phono section of remarkable quality for anything near
it's price. A lot of people also like to try tube amps at this price
point (we'll call it $500-$800 since you were not specific) and there
are a couple of options with limited power there.
- Bill
www.uptownaudio.com
Roanoke VA
(540) 343-1250

"Harry Lavo" wrote in message
...
"B. Smith" wrote in message
...
Greetings all,

I'm slowly trying to move my way up the high end food chain, and
would
like some advice. I'm looking at a Rotel RA-1062 and a Arcam
A65plus
integrated amp. Both have features I need....MM board, pre outs
for
sub, no display, tone control bypass, and modest price. It would
be
paired up with a pair of Paradigm Monitor 5 speakers, a Music Hall
CD-25
cd player, and a Denon DP-47F w/ bluepoint cartridge. My dream
(and
yes, I know it's impossible) would be to get that Creek / Sugden
sound
but at a price I can afford. Would at least like to get the system
to
"lay back" a tad more then the Denon receiver I have now. Will
you
share your opinions on Rotel and Arcam integrateds,
please........thanks
in advance.

Nev.

I am not an expert on either brand, but have heard some of each line
recently at various dealers. This experience did not change my
impression
from a few years ago - that the Rotel's tend to be slightly bright
and
"yangy" and the Arcam's tend to have a slight high-frequency
"grain".
However, take this with a grain of salt as these were casual
samplings of
sound. If you want slightly laid back, you should also addition
the NAD
separates. They are in your price range, and have a rep for
slightly mellow
but excellent high-end sound.

"Uptown Audio" wrote in message
...
The NAD C352 integrated amplifier is a very nice sounding unit for the
cost and rather full featured. It does lack an internal phono stage,
but that is actually a blessing as you can choose your own and spend
as little or as much as you like. Another fabulous sounding unit that
has a bit less power, but really should be heard is the Rega Brio. It
has a built-in phono section of remarkable quality for anything near
it's price. A lot of people also like to try tube amps at this price
point (we'll call it $500-$800 since you were not specific) and there
are a couple of options with limited power there.
- Bill
www.uptownaudio.com
Roanoke VA
(540) 343-1250


Actually, NAD has an external phono preamp that they sell for $99 that has a
pretty good reputation and is considered a steal at its price-point.

"Harry Lavo" wrote in message
...
"B. Smith" wrote in message
...
Greetings all,

I'm slowly trying to move my way up the high end food chain, and
would
like some advice. I'm looking at a Rotel RA-1062 and a Arcam
A65plus
integrated amp. Both have features I need....MM board, pre outs
for
sub, no display, tone control bypass, and modest price. It would
be
paired up with a pair of Paradigm Monitor 5 speakers, a Music Hall
CD-25
cd player, and a Denon DP-47F w/ bluepoint cartridge. My dream
(and
yes, I know it's impossible) would be to get that Creek / Sugden
sound
but at a price I can afford. Would at least like to get the system
to
"lay back" a tad more then the Denon receiver I have now. Will
you
share your opinions on Rotel and Arcam integrateds,
please........thanks
in advance.

Nev.

I am not an expert on either brand, but have heard some of each line
recently at various dealers. This experience did not change my
impression
from a few years ago - that the Rotel's tend to be slightly bright
and
"yangy" and the Arcam's tend to have a slight high-frequency
"grain".
However, take this with a grain of salt as these were casual
samplings of
sound. If you want slightly laid back, you should also addition
the NAD
separates. They are in your price range, and have a rep for
slightly mellow
but excellent high-end sound.

From:

I'm looking at a Rotel RA-1062 and a Arcam A65plus
integrated amp. Both have features I need....MM board, pre outs for
sub, no display, tone control bypass, and modest price. It would be
paired up with a pair of Paradigm Monitor 5 speakers,

In their recommendation of the Paradigm Monitor 5, TAS says "(the speaker's)
top end necessitates careful placement, equipment matching, or preferably a
tone control."

About a week ago, someone posted here or on r.a.o. about the brightness problem
he was having with a Rotel amp and B&W speakers. I wonder if the Rotel/Monitor
5 speaker/amp combo would work any better.

that the speaker be played

Yes, the new version (NAD PP2 ) is $129 and now it even has a
switchable MM/MC input. They are sold by NAD dealers, of course.
- Bill
www.uptownaudio.com
Roanoke VA
(540) 343-1250

"Harry Lavo" wrote in message
news:1hCRb.130064$5V2.658736@attbi_s53...
"Uptown Audio" wrote in message
...
The NAD C352 integrated amplifier is a very nice sounding unit for
the
cost and rather full featured. It does lack an internal phono
stage,
but that is actually a blessing as you can choose your own and
spend
as little or as much as you like. Another fabulous sounding unit
that
has a bit less power, but really should be heard is the Rega Brio.
It
has a built-in phono section of remarkable quality for anything
near
it's price. A lot of people also like to try tube amps at this
price
point (we'll call it $500-$800 since you were not specific) and
there
are a couple of options with limited power there.
- Bill
www.uptownaudio.com
Roanoke VA
(540) 343-1250


Actually, NAD has an external phono preamp that they sell for $99
that has a
pretty good reputation and is considered a steal at its price-point.

"Harry Lavo" wrote in message
...
"B. Smith" wrote in message
...
Greetings all,

I'm slowly trying to move my way up the high end food chain,
and
would
like some advice. I'm looking at a Rotel RA-1062 and a Arcam
A65plus
integrated amp. Both have features I need....MM board, pre
outs
for
sub, no display, tone control bypass, and modest price. It
would
be
paired up with a pair of Paradigm Monitor 5 speakers, a Music
Hall
CD-25
cd player, and a Denon DP-47F w/ bluepoint cartridge. My
dream
(and
yes, I know it's impossible) would be to get that Creek /
Sugden
sound
but at a price I can afford. Would at least like to get the
system
to
"lay back" a tad more then the Denon receiver I have now.
Will
you
share your opinions on Rotel and Arcam integrateds,
please........thanks
in advance.

Nev.

I am not an expert on either brand, but have heard some of each
line
recently at various dealers. This experience did not change my
impression
from a few years ago - that the Rotel's tend to be slightly
bright
and
"yangy" and the Arcam's tend to have a slight high-frequency
"grain".
However, take this with a grain of salt as these were casual
samplings of
sound. If you want slightly laid back, you should also
addition
the NAD
separates. They are in your price range, and have a rep for
slightly mellow
but excellent high-end sound.

"B. Smith" wrote
in message ...

I'm slowly trying to move my way up the high end food
chain, and would like some advice. I'm looking at a
Rotel RA-1062 and a Arcam A65plus integrated
amp. Both have features I need....MM board, pre outs
for sub, no display, tone control bypass, and modest
price. It would be paired up with a pair of Paradigm
Monitor 5 speakers, a Music Hall CD-25 cd player,
and a Denon DP-47F w/ bluepoint cartridge. My dream
(and yes, I know it's impossible) would be to get that
Creek / Sugden sound but at a price I can afford.
Would at least like to get the system to "lay back"
a tad more then the Denon receiver I have now.
Will you share your opinions on Rotel and Arcam
integrateds, please........thanks in advance.

I've recently replaced a Harman Kardon HK650 with a Rotel RA-1060.
The Harman was a replacement for an Arcam 8 amp. The Arcam was
faulty right out of the box (I assume that I was unlucky and {hope
that} most Arcams will actually work as designed). The Arcam was
returned to me in a non-working state TWICE after sending it in
for repairs. When I returned it for the 3rd time, I walked out of
the store with the Harman. The Harman had some problems of its
own: within a week, a LED failed. Within a month, the switch to
disable the tone controls had developed a loud 'bang' sound (in
the speakers) when enabled/disabled. Within 6 months, the tone
controls of the left channel failed (possibly because of that
tone-defeat switch).

As the Arcam never worked as designed, I can't comment on its
sound quality.
I can't complain about the sound of the Harman, but I hated the
remote control, which only worked for a distance of about 3 meters
(and it drained batteries incredibly fast). The control switches
on the amp itself have a very 'plasticy', cheap feel about them.
The Harman also ran very hot even when outputting at modest
volumes (at which the Rotel barely gets warm).
The Rotel sounds just like the Harman - I can't tell the two of
them apart. The 'feel' of the Rotel is much more solid and the
remote control works up to 12 meters (I can simply point it at a
reflecting surface and the signal will be picked up by the
sensor - something that didn't work on the Harman). The tone
control on the RA-1060 is a 'contour selector' - it can only
INCREASE bass, treble or both and not DECREASE them (which is what
I want to do most of the time...). I don't know if that's the
same on the 1062.

It would amaze me if the Rotel/Arcam sounded any different than
the Denon - if at all possible please try either amp in your
system to see if it results in the "laid back" sound that you are
after. If I had to pick one of these amps, I would pick the
Rotel, but that decision wouldn't have anything to do with sound
quality.

Regards,

Eric