B&K 200.5 or Rotel RMB-1095 (1 Viewer)

[Paul D. K.]

Buying B&K Ref. 50 Pre Amp. Was going to buy B&K 200.5 or 200.7 Power Amplifier. Salesman (very patient) suggested that I consider a Rotel Power Amplifier since it was almost $750 less for 5 Channel version (I'm currently only running 5 channels and don't foresee going to 7 in the current room). I have heard the Rotel name before but have no experience.

Any opinions?

I have B&W Nautilus 803's for fronts, HTM1 for Center, and Nautilus 804's for rears.

Thanks,

 

[Rodon]

I have went and listened to the Rotel 1075 and it sounded so good and powerful. Their products are very nice and they look soooo good in silver. I would give one a try before spending the extra $$$$. $750 is quite a bit more!!

 

[Ernest Yee]

I would say you should bargain a bit more for a better discount on the pair Ref 50 + 200.5.

The Rotel RMB-1075 is a highly recommended amp but the RMB-1095 is greatly known to have SERIOUS groundplane issues where there will be speaker hum that's not caused by your typical groundloops.

Also make sure you're getting that $1000 pricedrop on that Ref 50.

 

[Ted Pugh]

Paul, the Ref. 200.5 can be had for less. I bought mine from a dealer and received18% right off the bat. I love the warm sound of the B&K and it would match up real well with your B&W speakers.

 

[Andrew Pratt]

Rotel's been around for a very long time and is well respected in the audio world for outstanding sound for less then you might expect.

I own the 1075 and agree its a very powerful amp for the price and to me sounds exceptional. The 1095 is even more powerful and all the 10XX series look stunning.

the B&K products are great too so either way you're going to end up with some very nice gear so just let your ears decided then enjoy the show

 

[Stephen M]

One minor concern to consider. The B&K amps tend to run very warm. It has no effect on them so long as you provide adequate ventilation, but they can really heat up a smaller, closed room. The Rotels in my experience run much cooler. BTW, I own B&K.

 

[Yogi]

I love the B&K sound. Warm and tubey, mates well with forward/neutral speakers like Paradigm, Energy, B&W etc. If you can get both for the same price get the B&K but if you are getting them for close to MSRP, the Rotel would make a better value.