Initial thought of my new to me Rotel RX-1050

The 1050 is about 10 years old and for when it came out at $800 list, it was a full blown, 2-zone AV controller but lacking Sub out and HDMI which would be expected of such an old unit.

I was able to use the B-Speaker connections to run a sub, just to figure it out. However the older no frills sub I used actually degraded the sound I was getting out of my Clearfields.

For initial use and playing around, I just have the unit sitting on the floor in the dining room driving my Clearfield Continentals with el cheapo non audiophile speaker wire.

Also just for testing, I am using a $100 Sony DVD player to play some CDs through the Rotel. This is actually a good way to see it's pros and cons as I am sure the CDP is not helping the sound out.

The Rotel also has Bass and Treble adjustment but no way to take them out of the circuit and for the most part, I leave them flat anyway. I played several CDs over the past few nights and am pretty impressed for the $100 I spent on the Rotel. Although the bass is not as accurate as my main system, it does go pretty deep. It actually is driving the Clearfields deeper than the Counterpoint but with a loss of detail and control. Vocals, cymbals, and percussion come through pretty clear but it lacks the midrange of the Counterpoint, and it is not too far off from the Stratos amp.

As usual, if the CD is a good recording, it really shined, if it wasn't, you knew it. I'm sure with a real CDP I will get better results.

The Rotel also has a very strong AM-FM Tuner which my system is lacking as well as a dedicated Headphone capability. The tuner does pull in many stations nice and strong, even with a t-wire so the roof antenna should be better. My Grado 125s sounded awesome driven by the Rotel. I have missed using them while I had no can jack on anything.

My plan is to incorporate the Rotel into my main setup and do away with my Niles selector box that drives my JMs and Outdoor Athenas. I plan to feed the CDP to both systems and be able to turn the volume down in the living room while using the other speakers. I will also now have a Tuner and Headphones in the main system along with being able to have 3 zone capabilities. Main system feeding living room, while the 2-zone Rotel feeds the family room and patio, all with a different source.

Overall, I really like this unit for what I paid. Definitely good entry level gear.

I will update this after dropping it into my main system and getting it all setup the way I described. I'm pretty sure coupled with the RCD-1072, it will sound much better than with the crappy Sony DVD player.