finding speakers for rotel ra 1062

[islanddancer]

Hello,
I just bought a rotel ra 1062 amp for $470 and a pair of wharfedale diamond 9.1 anniversary edition speakers for $420. I already have a nad 3020.

It turned out that the wharfedale is a piece of crap, not for music but for the build quality. The anniversary edition is said to have far better build quality than the normal ones. But The binding post was loose and when I was unscrewing the nut from the binding post, the entire binding post got unscrewed, not the nut itself . Maybe I was trying too hard to screw the nut to make good contacts betweent the wires and the post. Another problem is that one of the speakers constantly cut out one channel of the nad 3020. I guess there is short circuitry in that speaker.

Now I am returning the wharfedale and wonder whether to replace or to get refund and use the money to buy another brand. I think the short cuicuit problem is rare, but I wonder if the binding post problem is a design defect. You have to screw the nut tight to make good contacts, but when you want to take out the wire and unscrew the nut, the binding post it self should not move a bit. Do you have such binding post problems?

I would be mainly using rotel 1062 to drive the speakers and I am searching on ebay and audiogon for a pair of used speakers for less than $450.

I would like the product be made in England or Canada. And now what seems good to me is B&W DM602 or 601 and paradigm reference speakers. Other options are also welcome. I prefer B&W DM602 to B&W685 because the latter is made in China and the wharfedales are all made in China. I guess the quality control is not very good there.

Could you please give me some suggestions as to whether they will sound good with rotel 1062 or even nad 3020? I like balanced clean sound. Normally I use the system to listen to classics, chambers or symphonies and female voices.

Thank you very much for reading my long and dry post.

[basite]

Hi, welcome to AR...

just to inform you, both your NAD and your Rotel were built in china too...

and I prefer the new B&W DM685 over the DM602's by far. B&W makes a good match with Rotel, so that should be a good choice...

But also look at Monitor audio, their silver line is very interesting for it's price, and if budget allows, look at the gold series too...

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

[islanddancer]

Hi, welcome to AR...

just to inform you, both your NAD and your Rotel were built in china too...

and I prefer the new B&W DM685 over the DM602's by far. B&W makes a good match with Rotel, so that should be a good choice...

But also look at Monitor audio, their silver line is very interesting for it's price, and if budget allows, look at the gold series too...

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

Hi, Sir,
I don't care if where it is made, but the wharfedale defeated me...
how is the binding post on your b&w685?
is that fragile?
I don't know much about monitor audio, what strength does it have compared to b&w and paradigm?

[basite]

Hi, Sir,
I don't care if where it is made, but the wharfedale defeated me...
how is the binding post on your b&w685?
is that fragile?
I don't know much about monitor audio, what strength does it have compared to b&w and paradigm?

I have never seen a B&W speaker that was poorly constructed, and the binding posts are solid.

Monitor audio does sound slightly tighter to me, slightly more open & neutral too (especially the silver reference & gold signature series..., and the platinum too, but they're quite to expensive.)

IIRC, they are made in England btw...

you cannot go wrong with both the b&w or the monitor audio's...

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

[Ajani]

I have never seen a B&W speaker that was poorly constructed, and the binding posts are solid.

Monitor audio does sound slightly tighter to me, slightly more open & neutral too (especially the silver reference & gold signature series..., and the platinum too, but they're quite to expensive.)

IIRC, they are made in England btw...

you cannot go wrong with both the b&w or the monitor audio's...

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

B&W and Monitor Audio are both good choices...

One word of warning though on pairing either of them with Rotel: Make sure you either try out the combo with prolonged listening tests first OR you buy with a good return policy... Easily one of the most impressive affordable (by my definition anyway) combos I've heard is the Rotel RA-1062 with B&W CM series speakers... However, I found that during extended listening tests (in excess of 1/2 hour) I started sufering from listening fatigue...

I expect the B&W/Monitor Audio with NAD should be a safe combo...

[basite]

were they fully broken in? B&W and rotel should make a fine combo (rotel is owned by B&W group, as well as classe, they all should sound good with b&w...) the rotel is slightly forward in the mid & highs though, something that can cause listening fatigue for people who don't really like the slighly forward sound...

NAD should be safe (pretty warm sounding), but with B&W's it might end up sounding a tad to 'british' (general term, referring to the 'old british sound', which usually was fairly wooly...)

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

[Ajani]

were they fully broken in? B&W and rotel should make a fine combo (rotel is owned by B&W group, as well as classe, they all should sound good with b&w...) the rotel is slightly forward in the mid & highs though, something that can cause listening fatigue for people who don't really like the slighly forward sound...

NAD should be safe (pretty warm sounding), but with B&W's it might end up sounding a tad to 'british' (general term, referring to the 'old british sound', which usually was fairly wooly...)

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

They should have been properly broken in... I auditioned the CM1's quite a few times in the same store over a period of weeks... I actually bought a Rotel Pre/Amp combo with the intention to get the CM1s....

I found the Rotel Combo to be forward compared to the NAD C352 it replaced (which was a good thing). The Rotel's worked well with a pair of Mission V63s I had at the time... but in longer auditions with the CM1s it was too much for me... The sound was still really impressive, but somehow it caused me to get listening fatigue and I so I kept turning the volume down... I also tried the 700 series and had fatigue within about 10 minutes of playing them...

Like you, I used to think that Rotel and B&W is a natural combo, since they are made by the same group and always paired together... but I'm more cautious of that pairing now...

[basite]

Like you, I used to think that Rotel and B&W is a natural combo, since they are made by the same group and always paired together... but I'm more cautious of that pairing now...

they should be

although my dad's B&W 604's driven by a Rotel integrated do sound slightly boring after a while too..;

I guess it's all a matter of tastes too, personally I'd never opt for a rotel amp, and probably not for B&W's too (exept the 800 line, and even there I'd look for other speakers too...)

gimme thiel

btw, B&W's 700 series is IMHO worse than the new 600 series, maybe the 700 series are slighly more detailed, but they just sound horrible to my ears...

the new 600 series are good though (indeed, when used with the right gear...).

[islanddancer]

they should be

although my dad's B&W 604's driven by a Rotel integrated do sound slightly boring after a while too..;

I guess it's all a matter of tastes too, personally I'd never opt for a rotel amp, and probably not for B&W's too (exept the 800 line, and even there I'd look for other speakers too...)

gimme thiel

btw, B&W's 700 series is IMHO worse than the new 600 series, maybe the 700 series are slighly more detailed, but they just sound horrible to my ears...

the new 600 series are good though (indeed, when used with the right gear...).

Thanks basite and ajani, I should have done more research before buying the rotel 1062...

I thought I like the detailed clean high end of it. Now I searched the web again and it seems to be fatigueing after long listening.

Are there any speakers that can tame that?

[Ajani]

Thanks basite and ajani, I should have done more research before buying the rotel 1062...

I thought I like the detailed clean high end of it. Now I searched the web again and it seems to be fatigueing after long listening.

Are there any speakers that can tame that?

Dynaudio comes to mind.... I've heard Dynaudio's Focus line and the Rotel RA-1062 and there was not the slightest hint of brightness or fatigue (frankly it was a touch restrained in the high frequencies and sounded boring compared to B&W)...

Other good options should be Totem and PSB... and Mission (if you can find any)...

Rotel make good amps IMO, but you just got to be careful what you pair them with (kinda like all audio products actually)...

[islanddancer]

Dynaudio comes to mind.... I've heard Dynaudio's Focus line and the Rotel RA-1062 and there was not the slightest hint of brightness or fatigue (frankly it was a touch restrained in the high frequencies and sounded boring compared to B&W)...

Other good options should be Totem and PSB... and Mission (if you can find any)...

Rotel make good amps IMO, but you just got to be careful what you pair them with (kinda like all audio products actually)...

Thanks ajani,
Dynaudio focus is too pricey for me now...
I would like to know what qualities or specs make it suitable for rotel 1062. what about its audience series like 42 or 52? Although speakers can not be classified by specs or qualities, can you lend me some intuition in to choosing them?

I saw a pair of very nice, beautiful spendor s3/5 for $500 dollars on ebay. I don't know if they sound good with rotel, but I passed it. Reviews say they are superb in midhigh and high range but lacks bass. I need some bass when listening to symphonies.

for mission speakers, used ones like 7** series are not expensive, but I guess they are quite similar to spendor, after all they are all old British brands.

In fact I have a pretty good tube headphone amp for $250, I don't know using it as the preamp will tame the high a bit.

I will do more search on the web.
Thank you sir.

[basite]

you cannot really 'see' if a speaker will be a good match with the rest of your gear, there are several speakers out there with identical specs, that will sound completely different from eachoter..;

Dynaudio is a good brand, their audience series is being replaced at the moment I think, their new Exite series will replace it.

you can go for the exite series, or you can look for the audience series too, most likely the prices will decrease if you wait a little longer, since the series will be discontinued...
the Exite series will be better though...

any chance of auditioning the speakers?

Totem is a good suggestion too, and really impressive sound for such small speaks...

Keep them spinning,
Bert.

[Florian]

Well, i dont really have a clue about audio but rotel is warm and fuzzy, B&W as well...would be a good match. My tip to you, go to a store and listen to some speakers. Buy the one you like, and hey... if you need a crane to move it....then so be it.

Cheers

[islanddancer]

Well, i dont really have a clue about audio but rotel is warm and fuzzy, B&W as well...would be a good match. My tip to you, go to a store and listen to some speakers. Buy the one you like, and hey... if you need a crane to move it....then so be it.

Cheers

Thank you guys, I made a mistake, I should buy speakers first and then amp

[tony340]

I use the RA-1062 with Paradigm Reference Studio 20, and they sound very good!!

[islanddancer]

I use the RA-1062 with Paradigm Reference Studio 20, and they sound very good!!

That is a classic match indeed, but I ended up with dynaudio focus 110.
Hope my Dyn will sound good in my small bedroom(3mx4m).