peterh

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
3.67 of 5, 3.00 votes

Price Paid:  $350.00 from secondhand

Summary:
This is a gem at the price - if you want to get better than this, you're paying a huge premium. The RB985 has buckets of headroom, resolves detail as I have never heard in this price range, has a ditto soundstage, and remains calm and collected even when played very very loud.

Mine is fed by a Rotel RSP966 preamp/processor, and it feeds 2 Infinity Alpha 50's at the fron, an Infinity Beta 250 center speaker, and two B&W DM110's at the rear. With movies that try to shake the earth, the system is assisted by a Rel Strata II sub.

I wanted this amplifier because I wanted to get believable Dolby Surround without sacrificing stereo music reproduction quality. The RB985 does both with ease.

Strengths:
Headroom, very good detail resolution, excellent stereo imaging. Headroom. Handles difficult speakers with ease. Headroom. Fast, detail-rich, and analytical yet still very musical. Remains amazingly cool. And did I say headroom? No? OK. Headroom.

Weaknesses:
maybe a bit more 'warm' and veiled than the NAD 2600 when played at really low (wife asleep) levels. But at this price point, that IS nitpicking.

Similar Products Used:
NAD2600, Reference Audio RA230

Price Paid:  $0.00 from secondhand

Summary:
Classic Rotel stuff. Buckets of headroom, excellent stereo imaging, believable surround capabilities Kind of Blue from Miles Davis on surround SACD actually sounds good, and the aplifier plays the movie Gladiator with ablomp.
Even when played really loud (King Crimson's song B'BOOM, which is basically a Bill Bruford/Pat Mastellotto drum duo, at a realistic level), it still resolves beautifully, doesn't get harsh or fall apart.

I've got the older version (with the plain rather than ribbed front, and with a 5x100 Watt specification). I mainly bought this amplifier for its stereo capabilities - surround is an accessory to me (my wife watches more movies than I do), so while I was willing to accommodate surroud, I didn't want my music to suffer from it.
It's fed from a Rotel RSP966 preamp/processor, and it drives Infinity Alpha 50's (front), an Apha 250 center speaker, and B&W DM110 (surround). For surround, this set is supported with a REL Strata II.

Strengths:
Headroom, speed, detail resolution. Headroom. Clean and musical. And did I say headroom? No? OK. Headroom.

Weaknesses:
At loooow listening levels, it sounds a bit more 'veiled' than the NAD 2600 that preceded it, but that is nitpicking.

Similar Products Used:
NAD2600
Reference Audio RA230

S3

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $500.00 from audiogon

Summary:
I've had this amp for almost 2yrs now, and let me tell you, this baby sounds awesome! Very smooth, robust, quiet, and fast, very fast. I have the B&W 603s3, lcr6s2, and 601s2 setup, sounds incredible, like a perfect match. Not only does it play 2ch well, this amp really shines in multichannel either music/movies doesn't matter. Example: The soundtrack to Michel Camilo's Live At The Bluenote on SACD sounds incredilble! just a trio but the dynamic scale is awesome. You can clearly hear everynote played by each musician and feel the impact Michel Camilo expresses. The Rotel RMB 985 not only delivers but delivers a fast robust sound without a sign of fatigue. Definitely a classic rotel amp.

Strengths:
quiet, smooth, robust, and very fast. never gets hot!

Weaknesses:
may sound alittle thin with 3way speakers low efficency speakers.

Similar Products Used:
nad, H/K, denon, marantz, adcom, and B&K

Price Paid:  $799.00 from ALMA'S HIFI

Summary:
MAN, I'VE HAD THIS AMP SINCE 1996. I'VE HAD SEVERAL PREAMPS, AND RECIEVERS FOR IT THOUGH..... I REFUSE TO GET RID OF IT..... THIS BAD BOY IS KICK ASS..... IT IN MY OPINION IS A CLASSIC.... I'M ABOUT TO BUY ANOTHER PREAMP.... AND I AM NOT LETTER THIS AMP GO..... I THOUGHT ABOUT IT ONCE AND CHANGED MY MIND....

Strengths:
THIS AMP DRIVES MY NHT VT2'S EFFORTLESSLY... NICE CLEAN TIGHT POWERFUL SOUND.... BUILT TO LAST A LIFE TIME,IF IT IS NOT ABUSED!

Weaknesses:
NO VOLUME CONTROL.... NOT BRIDGEABLE....BINDING POST ARE TOO CLOSE TOGETHER

Similar Products Used:
THIS IS THE ONLY HOME THEATER AMP THAT I HAVE EVER OWNED (1996) OTHER THAN MY PRO AUDIO GEAR

Price Paid:  $800.00 from Canadian Sound

Summary:
The time I knew I had made the right decision to purchase the 985 Mk II THX amp was when I played the "Joseph" DVD of the London cast starring Donny Osmond. Even without explosions or rumbling spaceships, the Rotel was thoroughly impressive with its articulate handling of the music. The musical was thoroughly entertaining and engaging, not because of the visuals, but because of the music.

However, action sequences sound great too (like the spaceship crash sequence from 'Pitch Black'-DTS or the shoot'em ups from 'Predator').

It all comes down to music. Even though I have a separate two channel high resolution system, and the Rotel is used only in a home theatre context (with the new RSP-976 processor), the ability of this system to play music well determines its ability to also play movies well.

With the Rotel / Rotel combination the dynamics are much greater than the previous Denon receiver (even though there's only a 25 watt difference in power per channel), the resolution is much greater (I hear more going on in the surrounds and the whole soundfield), the main speakers are less boomy and more articulate in the bass registers (cleaner and more distinct), and the sense of visceral slam has much improved. I'm not talking about the sub-woofer here, but the output of my plain-jane Paradigm Monitor 5 main speakers set to 'full range' on the preamp. The Rotel amp has raised their performance capabilities to a new level.

On the tech side, the power transformer has but 80% of the capacity of the new RMB-1075 model but the 985 MkII still has a higher capacitance value and a higher damping factor (260 vs 180) than the new model. Plus 110 watts vs. 120 for the 1075 isn't really a meaningful difference in the real world. So technically, it's still current with the latest stuff.

The 985 runs cool, looks cool, and sounds very powerful even though it's only 110 watts per channel. I'm already able to play it cleanly at movie theatre sound levels without distress and don't really see the need for any additional power in my 15' x 25' room. Enthusiastically recommended.

Other AV equipment:
Toshiba Cinema Series 43" RPTV
Toshiba SD-2109 DVD
Rotel RSP-976 Pre-Processor
Panasonic SVHS VCR
Paradigm CC-350 Center speaker
Paradigm PS-1000 Sub-Woofer
Paradigm Monitor 5 Main Speakers
Paradigm Atom Surround Speakers

Strengths:
Open, detailed, plenty of punch, easy on the ears

Weaknesses:
None at this price point except the lack of a 12 volt trigger for auto-on with signal from A/V preamp.

Similar Products Used:
Denon AVR-2800