ceejaydee
01-05-2020, 12:50
Beware rambling random lockdown post ;)
They say every day is a school day but...
I bought my Rotel RA 94BX amp new in 1993/4 and as the ex-display model I got it a little cheaper but no box or manual.
When I first used the headphone socket I found that it didn't cut out the speakers and assumed a fault so I always used the monitor function on my tape deck for headphone listening.
When I bought the Technics SU-V470 PXS from a friend (he worked in a local HiFi shop and was always changing kit) a few years later this slotted straight into my system; the Rotel was cleaned and stored and went away for many years until 2003 when it came out to quickly test a turntable I bought from a fellow forum member.
A couple of years later I removed the cover, blew out the dust and gave the pots a little switch cleaner with a view to fixing the dodgy headphone socket and selling on. Nostalgia took hold so it got cleaned, wrapped up and packed away again.
So to today; whilst in lockdown I've been sorting my gear out and solidifying a second and (almost) third system so my thoughts once again turn to the Rotel which I dug out a couple of days back.
A quick internet search brings a copy of the OEM manual and as I read I get to the point where it says that when wired to the 'Direct' terminals the speaker circuit bypasses the headphone circuit for clearer sound and if you want the headphone jack to cut speaker output then wire to the 'Remote' terminals :scratch:
So there was never a fault :doh:
As an aside I also wanted to look into the quality of the phono stage and found an article on 'HiFi Review' that says - 'Otherwise Rotel has opted for a new MM/MC disc input culled, by all accounts, from the ashes of a Michi preamplifier. Two transistors and a bi-FET op-amp form the initial MM/MC gain stage with part-passive, part-active RIAA equalisation being performed around the traditional Signetics chip.'
I didn't know what a 'Michi' was but another search both here and on the wider net gave me the info that it is a well respected bit of kit.
So now after a couple of decades out of the system I'm contemplating swapping it with the Cambridge Audio amp to see how it sounds as I'm going for a more minimal system downstairs and ideally just want TT, amp, cd and speakers.
With any HiFi, specs etc. don't mean much if it doesn't sound right to you so I need to reference the current set up then swap the amp and test. I also plan to change the TT as the SL1200 Mk1 is coming downstairs and the SL1210 Mk2 is going up to pair with it's SL1200 Mk2 brother in a not so very audiophile set up (yeah, mixer, CD decks, studio monitors etc.)
So if you've made it this far then thanks for sticking with me and if you do have any insight whether the phono stages in Rotel amps of this era were indeed Michi derived then please do share as this would be very interesting to know :)
They say every day is a school day but...
I bought my Rotel RA 94BX amp new in 1993/4 and as the ex-display model I got it a little cheaper but no box or manual.
When I first used the headphone socket I found that it didn't cut out the speakers and assumed a fault so I always used the monitor function on my tape deck for headphone listening.
When I bought the Technics SU-V470 PXS from a friend (he worked in a local HiFi shop and was always changing kit) a few years later this slotted straight into my system; the Rotel was cleaned and stored and went away for many years until 2003 when it came out to quickly test a turntable I bought from a fellow forum member.
A couple of years later I removed the cover, blew out the dust and gave the pots a little switch cleaner with a view to fixing the dodgy headphone socket and selling on. Nostalgia took hold so it got cleaned, wrapped up and packed away again.
So to today; whilst in lockdown I've been sorting my gear out and solidifying a second and (almost) third system so my thoughts once again turn to the Rotel which I dug out a couple of days back.
A quick internet search brings a copy of the OEM manual and as I read I get to the point where it says that when wired to the 'Direct' terminals the speaker circuit bypasses the headphone circuit for clearer sound and if you want the headphone jack to cut speaker output then wire to the 'Remote' terminals :scratch:
So there was never a fault :doh:
As an aside I also wanted to look into the quality of the phono stage and found an article on 'HiFi Review' that says - 'Otherwise Rotel has opted for a new MM/MC disc input culled, by all accounts, from the ashes of a Michi preamplifier. Two transistors and a bi-FET op-amp form the initial MM/MC gain stage with part-passive, part-active RIAA equalisation being performed around the traditional Signetics chip.'
I didn't know what a 'Michi' was but another search both here and on the wider net gave me the info that it is a well respected bit of kit.
So now after a couple of decades out of the system I'm contemplating swapping it with the Cambridge Audio amp to see how it sounds as I'm going for a more minimal system downstairs and ideally just want TT, amp, cd and speakers.
With any HiFi, specs etc. don't mean much if it doesn't sound right to you so I need to reference the current set up then swap the amp and test. I also plan to change the TT as the SL1200 Mk1 is coming downstairs and the SL1210 Mk2 is going up to pair with it's SL1200 Mk2 brother in a not so very audiophile set up (yeah, mixer, CD decks, studio monitors etc.)
So if you've made it this far then thanks for sticking with me and if you do have any insight whether the phono stages in Rotel amps of this era were indeed Michi derived then please do share as this would be very interesting to know :)