audiozen - Thanks. It’s harder than ever to listen to even a small percentage of all that’s available, since there are way fewer hifi shops in business. The answer for people who live too far away from dealers is to take advantage of policies like Ascend has, where you can audition for a time period, and get a refund if you don’t like it. In the case of that particular brand, based on what you have conveyed to me, there aren’t too many speakers being sent back.
I bought a Rotel bx-840 2 integrated back in 1988 at cost, the dealer dropping the line because "no one has ever heard of it", and he kept his better selling NAD. He admitted that the Rotel was built better, and more reliable. I had it for almost 27 years. It was a great amp, never a malfunction, and sounded as good as new to me when I sold it 3 or 4 years ago. I bought their RCD 991 cd player in 2000, their best cd player at that time for about 1K, listed for $1300, had it for 15 years and sold it... part of my gradual upgrade process. The last speakers before the Vandersteens, some B&W "V" series small stand mounts, the entry level line of B&W at that time - very early ’90’s - were $300 new, had them for 20 years and they were damn good. Vinyl clad, 12 lbs a piece, had them on Sanus steel speaker stands and I always enjoyed listening to them. So now it’s Belles, Vandersteen, and a Rotel RCD 1570 slot load cd player that I bought last year. No TT, maybe in the future. I home dock Sirius sat radio through my amp, not great fidelity because it’s so compressed, but another listening option. I have Apple internet radio that I should connect to my amp, would really provide a ton of music. I agree, that older Rotel was built like a tank, pretty bullet proof. Sounded great for the price, for sure. The Rotel dealers always told me they loved it because returns were very rare.
Denon kind of faded away from the 2 channel scene, at least in the states. That got heavy into home theater, right? But yes, their components were nice. That old Denon cd player of yours sounds like a brute! 38 pounds is unheard of these days, unless you go with something really exclusive, perhaps Esoteric or similar brand perhaps. Those old Pioneer cd players were nice build quality, and were solid. If I didn’t get the Rotel cd player, I probably would have got a Marantz. They always sounded very nice anytime I happened to hear one playing at a dealer. This system you are piecing together is going to be very impressive, I have to believe. Do you already have the Marantz 8005, or is that on the to buy list? All I can tell you is that based on my time listening to the Aria, you are going to be in audio Nirvana when you fire up the Virtuoso. I love integrated amps; the good ones give up very little to separates, and I like the one box space saving, as well as fewer cables to buy. The Virtuoso will not disappoint if I know Dave Belles even remotely. I’ll be interested to hear how it sounds, once your plan comes together. I really enjoy your take on the audio world, and your enthusiasm!
I bought a Rotel bx-840 2 integrated back in 1988 at cost, the dealer dropping the line because "no one has ever heard of it", and he kept his better selling NAD. He admitted that the Rotel was built better, and more reliable. I had it for almost 27 years. It was a great amp, never a malfunction, and sounded as good as new to me when I sold it 3 or 4 years ago. I bought their RCD 991 cd player in 2000, their best cd player at that time for about 1K, listed for $1300, had it for 15 years and sold it... part of my gradual upgrade process. The last speakers before the Vandersteens, some B&W "V" series small stand mounts, the entry level line of B&W at that time - very early ’90’s - were $300 new, had them for 20 years and they were damn good. Vinyl clad, 12 lbs a piece, had them on Sanus steel speaker stands and I always enjoyed listening to them. So now it’s Belles, Vandersteen, and a Rotel RCD 1570 slot load cd player that I bought last year. No TT, maybe in the future. I home dock Sirius sat radio through my amp, not great fidelity because it’s so compressed, but another listening option. I have Apple internet radio that I should connect to my amp, would really provide a ton of music. I agree, that older Rotel was built like a tank, pretty bullet proof. Sounded great for the price, for sure. The Rotel dealers always told me they loved it because returns were very rare.
Denon kind of faded away from the 2 channel scene, at least in the states. That got heavy into home theater, right? But yes, their components were nice. That old Denon cd player of yours sounds like a brute! 38 pounds is unheard of these days, unless you go with something really exclusive, perhaps Esoteric or similar brand perhaps. Those old Pioneer cd players were nice build quality, and were solid. If I didn’t get the Rotel cd player, I probably would have got a Marantz. They always sounded very nice anytime I happened to hear one playing at a dealer. This system you are piecing together is going to be very impressive, I have to believe. Do you already have the Marantz 8005, or is that on the to buy list? All I can tell you is that based on my time listening to the Aria, you are going to be in audio Nirvana when you fire up the Virtuoso. I love integrated amps; the good ones give up very little to separates, and I like the one box space saving, as well as fewer cables to buy. The Virtuoso will not disappoint if I know Dave Belles even remotely. I’ll be interested to hear how it sounds, once your plan comes together. I really enjoy your take on the audio world, and your enthusiasm!