Mike! We need to start getting royalties on this! The A14 has settled in a bit. Last week when I cranked it it ran pretty hot, but it’s been running 24/7 since I got it, what, 2 weeks ago. Cranked it for a song 2 days ago again it didn’t run near as hot, so I think they didn’t really run it as a demo. I really do like it though, Rotel seems to have a design team that gets it right when it comes to how their gear actually functions. No quirks, no annoying bugs,just solid operation. I’m surprised such a compact unit puts out 80/ch. So it being Friday after my doctors appointment I’m going to hit the Tribute11 with some Metal and then some Jazz. And hell, I just realized I haven’t played any Beatles on it yet! I’ll have to remedy that too! Crutchfield is out of the silver 11 again. I must say, having a black 11 and the silver pair, their both very handsome looking, but the silver really stands out in a very nice way! Beave
Well this is my first experience with Rotel gear, and Good God I’ve had tons of gear over my lifetime, some quirky, like the old SAE TWO integrated that was absolutely beautiful but they used schiit switches that would pop and make noise and I finally canned it, and some fantastic gear, like my current Emotiva amp and Sherbourn pre, which are fantastic. There was really no reason to get the Rotel amp but I’m so impressed with the Tribute11 that while digging around the net for more info on it I came across, for Heavens sake a local Seattle Audio shop that had a demo A14 for 33% off list, which is unheard of for Rotel gear, I knew that much. And then our Prez gets stimulus money and the rest is history as they say. But like the Tribute11, I’m very impressed with the A14. And it’s still breaking in but the sound is on par with my separates and at this point even a bit more Lush, very fluid and easy on the ears. And I haven’t even touched the digital side of the amp, remember, and one other reason I took the plunge buying it, is it’s 32 bit AKM dac! I’m very aware of the shortage Marantz is having to deal with due to the AKM fire, so I wanted to snag this for future dac fun. Whereas other manufacturers just throw in a dac with no real muscle behind it, looking at the reviews of the A14, it seems that Rotel took this part of the amp VERY seriously! So, I’ve got a lot of fun ahead of me and we’re just getting started. And fun is supposed to be what this hobby is about. But all in all, I’m very impressed with both the Tribute11 and the A14 Integrated Amp. So now we ROCK ON! Beave
So, after the doctors visit sitting here with my fluffy putty between my legs on the recliner, digging on Evans “Sunday” disc from the box set. This is a great recording to begin with but I’m listening to it at a volume setting of 46 on the A14. Listening to the bass player and his strings resonate against the fretboard, man like real man........seriously though the ease is pretty incredible, everything is 3 dimensional. Air, depth, treble, bass, mids, soundstage, like listening to a master tape. and I just noticed that I went from a bass setting of 6 when /I first fired it up to now it being a 3. So it is indeed breaking in and settling down component wise. I did turn her off for an hour to give her a rest and get back to room temp. So now, time to make some dinner. Beave
No Mike, this is the EU “Complete Bill Evans Riverside Recordings “. Link here: https://www.amazon.com/Riverside-Mi...plete+riverside&qid=1617408570&s=music&sr=1-5 Sound quality is exemplary! Not kidding. A steal at its price, especially comparing it to the $500 vinyl set. I’ll put this being played on the Tribute11 against that set. I cannot see this sounding any better than what I’m listening to right now. RIP Bill! Beave
Got my Tribute11 today. Have only tested a few CD’s so far and man this sounds SWEET! Thanks everyone for recommending this player. I’ve been scared to buy a new CD player because I have not had good luck with what’s currently being sold (Yamaha, Marantz, Onkyo). They all had skipping issues from the get go. This one sounds amazing! I’m hoping it lasts for a long time.
This piece really is special. After I move in the new house I am contemplating getting a second one. It’s that good. I hope Rotel makes parts for these for a bit. The good news is Rotel really supports their stuff. Marantz as good as they are seems to be going the opposite way but it’s hard to tell. Yamaha still makes quality stuff thankfully , my newer AS2200 and CXA5200 are superb. (Love my old Yammie stuff too like the 3090 and RXV1) Onkyo is just about gone as a company. Technics is actually re vitalized it seems . I may get the SLG700 as a high end streamer SACD .. but for plain old CD this Rotel is the King
Congrats man! Yes, the failure rate amongst the big boys is disappointing to say the least. On the good side is, again, scouring the net I haven’t found one instance of failure on the Tribute11, not one. So that is a very good thing. And mines been running almost 24/7 just to try and make it fail if it’s not up to snuff! But it’s just purring along with no issues. And that’s a good thing indeed! Enjoy your music! Beave
Get em while their HOT! LOL! The transport seems to not use any belts, just motor and gear for the tray. If that’s true then with the tray being very light, poses almost no load on that motor, and should last a very long time. I haven’t had any read mishaps at all. No stuttering or digital artifacts. And it just ate up my beat up Bessie Smith cd, no mean feat, that disc has made many players puke trying to negotiate those scratches. Enjoy Mike! And a great Friday night to everyone out there! Beave
Ive had a good amount of Rotel gear over the years and it’s always been a good product. My first good CD player was the flagship RCD-991AE and that was fantastic. Very smooth and well built. I currently have a RB-981 power amp in rotation and I think that’s a sleeper product. I can’t find any fault in it. Powerful, clean and reliable. I also recently picked up a CD14 but had to pack it up as I’m moving, so I look forward to spending more time with it in the new house. With those positive experiences, I wouldn’t hesitate to try a Rotel integrated. I’d love to compare it to the ever popular Yamaha AS-x01 series, which I also have and think is fantastic.
I hope you’ll let us know your experience if you end up with one. As a package with the CD player, I dig the understated, sleek stack of gear that makes. I can’t imagine it would be anything but satisfying.
Thank you all. I have been looking at CD players for over a month undecided which to buy. My system is a bit fussy. Klipschorns with Edgar designed squawker horns and JBL2404 tweeters with custom crossovers and matching circuit powered by a variety of home built and modified factory built amps and a modified Blueberry preamp by Marc Deneen and old ears. Currently in the mix is a punchy 17 wpc EL84 home built amp based on a Dynaco SCA-35 iron donor and the circuit designed by Shannon Sparks with a couple of upgrades by me. I use a Music Fidelity DAC and will try both the internal and external DAC's. I just ordered a Rotel CD11 Tribute CD Player Black. based on the comments in this thread and other things I have read. But the thread kicked it. Thanks again all who posted.
How fast can the CD 11 Tribute actually play a disc (Red Book CD) after it is placed in the tray? My Marantz SACD 30n takes 12 seconds to open the tray when eject button is pressed, 15 seconds to close the tray and read the TOC (Red Book CD) and 6 seconds to play the disc after the TOC has been read. To me that is painfully slow!
From when a Cd is in the tray and you press play it takes between 9 and 10 seconds for the music to start. 3 seconds to eject/stop disc playing. That is what I just checked with stopwatch. Had a great listening session with the CD11 tribute, Onkyo A-9150, and Soundartist ls3/5a(clone/copy) last night and into the morning. My wife was practically begging me to order another set for downstairs, so I pulled the trigger on a used pair. After I did that I asked her if we could try the A11 Tribute, so now we have one coming from MD. She will enjoy being able to bluetooth music from her phone to the amp. Wooo! Im a happy camper lol. Happy Saturday all
It’s gotten Stellar reviews, and it’s got Bluetooth for streaming. The word that kept coming up in the reviews is “Musical”. Beave
Well, let’s see here. Disc in tray, hit close, time to read the toc: 6 seconds. Ejecting a disc: immediate. Disc in tray push play, starts playing in 10.36 seconds. Ejecting a playing disc: 3 seconds. Disc in tray, toc read, hit play, time starts play, less than 1 second. Let me know if that covers it. And one more thing I forgot to mention, the Tribute11 does CD Text, and it will tell you when you load a disc if it DOESN’T have cd text (NO CD TEXT). Beave
Congrats Gizmo! You got a good Wife there! And we’ll be able to get feedback on the A11! Excellent! Great way to start the weekend, now if only ssmith would drink we’d be on a roll! Where is that Stimulus money damnit! Lol! Beave
I asked my wife how much better than 599.00 does it sound. She said a lot. I said how much a lot ? At least twice as much ... I agree and could be more ..
Couldn’t agree more. Listening right now to Brubeck at low volume, sounds like his piano is right in the living room, easy, very fluid sounding. beave
