Rotel is one of the few manufacturers currently offering a ‘budget' preamp and power amplifier combination. There are plenty of integrated amps costing more than these two boxes together, though, so just what is Rotel's point?

Until relatively recently, any system with even the slightest pretension to high-end status automatically included a preamp and power amp. But that was in the days when vinyl was the main domestic sound source. The coming of CD made a lot of people realise that a power amp with the addition of a selector switch and a volume control was, basically, an integrated design. By this point in history the quality of integrated amps had risen pretty high anyway, and so when integrated amps invaded and conquered the mid-range market, there wasn't much resistance.

All the same, a few two-box solutions persisted, and there are some real advantages despite the obvious drawbacks of extra shelf space, more mains sockets, more boxes and so on. Most obviously, you can mix and match brands, which can be fun especially when upgrading. You can put the power amp near the speakers and significantly reduce speaker cable lengths – you'll need long interconnects, of course, but the quality loss associated with this is generally less. And if you use vinyl as a regular source, you'll often find that hum levels are lower when the large transformer invariably associated with a power or integrated amplifier is physically remote.

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Manufacturers also have more room to do fancy things with circuitry inside two boxes. We're not sure that's a major justification in this particular case, since neither the RC-06 or RB-06 is especially crowded inside, but even that can be welcome as crowding electronics together is hardly ideal for minimising noise and interference. And on top of that, the RB-06 power amp can be set to work in bridged mode, putting out up to 200W or so, which makes for a cost-effective power upgrade simply by buying a second RB-06 for the other channel. So, there are plenty of reasons why a pre/power combo may well be the answer in preference to a similarly-priced integrated.

In this particular case, specifications closely match those of a typical integrated amp at about $1000. Output power of nominally 70 watts per channel (more like 90 watts, actually) and six inputs, plus remote control of input and volume – it's a familiar recipe. There are a couple of rather clever variations in the RC-06, though, the first being the built-in phono stage. As shipped, this is a perfectly normal moving-magnet, RIAA-equalised type, but it can be reconfigured internally to operate as another line input if you don't have a turntable. The front-mounted socket for a ‘media player' is handy, too. It doesn't add to the input count, by the way, as it functions instead of ‘Aux 2'.

Astonishingly, the balance control cannot be bypassed – this must be the first amp lacking a ‘source direct' or similar button that we've seen for some time. This arguably undermines the use of a very high quality ALPS volume control, though the latter's other advantage of enhanced reliability is still valid. Input switching is via a good-quality integrated circuit that is happy with high-level inputs, while amplification is carried out by high performance op-amps supported by passive components of uniformly good quality. The power amp likewise uses good components, amplification here being by discrete transistors with two pairs of output devices per channel on generous heatsinks. Build quality is good if electronically rather dated – single-sided circuit boards are so passé!

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SOUN D QUALITY

Whether due to the separation of preamp and power functions or simply to the details of Rotel's design, this is one gutsy-sounding combination. There are amps around capable of putting out 100 watts and more that don't sound as powerful, and no, we weren't running the RB-06 into clipping. A large part of the reason for this must surely be the powerful, driving and very well extended bass, which convincingly combines grace and grunt, but the midrange sounds pretty dynamic, too.

Treble isn't really called on for reserves of power, so those considerations don't apply to it, but it certainly seems suitably unconstrained. As a result, one is tempted to put on something noisy, turn the volume up a bit and get out the old air guitar. In the end it does run out of steam, but even then the RB-06 overloads quite gracefully as long as it's only momentary. We can imagine the fun one might have with a bridged pair....

If there is a down side, it's fine detail. Those little clues as to which of two near-identical instruments is playing, the last few centimetres of positioning accuracy within a stereo image, little things like that – we've heard better. Not by much at this kind of price, admittedly, but just now and then we wished for a little more.

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To an extent, then, this amp sets out a great stall on first audition, but doesn't keep up the impression in the longer term. While a serious lack of detail information can significantly hamper one's involvement over protracted listening sessions, in this case the lack is minor and we found that the general character of the sound kept us playing tracks through to the end, even when we had only intended to sample some choice audiophile moment.

In terms of tonality, the sound has a slight bias towards the bass, or perhaps the treble is mildly recessed. But this is not enough of a shift to remain directly audible for long. The all-important midrange is admirably neutral. This supports Rotel's belief in the virtues of extended bandwidth, and is much in evidence as measured response is flat to miles above audio (over 200kHz).

Strangely, this meaty-sounding combination may not appeal to those for whom rhythm and timing are paramount. But Rotel needn't worry because that simply means that listeners who find allegedly ‘fast' amps aggressive are much more likely to favour the Rotel duo. Their performance is consistent across a range of musical styles, from grand opera to solo piano to electronica to jazz ensemble. It also seems consistent between the units, though the power amp is the more detailed of the two.

Warm, fun and engaging – those are the key words here. If you hanker after an analytical sound, you may return empty-handed from an audition of these amps. But we do strongly recommend hearing them against the many fine integrated-amp options around the same price. Practical considerations (upgrading and so on) aside, there is some distinguished and enjoyable music-making going on here.

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Rotel RC-06 ¦$599¦¦ www.internationaldynamics.com.au
For:  A very enjoyable amp
Against: Not the most analytical; can run out of steam.
Conclusion: A decent unit and the ensemble offers very good value.

Rotel RB-06 ¦$649¦¦ www.internationaldynamics.com.au
For: Highly enjoyable. More powerful than one might expect.
Against: Can lack fine detail.
Conclusion: Don't be deceived by the price. This is a very capable amp.