I had a Rotel RX-1052 that I bought on eBay for $256 including s&h based on reading some reviews. I was just looking for something solid to replace a NAD 7250 PE I was using to put together a little system in the basement. (I sold the NAD for more than I paid for the Rotel)
To my surprise the Rotel exceeded all my expectations and that little system quickly evolved into my main rig. I'm not sure how closely related the design and components were to the earlier models, but I had to go pretty far up the food chain when I wanted to upgrade from the RX-1052. I thought the phono section on my Nakamichi Receiver 2 was a bit better, though.
To my surprise the Rotel exceeded all my expectations and that little system quickly evolved into my main rig. I'm not sure how closely related the design and components were to the earlier models, but I had to go pretty far up the food chain when I wanted to upgrade from the RX-1052. I thought the phono section on my Nakamichi Receiver 2 was a bit better, though.