Rotel OMG!

I haven't had a whole lot of experience with Rotel products in the past but I had a receiver laying around RX-940 AX which is very pleasant and actually quite good sounding but I never thought of on an audiophile scale as a must have. I dusted it off and plugged it into my new Elac B6 speakers and it sounded really good but again- I wasn't blown away. On a whim I tried the phono stage (running Tape out which taps right off the output stage before the volume and tone controls) and OMG!. This must be one of those hidden treasures but it sounds amazing! It's just rich and full sounding- very British Hi-fi type of warmth, laid back but great detail and most of all I found myself listening to albums for several hours because it was just so much fun to listen to. I would put it up against stand alone pre-s in the sub $1000 category with no problem, honestly, if you have a Rotel of this vintage give it a try. I downloaded the schematic and it's a rather simple feedback circuit running on balanced 19.6 volts with active RIAA (feedback) and using a single Signetics biFET op Amp NE5532AN. For kicks I decided to see how the tuner sounded and again I was pleasantly surprised with a similar quality and musical sounding presentation. The phono stage, however, is special.