Rotel RA-1062 and RA-03 amps

Has anyone compared these two? the 1062 is quite well known, costs £600 and is 60wpc, the 03 is a new one I think, based on the 02 but upgraded components and up-rated to 70wpc and costs £500.

 

I have heard both, in my opinion the 1062 is worth the extra money. The other amp i would suggest you listen to is the Exposure 2010s.

 

The RA-03 is just the RC-03 pre-amplifier and RB-03 power amplifier in the same box. The RA-1062 has a better pre-amplifier section, and so should sound better.

 

1062 wipes the floor with the 03. The 03 is simply an 02 (or 01 for that matter) with a bit more power. The 1062 was designed to be able to properly drive a pair of Nautilus 801s, which it can...don't think the 03 is up to that job. 1062 is a different beast altogether, and for only £95 more is a no-brainer.

Edit...in fact the 03 is really for dealers who don't have the 10 series, so you shouldn't really find many, if any dealers who carry both, for reasons outlined here and in the other posts.

 

It's interesting that the 03 won a Supertest in this month's WHF but they havent tested the 1062 yet...

 

I lost track of rotel after the 970/971 series, anyone give me a brief history of amps since then?

thanks.

 

970 was replaced by the 971, which in turn was replaced by the 02, which has a remote and is £350 iirc. Shortly afterwards they brought out the 01, which was the 02 without remote capability (£100 for remote!!!). The 1062 is part of the 10 series which is more upmarket, and it costs £600 and is 60wpc. It came out last year, replacing another 10 series amp which I forget the model number of. It has received a HFC best amp award for last year I think.

And now they have brought out the 03, which according to whf is a beefed up 02, with some improved components too. 70wpc and £500.

Seems odd to have two similarly powerful amps at around the same price-point.

 

I wouldn't believe too much of what they tell you

 

aha, it was the 1060, just looked it up, these are well regarded amps, I like rotel.

 

I know. It makes me suspicious that they havent reviewed the 1062 yet.

 

I thought the 972 replaced the 971 Mk2, and then the 972 was replaced by the 1060 and then that was replaced by the 1062...

The RA-01 and 02 replaced the 931 Mk2.

 

You could be right there.

 

No, it was all a bit odd.

The 971mk2 was never replaced directly. The 931mk2 was scaled up in price to the RA02 which was more expensive than the 971mk2. The 972 was the same power stage as the 971mk2 but with a more sophisticated, remote control preamp with a phono stage. This has effectively been developed into the 1060 and 1062.

The 971mk2 and 972 were concurrent models at £270 and £450 respectively.

 

I have the circuit diagram for the monster 1090? is it, the one andy(penance) had, also the michi, and the rq970 phono stage to add to by growing collection.

you might be able to understand them Isaac(I have 1/2 and idea), the 1090 is a monster circuit, very complex.clever these japs....

 

Luvin' those Rotel amps. 1062, RA-03, RC-03+RB-03 - whatever. They're the best SS amps you can buy at their respective price points, IMHO.

Build quality is superb and they sound great.

DT

 

Agreed. I listened to the alternatives, and for me, none were as good, pound for pound.