Integrated stereo amplifier Rotel A11, black Review

The A11 Tribute integrated amplifier was developed by Rotel in collaboration with hi-fi legend Ken Ishiwata. Based on an EISA award-winning best-in-class unit, Ishiwata suggested tweaks to make this very successful unit sound even better. However, the maestro of the Hi-Fi industry, unfortunately, did not live to see the start of serial production of this amplifier. Therefore, Rotel management decided to release this model under the name A11 Tribute in memory of the work done by Ken Ishiwata and in commemoration of his contribution to the development of Hi-Fi. The Rotel A11 Tribute operates in class A / B and develops 50 watts per channel with a load resistance of 8 ohms). According to Ishiwata''s refining concept, the Rotel A11 Tribute has been selected with specially selected, improved components to deliver superior sound quality. All 10 capacitors and two resistors were replaced in the final stage, and six capacitors were upgraded in the preamplifier circuit - in total, this amounted to more than 50% of all components in the signal path. All six capacitors in the volume control circuit have also been replaced with improved ones. The power supply of the amplifier uses an oversized toroidal transformer of Rotel''s own production, which, in combination with powerful output transistors, ensures reliable operation of the device even for complex speaker systems. The amplifier has outputs for connecting two pairs of speakers. Special damping materials have been added to the chassis design of the Rotel A11 Tribute to reduce its resonances and vibrations inside the chassis. Redesigned components and meticulous tuning of all audio-critical circuits have resulted in a richer, more expressive and more realistic source experience. In addition to four line inputs, the Rotel A11 Tribute is equipped with Bluetooth with aptX and AAC support, as well as an MM phono stage for a turntable. Features: design improved by Ken Ishiwata; toroidal transformer in the power supply; built-in MM phono stage; Bluetooth receiver with support for aptX and AAC; Package contents: amplifier; power cable; documentation. Characteristics:Weight, g: 6800Built-in DAC: yesHeight, mm: 93Headphone output: 3.5Manufacturer''s warranty, months: 12Depth, mm: 345Maximum reproducible frequency, kHz: 100Material: metalMinimum reproducible frequency, Hz: 10Power, W: 160DAC bit rate, bit: 24Input connectors: phono, rcaOutput connectors: rca, terminalsSignal-to-noise ratio, dB: 100, 85Circuit design: discreteColor: silverWidth, mm: 430