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Rotel turntables

R

Rural Rat

New Member
I am after info regards Rotel turntables? Where were they made, how long ago, are they any good etc. Have seen models RP 840, 850 and 310 around recently but details a bit sketchy. What about replacement parts?

Anyone have experience with them?
 
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If you get one, ROTEL can be emailed directly and they will send what info they have as PDFs. They won't send a bunch of data about a range of models, but will try to support you if you have one of their products. Made in Japan. Fairly good stuff from what I can see (I have one of their Cassette Decks, no TT (yet)). I always liked their wood based belt drive models like the RP-1000. They seems to run well and there is not a lot of griping going on around here with problems? Not sure about the specs. I suspect they are middle of the road specs wise as in not Yamaha or Denon, but not SounDesign or Yorx either.

Try looking up the models you're interested in on the 'Bay to see what the sellers say - some may have original paperwork with some of the estate sale items?
 
Skip the 840 - very poor tonearm and junky base. The mid-80's 850 looks interesting, like an early Rega , fairly heavy at 24lbs with a 3.3lb platter.
Dunno from the 310?

vinylengine.com has several Rotel TT manuals available for free download, including the 840 and 850.
 
Eeeeeeee,

All the Rotel RP-1000 and RP-1100A type stuff was made by the same mid-fi comapny that made the tables for Quadraflex and Marantz...so, not really good stuff. They did have some stuff in the 80's and 90's IIRC that was very good.

joey

I tried the RP-1100A and was less than impressed!
 
Rotel was a midle of the road audio company when everything was big. They did manage to make a big name lately with some impressively looking and big pre/power amps (multichannel). Their TTs though were never anything to stand out.
 
I have a Rotel RP-3000. It's my daily runner and has never given me any problems. It has a superb tonearm. The pitch adjust is a little finicky and I need to re-adjust it about every time I run it. I've owned other TTs that I literally set the speed once and never touched again. I am actively looking for a new TT of an older vintage and if I find one with a questionable tonearm I will transplant the arm from the Rotel which seems to me to be the best atribute of this TT.

My two cents.
 
I also have an RP 3000, and have used it daily for just over 30 years. It has literally never been out of service in that time. I would echo what pilotputz says, the tonearm is superb, and with an AT cartridge the tracking and overall sound is great. It is not quartz locked and you have to fiddle with the speed sometimes, but it isn't a big deal. Since it is not sprung, it is sensitive to vibration and bumps, but mine is on a very heavy stand, so unless you actually thump the plinth itself it doesn't pick it up.

Overall, I love this table and always have. When I bought it (in 1977, just before my senior year of college), it cost about $225.00, and was Rotel's top of the line. For $50 more the store had one with an Infinity Black Widow tone arm. I know a lot of people don't like DD, but this table seems extremely quiet to me, and zero maintenance is always nice. I
 
Ok, finally took some pics. Here is my Rotel RP 3000
 

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It's always a good idea to break out the colored/picture records when you're taking a picture of your turntable! What AT cartridge are you using exactly, Mike?
 
The cartridge is an AT 3003 (also known as an AT 311, I think). Purchased at Circuit City, where someone here recently said they were on sale for something like $19.95! I think I paid $49.95. It's not bad, but a couple of months ago I put on a Shibata stylus from LP Gear, which improved the sound quite a bit. I'm looking at getting an AT 440ml for the Rotel, and putting this cartridge/stylus combo on my Dual 1226 in my bedroom.

By the way, the record is "Soular Energy" by the Ray Brown Trio, which is absolutely one of the most kick-ass jazz albums in existance! I recommend it highly, even if it did cost me 50 bucks from Elusive Disc.
 
the rotel rp 850 and rp 855 shouldn't be overlooked especially as they are still under the radar..
..in my humble opinion they can give the likes of rega planar 3's and thorens td160's/td 166 a good run for their money..
the rotel arm sometimes have bearing issues depending on how they have been maintained but if in good working order and not abused can give a superb sound with even the likes of an at110e or at95e..

i used to have a rp855 and it is a very good sounding deck..with nicely finished plinth, heavy platter and oh so useful speed selector...the arm was good sounding too..if no the most robust in construction..
still i think the package as a whole would sound much better than anything considered 'audiophile' entry level available today imho..entry level projects and perhaps rega p1 included..
it was certainly better than a dual cs 505/2 and i'd take a leap and say it will either outperform or match a dual cs5000 in terms of musical ability..if not in construction elegance...

these decks were the keep-it-simple attempts from japan intended to match or outperform the brit fixed plinth belt drive designs that were in vogue in the 80's and 90's...an in most cases they were well up to the task..

the cheaper rotel rp-830 is also a good deck and was a direct competitor for the rega planar 2 with rb250...
sorry to use the p2 and p3 as benchmarks...but here in the uk..those were the tables used as price vs performance references in the reviews..
 
The RP 800 and 855 seem to be the best regarded belt drive Rotels. I never heard any of them (hardly ever seen one) but they look nice.

I have always been a little mystified by the beating DD tables have taken by the so-called experts. I have never heard any motor noise from this thing. It can have vibration issues from blasting loud rock from speakers standing right next to the turntable, but when I changed the 1980's Pioneers out for stacked large Advents (which have very rigid and well made cabinets) that problem was resolved for all but brain damage volumes.
 
By the way, I contacted Rotel America, and now have both the schematic and the owners manual for the RP-3000. If anyone wants a copy, let me know.
 
Is it just me or does that arm on the RP-3000 look like a copy of SME's 3009 right down to the holes un the headshell? No wonder they like the sound !Craig
 
They do look similar, but the SME is basically J shaped and the Rotel arm is a classic S shape. Also, I'm not sure but the SME arm may be some kind of unipivot,and the Rotel is a gimbled arm. That said, the Rotel arm is great, after 30 years the pivot points are still in perfect shape, and it seems to track almost anything. If the record is really screwed up, I have to jack up the VTF from 1.25 to 1.5 grams, and then it will plow through almost any scratch or warp. Recently I did a careful alignment of the cartridge using a protractor from Vinyl Engine, and the sound improved a little bit. Like anything else, its all in the details.
 
Well I didnt buy a Rotel after all. Bought a Thorens TD320 with Garrott P77 cartridge. Its getting a workout and I cant get enough of it at the moment.:music:
 
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