“That’s it,” art director Tony Fox insists when I call up Rotel’s website. He and I are scouring the Internet for audio components that will complement the look of the interior on this issue’s cover. Tony is relieved to find products that rise above the basic-black Model T look. I am relieved that he has chosen Rotel.

Slim, silvery lifestyle products now fill the shelves of electronics stores, from discount outlets to exclusive Bang & Olufsen boutiques.  Those attractive skins often camouflage loss-leader
electronics. It’s like putting a Ferrari body on the chassis of a Dodge Neon.

I doubt, however, that this will be the case with the RSX-1067 receiver and RDV-1050 DVD player to which Tony is so attracted.  For years, audio enthusiasts have looked to Rotel when the choos to upgrade from mass-market electronics.

Back in the day when audiophiles were thrilled to find any decent-sounding home theater components at all, Rotel products sufficed with drab black exteriors. Recently, though, Rotel has revamped its look. Matte-finish aluminum faceplates with discreet control buttons replace the predictable dark façades. Will your interior designer stop complaining if you swap your unlovely black audio gear for Rotel components? Probably not. But he or she just might
find some more serious violation to focus on— perhaps that hideous flatware that you inherited from your grandmother, or the tacky orange toolbox that completely ruins the look of your garage.

RSX-1067 Receiver
As you browse the audio aisles of a big electronics retailer, you will see that most $2,000 receivers offer about 100 watts per channel, all use the same Dolby and DTS technologies to produce surround sound, and all are visually indistinguishable. So what sets the RSX-1067 apart?

For starters, you will not find it at a big electronics retailer. Rotel products are sold exclusively through specialty audio stores and custom installers.  A Rotel receiver in your living room marks you as a cognoscente, a person who considers an audio component to be more than a mere appliance.  You can take as much pride in owning the RSX-1067 as you would in wearing a Girard-Perregaux watch.

What do all those numeric buttons do? We forgot to mention that the RSX-1067 has an AM/FM tuner with Radio Data Service capability and 30 presets. The buttons tune the radio or select the desired preset. (Click image to enlarge)

You will also enjoy Rotel’s philosophy of product design. Like most British audio companies, Rotel does not seek to pack every last doodad and every possible watt of power into its receivers. Instead, it forgoes many of the marketing gimmicks and pursues a more balanced approach.  The company’s engineers value basic sound quality at least as highly as they regard the latest technological wonders. The focus is on functionality.

Indeed, the RSX-1067 produces a sweet, satisfying sound. I particularly enjoy hearing my favorite jazz CDs played through the RSX-1067; its smooth, mellow treble seems tailor-made for the works of Sonny Rollins, Johnny Hartman and the Miles Davis Quintet. Its forte extends to classical music and blues as well.  The receiver’s clear, neutral-sounding midrange complements cellos and violins as much as it does the road-weary voices of Big Mama Thornton and John Lee Hooker.
Typical receivers produce a sprightlier treble, which does have its advantages:  The Sunfire receiver I compare to the RSX-1067 seems more lively when I listen to pop vocal recordings. But I get the same comfort from the Rotel’s easy sound as I do from a favorite polo shirt. I’d be quite happy listening to it every single day.

The RSX-1067’s sound also suits the discerning DVD fan. I doubt it achieves any real advantage over other receivers in its oeuvre when the evening’s entertainment drifts toward shoot-’em-ups and sci-fi blockbusters. But it comes into its own with more delicate fare, such as The Lion King’s wonderfully layered musical score.

Not to say, though, that the RSX-1067 lacks features. In fact, it surprises me, because when it comes to technology, high-end audio companies like Rotel often lag a year behind their mass-market competitors.

Every year, it seems there are one or two new features that separate the with-it companies from the laggards, and the RSX-1067 has both of 2004’s musts. The first is video transcoding, which converts old-fashioned composite and S-video signals into component video.  This convenient feature lets you use just a component video connection between the receiver and your TV or projector.  You can leave the TV set for component input, and let the RSX-1067 do all the video switching. The second is Dolby Pro Logic IIx, which converts plain stereo sound from CDs, TV shows, FM radio and the like into 7.1-channel surround sound. (Regular Pro Logic II converts it into 5.1 channels.)

It also has one unusual feature that is not particularly in demand but should be. Most high-end receivers today let you choose the subwoofer crossover point—that is, the frequency below which sound is routed into your subwoofer.  The importance of this feature is that it lets you feed your speakers only as much bass as they can handle. But what if you have large front left and right speakers, a midsize center speaker and tiny surround speakers? One crossover point could not suit all of these speakers; you would have to compromise. Not with the RSX-1067. It lets you choose different crossover points for the front left/right, center and surround speakers, so each speaker gets exactly the right amount of bass.
Last, take a look at the May-June issue’s cover. Can you imagine another receiver that would go so well with that Sony flat-panel TV?

RDV-1050 DVD Player
Everything I said earlier about pride of ownership and exclusivity goes for the RDV-1050. All except the sound, which, depending on your outlook, is far   better—or far worse—than its competitors.’

You see, like practically every other new DVD player that costs more than $200 and does not bear a Sony logo, the RDV-1050 plays DVD-Audio (DVD-A), a relatively new format that contains music in 5.1-channel surround sound. However, unlike competing players from Denon and Pioneer, it does not play Super Audio CD (SACD), which also offers music in surround sound.

Although some audio enthusiasts may not have noticed Rotel’s recent cosmetic rebirth, the components’ silver faces and black trim now make them entirely acceptable as lifestyle components. (Click image to enlarge)

When I play DVD-A discs and CDs in the RDV-1050, I am surprised—even a bit disappointed—that it sounds smoother than my Denon DVD-2900, which is generally regarded as one of the best DVD-A players in its class. Its midrange is subtly clearer, but I note a dramatic difference in the high notes. Like the RSX-1067, the RDV-1050 produces a silky, comfortable treble that makes such high-frequency instruments as cymbals, flutes, oboes and acoustic guitars sound more real. Although I have not heard every DVD-A player in the RDV-1050’s range, I have heard none to date that equals or exceeds its performance, except for players of even more distinguished pedigree, such as Meridian’s G98. The RSX-1067 sounds above average, but the RDV-1050 is truly exceptional.
That said, anyone who is interested in DVD-A will surely want to play SACDs, too. Players that handle the two formats are increasingly common these days. The surround-sound enthusiast demands both, but the RDV-1050 delivers only one. Now, I would opine that an SACD such as Hot House Flowers by snoozy jazz formalist Wynton Marsalis sounds better on the RDV-1050 than on an SACD player; in some cases, however, silence is preferable.

Having reached my quota of boorish comments for the day, I shall move on to the RDV-1050’s video performance, which is quite competent.  The picture looks clean and colorful.  With the player set for progressive-scan output, on-screen objects exhibit few of the unnatural jagged edges that sometimes plague lesser DVD players. The color levels look balanced, too; no color overpowers any other.

Setting the player for interlaced output produces a slightly sharper picture with my Sony LCD projector; the RDV-1050 seems to soften its progressive-scan video slightly, probably in order to obscure the artifacts I just mentioned. We have seen this same performance trait in many other players.

A few DVDs may throw the RDV-1050 for a loop, though. Many top DVD players can analyze the video on a DVD to detect the difference between material that originated as film (which runs at 24 frames per second) and video (which runs at 30 frames per second). They then optimize their performance accordingly.  The RDV-1050, however, makes this decision based on a digital “flag” found on a DVD; the flag tells the player if the program is film-based or video-based.  That works fine almost all of the time, but there are some DVDs on the market (most notably Titanic) that have been produced incorrectly and lack the proper flagging.  With these rare discs, the RDV-1050 may produce more jagged edges than some competing DVD players.

You might choose the RDV-1050 purely for its exclusivity; after all, who would want to buy an ordinary black-box DVD player when you can own one that’s so distinctive? Or you might select the RDV-1050 for its awesome sound. No matter your reason, you will find that the RDV-1050, like the RSX-1067, exudes undeniable appeal.

DESCRIPTION
RSX-1067: Surround-sound receiver. Decodes surround sound, controls volume, routes audio and video from source devices (DVD, satellite TV, etc.) to TV and speakers. Provides seven 100-watt channels of amplification (for 7.1 system or 5.1 system with second stereo zone). Includes AM/FM tuner

RDV-1050: DVD player with progressive-scan output. Plays DVD-Video, DVD-Audio and CD, as well as MP3, WMA and JPEG files from CDs

SURROUND MODES
RSX-1067: Dolby Digital EX and Dolby Pro Logic IIx, DTS ES and Neo:6, Rotel XS Extra Surround, 5.1- and 7.1-channel party modes

CONNECTIONS
RSX-1067: Three component video inputs, five S-video inputs, five composite video inputs, seven stereo analog audio inputs (RCA type), three coaxial digital audio inputs, two Toslink optical digital audio inputs, 8-channel analog audio input for DVD-Audio/Super Audio CD, 7.1-channel analog audio outputs (to amplifier) with outputs for extra center and subwoofer, coaxial digital audio output, Toslink digital audio output, stereo analog audio output for second zone, four stereo analog audio outputs for recording, one component video output, five composite video outputs (one for second zone), four S-video outputs, two 1¼8-inch minijacks for main and second-zone IR input, two 1¼8-inch minijacks for IR output, three 1¼8-inch minijacks for DC triggers (one for second zone), RJ-45 jack for computer input/output, spring clips for AM antenna, coaxial connector for FM antenna, seven pairs of five-way binding posts for speaker output

RDV-1050: Component video output, S-video output, composite video output, 5.1-channel analog audio output, coaxial digital audio output, Toslink optical digital audio output

DIMENSIONS
RSX-1067: 7.6 x 17.3 x 16 inches (hwd)
RDV-1050: 3.7 x 17.3 x 13.4 inches (hwd)

PRICE/CONTACT
PRICE: RSX-1067, $2,199; RDV-1050, $699
CONTACT: 978.664.3820, www.rotel.com