There are certain traits that set apart particular hi-fi brands. For example, features not found elsewhere, an unusual control layout or just a distinctive style of casework. For Rotel, however, the thinking has always been the same: high-quality components, many of them made in-house, within the products, combined with a no-frills industrial design allied to a high standard of fit and finish. In other words, all you need for great sound, and no money wasted on fripperies.

That’s certainly the case with the latest addition to the integrated amplifier range offered by the Japanese company, still family-owned in a world of ever-larger conglomerations of brands. The Rotel A8 could be an amplifier from the company’s catalogue of almost any time during the past few decades, and even its pricing has an air of the old school about it. At £399 in either silver or black finishes, it’s one of the most affordable stereo amplifiers on the market.

What’s more, it’s a reassuringly basic design. In an age when amplifiers keep appearing with multiple digital inputs, onboard streaming capability, multiroom functions and app control, the A8 plays things simple. There are three line-level inputs for sources like CD players, tuners and the like, a moving magnet phono stage to which a record player can be connected, and outputs for a single pair of speakers – and that, give or take a headphone socket on the front panel, is just about it.

Yes, the latest generation of network-connected all-in-one amplifiers – in essence all-in-one systems to which one needs only add a pair of speakers – has its appeal. However, in an age when online and network music services are still developing and evolving, it might make sense not to lock oneself too firmly into a single piece of hardware, but rather stick to components able to be upgraded – or in extremis replaced completely, should the streaming landscape shift again. Think back to the days when many of us started out in hi-fi, with a simple source – be it LPs, CDs or maybe even cassettes – an amplifier and a pair of speakers: that’s what this new Rotel is all about.

Not that the simple face it presents to the world means this is in any way a basic design. It has subtle-acting balance and tone controls, and a remote handset able to operate its most important functions – such as volume, muting and input selection – as well as those of compatible source components. And under the lid are more signs of Rotel’s ‘spend the budget on the sound, not styling frills’ philosophy: the high-current toroidal mains transformer is built by the company in-house, and is shielded to avoid any interference reaching the audio signal-path, while the capacitors used to smooth the delivery of energy to the rest of the amplifier are also all-Rotel, along with selected sound-critical components in the audio circuits.

A single circuitboard extends throughout the interior of the amplifier, minimising the need for wiring, and in the middle of this sits the output devices for the power amplifier stage, each pair bolted to a substantial heatsink. Here’s another area in which the Rotel designers have chosen to fly in the face of pervading amplifier trends: rather than going down the Class D route, the company has stuck to what it knows best, in the form of traditional Class AB power amplification, here delivering 30W per channel into 8ohms, and 40Wpc into 4ohm speaker loads.

That may not sound much, given the ‘arms race’ among manufacturers to claim ever-higher power outputs, but it’s more than adequate for the kind of modern small speakers with which an amplifier such as this is likely to be used, and the A8 proves capable of driving such designs to what can only be described as ‘realistic’ levels without any signs of distress, or of limits being reached.

With all this sensible design and solid engineering going on, perhaps its acceptable to allow the Rotel engineers a small touch of frivolity, and it comes in the form of the ring of LEDs surrounding the central volume control, providing an indication of the level set. With a long press of the ‘AUX’ input button, these can be set to a range of colours – red, green, blue or purple – while a similar long press of the ‘CD’ button allows them to be dimmed or turned off completely, and a key on the remote handset allows temporary dimming or switch-off.

There’s also a slider switch on the rear panel to defeat or enable the amplifier’s automatic standby function, which kicks in when no audio signal, or operation of the controls, is detected for 20 minutes, thus keeping power consumption down. The amplifier will ‘wake’ again on a music signal or a control input – again, it’s all very sensible and effective.

Performance

Small it may be, standing just 7.3cm tall, but the A8 proves more than up to the job of delivering music in a convincing fashion. I tried it with a variety of speakers, from budget compact designs to my Neat Iota desktop choice and the small but powerful-sounding PMC Prodigy 5 floorstanders, and in every case the Rotel amplifier drove the speakers with excellent grip and drive, and brought out the spirit of both performance and recording.

Are there limits? Well, yes: a good dollop of extra power would bring even greater weight and conviction in the bass of the PMCs, and more breathing space for the dynamics of the music at high basic listening levels, but the honesty of the
way the A8 plays music is hard not to like, and I’m sure many listeners tight on space for their musical enjoyment will be more than satisfied with what this little amplifier can do.

Whether with accompanied instrumentalists, small-ensemble chamber works or big orchestral pieces, the Rotel is fast, well-defined and delivers excellent levels of detail: timbres are persuasive and there’s both good scale and reliably natural soundstage scale and focus. Indeed, I was pleasantly surprised how well the PMC floorstanders, driven by the A8, filled a typical-sized room with music, the system refusing to be caught out by the dynamics of symphonic works, while the intervention of the mighty Royal Albert Hall organ during a live Proms relay brought about a suitable frisson.

It all makes up to an amplifier as suitable for first-time system builders as those looking to replace older equipment on a budget: Rotel has got all its priorities right here, and you won’t go far wrong with the A8.

Specifications

Type Integrated amplifier

Price £399

Output power 30Wpc into 8ohms, 40Wpc into 4ohms

Inputs Three line, moving magnet phono

Outputs One pair of speakers, headphones

Tone controls Yes

Remote control Yes

Finishes Silver or black

Dimensions (WxHxD) 430 x 73 x 347 mm

rotel.com

Or you could try ...

The days when there were dozens of bargain-priced amplifiers from which to choose are long gone, but there are still options for buyers wanting an excellent sound on a tight budget.

Cambridge AXA25

For example, the Cambridge AXA25, the company’s entry-level model, delivers 25W per channel, and has similar input provision and controls to the Rotel A8, plus a 3.5mm stereo analogue in for a portable player, and a USB power port to which, for example, a Bluetooth receiver could be connected. Finished in a striking Lunar Grey, it’s excellent value.

Yamaha A-S201

Another no-frills amplifier is the Yamaha A-S201, although it does have a clear display for input selection and volume setting, plus switching for two pairs of speakers. It also delivers an impressive 100W per channel, has moving magnet phono and four analogue line-ins, and a Pure Direct button to bypass its tone controls.

WiiM Amp

If you want a ‘do everything’ streaming amplifier for the price of the Rotel, the WiiM Amp is an obvious choice: it will play music from local storage, online services or Internet radio, all controlled by a simple, logical app running on a smartphone. It’s compact, available in grey or silver, and delivers a healthy 60W per channel to drive speakers.

This article originally appeared in the November 2024 issue of Gramophone. Never miss an issue – subscribe today