Rotel RSX-1550 Equipment Report

Equipment Report
An A/V Receiver
By and For Purists
Rotel RSX-1550 5.1-channel
a/V ReceiVeR
Chris Martens
The world of modern-day A/V receivers sometimes seems to be driv-
en by the headlong pursuit of elaborate technical gongs and whistles,
plus the burning desire to quote impressive—though sometimes im-
plausible—power specifications. Deliberately bucking these trends,
however, Rotel has always chosen to march to the beat of a different
drummer. While competitors have added more buttons and flashing
lights, Rotel has consistently taken
a simpler, "less is more" approach.
And while others have chosen to
inflate their product power output
claims, Rotel has taken exactly the
opposite tack, quoting conserva-
tively rated power figures that may
not look very impressive at first
glance, but that honestly reflect Ro-
tel's uncompromising standards. In
short, Rotel has never built AVRs
to impress the "wowee-zowee"
crowd; instead, it makes receiv-
ers for A/V purists, and especially
for those who appreciate the finer
points of sound quality.
Admittedly, this product phi-
losophy has meant that Rotel has
sometimes moved slowly to adopt
new standards or technologies
that, in the end, turn out to have
tangible benefits. Two examples
would be the now nearly ubiqui-
tous HDMI 1.3 interface standards
or the latest high resolution Dolby
TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio
codecs, both of which were omit-
ted in past Rotel AVRs. But with its
new "15-series" A/V receivers Rotel
has gotten fully caught up on those
technologies while still hewing to its
traditional "simpler is better" roots.
Our review subject this month is
the Rotel RSX-1550 ($1999), which
is a no-nonsense 5.1-channel re-
ceiver that puts out a very conser-
vatively rated 5 x 75 Wpc (Rotel
also offers a slightly higher-pow-
ered, 7.1-channel model, called the
RSX-1560, whose MSRP is $2599).
However, we deliberately chose the
RSX-1550 because it caters to the
needs of those enthusiasts who
prefer (as we do) the sonic benefits
and simplicity of 5.1-channel sur-
round systems. Let's check it out.

oVeRView

Consider this AVR if: you believe,
as many audiophiles do, that a
simple, "less is more" approach
often leads to superior sound qual-
ity. When matched with the right
speakers, the RSX-1550 can de-