Rotel has upgraded two CD players and one integrated amp to take them into their second generation. The aptly named A12MKII integrated amp and CD14MKII and RCD-1572MKII CD players follow the other MKII products Rotel launched last year to celebrate the brand's 60th anniversary, and feature improved circuitry and enhanced audio components.
All three newcomers feature the same Texas Instruments 32-bit DAC as the company's existing MKII components. They too benefit from power supply refinements, new coupling capacitors, and circuit board layout isolation techniques that promise to "lower the noise floor and reduce distortion." As a result, Rotel is promising performances with lower distortion, wider soundstages and improved depth.
As well as the new DAC, the A12MKII has a new digital processor and digital interface chipset – Rotel claims it has made 12 changes to the power amplifier in order to maximise performance. That's not quite as many as the 25 tweaks it made to the higher-end A14MKII but impressive nonetheless.
Meanwhile, the MKII CD players have upgraded CD drive mechanisms, new CD controller chipsets, and tuned critical acoustic components alongside the new DAC.
In terms of connections, the CD14MKII and RCD-1572MKII offer RCA outputs and single coaxial digital outputs so they can operate as CD transports supporting off-board digital-to-analogue processing. The RCD-1572MKII also boasts a fully balanced, fully differential XLR output.
All three launch this month in silver and black finishes. The A12MKII costs £949 ($1099, €1099, roughly AU$1800), the CD14MKII is priced £649 ($899, €749, around AU$1200) and the RCD-1572MKII costs £995 ($1099, €1099, about AU$1900).
MORE:
Best stereo amplifiers: best integrated amps for every budget
Check out the best CD players for every budget
