An integrated amp for analog music lovers
The Rotel A11 is called "Tribute" because it was developed in cooperation with the late, great audio engineer Ken Ishiwata — it's a tribute to his 40+ years in the industry. It's an integrated amp for analog music lovers, with five RCA inputs, including a phono stage for a turntable with a moving magnet cartridge. The efficient toroidal power supply inside provides a robust 50 watts per channel for one or two pairs of connected speakers. Built-in Bluetooth with high-quality aptX audio coding lets you stream music wirelessly.
My hands-on experience with the Rotel A11 Tribute
When I heard that the legendary Ken Ishiwata had chosen to upgrade the Rotel A11 shortly before his passing, I wondered to myself "why the entry-level model?" Upon taking this integrated amplifier home for a tryout, I think I understand why — because it sets the tone for the rest of the series. When I use an integrated amp, I want it to do a few simple things: give me inputs to connect my sources, provide an easy-to-use interface, and deliver solid power for my speakers. Other than that, I primarily want it to disappear — to get out of the way and let my music shine.
To test how the A11 would meet those challenges, I connected its partner component — the Rotel CD11 Tribute CD player — and my trusty Pro-Ject Debut Carbon turntable. Then I wired up a nice pair of Bowers & Wilkins 606 S2 Anniversary Edition stand-mount speakers and started listening to digital and analog recordings from various decades. I cycled through several very familiar albums from my collection — John Coltrane and Johnny Hartman, Lyle Lovett Live in Texas and Herbie Hancock's Headhunters, to name a few. Each recording sounded like I expected it to, which is a compliment. Romantic ballads laid down in the 1960s should sound different from electrified 70s funk-jazz and both of those should sound different from an eclectic live recording of country-gospel from the 1990s.
Long story short, the A11 let my music sound the way the artist intended. The beefy toroidal transformer inside powered my speakers well — I heard details within each track that can easily get lost — and it helped to provide a sense of spaciousness within the soundstage. And though I prefer to make wired connections to my components most of the time, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention that there's a convenient Bluetooth connection with aptX and AAC audio coding for high-quality wireless streaming. Overall, this integrated amp offered a very pleasant introduction to Rotel's no-nonsense approach to great sound.
About Rotel
Rotel has been crafting high-performance gear for music and home theater enthusiasts since 1961. They focus on creating the best signal path possible, using premium capacitors, transistors, diode bridges, and custom toroidal power supplies to get the most from music and movie soundtracks. Crutchfield is proud to offer a diverse selection of Rotel components including preamps, amplifiers, CD players, and home theater processors.
