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Rotel Enters New Territory

CEDIA Expo 2009 Atlanta – Rotel came to the CEDIA Expo with its first two
audio components that network with home PCs and stream Internet radio. Both also
control media on a connected iPod or other USB Class 2 device.

“The way in which we access music has changed profoundly in
the past few years, with the iPod being the most visible symbol of the change,”
said sales and marketing VP Doug Henderson. “But even the ubiquitous iPod may
have met its match in the fast-growing wave of Internet music delivery.”

One of the products, the $999-suggested RDG-1520 digital
Internet tuner, features FM tuner, streaming of 15,000 Internet radio stations
without a networked PC, and streaming of music stored on a networked PC
equipped with UPnP and Windows Media Player 11. Streaming is available via
wired Ethernet or wireless when using an included Wi-Fi USB dongle.

The digital Internet tuner, due in late October, includes a
USB input for direct digital connection of an iPod or other USB class 2 device,
bypassing the iPod’s analog-output stage to shift digital-to-analog conversion
over to the tuner’s high-end Wolfson DAC and analog stage.

The second streaming product, called the RCX-1500 streaming
media/CD/FM stereo receiver, is a two-channel stereo receiver with built-in CD
player and ability to stream Internet radio and music stored on a networked PC.
It’s due in November at a suggested $1,500 with included Wi-Fi USB dongle.

The device’s CD section uses 24 bit/192kHz DACs, and the
2×100-watt amp section uses Class D technology for efficiency, cool-running
operation, and ability to drive 4-ohm loads.

Both products’ supported codecs include RealAudio, WMA, MP3,
unprotected AAC & AAC+, AU, WAV and AIFF. Both also feature 30 presets for
FM and Internet radio stations. And both can be controlled via bi-directional
RS-232 commands.

In other introductions, the
company showed its 12×100-watt (into 8 ohms) Class D multiroom-audio amplifier,
the $2,799-suggested RMB-1512.It’s due in September with ability to almost
double output into 4-ohm loads. The product was first announced late last year.

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