Advantages: real hi-fi sound !
Disadvantages: not much for the money!

...I have owned this amp now for about 18 months and i still enjoy listening to music through it , i have the amp connected to a pair of quad 11L speakers a cambridge audio cd and digitail tuner and a project turntable. The ROTEL RA-01 is a intergrated amp with five inputs including a mm phono input for turntable Tone controls bass and treble , with a tone defeat switch (switches the bass and treble off keeping the sound as close to the original as possible). Two pairs of speakers can be connected with switching between the pairs or both pairs of speakers on at the same time.(4 in total) Power handling is 2 x 40 watts ,8 ohms , don't be put of by what seems to be a low power rating this amp will go far louder than you can imagine , how loud a hi fi can go is down to the sensitivity of the speakers (i.e how easy they can... Read review

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Advantages: Solid Build, Looks, Good sound production, price
Disadvantages: Slighlty uncontrolled bass, no optical out may put some off

...out for rca lead and a digital coaxial output, it has no optical connection though which i wan't fussed about as i am using it as a transport, and to be honest digital coax is the better of the 2 IMO. Now as mine is used a transport( i think i've mentioned that already) its not actually using the internal dac of the cd player, so the actual sound processing is done by my Dac-X (£1200) , So for this review i disconnected the Dac-x and am using the rotel as a standalone player. Now this player cost me £300 (rrp £350) so its not really going to compare when run through a £1200 Dac, but i'm still confident this player will perform well. I'm using a Cyrus PreVs2 pre amp Audiolab 8000m mono bloc power amps and Totem Arro speakers ( see seperate review) Now when ever i test or demo a piece of hi-fi equipment i tend to use a select choice... Read review

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Advantages: Style, Sleek
Disadvantages: Heavy, Poor TV Turner

...This is the new Sony VAIO RA204 is the ultimate in cutting edge design and superior performance. I personally love to shape and design of the computer, as it is very sleek and modern. The Specs RAM: 1 GB (installed) / 2 GB (max) - DDR SDRAM - 400 MHz - PC3200 This is a lot of ram but does come in handy when using big files on your computer such as playing big long movies. Audio Output: Sound card - 5.1 channel surround. Nice big sound card very useful for audio editing like music voids and other audio files. Hard Drive: 1 x 400 GB - standard - Serial ATA-150 Bit to big hard drive for me I only use about 180GB of it. But again very useful for heavy video files and big games such as The Sims 2. Video Input: TV tuner This is very useful because I don’t need a separate TV. This particular TV tuner is of poor quality... Read review

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Advantages: fantastic smooth sound, "analogue touch", very good reading of scratched CDs, best buy
Disadvantages: no optical digital output, scarce functionality

...It was a typical phenomenon. I was perfectly happy with my Rotel CD player. Excellent sound, solid construction and all the functionality I needed. Until I discovered its successor. Suddenly my old CD-player, looked old-fashioned and had the appeal of a worn off antique sofa. The product in question is the Rotel RCD-950, a £350 CD-Player, top-rankings player in its price range, recipient of endless awards from the major audiophile publications, and sex-symbol of stereophiles seeking a budget entry to the world of high-end equipment, until, well until the RCD-951 entered the market in late 1998 for the same price. I immediately went to my Rotel dealer, left a deposit and took the new RCD-951 home for a week, and expected my 950 to look really old when tested against the 951. Surprisingly (considering how easily I usually waste money... Read review

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Advantages: Absolutely superb midrange frequencies and very smooth treble. Neutral and yet very atmospheric. Beats many speakers at twice its price.
Disadvantages: Slight problems with three-dimensional reproduction and upper bass overemphasis. Power-hungry and thus critical with some amplifiers.

...It may happen at parties that you open a door to a side room and wish you hadn't done so, as you may just have invaded the privacy of a couple in action. Yet when my secret love, called CDM 2, engages in the art of lovemaking, I have no scruples to enter the room, take a look, stay and listen to the passionate sounds. CDM 2, described as a bookshelf loudspeaker by some unromantic individuals, is a noble British lady from the Bowers & Wilkens dynasty (B&W). Her preferred lover is Rotel RA-970BX, an honest and strong amplifier from a side-arm of the same family dynasty. Call that incest if you like, but from my point of view they make a perfect couple. When at lovemaking, the CDM 2 wants to ensure that her RA-970 is properly connected. She is a bit nasty and likes amphibian sex. Thus she uses a "Cobra” of the Monitor Silver Cable... Read review

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Advantages: Its severity can vary a lot from person to person
Disadvantages: Too many to mention

...I have been wanting to write this or a while now but finding the words has been very hard, plus I have been suffering from a severe bout of joint swelling or what we call a flare up. Before I go any further I would just like to quote a few statistics about Rheumatoid Arthritis. One in every 100 people in the U.K. suffer from this disease, thats a lot of people but because of the way the didease operates its severity can vary so much, a lot of people can have it and not know and never will. If you take 100 people that have been diagnosed with R.A. 20 percent will have the mildest form of the disease, it will not worsen and some poeple wont know they have got it at all apart form a bit of stiffness maybe. 75 percent of the 100 will have joint pain, this can be aggravating and may mean they need to take medication... Read review

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Advantages: Full film length, the truth revealed as well as a new plot & 5 extra episodes!
Disadvantages: Not sure if all regional versions have sub-titles available, check before you buy.

...Here we are in the midst of 80's and early 90's revival, and I for one am definitely a fan of the cartoons of those eras! I love many cartoons of today, but I can't deny the quality of storyline and drawing that was so common of cartoons at that time, akin to Dungeons and Dragons and Thundercats for example, coupled with the frequent quips and one-liners that He-Man and She-Ra always come up with and the moral at the end, which nowadays would be called corny. But cheese and Loo-Kee's pre 'Where's Wally?' slot aside, He-Man and She-Ra are classic and class act superheroes and it's a sore shame that the She-Ra series didn't see past a full second series, despite its popularity. But for those with a reminiscent and perhaps sentimental need for a blast from the past, this is the story/running theme behind He-Man and She-Ra, the strongest... Read review

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Advantages: Value for money, excellent sound, bi wire abilty and upto 4 speakers
Disadvantages: plain looks if you like shiny things

...... Read review

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Advantages: Not much really
Disadvantages: Very cheesy

...a job in Superdrug (or Share) as it was called in those days and I automatically qualified for a 10% discount, which ultimately meant more hairspray! Clothes ^*^*^*^*^ Who can forget the decade that taste forgot? And it was all down to the fashions at the time. The age of the New Romantics allowed us girls to go around looking like a bunch of loons, dressed up in headscarves wrapped around our heads, blue metallic eyeshadow, waistcoats and huge hair. It was definitely a sight to see, and we thought we looked so cool. Luckily I have destroyed all photographic evidence and I’m now beginning to think it was actually all a very bad dream… Other monstrosities included Ra-Ra skirts (I had a rainbow one), leg warmers (pink), sweat bands, deely boppers, luminous green or pink towelling socks, jackets with the sleeves rolled up, fingerless... Read review

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Advantages: Brilliant night out
Disadvantages: Sometimes have to queue for a while to get in

...There's been so many new nightclubs opened in Sheffield recently, but they all play the same kind of music - mainly dance or chart. Not The Roundhouse - this is a club with a difference! On Friday nights, think about those shoulderpads, ra-ra skirts and anything else you still own that's a reject from 20 years ago - its the 80's night! It's such a good laugh - all your 'favourite' songs from that era, from Kylie and Jason to Rick Astley and Bananarama. It brings back a lot of memories (if you're not too drunk) and you find that you still know all the words - all those hours spent reading Smash Hits or taping the charts from the radio obviously paid off! There's a really good atmosphere, everyone's very friendly, no posing or pretentiousness, just loads of people having a good laugh and doing the stupid actions to the dances you... Read review

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