Mark Fleischmann

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Audio Video News
Roku Embraces Amazon Prime Video
Mark Fleischmann  |  Mar 03, 2011  |  0 comments
Roku is adding another feather to its cap. Its set-top box will stream Amazon Prime Instant Video.

Amazon Prime Instant Video is itself fairly new. Its initial purpose was to give free two-day shipping. Now it also includes Instant Video streaming of 5000 movie and TV show titles.

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Ears On
Roku SoundBridge M1000
Mark Fleischmann  |  Apr 14, 2006  |  1 comments
Convergence shows many faces to music lovers. If you've got the bucks, you can add a hard-drive-based music server to your system. Or you can pay a custom installer to bring IP-based networking to every room in the house. But if you just want to move music from one PC to one rack, all you need is a simple device and it doesn't have to cost much. One of many possible options is the Roku SoundBridge.
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Streaming Device Reviews
Roku SoundBridge M1000
Mark Fleischmann  |  Apr 14, 2006  |  0 comments
Convergence shows many faces to music lovers. If you've got the bucks, you can add a hard-drive-based music server to your system. Or you can pay a custom installer to bring IP-based networking to every room in the house. But if you just want to move music from one PC to one rack, all you need is a simple device and it doesn't have to cost much. One of many possible options is the Roku SoundBridge.
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Audio Video News
Roku Updates OS
Mark Fleischmann  |  Jul 07, 2017  |  0 comments
Roku’s new operating system brings new features. The search platform ties into 300 streaming channels. More Ways to Watch uses content recognition to recommend programs or streams, including those delivered by antenna. If you’d rather not have Roku monitoring your viewing, it can be turned off.
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Music Disc Reviews
Rosa Passos, Ron Carter—Entre Amigos (Chesky) [SACD/CD, CD]
Mark Fleischmann  |  Aug 04, 2005  |  0 comments
Even people who know nothing about Brazilian music recognize the urbane Latin syncopation of the bossa nova beat. The language, of course, is Portuguese, not Spanish. The key names in Brazilian pop music are Jobim and Gilberto; in orchestral and chamber music, Villa-Lobos. Arguably, the most alluring voice in Brazilian music today belongs to Rosa Passos, who partners with jazz bassist Ron Carter on this audiophile release.
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Integrated Amp Reviews
Rotel A12 Integrated Amplifier Review
Mark Fleischmann  |  Mar 15, 2017  |  1 comments

Audio Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $899

AT A GLANCE
Plus
USB inputs for PC and iOS
Premium Wolfson DAC
Bluetooth aptX
Minus
No DSD decoding
No Wi-Fi, AirPlay, or Ethernet
No streaming services

THE VERDICT
The Rotel A12 accepts direct wired input from PCs and iOS devices and gets the best out of both digital and analog sources with its great-sounding DAC and amp.

Connecting a computer to an audio system with a USB cable seems a perfectly logical idea. It’s simple, it’s direct, and it enables the computer to feed bits to the system and rely on the system’s digital-to-analog conversion. Yet this desirable feature is tantalizingly rare. AVRs and streaming amps tend to rely on wired and wireless network connections rather than on a USB port and asynchronous digital-to-analog converter (DAC) that can take over the clocking functions of the digital bit transfer and reduce the effects of jitter.

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CEDIA 2010
Rotel Bows Space- and Energy-Saving Amp
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 24, 2010  |  0 comments
The Rotel RKB-1508 delivers eight channels of 65-watt Class D. That enables it to be small, run cool, and shave your power bill. Just the thing if you need to jam an eight-channel amp into a tight spot. Price $1199.
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Rotel Gets Mark's Attention
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 04, 2008  |  0 comments
My reference receiver since 2001 has been the Rotel RSX-1065, so you can imagine the genuine excitement I felt at learning Rotel is about to drop its successor on an unsuspecting world. There are two of them, actually. The RSX-1560 has seven channels of Class D amplification for $2599, while the RSX-1550 has five channels of Class AB amplification for $1999. Both out in October. Please be advised that my longtime position on 7.1-channel surround (incidentally, both models process 7.1 channels) is that it's for idiots, clowns, suckers, and people who incorrectly believe that an average home theater needs more surround coverage than two speakers can provide. Other new Rotel models include a surround pre-pro, five- and two-channel amps, and (hmmm) no seven-channel amps.
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CEDIA 2011
Rotel Pre-Pro Has USB
Mark Fleischmann  |  Sep 09, 2011  |  0 comments
USB is something previously unseen on a Rotel receiver or pre-pro. But there is one on the front panel of the RSP-1572 pre-pro, and yes, it's iDevice compatible. The product ships in October for $2199. The next big thing from Rotel will be a second receiver using Class D amplification, RSX-1562, but it wasn't on display.
AV Receiver ReviewsSurround Processor Reviews
Rotel RAP-1580 Surround Amplified Processor Review
Mark Fleischmann  |  Oct 26, 2017  |  10 comments

Audio Performance
Features
Ergonomics
Value
PRICE $3,800

AT A GLANCE
Plus
Muscular Class A/B amp
PC-USB and phono inputs
Dolby Atmos and DTS:X 7.1.4 decoding
Minus
No auto setup
Limited access to seven-channel amp for Atmos/DTS:X

THE VERDICT
Rotel returns to analog amplification for their latest top-of-the-line home theater machine—and the results are golden.

Is the Rotel RAP-1580 the surround receiver that dares not speak its name? In keeping with the two-channel distinction between stereo receivers and integrated amplifiers, Rotel calls it a surround amplified processor because it doesn’t include an AM/FM tuner. But to my mind, the defining trait of a surround receiver is that it combines a surround preamp/processor and a multichannel amp in one box. So I prefer to call this an audiophile receiver. You say tomato... [Editor’s Note: I’d call it a surround amplifier, and I don’t think it’s the last of this type we’ll be seeing...but, whatever.—RS]

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