Amplifier Rotel A12

The middle brother in the Rotel family group breaks with the construction of the smaller A10. The Rotel A12 is more voluminous. Actually identical to the large A14.

The art grip is made possible by the display, which allows all sorts of fine adjustments. Here you can specify details such as bass, treble and balance, or switch it off completely.

The view under the hood is different from the small A10. Every cubic centimeter was really used. The transformer also looks more powerful.

The double the number of transistors. There are eight in number; the little brother has to deal with four. A large-sized cooling rib in the center ensures the cooling of the power transistors according to the chimney principle.

Equally important for the performance increase from 40 to 60 watts are the filter capacitors as well as the transformer.

The Rotel A12 is a prime example of being made in China and devised in the UK. The processing is comparatively good.

Among the subassemblies there is also a small board for a Bluetooth access. This amp can also easily be recognized by a smartphone: docking and playing music in its simplest form.

This is what modernity looks like. What Rotel still likes: a high-quality phono input for MM pickup, which also sounds excellent. With a balancing act, the A12 connects the new Bluetooth world with the old, good vinyl passion.

This is not enough: inside the A12 also a Wolfson chip, which converts digital signals up to 24-bit and 192 kilohertz into an analog stream. Here, the finest data readout is carried out via a USB port.

Again surprised the price: 980 euros are priced for this abundance fairly. Also for the sound equivalent. We were astonished when Luciano Pavarotti called in the Turandot recording for the finale of the first act.

This was a much bigger panorama than the A10. The singer himself also jubilated with more brilliance in his voice.

Nevertheless the family tradition remains: A10 like A12 are designed for speed, everything seems easy to fall. Officially, the Rotel A12 has 20 watts more available than the A10.

And you can hear that. Especially with the large drums in Turandot, the A10 lost the contour sharpness faster at a high level and also lost the overview of the clearly arranged orchestra.

This is the preference for subtleties. We have the live recording of the songs from the road of Leonard Cohen. A good amp has to be able to reproduce. There are objections and calls from the audience, as well as the applause and not least the voice of the old master.

Giles Martin knew that the Beatles were still trapped in the Monowelt in the spring of 1967. The stereo LP had weaknesses and was actually considered a byproduct. Especially in the ping-pong was thought. The instruments on the right, the singing voice on the right.

Giles Martin brought everything back to a sensible point. His remix is a big act. Which also sounds great. Tip: The freshly released LP sounds better than the CD.

So also at the Rotel A12. It was a feast, as John Lennon's voice "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" came out of the box.

The psychedelic experiments with sound colors and instruments. The A12 could do all this with a hand for fine-dynamics information.

Our comparison amp from the Exposure family, the 2010 S2D (price: 1,250 euros) has more power. You can hear that. It appears more heartily in the bass and in the fundamental tone, where the Rotel A12 makes the recording with less substance but more playful, lighter, one could also say: something more elegant.

As with the pairing of Rotel A10 versus Exposure 1010 S2, both amplifiers have absolutely convincing arguments. The Rotel is cheaper and also more sound.

The Rotel A12 is tailor-made for its target group. There is a lot of money for money. Still for under a thousand euros the A12 with Bluetooth, a really good phono input and higher digital / analog conversion lures. The power reserves are sufficient. Despite the almost 1,000 euros purchase price, one has to call the A12 cheap.

But optimally the Rotel A12 plays only on appropriate loudspeakers. An excellent combination came with the KEF Q950 (pair price: 1,550 euros): great room, wonderfully natural voices, a grandiose picture of the stage as well as a fast, powerful bass.

The basically good-natured impedance pattern of the Q950 certainly contributes to the great harmony.

But the A12 is so sound and ultimately so stable that the inclined owner is open to almost the whole world of well-made loudspeakers ...

Rotel A12 Amplifier photo