"Keep It Simple Stupid" should be the phrase first and foremost in the minds of any new amplifier or audio designer out there. Enough with the over-the-top buttons and screens on behemoth blocks only designed to visually impress party guests, when all most people want to do is listen to a recording in its purest form with little fan fare. If things keep going the way they are, by the year 2020 integrated amplifiers/receivers are going to be 2 feet tall, have separate power supplies just for the displays, and require no less than 3 ipad v10's a built in router, and several reboots just to turn the volume up.
The RA-02 was the first in a line of a new series of amps by Rotel. It has an understated elegance and it does more than its diminutive styling would seem to indicate by today's standards. Take a look at this amp and compare it to the designs still coming out by Rotel today. Not a whole lot different. There's probably a reason for that.
A neutral sounding, well controlled piece of equipment that has ample power in reserve to fill a modest sized room with music. And look at that, it has also has a half decent phono stage!
The RA-02 proves an amplifier doesn't have to be tall to stand tall.
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![[Thumbnail]](https://www.hifidatabase.com/static/gallery/1/2641-Ra02.jpg)
![[Thumbnail]](https://www.hifidatabase.com/static/gallery/2/2642-Ra02b.jpg)
