About The Rotel CD11 Tribute CD Player
The Rotel CD11 Tribute CD player was engineered with hands-on support from audio legend Ken Ishiwata utilising a custom selection of acoustically tuned components delivering an even higher level of performance and acoustic clarity standing ready to play back the 200+ million CD's that have been sold over the past 30 years. It provides high-resolution audio performance, yet it is very affordable, as has been the tradition with Rotel electronics for over 50 years.
Rotel has been designing and manufacturing CD players since the RCD-855 was launched in 1989 and has never looked back since. Thus, the opportunity of engaging with audio legend Ken Ishiwata to create an even higher performance model of the successful CD11 was eagerly accepted by the Rotel design teams. With over 40 years of audio engineering experience Ken's collaboration with Rotel created something truly special – the CD11 Tribute edition.
The CD11 Tribute includes critical changes to the power supply, DAC circuits and precise selection of components in the audio signal path delivering an increased sense of space, improved accuracy, detail, and genuineness of the audio.
Specifically, eight capacitor changes and one resistor change were made in the DAC stage while in the power supply all nine capacitors were changed with improved components. A great deal of thought was given to the damping of internal vibrations with custom damping material added to the top cover to eliminate vibration and ringing, while further changes were made to the mechanical and electrical grounding of the CD player.
Supporting RCA analogue and coaxial digital outputs, front panel display and a remote control, the CD11 Tribute continues the proud tradition of Rotel and is reflective of the legacy of Ken and his tireless efforts delivering audio products preforming well beyond their price point.
A Closer Look
In 1989, Rotel confirmed its digital audio expertise with the launch of the RCD-855 CD player. The press was overwhelming in its praise, one critic going so far as to call it "The steal of the century", and since then Rotel has never looked back.
The CD11 Tribute design begins with a carefully engineered power supply to ensure separate, ripple-free voltage and current to both digital and analogue circuits. It maintains the same clean lines and intuitive operation as Rotel's other models, while demonstrating an uncanny ability to resolve even the smallest musical details in a recording.
The CD11 Tribute has all the essentials a good disc player needs. The CD11 Tribute is a versatile CD player featuring a high quality Texas Instruments digital to analogue converter (DAC), to convert the digital information stored on a CD into an analogue sound signal. As well as regular audio CDs, the CD11 Tribute will play MP3's files from home recorded CD-R discs. There's also a dedicated digital output which allows you to record from a CD to a digital format or even connect to a standalone DAC or the DAC in a Rotel amplifier when you're ready to improve your sound even further. With a multi-function display screen, this sleek looking CD Player is housed in a substantial chassis which sports a stylish thick metal front panel which looks great in any interior.
Simply stated, the CD11 Tribute is designed to do one thing - deliver the most detailed, nuanced sound from every disc. The CD11 Tribute will faithfully reproduce all that is recorded on the disc. While the unit was under development, the design team went far beyond the usual measurable technical performance characteristics. Listening panels spent hundreds of hours fine tuning the audio performance, choosing the components that produced the best sound that would "release the emotion in the music". Whatever the artist and recording engineers put on the disc, the CD11 Tribute will deliver.
That said, the CD11 Tribute does feature some impressive hardware. The digital-to-analogue converter is a state of the art DAC from the world renowned manufacturer, Texas Instruments. This very high performance stereo DAC is specifically designed for audio applications such as CD, DVD, and home theatre systems. All this, combined with Rotel's Balanced Design, ensures the CD11 Tribute will deliver the highest level of audio performance. When used in a high quality audio system, your Rotel CD player will provide years of enjoyment.
In The News
"Ken Ishiwata has been widely admired in the hi-fi industry for his unique ability to identify the products most suitable for modification, and then define the musical references and component changes the engineers are supposed to implement, to take the performance of the products to new levels – often with only a modest increase in price.
Daren Orth, Chief Technology Officer at Rotel, described the partnership as follows: "Having both been in the Hi-Fi industry for a similar amount of time, I was in the same audiophile circles with Ken over the years, as were the Tachikawa family in Japan – founders and owners of Rotel. There was mutual respect of the talent and market position and a long desire to work together but the opportunity never arose. An opportunity did finally arrive in the late summer of last year when the initial discussions began, with the project becoming a reality in September. All of the Rotel engineering team were delighted at finally having the opportunity to work with Ken."
A joint decision was made to focus on the A11 and CD11 models, which Ken Ishiwata was already familiar with. Additionally, they had already won several awards, in particular the A11, voted "Best Buy Amplifier of 2019-20' by the prestigious EISA panel. The team felt that the A11, as a Class AB 2 x 50 W integrated amplifier, and the CD11 CD player were the perfect basis for creating something very special.
Ken Ishiwata made his initial assessment and agreed on a new specification with the Rotel engineering team. The first prototypes were then produced by him and his own long-standing contacts in the industry, while the final specification was agreed on with the Rotel team.
After Ken Ishiwata agreed to the changes and supervised the creation of the first prototypes, he passed away unexpectedly in November 2019, just before he could finalize the project. Some of Ken Ishiwata's long-standing contacts and partners in the industry – including his personal friend Karl-Heinz Fink – offered to continue his work with the Rotel team to complete the product and fulfill his original vision.
The result is an increase in resolution and detail, as well as a more musical presentation with improved rhythm and better timing for the A11 Tribute and the CD11 Tribute. Both carry the special Tribute symbols in honor and as a legacy of the man whose passion for music was the impetus that made them possible in the first place."
About Rotel
One of the most revered names in audio and with a long-time association with Australian Retailers spanning over 50 years, Rotel is still privately-owned by the original family that founded it in the 1960s. No small feat in this day and age. Also extremely rare in this industry, the Rotel headquarters house all aspects of the brand in one place from the CEO through to the marketing team, production-line technicians and warehousing. The Rotel company is well-known as a family run business in the most fundamental definition of the phrase. Fostering a collaborative environment where everyone's ideas are heard and the entire company can work seamlessly under one roof as a cohesive team. Using zero outsourcing, each and every Rotel amplifier and component is hand assembled and stress-tested in-house by a small, dedicated team of skilled technicians.
With this wonderful heritage it's really no wonder Rotel components are so great to use and listen to. And we're not the only ones to think so as Rotel products have received hundreds of international awards and made lots of customers very happy all around the world. Audio Trends is proud to offer a diverse selection of Rotel components including preamps, amplifiers, CD players and home theatre processors.
Main Features & Specifications
- Product Description: Rotel CD11 Tribute Compact Disc Player & Transport upgraded by Ken Ishiwata
- Remote Control: High quality, comprehensive remote control included
- Connections: RCA Stereo Analogue outputs, Coaxial Digital output, 12V Trigger In, RS232, Rotel Link (for controlling other Rotel products)
- Total Harmonic Distortion + Noise: 0.005% @ 1kHz
- Intermodulation Distortion: 0.005% @ 1kHz
- Frequency Response: 20-20,000Hz (± 0.5 db)
- Channel Balance: ± 0.5 dB
- Phase Linearity: ± 0.5 degree
- Channel Separation: > 115 dB @ 10 kHz
- Signal to Noise Ratio: > 125 dB ("A" weighting)
- Dynamic Range: > 99 dB
- Digital to Analogue Converters: Texas Instruments 24 bit/192kHz
- Analogue Output Impedance: 470 Ohms
- Digital Output: 0.5 Volt, Peak to Peak
- Load Impedance: 75 Ohms
- Power Consumption: 15 Watts
- Standby Power Consumption: < 0.5 Watts
- Available Finishes: Black or Silver
- Dimensions (WxHxD): 430 x 98 x 314mm
- Weight: 5.8kg
- Manufacturer's Warranty: 2 Years
Note: Features & Specifications Subject To Change Without Notice. E&OE