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Inherited Rotel RX-1603

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David Royer

New Member
I was wondering how much this receiver is worth. It's a Rotel RX-1603. From my rudimentary testing, it seems the right channel is not working. Not sure I have the desire or ability to troubleshoot and repair the issue myself. Other than that it seems to be in good shape. Can someone give me some advice on how to proceed with this beast?
 

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I would think it's worth at least $500 even if it needs repair. As PabloX said that is a pretty rare unit and a true monster receiver.
I would definitely clean the controls on it. That may bring the right channel back. If you get it working properly I would guess that would double its value to at least $1,000.
 
They don't reach the prices of the other monster receivers, could be because the build quality simply isn't as good as Pioneer/Marantz/Kenwood and honestly the sound quality isn't as good either in my opinion, I own 2 and hate the stepped volume control. But, they are beautiful beasts when lit up, theres a board under the back cover with fuses, I bet one has blown and that is why you've lost a channel.
Value? I've seen them as low as 350 here in the UK, but they turn up pretty often, over the pond they're much rarer and go for a lot more, so 500 broken isn't out of the question and 1000 working but unrestored seems about right.

If the aerial isn't broken be very careful with it, they're almost always snapped off.
 
WOW! I did not expect it to be worth that much broken! I will have to check the fuse. The aerial is intact, so that is a plus.

Also, the volume seems to be a bit... don't really know what the term is, Spotty? Fuzzy? Crackly? As you turn it up, it goes on and off and seems a little sensitive to volume position to work. Is DeOxit the go to for fixing this problem?
 
2 years ago I paid 800 plus shipping for my Rotel RX 1603 in as-is condition, it is one of my best sounding receivers. It puts out more power then it's rated 185 Watts, probably close to 220 watts per channel. It will run circles around my Pioneer SX 1250 and my Technics 5770. All three have recently been restored
 
tater415 said:
2 years ago I paid 800 plus shipping for my Rotel RX 1603 in as-is condition, it is one of my best sounding receivers. It puts out more power then it's rated 185 Watts, probably close to 220 watts per channel. It will run circles around my Pioneer SX 1250 and my Technics 5770. All three have recently been restored
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Did you find any problems with solder joints as mentioned above?
 
I forgot to mention I had my tech go through it and replace and repair as necessary. I don't remember problems with the solder joints but he did change out the speaker relays. Out of the 50 top of the line receivers I own the Rotel RX 1603 is in the top five for performance, and it's easy on the eyes
 
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