About the Rotel CD11 Tribute
Do your tunes justice
Do your tunes justice
The late, great audio guru Ken Ishiwata helped redesign Rotel's already-famed CD11 into the powerhouse that is the CD11 Tribute. Ken's 40 years of audio engineering experience shines through in the Tribute's performance. Each component was meticulously hand-picked and tuned to deliver accurate, deeply engaging performance and breathe new life into your favorite CDs.
A peek under the hood
Rotel has put their focus on the audio circuitry that will have the biggest impact on sound quality. The Tribute boasts a Texas Instruments 24-bit/192kHz digital-to-analog converter to keep your music as true-to-life as possible. Rotel and Ken also made some massive changes to the power supply, capacitors, and circuit layout, sparing no expense and cutting no corners to ensure it has a sound that sets it above the rest.
Listening notes from Crutchfield writer Eric Angevine
"I had an opportunity to take the CD11 home with me for a tryout. I paired it with the Rotel A11 Tribute integrated amplifier to see how these components — engineered by the late, great Ken Ishiwata just before his passing — would work together. I demoed this sweet little setup with a beautiful pair of Bowers & Wilkins 606 S2 Anniversary Edition stand-mount speakers.
Most of my CD collection was acquired during a very specific period of my life. I was working as a public radio announcer in the early-to-mid 1990s, and discovering music that would open up my horizons and really stick with me. I picked out a handful of favorites from that period to listen to, because I had a pretty strong feeling that they'd sound better than I ever heard them at the time, thanks to advances in... well, just about every aspect of two-channel music listening.
Turns out, I was right. The CD11 offered pristine playback, and the A11 stayed out of the way and let the music shine. I got goosebumps listening to Charlie Hunter's debut album Bing, Bing, Bing! — it reminded me how astonishing it was to hear his inimitable playing for the first time. Freddie Hubbard's Red Clay was recorded in 1970, but I fell in love with it as a remastered CD that rendered his mind-blowing high notes as something almost transcendent. And I rounded out my trip down memory lane with an eclectic mix including alt-rock from The Pixies' Doolittle, bell-clear blues guitar from Robert Cray's Strong Persuader, and the rich, warm tones of Cassandra Wilson's amazing voice on New Moon Daughter. It seems weird to say it, but the CD11 made my memories sound... better than before. It was a real pleasure to listen to."
— Eric Angevine, Crutchfield Copywriter
Who is Rotel?
Rotel has been crafting high-performance gear for music and home theater enthusiasts since 1961. They focus on creating the best signal path possible, using premium capacitors, transistors, diode bridges, and custom toroidal power supplies to get the most from music and movie soundtracks. Crutchfield is proud to offer a diverse selection of Rotel components including preamps, amplifiers, CD players, and home theater processors.
Product highlights:
- plays CDs and CD-Rs
- Texas Instruments 24-bit/192kHz digital-to-analog converter
- total harmonic distortion: 0.005% @ 1kHz
- frequency response: 20-20,000Hz (±0.5dB)
- signal-to-noise ratio: 125dB
Connections:
- one pair of analog RCA outputs
- coaxial digital output
- RS-232 port for integration with third-party automation systems
- 12-volt trigger in
- Rotel Link 3.5mm input for optional attachment of other Rotel network-enabled products with Rotel Link Out connections
Dimensions and warranty:
- weight: 12.7 lbs.
- 17"W x 3-7/8"H x 12-7/16"D
- warranty: 2 years
- Our 60-day money-back guarantee
- MFR # ROT1015009
What's in the box:
Rotel CD11 Tribute owner's manual
- CD player
- 58" AC power cord
- Remote control (RR-D99)
- 2 "AAA" batteries
- 38" Stereo RCA cable
- 40" Mono-minijack cable
- 40" Stereo minijack cable
- Owner's manual on CD-ROM
- Warranty Information
- Important Safety Instructions
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More details on the Rotel CD11 Tribute

Features & specs
General | ||
---|---|---|
Disc Capacity | 1 | |
CD Transport Only | No | |
Disc Exchange | N/A | |
Track Programming | 20 | |
Random Play | Yes | |
Direct Track Access | Yes | |
Direct Disc Access | N/A | |
Networking Features | ||
Network Music Streaming | No | |
Ethernet Port | No | |
Wi-Fi | No | |
Remote | Included | |
Parts Warranty | 2 Years | |
Labor Warranty | 2 Years | |
Compatibility | ||
CD-R Playback | Yes | |
CD-RW Playback | Yes | |
Stereo SACD Playback | N | |
Specifications | ||
CD Frequency Response | 20-20k Hz | |
Signal to Noise Ratio | 125 dB | |
SACD Frequency Response | Not Compatible | |
SACD Dynamic Range | Not Given | |
SACD THD | Not Given | |
Inputs | ||
Digital Optical Input | No | |
Digital Coaxial Input | No | |
USB Type-A Input | No | |
USB Type-B Input | No | |
Outputs | ||
Analog RCA Output | Yes | |
Analog XLR Output | No | |
Digital Optical Output | No | |
Digital Coaxial Output | Yes | |
Headphone Output | No |
Product Research
Features
Stereo Compact Disc Player: The CD11 continues Rotel's proud tradition of designing and manufacturing CD players (since 1989) with a carefully engineered power supply and Balanced Design Concept topology of digital and analog circuits that brings your CD collection to life with musical detail.
- Disc Loading Tray: A motor-driven disc loading tray located in the center of the unit accepts a 12cm or 8cm compact disc.
- Compatible Discs: The Rotel CD11 supports playback of CD Audio, CD-R/RW, and CD Text discs. CD-R/RW discs must contain music files in CD Audio format (not MP3).
Note: This unit does not support MP3 or other compressed audio files.
Balanced Design Concept: Balanced Design Concept is the essential Rotel design philosophy that revolves around three major areas - Parts selection, circuit topology, and critical evaluation. These aspects influence final sound quality significantly and illustrate the holistic Balanced Design Concept approach to Rotel's product development. Thanks to the Balanced Design Concept, Rotel components easily exceed the performance of many mass produced audio products that offer plenty of features but skimp on audio quality, and compare favorably to components that are many times the price. Rotel continues its pursuit of extraordinary audio performance, which elevates the home entertainment experience through their core values of sonic accuracy, reliability, and affordability.
- Parts Selection: Rotel engineers carefully select premium components and parts for all their audio gear. At each stage of development, Rotel engineers listen to circuit prototypes and revise the design when they feel they can gain a sonic advantage by using a particular component from another manufacturer or by specifying tighter tolerances. Since Rotel is an independent manufacturer, they are free to source parts from highly respected suppliers around the world to fit their requirements.
- Circuit Topology: It’s not enough to simply use good parts. Where you put them is equally if not more important. That's why Rotel keeps their circuit paths as short as possible, so there's less chance that spurious emissions and unwanted leakages will corrupt delicate signal nuances. That’s also why Rotel often uses more expensive "on-board" relay source switching, rather than routing a signal from a rear-panel input to a front-panel control. Rotel also relies heavily on something called Symmetrical Signal Trace design. This keeps each channel's signal path identical to the others to preserve the imaging and soundstage. Rotel also uses electrically superior "star" grounding techniques to improve performance because star grounding routes all ground connections to a single point to reduce potential loops that might introduce noise or produce hum.
- Critical Evaluation: Rotel's development team places a lot of importance on critical listening sessions before the final product is sent to market. Rotel electronic and acoustic engineers, both in the UK and Asia, have honed their aural acuity over the course of decades of collective experience to evaluate each stage of product development from working samples, through pre-production and, finally, to verify that final production is the same as the pre-production units. Some sessions evaluate different circuit elements: capacitors, resistors, and active devices such as transistors or operational amplifiers. Others focus on differences in circuit layouts or differences caused by power supply elements. Only after this tuning process is complete with sonic performance confirmed will the product be launched to the market.
Texas Instruments (TI) DAC: The Rotel CD 11 utilizes a Texas Instruments (TI) 24-bit/192kHz high performance stereo DAC (digital-to-analog converter) specifically designed for audio applications that require high-quality sound reproduction.
Carefully Engineered Power Supply: The Rotel CD11 compact disc player features a carefully engineered power supply to ensure separate, ripple-free voltage and current to both digital and analog circuits
Analog & Digital Outputs: The CD11 unit gives you a choice of two different kinds of output connections - stereo analog or coaxial digital. The stereo analog RCA output utilizes the built-in DAC and plugs into a conventional analog audio component, such as a stereo receiver or integrated amplifier. The coax digital output bypasses the built-in DAC and provides an unprocessed digital data signal for use with an outboard DAC or digital processor.
Front-Panel Display: A back-lit display on the front-panel of the unit provides useful information about the status of the unit, activation of special features, and track/time information for the disc being played. The unit will also display CD Text.
Front-Panel & Remote Control: The unit can be operated using its front-panel buttons or from corresponding buttons on the supplied IR (infrared remote) control. Specific instructions for each of these controls are detailed below. Many of the buttons are duplicated on the front-panel and on the IR remote control. However, there are some exceptions where the buttons are only available on one or the other. Control functions include -
- Power On/Off
- Play/Pause/Stop
- Previous/Next Track
- Fast Forward/Reverse (2x, 4x, or 8x) *remote only
- Program Track (up to 20 tracks) *remote only
- Direct Access (0-9) *remote only
- Repeat/Random *remote only
Rotel Link: This 3.5mm stereo minijack input (labeled "Rotel Link") can attach to Rotel network enabled products with a Rotel Link output. This allows the attached Rotel products to communicate with each other and be controlled via the Rotel App (for Apple iOS 6.0+).
12V Trigger Input: The unit can be activated by a 12 volt trigger signal. The trigger input accepts any control signal (AC or DC) ranging from 3 volts to 30 volts. When a mono-minijack cable is connected to the 12V input and a trigger signal is present, the CD Player is powered on. When the trigger signal is turned off, the unit goes into standby mode.
Note: Do not connect both the Rotel Link and 12V trigger input. The 12V trigger's power on/off feature will override the Rotel Link feature.
RS232 Port: The unit can be controlled via RS232 for integration with automation systems. The RS232 input accepts a standard straight DB-9 Male-to-Female cable.
Auto Power Off: The CD player can be configured to automatically power off if unused for a specified period (30, 60, or 90 minutes). If the CD is stopped for the specified time, the unit will automatically go into standby mode.
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