I don't believe the 705's were worth their price, but I doubt they are lacking.
As for my reply, I believe the post I replied to was a pretty hard blow towards the OP's chosen speaker.
I wasn't trying to knock the speakers, I was trying to help him understand how best to use his money.
How much do you think the Rotel is?
Whatever it might cost, say I saved some more, like 100% of its cost, then add the money from the sale of either display or speakers . . . and then you might have a much more meaningful upgrade than swapping a Yammy (known for clear and transparent preamp sections) for Rotel (previously great rep, but now long in the tooth). Even TLS Guy says he thinks his Marantz is better than his old Rotel in certain regards.
For example, let's pretend Rotel is $1000. I save another $1000. I sell the 705s for $1000-1200 (no idea if that's fair, but Audiogon lists pairs at those prices right now).
All of a sudden with 3K, I could for instance get a 58" VT25 with hundreds in the pocket. This will likely a make much bigger improvement with VQ than a Rotel processor.
Or instead I could land a pair of 804S towers (I could name many other brands, but I'll stick with B&W to appease you). Again, this will likely make a much bigger improvement with SQ than with a Rotel processor.
I auditioned the 7xx series quite a bit, on Rotel gear, switching stuff out including some Quad speakers. The dealer trusted me and went out for lunch. I also listened quite a bit to the 8xx series, and I do prefer the 804s by a large margin over the 7xx. Just for example. Again, I'm only talking about BW here, too.
Yes, my suggestions above do cost money, but it's possibly better spent. Even if we reduced the total down to 2.5k, or even 2k, there are lots of ideas.
How about a JVC HD250 for instance.
