Rotel Owner's Thread - Page 14

I recently purchased an RX-1052 to replace a dead NAD 7400. The Rotel unit sounds beautiful, and I auditioned it in the store A/B with a new comparable NAD. Now that I've had the unit home for a while (It's driving a pair of Jamo Concert VII speakers), I find that the bass is not as deep as with the 7400. My system has been down for a while waiting for this new unit, so my ear is not fresh, but I just find there's not as much low end. I also find myself turning the volume way up on the Rotel, whereas I never had to have the NAD up very high to get things going very loud. Is all of this my imagination, or does anyone else have experience/opinion about this. The only other difference is that my system is now in a much smaller room -- which I thought would only accentuate the bass response.

I'm thinking of adding the 1075 to my HT system, I currently have a Yammy RXV 2500 and B&W DM 603 S speakers all around. Is having the rxv2500 overkill as a pre or is there something else out there that would suit this system better, like offering HDMI technology.

Any opinions or feedback welcomed.

JK

It certainly wouldn't be overkill. It would be a noticable improvement, with the understanding that you are aware that it will take a few days for the 1075 to break in. The Yamaha will provide you a good base to move toward separates, until you decide to make the move to something with more updated connections (HDMI). Many people on the forums here are using their AVR as a pre/pro.

What I am trying to do is make steps towards upgrading and eventually getting a pre that would have HDMI . Maybe even selling my current Yammi for something with less power (since I will have the Rotel) but offers HDMI connections. Or, is there a better route to go, maybe with just a sound processor pre and then the rotel amp?

Thanks for the help.

--JK

Well, the better route is what works best for you. If you are anxious to get something with HDMI 1.3a (which there is much to choose from now), then by all means get something new. I was just suggesting if you are not unhappy with the way you have things hooked up now, you could use your Yammy for the short run. I am having to make the same decision myself. I've narrowed the receiver choices down to the Marantz SR7002 or SR8002. I'm also looking at the Integra DTC-9.8 pre/pro. Also, depending on your budget, all the major receiver makers have some good deals out there: Yammy, Pioneer, Marantz, Onkyo. I've checked best prices on all these. Most have a good model available for around 1000.00 or less. In the case of Pio and Yammy, considerably less.

Last week I sent an email to Rotel asking if there were any new class-D amps on the horizon. Today I got a response:

"Thanks for your email. At this time, Rotel has no plans to release new Class D amplifiers."

I don't know how forthcoming Rotel is with future products, but it sounds like we shouldn't be expecting any new models in the near future. I was specifically asking about the new THX certified ICEpower modules and if we could expect to see them in new amps this year.

So I'll probably be looking seriously at Wyred4sound since they have a wider range of ICEpower amps.

My receiver is a Yamaha V793, which is a DD 5.1 receiver from 1998.

I'm thinking of rather than getting a new HDMI 1.3 receiver, just getting something with 5.1 analog inputs like a Rotel RSX 1055, and combining it with a Panasonic BD50, which can decode all the lossless audio formats and send it to the Rotel via analog.

Any flaw in this thinking, will I miss out on anything without HDMI 1.3 in my receiver?

Generally analog inputs do not get any of the DSP processing in many receivers. Room correction, EQ, and or soundfield processing could all be bypassed by going this route. A better route would be to get a receiver that has HDMI, possibly lacking the new CODECs, and having the BD50 send PCM audio via HDMI. This would allow you to get all the DSP processing, but would have more AVR options since it wouldn't have to decode HBR audio.

Can anyone here comment on the volume control on the 1052? It looks like the max on the scale is 90. With reasonably efficient speakers, I find myself getting the volume up into the 50s and 60s before it gets "loud". On other systems I've had (same speakers), I never had the volume control up to more than 1/2 (and that was VERY LOUD), which I would assume would equate to 45 on the Rotel. Is this just the way the Rotel works, or do I possibly have something going wrong?

Not sure on the 1052 but in the rsx1056 there is a setting where you can limit/set the max volume.I'm assuming the 1052 also has this feature.just check your settings.

Different volume knobs have different amounts of gain associated with each "level". For some CDs, I have to lower the volume almost to the bottom and it is still very loud! For other CDs, I have to increase the volume quite a bit. Different sources supply different voltage levels to the preamp section, so this can cause what you are experiencing. Don't worry about it.

Yes, the 1052 has that feature as well.

Understand the input voltage issue, but nothing else has changed on my system other than the 1052. I'm just surprised that with the same inputs and same speakers, that the control has to be up so high. I guess that's just the way this Rotel product is

Did you check the options menu that has volume at startup and max volume. I think the max is 100. If you change it to 100 from 90 that would be about the asme volume as you had before when you turned it up about half,around 50.

I did look at the menus. It allows you to adjust the "max" volume, but only down from the system max of 90.

Did you check what you speaker levels(db) are at.Maybe you have them to low.If you raise the levels maybe thats what your looking for.

I'm not familiar with this. There is no adjustment on the speakers themselves. Are you saying there are other menus on the Rotel unit that I may not have accessed? Let me know how to get there and I'll give it a try.

Actually i dont know if yours has this.I know the av receivers do.Being that yous is a stereo rec. it may not.

What do you guys think of this:

Rotel RSX-1056 receiver

vs

Rotel RMB-1066 + older mid-range AVR (5.1 analog only).

I'm curious if the Rotel receiver will sound better, even if both setups are Rotel amps?

That would make sense since with an AV receiver you have to balance the levels of the different speaker groups. With stereo you can only hope that right and left are at equal volume Come to think about it, this unit doesn't even have a balance control on it

It seems like Rotel tuners have an unusual FM antenna input. It looks like a normal 75ohm connector, but it has a cone (instead of a pin) in the middle, kind of like a BNC connector. Does anyone know of a source for a larger/better FM dipole (or other) antenna with this unique connection? The only ones I can find have a standard 75ohm connector, or flat leads (that can easily be converted to standard 75ohm).

I have been enjoying an RC-1082 pre-amp, RCD-1072 cd player, and RB-1072 amp hooked up to CM1's (borrowing from the store, my black 805s should be here this week) and they sound UNREAL. I am now an unbelievably happy Rotel owner, and I can't wait to hear what the 805s do to the sound.

I WANT to love the CM1, but I don't. I listened to them again this week. They are the perfect size and form-factor for my office...

But, those 805s, they're in another league. I'm sure you'll be thrilled.

That's a great setup.

How old a receiver? What brand? Doesn't the 1066 amp have less power than the 1056? If so get the 1056 since the pre/pro section on it is the same as that on the 1068 pre/pro, which is better than any under $2K receiver I know of.

But this isn't an apples to oranges comparison, either. The RMB-1066 has a better power transformer than the RSX-1056 (toroidal versus laminated EI). It also has better THD and SNR specs than the RSX-1056's amp section.

However, it's really a wash. Depending on the receiver being used, the preamp section could suffer. So it might actually be better to go with the RSX-1056 after all. Hard to say...

Something like a 5 year old $1000 Yamaha. Or a new V663 yamaha.

So you're saying pre-processing on a 1056 should be better than a brand new Yamaha with all the latest features?

In case anyone is interested, it turns out the Rotel 75ohm FM connector is European spec, vs. the US version. An electronic parts store carried a converter.

Yes that is a EU F connector. I bought my adapter at radio shack.

You must have a good Radio Shack. Mine had never even seen anything like that...

With the 1052 being rated at 100W, what Rotel amp would I buy if I wanted to use the pre-out and bi-amp my speakers? There doesn't seem to be another 100W stand-alone Rotel amp to go along with the 1052 amp.

Is there even a way to "bridge" the 1052 amp into mono-mode?