Please give me your opinions

[kendrid]

I'd like your opinions on some decisions I have to make.

My current system is:
ACI Sapphire IIIs (90db efficient)
Jolida 302b integrated tube amp (50w x 2)
Denon 3802 (used for HT)
SVS 35-31

I have been a Rotel fan for quite a while. I had a RB985 which I sold for the Jolida. It was a great amp, but I wanted to 'play' with tubes so it had to go.

My dilema is that I am upgrading to the new ACI Sapphires (86db efficient). The new Sapphires go much lower than the IIIs, and I have a feeling that the 302b might not have enough 'oomph' to drive them. It can easily drive my Sapphire IIIs, but at loud (85db) volumes, the volume knob is turned up quite a bit (75%). I normally listen at low volumes, but once in while I turn it up a bit.

I will not get the new Sapphires until the end of February (maybe earlier, maybe later), so I have some time to decide what I am going to do.

My options:
A) Sell the Jolida and buy a Rotel amp (130x2 or 200x2) and use the Denon as a preamp.

B) Sell both the Jolida and Denon and buy a Rotel 1055 receiver. I will have to use it's amps as I can't spend a lot more right now.

C) Keep the Jolida and use it with the new speakers.

The 'catch': The only money I am 'allowed' to spend is to buy the new Sapphires. I know for a fact that I can get enough money from the Jolida and Denon to buy the Rotel 1055. I also can get plenty of money from my Jolida to get a used Rotel amp.

And the part I left out (too embarrasing). My cd player. A Sony 400 disc player. I run my system one of two ways:
Sony right into Jolida OR Sony->Denon 3802 DAC->Jolida. Both are bad, as using the Denon DAC I am basically using the Jolida as an amp and the Denon as a preamp. It does sound better than running the Sony directly into the Jolida.

So I guess I should add option D) Find a way to get a used Rotel CD player :LOL: .

If I go with option B, I'll be using the DAC in the 1055, plus the added benefit of a great preamp. I am just a little concerned about the amp section. It is a Rotel, and they don't skimp on their amps, but this is a receiver. I question if a separate amp with the Denon will be better than the Rotel receiver. I know the 1055 and 1066 are very similar, so my thinking is that the preamp section will provide me with a larger gain than going with the denon/rotel amp combo.

I know that auditioning these options in my home is the best, but if I go with the external Rotel amp I will be buying it used. I don't want to borrow my local dealers new amp and then buy a used one. If I decide to go with the 1055, I will do an in-home audition since if I like it, I will be purchasing it from them.

Opinions?




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Kevin

[Andrew Pratt]

There's a review of the 1055 in one of the latest hi-fi mags and they liked the 1055's amps. Of your options I'd say wait and see how the tube amp does with the new speakers but I'm not that hopefull given the low sensitivety. The Sony CD changer is a concern though since its DAC's are horrible (unless its an ES model) so you should try to use it only as a transport which means you'll need something with a digital input which I'm sure the Jolida doesn't have....so where does that leave you? Well IMO I'd lean towards picking up a Rotel 1055...this won't cost you much if anything at all and it allows you to use the DAC's in the Rotel which are easily supperior to the DAC's in the Sony CD changer s (I should know I have a Sony 300 disc changer)

[Lex]

Nice response Andrew. Might I offer one more suggestion? There's still Sony S7000 DVD players floating around that people don't know what they really have. The CD player in it (or transport), is A1. The DACs are pretty darn good 18 bit. So, you might be able to have your cake and eat it to, with a simple 200-300 purchase of one of these old S7000s. I think the CD player will go on for a long time in them, even when the DVD gives up.

But you will never get transport quality playback on these mega changers. They are really quite horrid for the most part. Fact is, any CD player will likely smoke it for quality.

Lex

[Andrew Pratt]

I have the Sony 7700 which I use as my CD player. Its DAC's are slightly better sounding then those in the Rotel and light years better then those in the Sony jukebox. For regular background music I let the Rotel do the decoding with the jukebox acting as a transport but when I want to critically listen I use the 7700 with some nice analog cables (Silvercats) feeding the analog bypass inputs on the Rotel.

[kendrid]

Thanks for the replies.

Yes, the DAC in the changer is horrid. That is why I run it into my Denon then into the Jolida. Using the changer into the Jolida is a joke. I might as well buy a pair of KLH speakers... ops:

$300 to buy a decent used CDP isn't a lot of money (we make quite a bit), but my wife is pregnant and so we are cutting back for the time being on 'fun' stuff.

I can easily get enough money from my Denon + Jolida to get a 1055 (I can get 10% off). I would use it's DACs and the Sony as a transport (for now). Then down the road I can get a better CDP or an external Rotel amp for the front speakers.

I assume you are all agreeing that the Rotel 1055 with it's internal amps and DACs is going to 'beat' the 3802 + 991/981 combo? Is the extra headroom a 991/981 is going to give me over the 1055 more important than the DAC issue I have?

Thanks.




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Kevin

[jaakan]

One options is just add a DAC to your setup.
Look for MSB on audio advisor.

Another is one of the Yamaha CDR/HD recorder, good DACs, if you can get the price down. Both version (20GB , 80GB) use the same type of harddrives you will find in a PC, EIDE in the unit I looked at. So you could drop in a bigger harddrive. For you mod-ers same thing you can do with the TIVO Boxes.

[Andrew Pratt]

For HT you likely won't notice that big a difference between the Denon and the Rotel...given we tend to be distracted while watching movies. For music though you'll have more flexibility with the 1055...there's nothing stopping you from adding a seperate power amp to the 1055 at some later date if you feel the need for more power up front etc.

[gianni]

Andrew,

In which magazine did you see the RSX 1055 review?

Thanks

[kendrid]

I visit my Rotel dealer today.

His view of my 'dilema' is that I should go with the 2 channel amp and Denon 3802, if I get a good CDP. He suggested the 1070 for $630 vs the 1055 for $1170 (probably the same profit on each).

He said he feels I could be taking a step down if I go with the 1055, unless I pair it with a good amp. He basically didn't seemed impressed with it's amps. They didn't have any to demo.

I was thinking that I could take the $650 from the Jolida and get a 981 ($300) and good used CDP with the other $300. Then down the road I could get a good 2 channel preamp, maybe with HT passthrough.




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Kevin