Rotel RC-1580 HT Bypass (Tape 2)

[srb]

The Rotel RC-1580 is the first Rotel preamp to offer an HT Bypass input. However it seems a little strange that the Tape 2 input is actually the bypass input.

My first thought was that this might have been an afterthought, enabled with an internal circuit modification, and the original silkscreened front and back panels were not changed, hence the "Tape 2" selection, yet there is a front panel Bypass LED indicator.

This also brings up a question - what function do the Tape 2 outputs now have?

Steve

[jalyra]

He he he. I also had that very same question and I didn't get a response at another forum. I asked before buying my pre 'cause I was affraid the bypass will not work as I was expecting, but although I didn't get a response I decided to buy the unit and figure it out by myself.

Here is how it works:
Now you have a way to send your valuable stereo inputs (from your pre) out to the receiver so you can use the sound processor options such as dolby, dts and such.
I still haven't found a use for this, but it is there just in case.

By the way, I really wanted to buy the Rotel RC-1580 but the mexican distributor price it so ridiculously high that I ended up buying a Conrad-Johnson instead. So my comments are for the CJ but I think it will work the same in the Rotel. Hope this help.

[srb]

Here is how it works:
Now you have a way to send your valuable stereo inputs (from your pre) out to the receiver so you can use the sound processor options such as dolby, dts and such.

Actually, the way HT Bypass works is that you connect the Left and Right pre-out channels from your A/V processor or receiver to the HT Bypass inputs on the preamplifier.

This allows you to bypass the volume control (and any associated tone controls, if present) and have the A/V unit control the volume. It, in effect, bypasses the preamplifier, and is as if you had connected the L/R A/V pre-outs directly to the power amplifier.

Your 2 channel sources of course are plugged directly into the preamp. So you have a purist 2 channel setup combined with an HT setup using the same power amplifier and speakers.

You could, of course, use a preamplifier without the special HT Bypass input, and set the preamplifier volume control to a pre-calibrated position. This is not as desireable, as it is somewhat of a hassle, and the signal goes through an additional volume control.

My question was not how it works, but why the input is called Tape 2, instead of HT or HT Bypass or Bypass, and what purpose do the now orphaned Tape 2 outputs serve? It just seemed to be kind of a retrofit kludge.

Steve

[jalyra]

Of course, that's the way HT Bypass works.
But you asked about the outputs in the tape 2, your exact question from your previous post "what purpose do the now orphaned Tape 2 outputs serve?".
and my answer was: "Now you have a way to send your valuable stereo inputs (from your pre) out to the receiver so you can use the sound processor options such as dolby, dts and such." Just imagine the sound from that expensive turntable in multichannel Dolby Digital!!!

And that's why I begun with "he he he" trying to indicate sarcasm in my answer. I agree with you that this is misleading, since the whole purpose of having a stereo pre with HT bypass is to keep the stereo signal as pure as possible.

[JoKaRi]

Is anyone having experience on the sound comparison between RC-1580- and RSP-1570 pre amps with 2ch music. I mean is it worth the extra money to get the two channel pre-amp and use it with the HT-bypass function in your HT system when listening to music?