Newbie Questions..

[Keen]

Hi All

I have the following, and just need some advice:

Rotel RSP1066
Rotel RMB1075
Denon 1600

I've been listening to 2CH sources via my Denon with a optical lead for some time now, but its pretty uninspiring, dull and just flat

Am I best to get a dedicated CD Player or should I buy a SACD player?? I've never actually used the DVD-A facilities of my Denon , so would it be worthwhile to get this running? Are there that many titles for DVDA/SACD?

Further, to utilise my DVDA capabilities, what cables do I need to connect to the RSP1066? Just my existing Digital Connection or do I need a set of analog cables (expensive as my cable talk ones to the amp cost a bit too)

So, how do i connect the Denon 1600 for DVDA to my RSP1066
Is it worthwhile to get a CD player for 2CH stuff or simply start using DVDA ?
Should I forget DVDA and 2CH on the denon & get a decent 2CH/SACD player?

Oh, one last thing. I have my gear in a Soundstyle Rack, the Processor & Amp are side by side but the Denon is on the floor, would it be possible to put the Denon 1600 ontop of the processor without effecting it in any harmful way???

Thanks all!

[Andrew Pratt]

Keen I'd highly suggest connecting that Denon 1600 to your 1066 with analog cables and see if you don't prefer the DAC's in the Denon. In my system I've found I prefer the Denon's DAC's to those in the 1055, 1066 and even the 1098.

To hear DVD-A simply connect 6 analog RCA cables from the Denon's multi channel out to the Rotel's multichannel input then to listen to DVD-A or 2 channel music simply select the multi channel input on the Rotel.

[David Meek]

Advice? Oh man, we got a new shipment in just this week. :B

As long as there is plenty of separation between the Denon and the processor to allow for proper ventilation, it probably won't hurt. However, I recommend you add another shelf for the Denon - isolation good. Also, I'd get the Denon off the floor, regardless of whether it's hardwood, tile, carpet, whatever. Carpet will really restrict any bottom-case ventilation, and the floor is THE dust repository - dust bad.

Rather than spend more money on an SACD player, why not work on optimizing your CD playback first? Identify the problems with that whether they be amp, DAC, interconnects, speakers, placement, whatever. Get them right so that your CD's sound like you want them to. That way, those same issues won't plague your eventual plunge into SACD-land.

Just my 2 cents, as always. Good luck Keen!




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[aud19]

Agree and agree. Listen to Andrew and David, they both know what they're talking about

I have almost exactly the same equipment as you other than your B&W's and my Energy's (which sound relatively similar too, IMO). So I can tell you that in my system I too prefer the 1600's DAC's for music and only use the digital optical for movies. I totally reccomend purchasing the 5.1 analog cables for DVD-A as you can also use them for 2-channel listening to the multi-channel input on the 1066 and your CD's will thank you Not to mention that there are more and more DVD-A's coming out and quite a few that do sound VERY good :P For some thoughts/reviews on DVD-A's / SACD's check out the thread I started here For cables, try contacting Lex, he should be able to get you a good deal on really good cables through Cat Cables.

As for upgrading to SACD or purchasing a deicated CD player... I'd personally wait for the next big advance in players like HD-DVD to arrive or at the very least upsampled DVI output to come down in price and get a universal player that truly does it all. Not that a stand alone CD player is a bad idea either. Or something like Andrew's Musical Fidelity A3.24 DAC to upsample all of your CD's and make them sound their best. (I hope I got that right Andrew, chime in if I'm giving erroneous info )

Jason




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[Andrew Pratt]

Nope you are right on the $

[aud19]

How's that sounding by the way Andrew? Worth the money?

Jason




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[David Meek]

Listen to Andrew and David, they both know what they're talking about

Oh, now THAT'S a scary thought. :B

Seriously tho', being the extremely satisfied owner of an A3.2CR DAC, I can say that it made a major difference in the quality of my CD output. Much more clarity and detail, an upper register I love (coupled with the Aerial Acoustics 7B's), better bass control - okay, I'm sounding like an advertisement now. . . shutting up. That does however lead me back to my point in my earlier post. Keen, you should resolve the issues around CD playback and enjoy your already purchased collection of music anew.




David - HTGuide flunky
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[Andrew Pratt]

With my room and gear i find the MF DAC is slightly better then what I had before. What I'm noticing more then anything is the depth of the soundstage is larger now then it once was. I hope the over all sound will improve again when I can get a better transport and ditch the optical input I'm forced to use at the moment.

[David Meek]

Andrew, you are duplicating step-for-step what I did.

My DAC was connected to a Sony ES changer via Toslink until I moved. Now I'm using a Yamaha transport via coax and it's made almost as much of a difference as the initial addition of the DAC. Good luck bud.

Hey Keen, would you like your thread back?




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[Keen]

Hi Guys

Thankyou for the advice, Ill move my CD player off the carpet (dust haven as you mentioned) and try and put it elsewhere. Ill need another rack as my Stand has 3 shelves (amp,processor on 1, Center on another, TV on another) so Ill get another..

Ill purcahse some Analog Cables, as much as Id love to go CAT, they are US based and there are cheaper options locally (Sydney)

Thanks for all your input gents, appreicated muchly!!

[Keen]

Guys, one last thing..

The RSP1066 has always played HDCD recordings back on my HDCD discs, however since moving to analog cables plugged into the CD Inputs on the 1066, the HDCD logo doesn't appear on the LCD anymore..

Why is this??

Btw: recordings are sounding alot cleaner and more crisp with more bass using the denon dacs, now all i need is 6 decent analog cables!

Thankyou

[Andrew Pratt]

That's because the Rotel has a HDCD decoder on board that can decode the HDCD signal if its sent digitally. For you to hear HDCD over analog cables the source players DAC would also have to be able to decode HDCD.

As for good cables I highly suggest talking to Doug who owns both this forum and http://www.catcables.com