What's more important the amp or the pre/pro?

**sikoniko** · 19 February 2006, 08:17 Sunday

have you heard of the sherwood newcastle p-965? ive compared it against the 1098 rotel and is far superior. im selling mine in the pawn shop. i've decided to get the new bryston sp2. that would give you extra money for a better amp while still giving you a great pre/pro.

**blues651** · 19 February 2006, 10:19 Sunday

Not much difference in sound quality between 1098 & 1068 , what about going used, I think you could pick up a 1068 around 1200.00 , a 1080 around 650.00 , and 1075 around 650.00 . The 1080, 200w. per channel will run the fronts much better than a 1095, and would make for a real nice system !

**blues651** · 19 February 2006, 10:34 Sunday

As for your original question I think the pre makes the biggest difference in a system at least it did in my system (1068,1080,1075 paradigm studio 100's) the jump I made from 1075 to 1080 made the 2nd biggest difference, especially for 2ch. listening. So it really depends a lot on your preferences( I'm 50/50 ht, music) the 1075 really excells in h/t .

**rlcramer** · 19 February 2006, 10:45 Sunday

Thanks for all the comments so far. This room will be 100% dedicated to Ht (I own a recording studio which is where all the 2 channel magic happens!!). I was looking at the Outlaw 200w multichannel amp (I'm assuming this is similar to the Newcastle?), but actually liked the fullness of the rotel through the same pre/pro (a 1098). I'd rather not go used, unless the warranty is transferrable (call me overly cautious, but I like the protection of a factory warranty - just in case).

Bobby

**aud19** · 19 February 2006, 11:59 Sunday

With HDMI 1.3 being finalized and HD-DVD/BluRay coming out, I personally wouldn't spend a fortune on a pre/pro right now. I'd be getting a receiver from the likes of Yamaha, Marantz, Pioneer, Denon etc in the $750-$1250 price range and pair it up with a quality amp(s).

If you get good amps now, they'll last you forever. A pre/pro would be out of date in less than a year

**AvFan** · 20 February 2006, 19:40 Monday

rlcramer,

On your original post...I think the pre/pro has a greater impact on system performance than the amp and so I'd focus my attention there. However there may be a way to get both within, or very near, your price range.

The Sherwood P965 and the Outlaw 990 ($1100) are on the same platform with a few different features. Probably the most significant is the Outlaw 990 has balanced outputs that match up with their new 7500 amp's balanced inputs. The new Outlaw 200w multichannel amps are almost identical (same specs but different spacing within the chassis) to the ATI 2000 series of amps at a much better price. For example, the ATI 2005 has a MSRP of $2400 (the steet price will probably be around $2100) and the equivalent Outlaw 7500 is $1500. If you need seven 200w channels Outlaw's 7700 can be had for $2000. Outlaw has combo pricing if you purchase both their 990 pre/pro and one of their amps at the same time.

One of Outlaw's rebadged Sherwoods or ATIs might fit your needs. Enjoy!

**greenjudas** · 20 February 2006, 21:39 Monday

Originally posted by aud19

With HDMI 1.3 being finalized and HD-DVD/BluRay coming out, I personally wouldn't spend a fortune on a pre/pro right now. I'd be getting a receiver from the likes of Yamaha, Marantz, Pioneer, Denon etc in the $750-$1250 price range and pair it up with a quality amp(s).

If you get good amps now, they'll last you forever. A pre/pro would be out of date in less than a year

I can't see the point in forking out that sort of money on an av receiver when you could buy a dedicated pre/pro such as Rotel's RSP 1066 or even the 1068,which surely would be better than Pioneer,Denon etc. as a stop gap measure.If you buy smart,you could sell Rotel pre/pro in a year or two and lose very little.
BTW,I originally used a Marantz 4200[budget] av receiver.Next step was buying a RMB 1075 and using Marantz as pre/pro.Beefier sound but still not happy.Lastly,got a great deal on a new 1066 and to me that was the biggest improvement.Now it was beefy and clean sounding with 2 ch improved noticeably.Cheers,Jeff

**GregLett** · 20 February 2006, 21:45 Monday

Originally posted by rlcramer

I'm up in the air about picking up some rotel gear and wanted everyone's opinion. I have about $2500 to spend, and am trying to figure out which is a more important piece of the HT puzzle. My perfect setup would be an rmb-1095 with an rsp-1098. Since this is out of my budget, do you think I would be better off skimping on the amp and go for an rmb-1075, or skimp on the pre-pro, and perhaps pick up a an rsp 1068, or something of even lesser quality like a denon 3806 and use it as a preamp until i can afford to upgrade? Any input would be appreciated. The system will be driving a set of DefTech Mythos speakers and a velodybe 10" sub.

Thanks,

Bobby

The pre-pro will make the most difference I would not skimp on that.

**aud19** · 21 February 2006, 11:44 Tuesday

Originally posted by greenjudas

I can't see the point in forking out that sort of money on an av receiver when you could buy a dedicated pre/pro such as Rotel's RSP 1066 or even the 1068,which surely would be better than Pioneer,Denon etc. as a stop gap measure.If you buy smart,you could sell Rotel pre/pro in a year or two and lose very little.
BTW,I originally used a Marantz 4200[budget] av receiver.Next step was buying a RMB 1075 and using Marantz as pre/pro.Beefier sound but still not happy.Lastly,got a great deal on a new 1066 and to me that was the biggest improvement.Now it was beefy and clean sounding with 2 ch improved noticeably.Cheers,Jeff

That is another option

My thinking is that you can then move that receiver to a secondary system afterward but your idea on selling the pre/pro will work as well

What's more important the amp or the pre/pro?

What's more important the amp or the pre/pro?

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