New Dilemma - Rotel or McIntosh

[asg420]

Hello all -

Well, I spent a large portion of my afternoon at a different audio/video dealer. To cut the story short....here's where I am at...

I heard an REALLY enjoyed the Rotel 1098, 1095 through B&W 802's - Clean, warm and distinct. Very hard to beat.

I then listened to the Rotel 1098, 1075 w CM4's for the rears and a McIntosh 6900 Integrated 2ch amp for the 802's - Well, I must say that the 802's seemed a little more "alive" - The way the speaker seemed to really partition itself and how the sound opened up was very aparent when compared with the 1095. Your thoughts?

I then listened to the McIntosh MHT200 receiver - A nice, all in one package. However, I feel power is a concern with a reciever for the 802's and a big roadblock with this product is that McIntosh does not offer a way to upgrade software in the future.

SO I believe that I am leaning now towards the Rotel 1098, Rotel 1075 for CM4's & CMC and the McIntosh 6900 amp to power the 802's. HOw do you guys feel McIntosh fares with Rotel? Worth the extra cash? Sure is nice to see how much power the 802's are drawing :E

As a side note, this dealer felt it necessary to tell me that they recently compared the Rotel 1098 to their Lexicon preocessor, and they mentioned that they were "not as inpressed with the Lexicaon as they were with the Rotel....The Rotel was very very close to the Lexicon."

Any friendly advice is always appreciated!

Thanks!

asg

[Bam!]

I hear you....

I too have heard mac with B& W`s 803 Nautilus.....very nice.....

They do demand a lot of power those babies....very hard to drive....so I know what you mean by making them sing and come alive....

For me the problem is the colored sound of Mac.....I don`t like it....

Rotel has a purer...more natural sound.....It`s amazing that for the price we are even comparing! :E but it`s true they hold up really really well...

I don`t know what sound you are lookin`for....but for me long term listening....Rotel....for sure....

As far as the Lexicon vs Rotel thing.....as much as I love Rotel...their strenghts are their amps IMO...so I would disagree....

just my opinion though!

[Dmantis]

Ummmm ok I know it's all an opnion.

McIntosh is far superior to Rotel.I like both products alot.There is a huge reason why Mac costs more,they give you more.

I don't think they can be compared.Different classes.

Rotel rules the dollar value market,Mac is high end and rightfully so.they are one of the best companies on the market for over the years.

I would go with Mac over most.

Dan

[Aussie Geoff]

Even better the McIntosh MC402 for the same price

asg420,

Trust your ears - If you like McIntosh sound (warm, liquid, valve like and incredibly respected) go for it...

An idea worth considering is that the 2900 Integrated Amp the dealer demoed for you has a chunk of its cost on the pre-amp and 5 channel equaliser that will be wasted when driven by your Rotel 1098. Also it is rated at 200W per channel into 2/4/8 Ohms (its power doesn't double with drops in impedance). However for about the same price there is the McIntosh MC402 Stereo amplifier which is 400 W per channel - you just loose all that pre-amp and equalisation circuitry that you don't need... And 400W will really make those B&W's sing...

I think US retail on the 6900 is $4,600, and the MC402 is $5,100 - and your dealer should absorb that 10% difference for you with what you are buying...

My B&W Nautilus dealer (who is not a Rotel dealer) also sells McIntosh and (despite the fact that it is insanely expensive in Australia) only likes to demonstrate the Nautilus range with the McIntosh Amps. He recommends the MC602 or MC402 for the 802s and the MC402 or MC252 for the 803 and 804 range. He uses the 6900 for the B&W 703 and 704 range in pure stereo set-ups, otherwise he sells the cheaper and more powerful MC252. I've seen the 6900 trying to drive 802s (he was showing me how power hungry they were) and the little blue soft clipping light on the front kept flashing on peaks... (Still sounded great though!) We then switched to the MC602 and they just opened up so much more in the midrange and bass it was amazing….

Geoff

[aud19]

Sorry this isn't really all to Rotel related so I moved her Echoing the others comments, McIntosh is really in a different league and if you've got the $$ and like the sound, there really isn't a comparison.

Jason