rotel 1080/1095 or 1575 to power B&W

[wildmda]

I have 803S fronts, HTM3s center, ASW855 sub and 685 backs. I am trying to decide what amp to buy. Would it be better to go with a 1080/1095 combo and biamp or by a 1575? The cost between the two scenerios is basically the same.

Thank you for your help and advise.

[htsteve]

I have 803S fronts, HTM3s center, ASW855 sub and 685 backs. I am trying to decide what amp to buy. Would it be better to go with a 1080/1095 combo and biamp or by a 1575? The cost between the two scenerios is basically the same.

Thank you for your help and advise.

wildmda,

First off, welcome to the forum. Very nice setup. What pre-amp are you using.

As to your question, I've had both types of Rotel amps (Class A/B and D). Both offer excellent performance for the money. The best thing to do is to try and demo these if possible. Then hopefully one option will appeal to you.

If you can't demo, I have slight preference in the 1080/1095 combo. I had a 1080 on some N804's and liked it very much. I like the fact the 1575 has more power, but my experience says that a dedicated stereo amp for the mains is the way to go (better soundstage and control of the bass drivers). So that is why the 1080/1095. The 803S's love power, so the more, dedicated power you can give them, the better. If you could find a 1090 instead of a 1080, that would be sweet.


Hope this helps.

[wildmda]

Thank you HTSteve.

I have a Denon 3808ci. I believe my next step would be a preamp but need to wait until I have the cash. A couple questions on the preamp side..

- what preamp would you recommend with the 1080/1950 combo
- is there a way to keep my denon receiver in the mix if I add a preamp? I like the tuner, xm radio, dvd upconvert etc.

On the amp side, I haven't found a place with both 1080/1095 and 1575. Hard to find since 1080/1095 is on the way out and 1575 is just coming in.

A couple more questions on the amp side:

- do the 1080/1095s get so hot they would warm up the room?
- I believe the 803s' require 250 watts, is the 200 watts biamped enough using the 1080/1095?
- could you give me a sense for the sound difference between the 1080/1095 and 1575?

Thank you for all your help. This is a great source of info.

[kmcheng]

Thank you HTSteve.

I have a Denon 3808ci. I believe my next step would be a preamp but need to wait until I have the cash. A couple questions on the preamp side..

- what preamp would you recommend with the 1080/1950 combo
- is there a way to keep my denon receiver in the mix if I add a preamp? I like the tuner, xm radio, dvd upconvert etc.

On the amp side, I haven't found a place with both 1080/1095 and 1575. Hard to find since 1080/1095 is on the way out and 1575 is just coming in.

A couple more questions on the amp side:

- do the 1080/1095s get so hot they would warm up the room?
- I believe the 803s' require 250 watts, is the 200 watts biamped enough using the 1080/1095?
- could you give me a sense for the sound difference between the 1080/1095 and 1575?

Thank you for all your help. This is a great source of info.

I would prefer the 1575 option over the 1080/1095 combo. If they are of the same price now, then the 1575 should depreciate less rapidly.

The 1095 does get very hot. Not sure if it warms up the room, but it almost burned my hand.

The difference between 200W and 250W is usually not too noticeable. Remember we are talking about log-scale here. However, the class D amps are also much more efficient than the class A/B amps. Therefore, the 1575 may be able to gain better control over your speakers. But that's only in theory, you will have to demo them yourself.

The class D and class A/B amps certainly sound different. If you cannot demo them side-by-side, at least listen to the class D amps carefully to see if you like the sound. To many people they sound too "dry" or "sterile" compared to the more traditional amps. I personally like class D a lot and I use class D power for all my speakers. An added bonus is that they can get really loud without running hot at all. Even at the loudest volume (that I tried) they sound smooth and I cannot detect any distortion.

My observations are based on the Rotel 1085 and Bel Canto S300I. I have not listened to the new Rotel 15 series yet but I am sure they should perform as well as, if not better than, the 10 series.

[htsteve]

Thank you HTSteve.

I have a Denon 3808ci. I believe my next step would be a preamp but need to wait until I have the cash. A couple questions on the preamp side..

- what preamp would you recommend with the 1080/1950 combo
- is there a way to keep my denon receiver in the mix if I add a preamp? I like the tuner, xm radio, dvd upconvert etc.

On the amp side, I haven't found a place with both 1080/1095 and 1575. Hard to find since 1080/1095 is on the way out and 1575 is just coming in.

A couple more questions on the amp side:

- do the 1080/1095s get so hot they would warm up the room?
- I believe the 803s' require 250 watts, is the 200 watts biamped enough using the 1080/1095?
- could you give me a sense for the sound difference between the 1080/1095 and 1575?

Thank you for all your help. This is a great source of info.

wildmda,

Pre-amp answers:

* Keeping the amp and preamp the same brand is preferable. The synergy between units is generally very good. Mixing these items doesn't lead to the best performance.

* Yes, you can keep the Denon as a source unit, like the tuner and XM. Simply use the second zone outputs on the Denon and put them in some inputs on the pre-amp. As for video upconversion, newer pre-amps tend to have this feature. The Rotel 1069 pre-amp uses a Faroudja scaler for example.


Amp answers:


* The 1080 and 1095 are very warm amps. I've had both. I found the 1080 to be actually warmer, bordering on hot at times. They definitely need some ventilation. Either via space around the amps or some computer fans that will ventilate the air. The class D are quite efficient. I had a 1077 and it ran barely warmed up. Never had a heat issue with it and I didn't have much space on top of it.

* As for the 803's and power requirements, the area that needs the power in the bass drivers. Bi-amping with 200 watts should be fine. 200-250 watts from a dedicated amp like the Rotels will be decidedly better than the Denon (as nice as it is). Better bass, soundstage, and depth will be immediately apparent. I've bi-amped before with very nice results. But other system pieces and room acoustics will also play into the equation. If you get the 1080/1095 combo, you can experiment. First try the 1080 on the 803's, then bi-amp and see which you like better. You would have the flexibility to try this.

* I personally thought the 1077 (7 X 100 class D) sounded similar to the 1080 with my N804's and HTM1. I can be a bit 'clinical' with some sources, so let your ears decide. You should try to at least listen to both types in a dealer or better, in your home.


Hope this helps.

[wildmda]

Thanks for your replies. Great information!

[robert L]

The 1095 does get very hot. Not sure if it warms up the room, but it almost burned my hand


did u say the 1095 gets hot!! ive blasted mine for hours and what the 1095 is famous for is rotels designed heat sinkers, the thing barely gets warm, is yours in a closed cabinet or something is drastically wrong