rmb 1066 vrs 1075

[bimmer528]

Bridging the 1066 gives you an output of 150 x 3. The 1075 delivers 120 to all channels. Can anyone compare the two based from listening? The price is only a couple houndred from each other.. im trying to figure out of it's a 200 dollar differance worth spending.

[Kevin D]

Bridging any amplifier gives you a higher distortion level (worse sound) and it also brings your minimum ohm load up to 8ohm's. Even if your speakers are rated at 8ohms, that's the average. Bass speakers can dip closer to and past 4ohms, giving you increased noise and possible lack of power in the lower range.

All that aside, the 1066 is geared towards multiroom applications and the sound quality is lacking behind the 1075 due to lower quality transformers and such..

Simply put, don't run 1066's in bridged mode for a theater aplication.

Kevin D.

[bimmer528]

I was thinking of grabbing the rb1070 or 1080 for my main fronts and using the 1066 for my center and rears but you sir have convinced me.

Do you think its really worth it to have a dedicated amp for my fronts. I do listen to cd's a bit more then watching dvd's.

Driving b&w cdm 7nt's 1nt's for the rear and the cnt for the center.

[Kevin D]

Certainly. Rotel used to have a 3 channel amp just for your purpose, but with the advent of a 7 channel theater, a 5+2 amp system makes more sense.

While it hurts a bit to have a 5 channel amp and only use three channels, the sound improvments will be worth it. Plus you will have two extra channels for center rears, un-powered subs, or zone 2 applications.

Kevin D.

[ht_addict]

Bridging any amplifier gives you a higher distortion level (worse sound) and it also brings your minimum ohm load up to 8ohm's. Even if your speakers are rated at 8ohms, that's the average. Bass speakers can dip closer to and past 4ohms, giving you increased noise and possible lack of power in the lower range.

All that aside, the 1066 is geared towards multiroom applications and the sound quality is lacking behind the 1075 due to lower quality transformers and such..

Simply put, don't run 1066's in bridged mode for a theater aplication.

Kevin D.

Actually I emailed Rotel on this issue and was told that the SNR/THD is the same for bridged and nonbridged modes.

Certainly. Rotel used to have a 3 channel amp just for your purpose, but with the advent of a 7 channel theater, a 5+2 amp system makes more sense.

While it hurts a bit to have a 5 channel amp and only use three channels, the sound improvments will be worth it. Plus you will have two extra channels for center rears, un-powered subs, or zone 2 applications.

Kevin D.

With the 2 extra channels you could use them to bi-amp your speakers if they can take it.

ht_addict

[bimmer528]

Thats the hard choice I am making here. Going with a 2 channel amp vrs a multi-channel. Without actually having each individual peice of equipment at my house to test... nothing I can do but ask around. So what does everyone think.

Option 1. Go with a rmb1066 to push the rears and center bridged at 150x3
Go with a rb 1070 or 80 for my main fronts.
Option 2. Go with a rmb 1075 for all 5 channels
Option 3. Go with a rmb 1075 bi-amped to my bw 7nt's. Use the 5th for my center and go with a small 2 ch amp for my rears.

See my problem guys

[ht_addict]

Thats the hard choice I am making here. Going with a 2 channel amp vrs a multi-channel. Without actually having each individual peice of equipment at my house to test... nothing I can do but ask around. So what does everyone think.

Option 1. Go with a rmb1066 to push the rears and center bridged at 150x3
Go with a rb 1070 or 80 for my main fronts.
Option 2. Go with a rmb 1075 for all 5 channels
Option 3. Go with a rmb 1075 bi-amped to my bw 7nt's. Use the 5th for my center and go with a small 2 ch amp for my rears.

See my problem guys

Option 3 is what I do with my NAD S250 and Pioneer 56TXi. What do you use as a pre/pro? If you have a receiver then use that to power the rears.

ht_addict

[bimmer528]

Rsp 1066 Rdv 1050 as the rotel goes. Using a old adcom gfa 5200 for my mains. My other speakers are just sitting since I have no amps :P In time I would sell off the adcom for pennies and grab a cheap matching 2 channel rotel for the rears if I did go option 3.

[GosonFletchy]

Actually I emailed Rotel on this issue and was told that the SNR/THD is the same for bridged and nonbridged modes.

ht_addict

Specifications
Continuous Power Output Stereo Mode 60 watts/ch into 8 ohms
(20-20 kHz, < 0.03% THD)
Continuous Power Output Bridged Mono Mode 150 watts/ch into 8 ohms
(20-20 kHz, < 0.1% THD)

This is straight from the owners manual of the RMB-1066, available for download from the Rotel site. You can see that the THD is over 3 times greater when in bridged mode. Although .1% is still very small it is still significantly greater than .03%.

G.

:grab:

[jay_brandes]

Real answer?

Hi. I have a 1066 on order (12/9). I should have it within a week or so, and can give you a real world answer. I am posting now to see if you have made your choice already, or if you are still looking for an answer. I plan to run 5 channels of it, but if I am displeased with the mains, I will use the 1066 for the center and rears (bridged or not) and something else for the mains (like a 1070).

[DrJRapp]

Hi. I have a 1066 on order (12/9). I should have it within a week or so, and can give you a real world answer. I am posting now to see if you have made your choice already, or if you are still looking for an answer. I plan to run 5 channels of it, but if I am displeased with the mains, I will use the 1066 for the center and rears (bridged or not) and something else for the mains (like a 1070).

Good choice! You should bridge 2 channels for the center channel, which does most of the work in HT. That leaves you 4 chnnels for surround. Overall a decent system for 7.1 if you are running speakers of moderate to high efficiency.