RB-1080 as an upgrade...?

[weijst]

Hi all,

I'm driving my B&W 705s (and HTM7) with the rare combination 1068/1075 . However, ever since I bought my Rotel gear I've been fascinated by the RB-1080 (or the RB-1090 for that matter, but that's beyond my budget).

Now I'm thinking about investing in a better stereo system, while keeping my current speakers. Questions I have regarding this matter:

1. Will the jump to the RB-1080 stereo amp make a (noticable) difference, since I will still be using the RSP-1068, which is a HT pre / pro instead of a dedicated stereo pre / pro?

2. Will the RB-1080 be a matter of overkill for my little 705s? (True, future upgrades might include 704s or 804s, but that's not in the near future.)

3. Will the RB-1080 powering my 705s have a negative effect on the front soundstage in HT, since the HTM7 ("which is essentially a 705") will still be driven by the RMB-1075?

4. Are the RB-1080s which offer bi-wiring through extra speaker terminals the latest models (i.e. include minor tweaks and modifications)?

Hope to hear from you.

Thank you!

[gymguymass]

As a recent owner of an RB1080, I can only speak of its benefits - which I think are tremendous. Yes, I have a pair of floorstanders connected to my amp, and you will be using monitors, but I do believe you greatly appreciate the benefits of the greater damping factor, increased current and overall headroom this amp will provide. I am using single wire, as opposed to biwire, and the arrangement suits me. Perhaps some of the members can weigh in on their experience biwiring with the RB1080. From me, i have nothing but praise and great things to say about this amp. I love listening to my music now even more so with the Rotel gear in my home!

[Andrew Pratt]

I've been using a 1075 to power my speakers for a while now but have a 1080 on its way. I'm very curious to see what improvements it will bring to the table but the added power should help my towers a great deal :yesnod:

[weijst]

...Yes, I have a pair of floorstanders connected to my amp, and you will be using monitors, ...

and

...the added power should help my towers a great deal

Both you guys are using floorstanders. Now, refering to my original post:

2. Will the RB-1080 be a matter of overkill for my little 705s? (True, future upgrades might include 805s or 804s, but that's not in the near future.)

I've been using a 1075 to power my speakers for a while now but have a 1080 on its way. I'm very curious to see what improvements it will bring to the table...

So am I / are we Andrew...

[Andrew Pratt]

weijst as I've said before quality power amps stay with you a long long time so while you might be using smaller speakers now you'll likely upgrade those at some point in the not so distant future at which time you'll really get the benefit of the larger power amp. Even now though the extra headroom should help those 705's.

Technically speaking my speakes aren't towers...they're large monitors with integrated stands...but they'll go down to the upper 30's so they're not your typical monitor

[gymguymass]

Yes, I do have floor standers, but the drivers are more akin to what one might find in a monitor. There is a 1" tweeter and 6.5" midwoofer located on the front and back of the cabinet (Omnipolar design). Within reason, I feel that the extra power can only be benficial to the music. For comparison sake, a friend of mine owns a Krell FPB600 driving a pair of Sonus Faber monitors. His previous amp was a Krell 150 watt model and the differences are astounding he says - detail, smoother, dynamics, etc. In my humble opinion I believe the addition of the RB1080 will be well worth it.

[dixon]

RB 1080 is a step ahead if you listen in stereo.First is more musical then RMB 1075 and more bass.1075 is very good in DD,DTS,etc,but in 2 channel...1080 is just better.
This is my personal opinion

[DrJRapp]

RB 1080 is better in HT also. It allows me to run my L&R towers set to large and have a very robust bottom end. The improvement over the 1075 is subtle but defintly there. In HT there are no soundstage issues whatsoever since Rotel tends to "voice" it's amps the same. In 2 channel mode the 1080s soundstage driving my Klipsch RF7s is HUGE! Wasn't quite so large before when driven by the 1075.

[Andrew Pratt]

Well my 1080 arrived safe and sound yesterday and its in the rack but I haven't spent more then a couple of moments just to make sure it was working. I'll do a more through review this weekend.

[Joe Rock]

Andrew,

Congrats on the new amp...can't wait for the review. Is that stepping up from the 1075?

~Joe

[Andrew Pratt]

Yes I was running a 1075 bi amped on the fronts before the 1080 arrived.

[Azeke]

Well my 1080 arrived safe and sound yesterday and its in the rack but I haven't spent more then a couple of moments just to make sure it was working. I'll do a more through review this weekend.

Well, well Andrew, welcome to the RB-1080 club :T .

You will enjoy the difference, especially after break-in, (if you believe in that type of thing).

Congratulations,

Azeke

[Andrew Pratt]

Oh it was inevitable :assimilate: At least now I'll speak from experience when I recomend the 1080/1075 combo to the masses :B

[will1066]

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[DrJRapp]

Personally, the differences creeped in over time.

I'll second that. I've had my 1080 for about a month now and the inner detail has improved noticably during that time. When I first got the beast it seemed to be all bottom end, lacking on top and not much detail improvement over the 1075 running the same speakers (Klipsch RF7). As she "burned in" so to speak, which by the way with the 1080 may be more literal than figurative since the 1080 runs rather warm, the inner detail and high end soundstage opened up quite a bit and became more noticably grainy. No objectionably so, but especially noticable on female vocals. Im now working on getting my system tweaked to my taste. The big surprise, perhaps it should be no surprise, is how different the 1080 sounds with different interconnect cables. Much more pronounced than with the 1075. I've tried copper, silver plated copper and pure silver. The silver plated coppers seem to work best for me.