I still cant decide which pre/pro to get. I am leaning towards the Rotel 1098 mainly because of the bigger display. However, some people are telling me to get the Halo C1 because it has balanced outputs and inputs. My question to you all Rotel experts: Do balanced (XLRs) really make a difference? Why Rotel did not include XLRs inputs/outputs on the 1098 and instead included it on the amp RMB 1095? Please enlighten/educate me... :roll:
-
-
The 1095's ballance outputs aren't truely ballanced so there's no real advantage to having matching inputs on the 1098 processor. So long as you aren't running long interconnects there's really no advantage to having ballanced IC's so I wouldn't worry about the Rotel's not having them if it has other features that you would use. -
You're really comparing apples to oranges here, for starters the 1098 costs about half what the C1 costs.
The performance of the C1 is of a higher level as well, especially the amount of control in the bass is staggering. (something the Rotel isn't very good at imo)
Midrange is less pronounced but better defined, and the highs are a little sweeter than with the 1098.
But the main difference between the C2 (or C1) and the 1098 is the bass, seems hard to believe for a preamp but it is.
The integration between channels for multichannel and movies is also better on the Parasounds.
They do offer a lot less functions and are not as flexible with settings as the 1098.
The 1098 is great value, but the C2/C1 is the better performer (mainly for movies), even without the use of the balanced in/outs.
I even think the balanced vs single-ended thing is the least of your worries, there are much greater differences between these machines.Comment
-
here's the info from Rotel!
Subject: Re: Rotel RSP 1098
Date: Tue, 23 Nov 2004 08:56:54 -0500
The addition of balanced inputs and outputs would have caused the cost of the unit to be too high. I personally can not hear a difference between balanced cables and unbalanced, or RCA, cables. My understanding was that balanced cables were designed originally for very long runs such as microphones. I understand the concept of the balanced system and theoretically it works great. It will be all relative though to the rest of your system. If the rest of your equipment and speaker wires and cables were great and the room was acoustically great then you may notice a difference. For most systems, unbalanced connections are just fine. I do get a few emails and phone calls from consumers that swear by balanced connections and will not use anything else.
Best Regards,
Shane Kea
Technical Support
B&W/RotelComment
-
I just noticed this but my 1098 has no balanced interconnects slots. Is there a reason for this? I have always heard balanced is always better than the rca but how come Rotel didnt make the 1098 with them being that it is their top of the line processor. -
Well, it's been almost 2 months now that I've lived with both my Rotel RSP1098 and my Parasound C2 and the time for deciding which I'm going to keep is almost at hand.(not that I HAVE to decide now for some reason, but I'd hate to end up with 2 processors permanently)
I actually own both of them,... -
For those considering a Rotel RSP 1098, what other surround pre-amps are out there in the 2000-4000 range that one could consider. The TFT screen is not a must.
Parasound Halo C2
Anthem
Theta Digital Casablanca III (well out of the price range)
Marantz?
... -
New press release just came out. FINALLY! :banana: I know a couple of our club members here have been waiting for this one for a while.
There's a few things about this final release model that I find interesting:
- I like that it has TWO multichannel analog inputs, not just... -
From the news article here:
http://www.gspr.com/parasound/jc2bp.html
Parasound Upgrades its Classic Halo JC 2 Preamp with Added Home Theater Bypass
The new Parasound Halo JC 2 BP allows audiophiles to use their high-end...
Comment