RSX-1055 Questions

[hery]

I have the B&W CM series speakers on order and was wondering if the 1055 would be a good combination for them and how does it compare to a Denon 3803? The store I bought the speakers from has both receivers and says I will be happy with either one.

[Danbry39]

Hery,

The choice for me would be easy - the 1055. Although Denon is a fine receiver with a fine reputation, I've, for whatever reason, never really liked the sounds of their receivers. Just something personal.

The 3803 probably has some advantages over the Rotel. I think it has a seven channel amp as opposed to Rotel's five channel amp and it offers more in the way of digital connects, etc., but, to me, the basic thing I look for is sound quality. I've heard the two A/B's as recently as 2-3 weeks ago. On HT, I couldn't tell much difference, but two-channel is very important to me and, in this regard, I much prefered the Rotel. In fact, I can't recall of two many HT receivers which have been as sonically pleasing to me as the Rotel.

So, this is one opinion, if that's what you're after, albeit with my sonic biases and given the fact that I only have 5.1 systems in my house.

Besides, I love the way the Rotel's look.




Keith

[med]

Just out of curiosity, how many pro-Denon people hang around "Club Rotel"?

As to the question, I personally was extremely close to buying the 3803, and after spending some more time looking around and exploring my options (which included the 3803 and a Marantz SR8200), decided to go with the 1055. The extra 2 amps in the Denon aren't that important to me, and I'll still have the option of going 6.1 anyways.

The main things that did did it for me (I can't say sound quality for sure, as I was never able to do an a/b comparison) was the look, and the local Rotel dealer has a pretty kick-ass trade-up program, something that the many denon dealers in the area don't offer. The dealer also throws in a full 5 year warantee, and a lifetime of cleaning etc. (plus delivery and set-up... of course, I'm going to attempt to set it up myself. That's half the fun )

The Denon is definately a fantastic unit, and worth looking. It's also rated at a little more power, though the Rotel's modest rating and plentiful headroom probably make up for that.

[hery]

Thanks Danbry for your reply
It seems like everybody I ask favors the RSX-1055, including the store I bought the B&W's, they say the same thing you said "Sonically better sounding".
I'm kind of leaning towards the 1055 because of the 5 year warranty and I like the upgrading thing, so I won't have to buy another receiver for a while.

[hery]

med
I've never owned a Denon product before but based on my research for a good receiver I kind of narrowed it down to the RSX-1055 and 3803

[med]

I also narrowed it down to the same two. I guess it depends on your needs. If you do mostly/all home theatre, then I think you should go with the Denon. As Danbry mentioned, he couldn't tell much of a difference between the two for HT. And it has more connectivity, two extra amps, video upsampling, a little more power, I think it has a third component input, and a lot of nice HT features.

However, if those extra features aren't necessary, and/or more than 10% of your stereo usage is for music, then do your ears and your nice B&Ws a favour and go for the Rotel.

I havn't owned any Rotel products (yet... but will extremely soon), but I do own a Denon DVD-2900, and it's a great product. Well built, great video quality, I'm sure the audio quality is great too (it was in the store), but I won't know until I upgrade to the 1055. It has a couple of weird design quirks, and the remote isn't GREAT, but these are little nitpicky things.

[Danbry39]

Med just said what I wanted to say but more eloquently.

If I didn't spend so much of my time listening to redbook CD's or hid my receiver away in some cabinet somewhere, it probably would be a much closer choice for me. But, as I sit here typing this, I do so listening to my 1066 and basking under its beautiful silver and black glow.

Most important point: How is Hery gonna feel comfortable posting at Club Rotel if he ain't got a Rotel?




Keith

[gostan]

Hery:
I have owned and used two different Denon Receivers (most recently a 2800-predecessor to 2803). I was going to upgrade to a Denon 3803, but my dealer advised me that I would hear little difference for music of home theater with a Denon to Denon change. I purchased a recently traded Rotel rsp-1055 and I am very happy with the change. The Rotel is far superior for music. Yes, I did have to purchase an rb-1050 for second zone power, but I am having such a great time listening to old and new music once again. For home theater, the differences are more subtle, but the Rotel sounds as good if not better for home theater. Although, I love the looks of the Rotel (mine is silver) over the Denon. I had purchased a Denon 2900 for multichannel audio and dvd, prior to obtaining the Rotel 1055 so I am not simply Denon-bashing. I think Rotel should make a combo receiver, because dvd-a without sacd is missing quite a bit of available music (and I for one prefer the sacd sound over the dvd-a sound). They do make a high quality product, but I think that the Rotel receiver sounds better. In fact, I have a 1066-1075 combo on order, but I may postpone this upgrade until I save a few more dollars for a 1098 for 1066 substitution. Good luck in whichever you choose.
Stan

[hery]

Gostan
Thanks a lot for sharing your experiences with me, it really makes my decision that much easier. I am leaning towards the RSX-1055, thanks to the reviews and comparisons made on this forum and others I have read, it really helps!!!
Also, do you connect your dvd video input to the receiver or directly to the TV, curious about this bandwith issue.
Again, thanks a lot for your help.

[eelco74]

Hi,

I own a 3801, and for HT it is a very fine receiver. I also have a separate system just for stereo (Rotel cd/pre-amp/tuner/poweramp).

In stereo, the 3801 simply sucks. Even in "pure direct" mode it is way off the Rotel set. You might expect this concidering the price difference. But we are talking about a major gap. And is not a cheap receiver, so you might expect someting of a performance.

So I bought myself a RB-985 Power amp, together with my existing RB-981 this makes the 7 channels. Next will be a RSP-1066 to replace my 3801.

I still think Denon makes excellent stuff. I am concidering the dvd-2900, since this seems to be a very fine machine.

The rsx-1055 I have heard, and I am sold on it. I was planning on ubuying it and use my rb-981 for the front channels. The 1055 could do all the other channels. However I was lucky to find a rb-985mkII for only 500 Euro's.

A RSP-1066 + a used 985 would cost me 2150 Euro
A RSX-1055 costs 2000 Euro's.

That was an easy choice to make.

Good luck. You will enjoy the rsx1055.

[hery]

Danbry
It looks like I will feel comfortable posting here cause I think I have my mind made up towards the purchase of a RSX-1055 and a 1050 amp for second zone. Only problem is I have to wait about a week till you move to the new house!!

[hery]

Danbry
It looks like I will feel comfortable posting here cause I think I have my mind made up towards the purchase of a RSX-1055 and a 1050 amp for second zone. Only problem is I have to wait about a week till we move to the new house!!

[hery]

Eelco74
Thanks for your reply, I've noticed that everybody including yourself is very fond of Denon receivers until they experience the Rotels, must be something there? It will definitely be a RSX-1055!!!!

[Andrew Pratt]

Hery it appears as though I'll be selling my 1055 to get the 1098 shortly if you're interested...its got the latest firmware and I've done the bass management tweak on it.

[Danbry39]

It looks like I will feel comfortable posting here cause I think I have my mind made up towards the purchase of a RSX-1055 and a 1050 amp for second zone.

That's cool. Look around at other sections of HTGuide too. This place has some of the friendliest posters around. Good to have you aboard.

;b>'>

As far as video switching, the 1055's being manufactured now have a 100 Mhz pass through so it shouldn't be a problem either connecting directly to the TV or through the receiver.




Keith

[hery]

Andrew
Thanks for the offer, but I noticed you live in Canada, and we will be moving in next week and would love to have my new toy by then.
As a sailor I had a chance to visit your beautiful country, Halifax, to be more specific and I loved every minute I spent there thanks to some very friendly and hospitable people everywhere!!!
Hery

[hery]

Danbry
Thanks for the warm welcome, I dig your band!!
So if I understand correctly I can connect my DVD (component video) and SAT receiver (s-video) to the receiver and I won't lose any picture quality going that route instead of connecting them directly to the monitor?

[med]

You are correct. The quality loss (if any) would be negligible. However, if those are the only two sources going to your tv, you'd need twice the cables to go to the receiver first, and you wouln't gain anything, because you would still have to switch inputs on your tv. The 1055 will only output component sources through component, and s-video sources through s-video.

With the exception of units like the Denon 3803, which upsample all inputs to component, requiring you to only run one cable to your TV from the receiver, the only thing you gain with almost any receiver is the ability to have more video sources than your TV allows.

[hery]

Thanks Med for clearing that up for me. Once I get the new toy next week hopefully I'll play with it and see which hook up will be easier for the wife to operate but I would rather save money on cables and go directly to the TV with my video sources.
Thanks again
Hery