Newbie questions: 1075 vs 1095

[ChrisB]

Hello everyone, I am looking to purchase a new amp and I am trying to decide between the 1075 and 1095 ... I have saved up enough money to purchase one of the two options below ... any help or comments would be greatly appreciated ... Thank You.

1) Purchase the 1095 and use it with my current speakers which are ... Infinty R55 towers and Energy XL center and rear speakers

or

2) Purchase the 1075 along with Definitive Tech BP7006's/towers and 2300/center and use my Infinity towers as rear speakers.

[Aussie Geoff]

Chris,

That is a tough one. How happy are you with the sound of your current speakers? And have you heard the Def Techs...

If you have heard the Def Techs and like them - my instinct would be the 1075 and new speakers - you'll not likely miss the extra 75W a channel (2 db) but you will appreciate the sound of the new speakers

Geoff]

[Andrew Pratt]

How likely are you to have more funds later on or is this a one time deal? Given the choice I'd always suggest buying the most amp you can...it'll out live all your other gear. That said if you don't see yourself being able to afford different speakers later on they'll have a much greater impact on the sound you hear then the subtle differences between the 1095 and the 1075 esp when you run a sub. You might also consider buying used as a used 1095 might be close the the 1075's new price.

[ds22030]

dont know what your planned usage is but as far as amps go, I don't think the 1075 is a very good amp for music....HT is another story. If you plan on serious music listening, I would skip the 1075 and go to 1095 or do 1080+1075 if you need 7 ch.

[PewterTA]

Why isn't the 1075 good at music?

I've not owned one, but I'm just curious why it's not that good with music?

[ds22030]

Pewter, I am just speaking from my experience but 1075 does not handle larger lower impedence drivers as well. My bass on Polk LSi15 was not very well controlled, even when passively biamped. I ended up trading it in for 1080 which does a much much better job....much tighter bass response and not as harsh on top. That has been my experience. Dont know his speakers so that's obviously going to play a role. Don't get me wrong, 1075 is a good amp but if music is going to be a major role, I would pass...

[Andrew Pratt]

It depends on the speakers in question. The 1080 will have better control simply due to the fact its much more powerful then the 1075. They are sonically different too with the 1075 being more open sounding then the 1080 but sometimes one perfers the open sound to the warmer sound if your room and or speakers dictate that.

[PewterTA]

Okay thanks for that info guys!

I always try to compare as like products as I can. Watt for Watt, price for price, or somthing like that... So to me I'm sitting here going, well a 200 watt/channel amp doesn't do as good as a 125/channel...huh, yeah think?! lol

But that's just my thinking...

You would think that most Rotel amp would have a very similiar sound to them...but I guess not!

[Fred7]

I agree with ds2203 about the 1075 not handling low impedence speakers too well. I used it to run a set of Paradigm Studio speakers (8ohm) and it was fine but then I loaned it to my brother to try out. He was running Revel F30's (6 ohm nominal, 3 ohm minimum) speakers and he got the protection to shut off the amp. He does listen a lot louder than me. For my purposes (I live in a condo) the 1075 was fine although with the Paradigms but I did find it a little bright sounding.

[ILuvDefTech]

Normally I too would say get the biggest amp you can. I have the 1095 with top of the line def techs. However, I am biased towards def techs. I absolutely love them and would skimp on the amp if I had to. I say go for the 1075+deftechs. I know there are others around here that have that combo and love it.

[gd]

Speakers are the most important link in the chain... get the speakers you love, and then be willing to research and purchase an amp that will do them justice... this may take a little trial-and-error, and maybe a little patience, as opposed to getting it all now.

I'd first suggest auditioning a greater number of speakers in quest of good sound / right price.

Another possibility is a used power amp... it is the one component which makes sense to buy second-hand... forget eBay, but Audiogon is a relatively safe place to look for such items (Rotels appear frequently)... maybe your Def Tech retailer has a demo amp that would be a good match, at a reduced price.

[Azeke]

Chris,

I would chose option #2. You can always upgrade to a 2 channel amp later to power your fronts.

I owned a pair of Infinities before my current upgrade to Mirages (omni-polar), and the speaker upgrade was impressive. Allow me to provide some quick background, Infinity speakers are direct firing vs. Def Techs which are bi-polar, ensure you consider these factors. You should definitely listen to the speakers and Amp before your final decision. Perhaps your dealer would allow you a test drive.

Hope this helps good luck,

Azeke

[mitch57]

Audition! Audition! Audition!

I did quite a bit of auditioning with different receivers/amps/speakers. I finally wound up with the Denon 3805. A month later I upgraded my speakers to Def Tech BP 7002s, CLR 2500, and BP2X surrounds. Each upgrade blew me away! Then I purchased the Rotel 1095 about 3 months later. The difference was very significant. But not as significant as the receiver/speaker upgrades.

I say buy the speakers and skip the amp all together. Wait until you have saved up enough money and then buy the amp you really want.

[HappyCow]

I was also considering the 1075 since much lower price. However,
power is always power so I bought the 1095. I think I'll keep this
baby for a looooong time. :T

[ChrisB]

Hey Guy's, thanks for all of your input it was very helpfull ... I did go ahead and purchase the 1075 ... after speaking with the sales rep he gave me the option of trading it in for the 1095 if I felt more power was needed ... I just installed the new amp and I can not believe what a difference it has made :T ... my speakers have come alive and have some extra punch to them ... Now I can't wait for my next upgrade which is going to be a set of Def Tech speakers 2300/center, 7006/towers and BP 1.2x surround ... I listened to these speakers agian when I picked up the amp and I liked the way they sounded.