New to Rotel. Need advice

[Thierry]

Hi,

I am looking to purchase a Rotel receiver but I am not sure if I should go with the RX 1052 or RSX 1056. I mostly listen to stereo (dynaudio 52 - 4 ohm), not interested by surround (today!), audio sources are Denon DVD and Ipod.

I liked the RX 1052 because it could drive 4ohm speakers but it lacked digital input. The 1056 has digital input but it is rated for 8ohm minimum. Is there a real advantage in using of the receiver DAC instead of the DVD player? Can I drive 4ohms (for stereo) with the 1056? Should I look at another model/config?

Thanks for you help
Thierry

[NewBuyer]

I am new to Rotel as well, but I thought I would share some information with you that I just learned.

I called Rotel to ask about using 4-ohm speakers with the RSX-1056 receiver. They told me that using 4-ohm speakers is strongly discouraged with this unit, as the power supply is designed to be used with 8-ohm loads and can only safely be used with at most 6-ohm nominal speakers. I was told that using 4-ohm speakers would eventually cause the unit to fail - perhaps not at first, but in time it would definitely cause damage and ultimate failure of the receiver. Also, warranty would not be guaranteed in this usage scenario either.

All the same, I would like to hear from other users regarding the RSX-1056 receiver and 4-ohm speakers, if anybody wishes to share...

[basementjack]

Thierry,

I think you have to write off the 1056 completely. And with it, write off every other receiver on the market at or below that price point. Above that the Rotel 1067 is fantastic, but at $2200 it's not cheap.

For your situation right now, I'd vote for the 1052. You don't need surround yet, so the 1052 is perfect for you. The Rotel's are generally a safe purchase - they get really high resale values on ebay, and if you read over the forums, you'll likely be impressed with the way rotel resolves problems (I've read of numerous people getting their products replaced when they failed). If you've heard the 1052 and like it, then go forward and get it - it's a good, safe decision. In a few years come on back to the forum and we'll help you pick out your surround system...

- Jack
(PS my RSX-1056 is connected to a RMB-1075 to 5 - 8 ohm easy to drive speakers)

[simonb68]

Thierry I was driving Dynaudio Contour 1.1 speakers (4 ohms) and a 122C (6 ohms) and two rears (8 ohms) for nigh on 18 months with an RSX-1055 and never encountered a problem. It could go very loud without peaking or apparent strain. Whether I have caused long term damage to the unit I can't say, I've now sold it so I certainly hope not. I believe there have been recent threads that have discussed the same issue and many have reported using 4 ohm speakers without problems. However thats not to say that Rotel aren't right, but I suspect their statement may be more to cover themselves as much as anything, but if you have concerns then clearly it's your decision.

One option perhaps to consider is to go for separates straight away and pick a power amp that is designed to drive/capable of driving the 52s. These can be picked up used normally fairly cheap. It only needs to be a 2 channel amp for the time being, you can add more later if you get into HT. Similarly you could go for a second hand processor, or, just stick with a 2 channel pre-amp and then upgrade as and when you want to give HT a try.

As for the benefit of one unit's DACs over another, where one is clearly superior to the other then it's advisable, however the best advice is to listen to both regardless and decide for yourself which you prefer.

Hope that helps
Simon

[NewBuyer]

Does the RSX-1056 receiver contain any internal fans?

[gianni]

I am new to Rotel as well, but I thought I would share some information with you that I just learned.

I called Rotel to ask about using 4-ohm speakers with the RSX-1056 receiver. They told me that using 4-ohm speakers is strongly discouraged with this unit, as the power supply is designed to be used with 8-ohm loads and can only safely be used with at most 6-ohm nominal speakers. I was told that using 4-ohm speakers would eventually cause the unit to fail - perhaps not at first, but in time it would definitely cause damage and ultimate failure of the receiver. Also, warranty would not be guaranteed in this usage scenario either.

All the same, I would like to hear from other users regarding the RSX-1056 receiver and 4-ohm speakers, if anybody wishes to share...

Don't know who you talked to but that is completely opposite of what Mike at Rotel told me.

I Have been driving my 4 ohm M&K's since Dec. '03 with my RSX-1055 without problems. Ventilation is important -- my unit never overheats. Now if you have a large room and listen at high levels, that may be a different story.

The 8 ohm placard is for UL purposes.

[NewBuyer]

Don't know who you talked to but that is completely opposite of what Mike at Rotel told me.

I Have been driving my 4 ohm M&K's since Dec. '03 with my RSX-1055 without problems. Ventilation is important -- my unit never overheats. Now if you have a large room and listen at high levels, that may be a different story.

The 8 ohm placard is for UL purposes.

I had to get past the general sales/support level and eventually spoke directly with a senior engineer/designer of the RSX-1056 (at least if I am to believe what Rotel told me).

The advice I was given (about not using speakers with 4-ohm impedence with the RSX-1056) was certainly not simply some type of generic statement for certification purposes or for general public consumption, but was a very specific tolerance judgement from an experienced engineering member of the design team. The power supply is apparently just not designed for 4-ohm loads, and the unit will definitely become damaged over time with usage of 4-ohm speakers. Further, the damage will occur even much more rapidly if the unit is also not ventilated properly as well. In either case, damage will occur that will eventually cause equipment failure and invalidate the warranty (again, this is if I am to believe what Rotel told me).

From what I gathered, this fellow I spoke with didn't usually interact directly with the public, so I think I was fortunate to be able to speak with him. He did say his name, but it wasn't Mike... wish I could remember the name now. Perhaps I can get to speak with this person again.

[gianni]

You should go with whatever you are comfortable with. I can tell you that there are several people on this forum alone using 4 ohm speakers with no problem. In fact, there are plenty of magazine reviews around with 4 ohm speakers using lesser receivers stating that this is not on issue as long as you are not reckless.
I've also spoken to dealers who have told me the same thing. And they run their units all day long, usually louder than we do at home.

From what I can tell, this would become an issue if you have a larger room coupled with really low sensitivity speakers and you routinely are pushing the system to 9/10ths or better. Most of the time you are using very little power on a continuos basis. I can tell you that in my room, I don't use much more than a few watts (confirmed by measurement). With a little common sense, this is not a problem. Of course Rotel may be covering their behinds. Also, maybe they would like to sell more separates. I believe Andrew Pratt also ran 4 ohm speakers with his 1055. You might try asking him his opinion.

[NewBuyer]

I wanted to update this thread by advising that we called Rotel directly several more times about the 4-ohm speaker load issue with the RSX-1056 receiver, since we wanted to buy it but were concerned about this aspect. We were reassured many times that the previous advice we received about not using 4-ohm speakers with the RSX-1056 was not correct, and that the RSX-1056 could in fact handle 4-ohm speaker loads just fine, as long as the unit was properly ventilated with about 4" of open-air clearance around the sides and top of the unit.

We finally took this advice, and bought the RSX-1056 receiver, and are currently using it to drive a 5.1 setup that includes two 6-ohm and three 4-ohm speakers. We do have the amount of open-air clearance that Rotel advised, and find that the unit never gets too warm or has any trouble at all driving these speakers (thankfully), and it sounds wonderful.

I hope that this information is useful to others considering the RSX-1056 receiver.

[thyname]

Hey Thierry;

Get RX-1052 stereo receiver, since you only care for 2channel stereo, it is cheaper (you can get it for $800 if you negotiate it well) and perfect for music. I have it with Rotel RCD-1072 with JBL floor speakers and I am happy. If I'd replace, upgrade anything, is the speakers.

[Alex Goulart]

Go with the RSX-1067, it's a great looking & sounding receiver. It sounds best with music. Movie's are good as well. Not allot of gimmicky stuff on it.. Did I say it was one of the best looking receivers I've seen yet!
Look luck!

[Alex Goulart]

I have a Adcom cd player that uses burr brown DA converters, I use the Analog output of my cd player. It seems to have better sound, more lower end punch! My receiver is the RSX- 1067. You can just try both digital and analog and see for yoourself.