rotel 1066 and 1095 combo or Pioneer 49txi

[kevin l.]

I like the features of the pioneer better but will I get a noticeable quality improvement with the rotel? They will cost me about the same money. I'll be using Paradigm 100sV3, 570 and adp in mostly a theater setting. The room is also small and enclosed.

[Danbry39]

Kevin,

You are quick. You already know my vote from AVS. Welcome to Club Rotel. Things are a bit slow here over the extended weekend, but be patient. I'm sure the answers will come.




Keith

[dave]

Kevin, I can,t say I,ve heard the pioner unit , However I do own the rotel combo you,re speaking of I,m very satisfied with it coming from a Yamaha RXV 3000 the sonic improvment is drastic. I have also compared the Rotels to Citation 5.0 B&K as well as Proceed & IMO for the price this combo is very competitive . A Real Solid Performer. Regards P.S My Business partner owns the Proceed equipment and I,ve spent a great deal of time listening to them the sound is really beautiful on that system




dave

[Danbry39]

You know Kevin, while you're waiting for more input, you might be interested in the following read, in which a British publication compared the pre-pro/amp offerings of several companies in a shoot out. In this case, they paired the 1066 with the 1075 amp, but I think you'll find the results very telling, especially considering the competition Rotel faced off with.

Here's the link




Keith

[will1066]

Rotel vs. any Japanese mainstream mfg'er is not even a fair fight in terms of sound quality.

[Danbry39]

Rotel vs. any Japanese mainstream mfg'er is not even a fair fight in terms of sound quality.

Will, you don't know how much I agree with you. I usually don't state my enthusiasm for the Rotel sound fully, especially on other boards, to sound more fair minded, but, in reality, I've auditioned the Pioneer with four brands of loudspeakers ranging from bright, Klipsch, to warm, Vienna, and, if my honest opinion be told, it didn't hold a sonic candle to Rotel.

Thank you for stating the more outspoken and, in my mind, more honest opinion which I share but hold close to the vest.

Not to mention, he's talking the 1095. Geez. In my eyes, no contest.

Hey, pretty good, I said what I really felt. 8)




Keith

[zeppelin]

Even if the pioneer set is THX certified, I can tell you it can never fight with the quality that the Rotels will give you. Rotels are meant to be compared with Europeans or US set but not the Japs set. Its just like the car industry, Japs car are way to soft.

[kevin l.]

Will the rotel combo sound bright with my speakers?

[kevin l.]

Will the rotel combo sound bright with my speakers?

[jimmyp58]

Kevin:

I am a recent convert to Rotel separates. While I didn't own the Pioneer unit you are thinking of, I owned, for a VERY brief time, a very respectable alternative --- the Denon AVR-5803. Many folks will say the Denon unit, and for that mattter the Pioneer or B&K 507 rank as the best HT receivers available and can rival separates is really foolish. Yes, they are super high quality receivers but really, there is NO comparison to separates. There is the temptation that EVERYTHING is in ONE container but you have to ask yourself the question, if I am plopping down the kind of money you are do I want convenience or quality. I am confident I already know the answer to that question.

I admit the Denon unit was awesome in its own right. For sure. Most folks could say the same for the Pioneer unit. But the final straw came when my ears started getting fatigued from listening AND I was hearing the unit strain at higher volumes. I began thinking to myself, I spent all this money on this upgrade (from a SONY 333ES receiver) to have ear fatigue and the amps wimp out at higher volumes?! There was only one, quick solution, separates. Remember, you just can't fit into one box all that is intended for two (or three) --- something's gotta give!

I don't know how the Rotel combo will sound with the speakers you referred to --- I auditioned the Rotel gear on B&W speakers and I own Def Techs all around except for my rear sub which is a B&W. But I'll tell you, I'm hearing stuff come out of my Def Techs that I NEVER heard before with my Denon (clarity, depth, quickness, exactness, separation ---no pun intended).

I opted for the RSP-1098 rather than the 1066 and I bought the same amp. I went with the 1098 because I heard more separation and depth than the 1066. Also, I own a DVD-A/SACD hybrid unit and two CD carousels (which have a composite video feed) and I liked (no loved) the tft display the 1098 offers --- to me, better on this versus potential burn-in from a static picture on a HDTV or a plasma for that matter.

Kevin, if you are going back and forth on this imagine if you opt for the Pioneer unit and it starts falling short of your expectations once you get it home. You'll ALWAYS wonder if it would have been better with the separates. Trust me, it will be better with separates. What is the store's policy on a return for the Pioneer unit? If they don't offer a 30-day full credit guarantee, what will you do if you are unhappy with it? Something else to think about.

I hope this helps. I don't know all the specs as many others on this forum do. I just hope my experience can help you with your decision.

Jim

[will1066]

Danbry, I speak from only my experience. I've listened to many Japanese receivers and I owned a better-quality Sony receiver. Personally, Rotel is plainly on a higher plateau.

Kevin, I know a couple of happy owners of Rotel-Paradigm kits. Foxman, a member here, has a Rotel-Klipsch setup. But the question you brought up is subjective. Everyone hears differently and ultimately, you'll have to demo them and make your own opinion. What's the size of your room? My 1075 amp fills my 10 by 15 (read: small) room nicely.

[Andrew Pratt]

I think you already know what I think but speaking about the paradigms in general I'd very very surprised to hear that the Rotel didn't match up very well with them. I know several locals that own both Rotel and Paradigm and I've listened to that brand countless times in friends systems and in the show rooms etc. I have a pair of the Atom's in my second zone as well but that's hardly a comparison to the studio line

[ht_addict]

Currently I'm running a 1095 with my Mini Monitors/CC-350 and it sounds just awesome. Hopefully by next week I'll have the Studio 40,20,470 v3 series in the house.

ht_addict

[DJLackey5]

The 1066/1095 combo will not "make your speakers sound bright." They make inspire you to upgrade your speakers, however. The Rotel pair sound better than I expected (I'm an audiophile sound-snob) teamed with my ProAc Response 1sc fronts and CC-1 center. For the money, I don't think you can do any better.

[aud19]

If you can afford it I'd drop the 1095 and 1066 and go with the new 1098 and the 1075. If you still have extra $ after that or if you want more power for the mains and want to save up the $ over time... then add a 1050 or 1070 2-channel amp to the mains and bi-amp them. The Paradigms have dual posts right? (As a few know I just went through a dual post dilemna with my Energy's...lol) That's what I'd do if I had the budget and your speakers anyways....

J.R.




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[Andrew Pratt]

I'd agree if you can my vote would be the 1098 and 1075 combo (its what I'm now running and its very very sweet)

[skipm]

Ditto what Andrew said ...

[aud19]

Ditto what skipm, Andrew and I said

So don't hold back Kevin...let us know what ya decided on!

J.R.




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[Aeromos]

Hey Kevin,

I agree with what everyone here has told you. I too am deciding whether to go with Rotel separates or Pioneer Elite. The VSX-45TX was what I was looking at. The features I really liked about it was the USB input so that I could stream mp3's from my computer, and the MCACC which makes speaker set-up simple. However I am leaning more towards Rotel separates. I love the crystal clear, clean sound that Rotel puts out. With Rotel I know I will be getting great quality that I will enjoy for many years. I will just simply stream my mp3's through one of the inputs, and take more time setting up the speakers.




Aeromos
Enjoy life, it's too short to waste!!
My Collection

[Andrew Pratt]

Aeromos from what I've heard around the MP3 streaming feature has a few bugs and doesn"t work that great....this isn"t first hand knoledge though having not owned that unit myself so take that with a grain of salt.

[LEVESQUE]

Kevin. I've owned the Rotel RSP-1066+RMB-1095+RB-1050 for 8 months, combined with all Paradigm's v2 (Studio-100, CC, 40, 20 and Servo-15) and that made an AWESOME combination.

I've owned alot of high-end receivers from Yamaha and Denon, but nothing could compare with the Rotel combo. Paradigm and Rotel makes a really good combination. Never fatiguing, lots of details, faithful reproduction.

I now use a Bryston 4BSST for my main, but the RMB-1095 still gives me a good combination with my Paradigms for the surround and the rears.

Forget the Pioneer, go with Rotel. With Paradigm, Rotel is a perfect match for me...

[spiffnme]

I have the RMB-1075 and RB-1070 paired with my RSP-1066 driving Axiom Audio speakers. Axiom are quite often compared to Paradigm as far as sound character. The sound is AMAZING.

If it is possible price-wise, I too would go with the 1098 with the 1075 over the 1066 and 1095. The 1075 is plenty of power for Paradigms.

If you haven't bought the speakers yet, try and give Axiom a listen. You may like them, and save yourself a pile of cash. (Assuming you like detail/clarity in your speakers)




www.funnyfarmcomics.net
All Daredevil, All the Time!

[gd]

The 49TXi is a very good-sounding receiver, and loaded with features... but if it's got a weak spot, it's the power amp... it has been known to struggle when driving low-impedence or inefficient loads (maybe that's been corrected by now)... in any event, something's gotta give when everything goes in one box.

Just the fact of having a separate outboard power amp with BIG transformers and dedicated power supplies fairly ensures more current and reserve power that can easily control speakers...very important, especially for music... this would be the case with the smaller 1075 as suggested above, but the 1095 would make those big bad 'Digms sound like the trumpeting of Gabriel himself in a way that no receiver could be expected to do.

So whatcha gonna get?

[Aeromos]

Andrew,

Thanks!! Actually, even if the mp3 streaming worked great I still will probably go with Rotel once I've saved enough moolah. Like I said I'll just stream it through one of the inputs. You guys have got me hooked.

On another note. I've noticed quite a few people recommend the 1098/1075 combo instead of the 1066/1095. If you could afford it, wouldn't the 1098/1095 combo be better than the 1098/1075 combo?




Aeromos
Enjoy life, it's too short to waste!!
My Collection

[jimmyp58]

I've got the 1098/1095 combo because of the speakers I currently have and perhaps those I might have in the future. I currently have the Def Tech BP7000SC's as my front speakers that love to be pushed for music (2 CH) and I might change them out in the future to either B&W 801's or 802's. So, I went with the 1095 for the added power capacity. If I had more mid to higher end speakers rather than very high-end speakers, I would have had no problems going with the 1075 as it is an awesome amp. I do have the comfort though knowing I'll not HAVE to upgrade to a bigger amp and the 1095 will probably last me a lifetime.

[Andrew Pratt]

If you could afford it, wouldn't the 1098/1095 combo be better than the 1098/1075 combo?

Yes but they're saying that with a given budget you'll get more bang with the 1098/1075 combo vs the 1066/1095. For most people the 1075 has plenty of power so the added clarity of the 1098 plays a larger role then the more powerful amp.

[aud19]

It's a matter of dollars and cents. If I had the dollars or sense to get them I would. Unfortunately my budget only allows for the 1066/1075 but as Andrew stated if you have the money the 1098/1075 will sound better than the 1066/1095. Unless you have very inefficient speakers the 1075 should suffice for power. If you feel the need for more, you could add a nice 2 channel amp later to the mains that will outperform the 1095 anyways... Sure if you can afford the 1098/1095 go for it... most of us aren't that lucky...

J.R.




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[aud19]

Mothership to Kevin, come in Kevin...




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