RSP-1098 vs. Anthem AVM 20

[RobertKozel]

Hello,

I just wanted to preface this by saying that I am a big Rotel fan, and am currently the owner of an RSP-1066 and RMB-1095. I very much like the sound of the system, but I have the itch to upgrade to the RSP-1098. Unfortunately, I'm wondering if I should purchase the Anthem AVM 20 for only a few hundred more. Have any of you auditioned the Anthem and still bought the Rotel 1098? I would greatly appreciate any suggestions on this. Thanks.




Robert

[Andrew Pratt]

Robert both the anthem and Rotel are top teir products and you'd be very happy with either one. Both offer a long list of features with some minor differences here and there and I'm pretty sure you'd be happy with either in your system. At this point all I can really say is try to demo both and then weigh the added cost for the anthem against what you hear....then keep the rotel

[Danbry39]

Yeah, as Andrew said, both are pretty nice choices at their price point. In fact, these would be the first I'd check out at the general price range. I know I'd be happy owning either one, so just get over to a dealer where you can compare features, sound, ergonomics, price, etc.

I'd appreciate it if you let us know what you finally decide and the reasons behind the decision.

Pretty exciting huh?




Keith

[jimmyp58]

I echo what both gentlemen have said; you wouldn't go wrong with either. It'll be up to your ears to decide as well as the certain feature differences between the units. I auditioned both and was satisfied with both but for me, the clincher was the tft display. Having a DVD-A unit (acutally a DVD-A/SACD hybrid) as well as two CD carousels that output composite video, the tft was a wonderful feature the AVM 20 didn't have. I was always concerned about having a static picture on display with my hdtv (dvd-a menu or my cd carousel library). The tft took care of that. Good luck!!!

Jim

[aramb]

After I started to look at Pre/Pros, my first choice was the Lexicon MC-12. However, due to its extravagant price tag, I began to look for a substitute. I felt that the sound of the AVM-20 was very close to that of the MC-12. About the only thing the AVM-20 did not have was the Logic 7 mode. Due to budget problems arising from the fact that we opted for a much higher end projector than originally considered, I had to find yet another substitute. The sound of the RSP-1066 is not as warm as the Anthem. I think the AVM-20 has a better soundstage as well. I have not heard the 1098 yet, but I know that I would be extremely happy if I had the AVM-20.

[LEVESQUE]

RobertKozel. I think that if you ask this question in a Rotel Club, probably that people will tell you that rotel is better...

I pre-ordered a RSP-1098 then canceled my order to go with the AVM20.

1) I just ordered a Denon DVD-5900 with 2 firewire (IEEE1394) ports, and will want to use them. A SF tech just confirm with me that the upgrade for the AVM20 will soon be disponible! Big plus for Anthem over the Rotel.

2) I ask about DVI switching, and they are thinking of an upgrade for the AVM20. Just been confirm by a tech this morning. I have 3 DVDI sources so BIG plus for the Anthem over the Rotel.

3) I use a Bryston 4BSST with XLR plugs. No XLR on the Rotel.

4) I use Sennheiser HDD600 for headphones... No headphone jack on the Rotel. The one on the Anthem works surprinsigly well, and compare to decent dedicated headphone amps.

5) TTF screen... Should spend the money on something useful, instead of a gimmick (In my own opinion...)

And my dealer offered me both Anthem or Rotel for 3000$ cdn... So I went for the Anthem.

The RSP-1098 is just too late in the game, w/o any possible hardware upgrades... IMOH.

I will use IEEE1394 and DVI in 1 month with my Denon DVD-5900. Not tougher then an upgrade at my dealer.


What will you do with your new PJ, DVD-player or HD decoder with all those DVI and Firewire ports coming after CEDIA... tough luck for those with the RSP-1098...

Me. I will be able to use them in a month or two...

[Scarp]

If you had read the comments from the Rotel rep carefully, you should have seen that they are continuing development of the 1098. All he stated that there are where no upgrades that a user could do (i.e. screw open the device and plug in another board), but he never said that upgrades are impossible.

Who knows what they are working right now? That dvd/receiver (see another topic) also came as a suprise.

Promises from Anthem are one thing, I first have to see it before believing it (lots of Onkyo users are waiting for their digital connection too ... still).

Features aside ... the sound quality thing is more important. I don't use 90% of the features of most equipment (and neither do a lot more people), so give both machines a try and see what fits your hearing.

[LEVESQUE]

Scarp

You are forgetting that people with the fist Anthem AVM version were able (easily) to have a DSP board switch for the new version... And if you open an AVM20 you will see that the plug is ALREADY in the board for a Firewire expansion card...

So THEY stand behind the product, and deliver what they say they would... The Sonic Frontier tech told me the Fireware expansion card is almost done and its only a matter of plugging it in...

It took 1 year to find a BM fix for the 1066...

Time will only tell if Rotel will deliver the goods...

[spiffnme]

A friend of mine purchased the Anthem. He's had many issue with it, and in fact it has not been working for the past 2 months. He's NOT happy at all with the Anthem customer service. The unit broke (bad board) after only a couple months of use. He's been waiting ever since for repairs.

After hearing his horor stories, I'll be staying away from Anthem myself.




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

[LEVESQUE]

And you think that because 1 guy is having problems everyone buying this product will have problem?

Check those non ending threads were people are raving about SF care and incredible services...

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htforum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=150425

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htforum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=150425

Im sorry, but your comment doesnt stand... Show us some substance, some proofs of what you say...

[Andrew Pratt]

Easy fella's we all know both these products are great and worthy of their fans so lets not let this evolve into a pissing match

[Danbry39]

Yeah levesque, did you read the comments that had been made prior to your post? Can you point to one that doesn't say Anthem isn't a great product? To me, all praised Anthem as being a great pre-amp at its price point. No need to start a war. This board is fair and gives credit where credit is due. Let's keep things peaceful around here...please.




Keith

[LEVESQUE]

Sorry guys...

But I always feel strange when someone comes from nowhere saying: I have a friend... my neighbor was... my uncle bought one and....

Peoples are having problems, and i feel really sad for them, with all the companies on the planet. Rotel, Anthem and all the like. It,s misinformation for a potential buyer shopping around to tell him to stay away from a product because of a personnal problem with any company. There is always someone having problems with a particular companies, 100% perfect customer satisfaction is impossible to obtain.

When there is a thread talking about bad customer services, it,s important to point them out. But without any reference or proof, it,s misinformation.

I had a bad experience with Rotel myself, but I always recommend Rotel to friends and family. Because I had a problem doesn,t mean that everyone is having problems with Rotel. Quite the opposite... Alot of people are raving about the Rotel customer services, like Sonic Frontier and Anthem, has you can see on the link I posted.

Sorry if people were ofended by this. But I think the post that I was referring too was more offending, because it was made without proper references... And I actually post a link to support my opnion that Sonic Frontier gives a good customer services.

Because of the title of this thread, the poster will be able to confirm that a lot of people are more then satisfied by Sonic frontier awesome customer services.

[Howie]

I've neither seen nor heard the Anthem, but I can certainly attest to the fact that the Rotel 1098 is one fantastic piece of equipment. I'm WAY happy with my purchase. The Anthem must be OK, too - Levesque seems to like his.




Howie

[LEVESQUE]

Does the remark on the french guy apllies to me? Are we going racist on this forum?

I was just trying to answer the question ask by the poster. But beeing in a Rotel Club, I was just trying to help him see both option with a critical eye.

Both units are awesome values. And both companies are offering great customer services. But asking in this forum wich one is the best is like answering the question before it is ask...

I really hope your remark was not a racist one... 8O

[dave]

I have not heard either one of the units in question here, so to say one is better than the other for me would be a lie. I can tell you that I,ve heard, Conrad Johnson, Parasound, VTL stereo pre. (soon to own) & Proceed. to name a few. They are all great sounding units! IMO life is too short to haggle at one another. Just enjoy what you have LIFE IS TOO SHORT.

[skipm]

levesque-

I can't speak for everyone else here but I really took offense to your first post because you automatically assumed that we could not give an unbiased response to this guy's question. I'm pretty new here but from what I seen there are some pretty intelligent, knowledgeable, and unbiased folks that hang out here. If you do a search you will see that this very same subject came up last week and the discussion was lively and civil. I also thought that you came on a little strong as well but then again I've seen some of your posts on other boards and realize that's just your style.

Life is too short to get in a pi**ing contest over this stuff. Both are incredible units, roughly the same price with great customer service to back them up. It comes down to features and aesthetics (do you like buttons or are you a minimalist, Zen kind of guy). We should all just be happy that we have enough disposable income that we can purchase equipment of this caliber.

I wish I lived close enough to you that I could hear your setup. It sounds like an awesome system. The Anthem is not available in this area, I would love to hear one. And you have a standing inviatation to stop by and listen to my 1098 and drink a beer if you are ever in the Atlanta area.

Next time don't paint all of us with such a broad bush and give us the benefit of the doubt like you did the poster above.

Gosh, I hope we didn't scare the thread starter away!!! Come back, come back, we'll behave, I promise.

-Skip

[LEVESQUE]

Skimp! I would gladly drink a beer with you and listen to your system. If I ever go in Atlanta, I will be there! If you ever want to do an incredible fishing or hunting trip, just pass by Val D'Or and we will listen to a movie in my HT, with a view on the lake...

If you don't mind drinking a beer with a french guy, that is trying is best in english, and also speaks Italian and Spanish...

Just hope the original poster will go out and do the best thing possible: listening to ALOT of different set-ups, so he can do the best choice for HIM.

I change my set-up completely every 6 months, so maybe my next set-up will be base on a Rotel RSP-1098!

[Danbry39]

Ah........Peace, good feelings. That's better and the suggestion of a beer is twice as nice. I think there's a Sierra Pale Ale in the fridge calling my name right now.




Keith

[dave]

Speaking of Beer!!! now this is a topic for the off topic section, German Heffevisan, YEH! Has anyone tried to brew thier own? If you havent, you may not know what your missing!!! GOOD STUFF..... Guys this is the BEST forum I have ever been on. Good to see things work out Regards Dave :P

[Andrew Pratt]

Dave if you haven't already done so start that beer thread I'd love to participate in it 8x)

[dave]

Andrew, The Brew Topic is started....................................... :P




dave

[Howie]

My post was not meant to be racist. I'm sorry that you appear to be so thin skinned as to take it that way. In fact, I take offense that I would be accused of racism. My post was intended to be an underhanded reference to your previous posts in the thread.




Howie

[Danbry39]

Howie,

For what it's worth, I never saw anything racist at all about your post. Let's just sweep it behind us and move on to better things. Meet ya over at Dave's beer thread.




Keith

[skipm]

Where's that beer thread? 8x) I have a story to tell about a Paulener Hefe Weizen I had one night in an outdoor cafe in Berlin about 5 years ago. You see there was this cute German girl but spoke no English and of course I spoke no German but after a few Hefe Weizen's .... :hump:

[Azeke]

That's enough Gentlemen,

I have seen this occurence on other forums, and it always seems to perpetuate.

Let's maintain our dignity and style, PLEASE,

Regards,

Azeke

[LEVESQUE]

Thank you Howie. I really appreciate that you change "the french guy" for Levesque in your post. English is not my first language, but I'm doing my best. I think we are all a part of the same family that share a common interest for HT and... beer...

[Azeke]

Great, now we can all be friends again.

Regards,

Azeke

[Danbry39]

If everyone is friends again, why aren't we meeting at the "Off Topic" section for a beer??? Come on over!!!




Keith

[Clive]

Great Idea................Lex should lock this one and open up the party room ;h




CLIVE




HEY!! Why buy movie tickets when you can own a Theater?

[tominizer]

Hey French guy (joking)

$3000 CAN is a smoking deal for the AVM 20 if I remember right. Pretty close to dealer cost on the piece. You must be a good customer................ or something.

From a neighbouring Cannuck just up the river.

[spiffnme]

wow...I certainly caused a firestorm didn't I?

1) I don't think I've come from "out of nowhere" I frequent these boards quite often...heck I have as many posts as you.

2) I never said the Anthem was a bad unit - the issue was customer service

3) Other than getting my friend to post his own problems on here (he doesn't frequent message boards) How would you like me to "prove" my statements. Geesh.

All I know is that he's NOT happy, and has told me more than once he wished he had gone with Rotel like I suggested to him. From all the reading I've done on these boards (and others) I would hazzard to guess Rotel may very well have treated him better about his unit than Anthem has. I personally have been lucky enough to not need to use Rotel's customer service, as my units have not had any problems.

This of course is not representative of all Anthem purchases. I realize that there are many, many happy Anthem customers. But it certainly is MY experience. If my friend had bought Rotel and had these issues, I probably would have steered clear of Rotel.

I hope that clears up what I said.

Sorry for causing so much trouble!




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

[LEVESQUE]

3) Other than getting my friend to post his own problems on here (he doesn't frequent message boards) How would you like me to "prove" my statements. Geesh.

It's really easy to find threads everywhere on the net about bad customer services. On Hometheaterforum, there is some mega-threads (thousands long) about the awesome Sonic Frontier customer services.

I'm really sorry for your friend. Just go see the thread on AVS about the Denon DVD-3800 about freezing, skipping and faulty laser pick-up issue. You see, it's REALLY eaasy to find threads on bad services, or faulty units, thousand long. Exemple: the Denon DVD-3800. I send it to have the new laser pick-up, but it,s still freezing and skipping. Gesh! Talk about customer services! I still own a faulty 1000$ DVD-player...

There is alot of poeple with problems with the Bravo D1 DVD-player. Some threads are hundred posts long! There is some other good exemples, but I can't find any threads on Sonic frontier bad services, or Rotel bad services, because there is not...

But Sonic Frontier is well known, like Rotel, to give good after sale services. Maybe it was the dealer that was the problem, and not SF?

Sorry, but the net is full of people evaluating those companies, and SF and Rotel are 2 standing out for their devotion to customers.

[BladeRnR]

Well about the only thing I saw offensive about this thread was that Australian Beer rated nary a single mention :x

Now any sane Beer drinker KNOWS Aussies make the best beer (Sail the best yachts, play the toughest form of football, eat the best sandwhich spread - Vegemite (I just KNOW Andrew is going to berate me for that LOL). I mean look at our climate - warm and balmy most days (If you don't live in Melbourne that is in which case you drink to forget you just drove through a blizzard to get home).

And what have you Yanks (Or Poms) ever done to contribute good beer to the Hall Of Fame? Zilch. Budweiser - pffft oh please. English beer is like drinking Liptons tea (And just as warm).

Aussies make the BEST beer - it's colder than a wifes stare to turn the stereo down, thicker than a length of Audioquest Volcano speaker cable and cracking one open gives the same rush of anticipation as opening a new Rotel 1098 package

But then again I'm an Aussie so of course I think that

Let the derogatory comments flow (No pun intended)!

Cheers

[Andrew Pratt]

Blade after eating vegemite I'd be happy with any beer to wash it down so I can understand your fondness of aussie beer Actually your beer is pretty decent compared to some I've tasted from other nations.

[TonyStarks]

Hello All,

This is my first post in the Club Rotel and i must say a brilliant forum! Good to see another Aussie who apprciates good beer aswell. I am from Melbourne also and Blade is right on the money about the weather. I am very excited as i have just purchased a 1098! It was really troubling for me listening to you all with your 1098's and was dieing to know when we were getting it in Australia but this week was christmas for me as my ENCEL dealer rang me and said its in and its yours! so i should be recieveing it this Friday i hope, it was shipped yesterday from Queensland.
I have bucks party this saturday night so i will be absolutly shit faced but come Sunday it's ROTEL DAY!

[BladeRnR]

ahh fantastic an Ironman fan. Good to hear you bought one mate. Best of luck setting it up and have a few for me at the Bucks.

Cheers

Blade

[Andrew Pratt]

Congrat's on the 1098 purchase you're going to love it:T

[TonyStarks]

Thanx a lot guys!

Just curious Blade how long the 1098 has been out in Australia for & when it got released? Also with the bugs that have been mentioned will the australian release be more updated seeing it was probably one of the last countries to recieve it?

[RobertKozel]

Since I started this thread, I thought I would give you an update on how the comparison is going. I am having a hard time finding Anthem in town so I haven't been able to listen to the AVM20. My Rotel dealer, however, did let me take a demo RSP-1098 home. The simplest description is wow! It wins over my RSP-1066 hands down. I was amazed at how much more I was hearing in both music and movies. The 1098 just seemed to get out of the way and let you enjoy the sound. I couldn't wait to put another piece of media into the system to see what I had been missing. The video upsampling was equally impressive. I was surprised at how much better my s-video inputs looked converted to component. I was not expecting something so noticable.

And of course the TFT was really cool. Setup was a breeze and it was nice to have the satellite display on the TFT while listening to satellite music. No more worries about burn in on the HDTV. My only complaint in the short time I auditioned the 1098 was that the TFT did not have an easy IR code to turn it off. You can press the menu/OSD button for three seconds to accomplish this, but that's really silly if you try to program a macro in your remote. I hope this gets fixed soon. Also, does anyone know if the TFT video source can be controlled from a remote? The video source is global, and I would want to change the TFT video source based on the input selected.

Anyway, I really loved the 1098 and am very tempted to skip looking at the Anthem. I will give the issue more thought now that I've had a chance to play with the 1098. Rotel has certainly made a fine product, and all you 1098 owners are very lucky.

P.S. I did feel a bit guilty about starting this thread after seeing all the tense posts that went on back on page 1. I'm glad you guys settled that. I didn't mean to cause any trouble - it's just a hobby, no need to take anything personal.




Robert

[LEVESQUE]

I really think you should try to find an Anthem to demo. The only way to buy the best gear for you is to listen to both. Both units are awesome values. They have low and cons, both of them. Nothing is perfect. Even the mega-thousands Lexicon and Krell have shorthcomings.

I really think you should try to find an Anthem dealer to compare... or else you will always wonder if you did the right choice...

I have only praise for the customer services that my Anthem/Paradigm/Bryston dealer is giving me. He takes care of everything, and I NEVER have to deal with the companies directly. He come home, pick-up the unit or speakers, send it, and couple of days later it's back and working. Assle free.

I only have problems with Rotel. Each time I E-Mail them or phone them, I always have the same answer: '' call your dealer to find a solution...'' But my Rotel dealer is not helping me a bit. He took the money and run. You see. I think it all depends on the dealer.

Have fun. Keep us inform on the results of your comparison. 8)

BTW, to counterbalance for the comments that Sonic Frontier is not giving good customer services, just go on this thread, and read post number 1333, 1334, then 1357 by Marc_E and fallow the other posts, and see why I'm backing them so strongly...

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htforum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=93545&perpage=30&displa y=&pagenumber=45

Particularly that part:

"I spoke too soon. Nick called me back to say that they stopped the shipment because they wanted to be absolutely sure everything was OK. They had some concerns after re-reading my post outlining my problem (are you surprised that they read this thread?). Sounds like they did quite a bit of replacing of internal parts to make sure all is well. I will say it again, nobody even comes close to this kind of care for their customers! If you are on the fence between AVM20 and those others, this and all the other awesome things this company and these guys (Frank and Nick and all the others whose names we do not know) should make it a no brainer.

SF ROCKS!"

I think my point is proven now... You see spiffnme, it's so easy to post references from the internet to back your point... It's coming from a 59 (yes 59!) pages long thread, and not from "my mother bought, my friend told me, my uncle was...". It's not coming from "a friend of mine".

Just imagine. A company reading the internet threads on their products and listening to their customers... reminds me of... Rotel!

[Danbry39]

Robert,

Glad to hear your impressions of the 1098. And, no, you should not sweat the friction on page 1. Frankly, one of the things that separates this forum from so many others is that this thing happens so rarely. But, it is understandable because people sometimes love their gear so much that they become defensive about it.

I'm pretty low on cash myself now, but am getting tempted by posts such as yours. Like you, I'm pretty torn between the Anthem and the Rotel. Kind of wish that, like Parasound, Rotel offered a model w/out the TFT. I know most really like that feature, but I'm not sure it's for me. Anyway, if the guilt of self indugence doesn't catch hold, it looks like I might be able to swing a new pre-pro by next summer. I love my 1066, but posts like yours seem to indicate the difference is significant enough to warrant the change. I'll probably need a very good price on the Rotel to finalize a purchase though.




Keith

[Andrew Pratt]

My only complaint in the short time I auditioned the 1098 was that the TFT did not have an easy IR code to turn it off

I'm working with Rotel on getting that fixed. As for the TFT display if you set it to source it should display which ever video source you have set for the input you are watching/listening to.

[LEVESQUE]

RobertKozel.

You should go on the last page of this thread on hometheaterforum and ask the same question there, about which one to choose between the RSP-1098 and the Anthem AVM20. This way, you would see both side of the coins. I think it would help you make a decision.

Here's the link:

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htforum/showthread.php?s=&threadid=150425

It,s a long read, but a really informative one.

[Andrew Pratt]

Levesque I know you mean well but I'd rather you didn't post links to other competing forums if possible. Thanks.