Your opinion counts! My first post.

[FirebirdOne]

Just wanted to say hello to a VERY distinguished community here.
I've been through the site and MAN! You all have some nice toys.

Currently, I have the Rotel 985 MKII amp coupled with a Marantz AV550.
Running them to JM Labs Electra 905's and a B&W ASW 1000 Sub.
I've NEVER had a problem with the Marantz in the 4-5 years I've owned it.
[knock] wood [/knock]
:B
But I'm ready to upgrade to DTS.
Have auditioned the 1068 and 1098.
I've read through some of the posts here and looks like the 1068 are giving some people problems. What are some of your thoughts?

Option 1) I pick up the 1068 and a Rotel DVD player.
Option 2) I pick up the 1098 and continue with the current JVC DVD player.
Option 3) Go with the Anthem AV30???

Any discussion on inherent advantages would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance! Great board you have here. :T

[soundhound]

Much of it boils down to budget. If you have gone and demo'ed Rotel @ a retailer, like the way it sounds, any of their products are a cut above audibly. They do have their problems, as with anything. Many times the posts here are people who assume they can take one home, plug it in (as they had there mass marketed, chain store stuff, and wha-la, the beauty begins.....) possibly not the case. It's like buying a dish for home and thinking you will just take it home,replace the old roof top uhf/vhf antenna, plug it in, and wha-la, instant tv. The complexity of these pieces (and for 2k they should be) make them prone to issues that the dime store variety are immune to. I don't have a long term relationship with my Rotel gear yet, but...I have had a dozen pieces and the ONLY issue I have ever had was a RSX-1055 with an internal connector that came unplugged disabling my 12v trigger. My 1068, 1075, and 1080 have brought me hours of AAAHHHH...that I had never before experienced. I would'nt hesitate for a moment to recommend them to anyone. Good luck, and enjoy the ride.....

[DrJRapp]

The problems with Rotel are not limited to the 1068, as we speak Rotel is shipping me my 2d replacement 1098. That having been said, I still have no problem with strongly recommending Rotel gear because of the sound quality and price/performance ratio. I have often made the comparison between my Rotel gear and my Jaguar. Both seem to require more attention than some of their counterparts, but both provoke a passion that other brands seem to lack. If you question that statement at all, just look at the bredth and depth of the dialog here at Club Rotel vs the threads on the other brands.

[PiDD]

Truthfully you are going to have problems with any equipment you buy. If you come to the Rotel site you will hear all about the rotel problems in concentrate!

I would say...
1. have a listen to each first, decide which sounds best to you.
2. Price it all out, sometimes this will help if #1 is too close.
3. Looks! I love the Rotel look!

When you decide to buy (whatever brand) make sure your reseller has stellar customer support. I was real blunt with mine ... 'what happens if this stops functioning in 3 months? .. 1 yr .. 2 yrs .. etc. If you dare get him to write it on the bill.

You are looking at some nice stuff there and cant go wrong.

[JoeHard]

I upgraded from My Marnatz AV 550 to a Rotel RSP 1066. I wanted DTS ,DVD-Audio, and multi-channel stereo. Well, DVD-Audio is a bust, and while I enjoy both the multi-channel stereo and DTS, I would not pay the extra money just for DTS. I found I liked the AV 550 as much as the RSP 1066 in both 2 channel and DD. I also prefered the Marantz RC2000Mk II remote much more than the supplied Rotel remote. Don't get me wrong, the Rotel is a fine unit and I have been very happy with mine, but in my opinion DTS alone doesn't justify the price difference.

[Kens1]

In my opnion, you would be getting a nicer piece of gear all around by going with Rotel, DTS or not. For me it would be worth the upgrade.
I personally find DTS superior over Dolby Digital (except for Star Wars movies) and now strive to buy DTS DVD's whenever I can. I always find DTS movies to be very well recorded and I cannot say the same for Dolby Digital - sometimes it's great and sometimes it's you know what.
I don't have either the 1068 or the 1098 - I have the 1056 receiver coupled with the rb 1080 amp driving my main speakers and I am very satisfied. Although I've read on this forum that the 1068 is even better sounding. I might have to consider that purchase in the future.
Good luck with what you decide on.

[resperc]

I went with the 1068/1075 combo and added a Denon DVD2910 (digital coax for movies and analog out for CD/SACD). All I can say is that I am loving the results. Good Luck.

[FirebirdOne]

Cool..Thanks for all the feedback.
I like my Marantz, as JoeHard felt about his. I feel the same way and the remote really kicks tail. Believe it or not, many people comment on the remote alone.
I'm leaning toward the 1068 because I can't justify any reason for the additional $1200 for the 1098.
The wow factor is definately better on the 1098.

I'll have to go back and audion them again.
I'll post pics if I get anything.

[Kyle]

I know you'll love the 1068, I was in the same situation as you were, and went to a 1068/1075 setup. I too am also using an older JVC dvd player as I really don't have a whole lot of reason to upgrade (no HDTV). If anything I might pick up one of those $200 LG dvd players that has HDMI and stuff, I've found that the JVC dvd players do a very admirable job for the $, and Rotels DVD players aren't universal yet (if ever)..

[PewterTA]

the 1068 and 1098 are roughly the same thing. The only real things I could find I liked better was the 2ch music listening of the 1098. I don't know what it was, but there was something better I liked about it which was enough for me to pick it up. Plus the widescreen LCD is as you said, a bigger wow factor with it.

[rnoble]

the 1068 and 1098 are roughly the same thing. The only real things I could find I liked better was the 2ch music listening of the 1098. I don't know what it was, but there was something better I liked about it which was enough for me to pick it up. Plus the widescreen LCD is as you said, a bigger wow factor with it.

For me the question of 1068 and 1098 was whether the extra subtle difference was worth all that money.

Beware of a balanced view of posts, that this forum attracts issues more often than not, that's the nature of forums. If we all logged in and said once a week, "hi - my Rotel is doing fine" we would be flooded, don't be put off by the complaints rather take them as something to be prepared for just in case, as usual, it's really your dealer that makes all the difference.

[PewterTA]

I guess I should've added too that the 1068 would be my choice had I not gotten a good deal on the 1098. But at least it does cancel out the "what if" factor...

Both are great units and as FirebirdOne (you like the cars? hee hee) said, the ~1200 difference, it isn't as easy to justify on a budget. The only real reason to get it would be the extra component inputs (that I can remember off the top of my head).

Probably "bang per buck" the 1068 is the better deal.

[FirebirdOne]

Both are great units and as FirebirdOne (you like the cars? hee hee) said, the ~1200 difference, it isn't as easy to justify on a budget. The only real reason to get it would be the extra component inputs (that I can remember off the top of my head).

Probably "bang per buck" the 1068 is the better deal.

my car...

:T

I'm the type of guy who wants to buy the top of the line anything.
That way, when I look back, I never say "Oh man I should've bought the upper model"

[ajpoe]

Firebird, nice car. I love my 1068 even though I am one of the people have had a couple issues. I went with the 1068 over 1098 b/c most were giving the comparison of the 1068 being about 95% of the 1098 sonically. I didn't feel the extra 5% and bells and whistles justified the cost of the 1098 when doing my system budget. That's a decision you'd have to make based on what you want to do with your system.

I also reiterate that in a forum, people come here for help and that is why you see so many problems. But, those problems are generally resolved pretty easily and the support around here is great.

On a side note, you might want to remove your system info from your signature. Mods ask that people don't include that info in sigs b/c it makes it hard to search for info about certain equipment if everyone included that info in their signatures.

[FirebirdOne]

ajpoe...

ok
sig changed.
Thanks for the tip

[DrJRapp]

I'm the type of guy who wants to buy the top of the line anything.
That way, when I look back, I never say "Oh man I should've bought the upper model"

I suffer from that same malady. I've never used the TFT screen on my 1098 for anything except setup... and I only need 2 component inputs, yet I had to have the 1098 just because it is the "Flagship".

The difference between the 1068 and the 1098 may not be $1200 once you've finished negotiating. Dealers have far more margin $$ total in the price of a 1098 and therefore have more to work with. With some hard bargaining, the real priced difference is in the $700-$800 range.

[Woo Wooooo]

Pretty good response for a first time post. This goes to show you how much people here love their Rotels. If you ever have any problems this is the first stop for answers. :T