1098 with 1095 or 1098 with 2x1075

[Xris]

Have decided to upgrade HT and decided on Rotel combination over Denon 5803. My HT system will remain a 5.1 configuration. Do I go for 1098 with a 1095 amp or do I opt for 1098 with 2x1075 and bi-amp my Main and Centre B&W CDM series speakers. Mains are CDM 7's. What are the advantages/disadvatages regarding choices. Your opinions and advice is sought.

Thanks
Chris

[Scarp]

Disadvantage of bi-amping is that you lose some sound quality because you have to split each channel. So an additional splitter will create a bit signal degragation. However its not that bad offcourse.
So with bi-amping you will need high quality splitters and additional interlinks. Btw... always split directly at the pre-amp side. Monster has some nice splitters btw.

Bi-amping with 1075 won't give you much sound improvement, it merely doubles watt output to your speakers, i.e., having seperate amps for the high and low frequencies.

The 1095 is a better sounding amp, which comes quite close to the 1090 even (stereo 2x360watt). The advantage of the 1095 as a multi channel amp is that it has two transformers ... this will yield it more power and handling that the 1075.

The 1095 has more than enough power for controlling your speakers. I've heard the 1095 with B&W N804's and its a nice machine (I am saving up for one besides my RB1090).

So disadvantages of bi-amping:
- Splitting causes bit of sound degragation (loose some, gain some with bi-amping)
- You need more room with the two amps
- Sound quality and control of a 1075 is less of a 1095.

Advantages:
- More watts ... however the number of watts doesn't say it all.
- Looks impressive two amps.

My overall personal choice would be to get the 1095.

Btw. Since the 1095 has two transformers, you can make the most out of stereo by hooking up the left front speaker to the "left front" connection on te amp and hooking up the right front speaker to the right rear connection. When playing stereo, the other channels do not draw any power and your two fronts will play on a transformer each, giving you the maximum of control.

[Matt Sprouls]

Scarp,

Where did you get your information as to which channel is feed by what transformer?

Matt

[Scarp]

Scarp,

Where did you get your information as to which channel is feed by what transformer?

Matt

From someone who has had a 1095 for some time now. I don't know how he got the info (maybe open the machine?).

[jimmyp58]

Good choice. I had the Denon AVR-5803 for a month, got frustrated with all the quirky hiccups with it and when it failed at higher volumes, I dumped it and bought the 1098/1095 combo. Best decision I've made!

[Andrew Pratt]

I'd consider the 1075 and a 1090 if music is where you're most interested. The 1075 will easily power the sides, rears and centre and you'll have an awesome amp for the fronts

[rlin]

Here's my experience with Bi-Amping...
I have two Vandersteen 2CE (front channels) which by design prefers bi-amp / bi-wire, according to Richard Vandersteen. I have a 5 channel poweramp and use 4 of the channels to bi-amp the 2CEs. Each of the Left and Right output from the 1098 is split to two to feed into 2 channels which then bi-amp the 2CE. I had high expectation of the sound quality improvement.

I was wrong.

For some unknown reason, bi-amping using 4 out of the 5 channels of the poweramp just did not sound right. I switch back to the regular method of driving each speaker with one channel - the imaging is much, much, better. I think that in order to bi-amp your speakers, the amplifier must be very very high quality otherwise it is not worth it. You will be better off using bi-wiring which essentially "double" the thickness of your cable.

My above observation is based on two amps I owned - a Carver 705X and Outlaw 7100. I order a Rotel 1075 which has yet to come....I am anxiously waiting to try the 1075 with my 1098 and hope that it will perform better than the Outlaw or the Carver.

Rob

[LEVESQUE]

I'm thinking like Andrew here. 1090 and 1075 (or maybe 1095!).

I'm using a Bryston 4BSST for my mains and a 1095 for the rest. With a good 2 ch amp like the 1090, you will remove the burden from the 1075 (or 1095) to power the rest of your speakers. the center will just sound better, less congested.

[Andrew Pratt]

I'm thinking like Andrew here.

That's a very scary thought :LOL:

[jimmyp58]

Ironic how good things happen. When I bought my 1098/1095, I knew I wanted a very good 2CH main amp for my front speakers. I, like you levesque, bought the Bryston 4B SST --- what a wonderful amp! The irony is I picked it up the day you posted your reply.

Good taste....

[LEVESQUE]

jimmyp58.

The Bryston 4BSST is an incredible amp. Impossible to clip, built like a tank, awesome resolution of details. For 2ch stereo listening, this amp is unbeatable in this price range. The noise floor is awesome. Not even the slightest hiss or hum from 1/2 inches of my speakers. The grounding scheme on this beast is one of the best on the market. My Rotel RMB-1095 is giving me trouble with a white noise that I can hear from 4 to 5 feet from the speakers. I,m sure it,s a grounding scheme problem, because I,ve switch it for another one and the problem is the same. But the Bryston is dead quiet.

I really think this amp is not for everyone, because it,s giving you the recording the way it was intended, and so faithfully, that it,s almost scary. Some people don,t like this razor sharp reproduction of the sound. My RMB-1095, for exemple, was a little bit less transparent in the highs, like it was "hiding" (ok relax everyone, I,m just trying to explain...) some of the higher frequencies, compared to the Bryston. But this transparency can sound like "bright" for some, when it,s only faithful reproduction.

And 20 years of warranty, transferable! That,s a statement!

[Scarp]

Also those brystons are more expensive, so its like comparing a mini cooper to a big mercedes benz.

[LEVESQUE]

Not really. Bryston is a canadian company, so we pay alot less then our US friends... Same thing with Paradigms and Anthem, all canadian companies.

I've paid 2000$ cdn for my Bryston 4BSST, so around 1400$ US. So it's a little cheaper then a 1090 here in canada...

SO I'm comparing apples with apples, because in canada, we can have a 4BSST for the same price has a 1090.

Sorry Scarp.

[Scarp]

European prices:
Bryston 4bsst is 3700 euro.
Rotel RB1090 is 2500 euro.
1200 euro difference.

[LEVESQUE]

Wow! They are ripping you apart there!

All high-end canadian products usually come with a substantial rebate for us in Canada. Anthem, Paradigm, Classe and Bryston to name a few.

If the original poster is able to make a trip up north in Canada, he could make a sweet deal on a Bryston amp. Didn,t know they were charging you so much where you live. Wow.

I agree that if the difference is that big, you should go with the 1090 then...

[Aeromos]

The difference in price probably has to do with the different taxes and shipping costs applied to get them to Europe.




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

[Scarp]

The difference in price probably has to do with the different taxes and shipping costs applied to get them to Europe.

$1400 US dollar for the Bryston in America compared to 3700 euro in europe ... thats more than double the price. This cannot be attributed to taxes and shipping only. VAT is 19% here (and customs tax about 4%) and shipping would be well... 100 to 200 dollar or so.

Anyway ... back ontopic

[Xris]

Thanks for all your views. Got some prices on the Bryston amps here in Australia. Talk about getting ripped off, Bryston 4B SST AUD $6300.00 = CAD $5670.00. Bryston 6B SST AUD $9999.00 = CAD $8999.00.

Rotel RB 1090 AUD 3999.00 = CAD $ 3599.00. Don't understand the huge price difference. Audio equipment in Australia draws 5% duties and 10% GST. Someone is making a huge profit I think. Do Bryston amps really out-class Rotel??

[princeoliver]

Hi LEVESQUE,

You said you use a Bryston for the main and a Rotel for the rest of the channels. How is the sound when you are watching a movie? Would there be a mismatch as the Bryston sounds different than the Rotel? At leaast for example when a plane fly from the left to the right of the screen, would the centre channel sound different? I have listen to quite a few Bryston before and they do have that high clear sound you describe. Have anyone else try Rotel with other amps in a 5.1 setup? Wouldn't there be a mismatch especially with the front 3 channels?

[LEVESQUE]

Princeoliver.

I was REALLY afraid about this too at first. But for HT, with all timbre-match front speakers, I don't ear any problems. And for 2 ch stereo, I ALWAYS use only my Bryston and my mains. So I don't use the RMB-1095 when listening to music.

To be honest, I was thinking of going with Bryston amps all around. But because I don't "see" (ear...) a problem with HT, I think I will probably keep the Rotel.

For DVD-A and SACD, I can ear a subtile difference, but surprinsigly, I'm not bothered by it...

Like I said, this Bryston "brightness" is not brightness, but you hear the recording exactly like it was recorded, and not what the designers of the amp want you to ear...

But you are completely right. It did bother me at first, because in theory it should'nt have work well, but it's surprinsigly well in my room, so I keep it like this for now...

[jimmyp58]

In my setup, my Bryston 4B SST blends in well for movies and for DVD-A/SACD sound --- I'm using a RMB-1095 for my HT amp. And the sound is incredible for music as I have it set up just like levesque. The other day I was listening to some soft jazz and there was a snare drum rift in the passage. I couldn't believe how actual it sounded (I used to be a drummer so I know what a snare drum should sound like). Wow!!!