Upgrade_itis??

[bvk_houtx]

Hello, I'm new to this forum, great place for information. I have a Yamaha RX-v1000 receiver with Klipsch RF3-II/RC3-II/RS3-II & a KSW-150 sub. My speakers plans are to move the RF3s to the rear and use RF7/RC7 for the front/center. The sub will be upgraded to something from SVS, not sure which model, yet. I was looking at the Rotel 1056/1075 as a replacement for the Yamaha receiver. While I was in the local Home Theater store, looking at the Rotel equipment, I also saw the Mcintosh equipment. Does anyone have any experience with using a McIntosh pre-amp with a Rotel 1075 amp? Any thoughts or feed-back will be appreciated.

[miner]

Got my stuff at THTS in Houston at the Willowbrook location. Wasn't too impressed with their knowledge of 2 channel stuff plus they did not have any demos for 2 ch either. Too bad they are the only distributor in the Houston area.

[soundhound]

As far as Klipsch RF's I have the 3's, series 1, and came to Rotel from a Yamaha, very noticable improvement. I had the RXV-850, and switched to a Rotel RSP-980. The soundstage was much improved, the highs mellowed out, I found myself hearing sounds on the cd's I never had. I currently have an RSP-1068, RB-1080 for 2 channel through my RF-3's and it is a hard to beat combo. Also have an SVS sub for movies wich blends very nicely with the Klipsch, all are very controlled, accurate speaks.

[phuz]

The guys at the Willowbrook store aren't all that. For someone who knows their stuff and is willing to work with you, talk to Jeff at the Clear Lake store. If they don't have a two channel setup that you want to demo, he'll make it happen. The guy really knows his stuff too.

I don't understand why you would go with a 1056/1075 combo. I'd say either get a true pre/pro like the 1068 with the 1075, or a 1056/1080 combo for better 2 channel and 7.1 performance overall. No sense in having a 5 channel reciever with a 5 channel amp also, right?

I think Mcintosh is overrated and over priced. But this is all just my opinion.

[bvk_houtx]

Phuz,
I've been talking with Jeff at the Clear Lake store, I respect his knowledge. The reason I was looking at the 1056/1075 combo was I read it sounded the same as the 1068/1075 plus it included the tuner. When I saw & heard the McIntosh I was hooked. I'm not sure how I will fit this in my budget, but I would hate to spend $3k on the Rotel only to upgrade in another few years to the McIntosh.

[Azeke]

If you are on a budget Rotel provides the best bang for the buck. You will always want to upgrade in this hobby (ergo the name upgraditis), so don't worry about that.

If your budget allows go for the 1068/1075/1080 combo, some members here state that the 1068 is significantly better than the 1056 in 2 channel listening. The true test is to listen for yourself and see if you can justify the difference.

If not the 1056/1075/10808 combo will provide great bang for the buck, as well. Your mileage may vary.

Good luck,

Azeke

[RebelMan]

Actually, according to Rotel, the pre out on the 1056 and the 1068 are virtually identical. As long as you use an external amp (with the 1056), which it appears you are (wanting to do), there will be no difference in sound. The difference occurs when using the internal amp of the 1056 versus say a 1068/1080 combo in two channel mode. Likewise with the 1075 for multi-channel.

[bvk_houtx]

The other advantage of 1056/1075 combo is that it would let me bi-amp the fronts and center. I've read several threads in this forum concerning quality control on the 1056/1067/1068 products. I'm a little concerned with this because it's a real pain to disconnect everything in the HT and take equipment in to the shop. Thanks again for the feed-back.

[phuz]

All very good input, and a lot of things I hadn't thought of!

I wouldn't let QC issues curb your choice. They are rare, and even still worth it in the long run.

[chachi]

Rotel preamps/processors for two channel are always pure analogue passthru with no processing or 'touching' of the signal whatsover, so in theory all of the 10 series should sound identical or nearly so in two channel I would think ( ? )

[NewBuyer]

I started with the 1056/1075 combo and after trying the 1068/1075 combo, decided to take the 1068/1075. It has less hum and hiss - it still does have these elements, just less.

I really wish I knew why the 1056 and 1068 produce hum and hiss through the 1075. Nowadays I am on the lookout for any similar brand of equipment that doesn't hum and hiss so much, as I have really learned to dislike these aspects of audio lately!

[bvk_houtx]

I've read several posts in this forum that describe the issues related to the 'hiss' . This has me concerned. I've had two Yamaha AVRs that did not have this issue. I would expect when I step-up in quality of equipment I would not see this type of problem. It appears to be a design flaw as multiple people have reported this problem, although I have not noticed this problem with the equipment at the dealer. I'll have to think about this before I drop $3k on this upgrade. I do like Rotel's warranty, 5 year. That means if I do have this problem I know it will be addressed.

[srb]

Yes, the Rotel has a nice 5 year warranty, and this was one of my deciding factors to go with Rotel.

But if your Rotel simply exhibits a small to moderate amount of hiss or hum however, I don't believe Rotel will consider it "defective". I think they would consider that more or less "normal".

If the hiss/hum you experience is not to your liking, I think it would fall on your dealer to let you return it within a reasonable amount of time (30 days?)

Would you agree with this......Andrew?......Geoff?

Steve