Contemplating the 1056

[gary dehart]

I'm contemplating buying either the 1056 or the Integra 6.5. I haven't auditioned them head to head, but my sense is that the Rotel has better sound and the Integra has better options. The thing is, I'm not a real technical/audiophile guy - I just care that is sounds good, is durable, and easy to use.

The two options that the Integra has (and the Rotel doesn't) that I really like are:
1. auto-calibration
2. 7.1 with no need for an external amp (I'm 3 channel now and won't be oing 5 channel for little while, but I would like to use two channels for a zone 2 stereo - make sense?)

Questions:

1. Can anyone here speak to the ease of setup (and, for that matter, use) of the 1056? How easy is it to setup and calibrate the Rotel? What exactly is required? Again, I'm not a real technical guy. I have the Avia DVD, but that's my sole experience with calibration. I would think that auto calibration would make life way easier. By the way, these will power B&W 602's (and c6 center) in a small NYC apartment.

2. Can anyone recommend a good (i.e., solid service) hi-fi shop in NYC dealing in Rotels?

Thanks in advance.

[phillipk]

I can't speak for the other product... perhaps the technical issues are par-for-the-course... but you sort of touched a nerve with me. I find the 1056 to be particularly confusing. The interface is not intuitive. Once you get it, it's fine. But, take (as an extreme) the fact you have to immediately power down/reset the unit when you change the zone setting. I don't even remember what the details are but it's whacked. So, for the user interface, I'd give it a "D". Otherwise I'm happy with my 1056.

[weijst]

Do not focus to much on the presence of an auto-calibration function. Although it can provide you with a decent starting point, you'll find yourself adjusting the found settings within no time (feedback on the much debated Denon 3805).
Secondly, once you get the settings right (which is actually a lot easier than you think) you won't need to calibrate your system for a long time (until you find yourself redecorating / refurnishing your room or moving to a new house that is).

Whether you should go for 7.1 or not depends mainly on your roomsize. Smaller / medium sized rooms do not benifit from 7.1 as opposed to 5.1 surround.

Ofcourse the 1056 does taste defeat when it comes to powering secondary zones...

[rick c]

I have the 1056 with B&w 603s3's and i found it to be extremely easy to setup.Once you do it its done and over with.And if you want to play around with the settings you can with ease.Unfortunatly for second zone you would have to add an amp.

[Elvis]

I've owned Denon/Onkyo/BK/Pioneer/Marantz/HK and several others.I would say the Rotels are the easiest to set up and control.If I would have designed the setup it would be very similar,simple/flexable.By contrast some of the units out there have a ridiculous setup process/control and can make you wonder how much thought was involved.

[soundhound]

It's a sign of the times Gary, but in this day and age "recievers" contain processors, and are software controlled. Some are absolute machines. If you read through the many posts here you see many "how do I xxxxxxxx?????". If you let the "sound" tell you which one to purchase there will probably be no regrets. As was said in the previous posts, any will have to be "set-up" and one brand may be no less painfull than the other in that respect. If it weren't for complication club Rotel may have never been.......................

[phillipk]

As a software person I thought I'd add that I don't think it's the nature of the beast. That is, there's no reason Rotel or any other receiver needs to be darn unintiutive. I haven't compared Rotel to other modern ones so, yeah, it might be the easiest. But I know it's fair to expect better than we're seeing in all such devices. My thermostat is totally confusing; my car clock is even not too easy. I don't think I'm just dense either. I just know it can and will be more intuitive in future products.

[GregoriusM]

GO FOR THE SOUND!!!

PERIOD!

I have had my 1056 for about a month after having traded my Denon 2805, WITH the "automatic" room eq feature, that I had for only 2 weeks.

The ONLY thing that you can do with the AUTO EQ receivers/processors that you can't do with the 1056 is adjust the EQ. Auto EQ isn't a benefit, IMHO, when it comes to speaker distance, volume, etc..... the basics of setup, such as using the AVIA disk.

In fact, using the Auto EQ feature on my Denon 2805, which has virtually the same way of doing things as the Denon 3805 (which doesn't include the Denon mic, the 2805 does) screwed me up seriously.

I did it a half a dozen times and then chose from Normal, Flat, etc. (there are 4 positions) and the sound can't touch the non EQ'd, regular setup of my Rotel 1056.

You can manually do the EQ on the 2805, 3805, and other receivers, but if you want to do the AUTO EQ, I say stay away from it until it gets better.

In other words, AUTO EQ won't necessarily make your life easier, and may very well make it much worse!

Audition the 2 and go with THE SOUND!!!

Later on you'll be happy you did, since with the Rotel you can add on one of their great 2 channel amps for even better 2 channel sound, AND have your second zone.

If you get the receiver with 7 channels now and more features, but you don't like the sound as much, it isn't going to get as good as the 5 channel one.

Are you with me?

GO WITH THE SOUND YOU LIKE!!!