Newby, but...

[Arnoud]

... I am currently orrientating myself for a HT system. Indeed the 1098 starts to be in the picture more and more. Would this be the right choise for a great HT system? What would you suggest more? What about the amp for the 1098?

Hope you can give me some extra information. Thanks,

[Danbry39]

Hi Arnoud,

I own the Rotel 1066 pre-pro, which is just such a pleasure to listen to. Although, I don't own the 1098, I have been listening quite intently to what 1098 owners have had to say. What I've read is acclaim for the sonics produced by the 1098 and that it is a significant step up from the 1066. Whereas once, I was thinking that it couldn't be THAT much better than the 1066, these reviews have me rethinking my previous position. It really sounds like an exemplary sounding piece of gear. You can scroll through the last couple of pages of thread listings for Club Rotel and find quite a few reviews of the very new Rotel product. Of course, there are the quibbles with things such as the TFT screen, etc., but Rotel has demonstrated that they do listen to the issues brought up by Club Rotel and has come through with free firmware upgrades time and time again. Andrew Pratt is the main man who has Rotel's ear.

Then, there's Scarp, an extremely knowledgable member here who just got his 1098, who also resides in the Netherlands. Perhaps, he can help you with not only where might be a good place to get the 1098, but also assist in which speakers to buy, as he knows what is available in your neck of the woods.

As I said on the other thread, I feel confident that you're on your way to a killer system.




Keith

[Scarp]

Hoi Arnoud,

Your question is a more general question which has not just a simple answer. It starts from setting a budget and ends with going to several stores to listen to several systems.

If you are thinking about the 1098 then apparantly your budget is reasonably high.
Always take into account that a system based on a pre-amp such as the 1098 (retail price 3500 euro) will become over 10.000 euro if you want a nicely matched system. If even you buy in steps, the initial step is quite high.

Also everything depends on your listening needs and your preferences. Maybe you won't like the 1098 sound or maybe you like it.

Also the 1098 is in a price range (3000 to 4000 euro) in which some other nice systems are available (TagMclaren for example). So don't pin yourself to a certain brand.

Any Rotel dealer should be able to let you listen to a 1098, although the amount of units available in holland is till limited (last week only about 25 came in, one of which was mine ).

Now give some suggestions with regard to the 1098....
Based and price and on looks the 1098 is best matched with the RMB1095 multi channel amp. This gives incredible HT and still very good stereo performance. Only think about getting a stereo + multi channel amp if you listen to more stereo than surround.
I know not many multi channel amps in the same price range that give the performance of a 1095 (note... I talk about the european situation in which the prices are difference (e.g. Bryston is twice the price here than in canada!)).

After that you need to match a set of speakers to this 1098/1095 combination.
I love B&W speakers and from the early reports the new 700 series would be a good choice. But maybe KEF or other brands are just as fine also.

Well... stores ... RAF is fine i think. I don't know a lot of stores, but just check if they are official Rotel dealers (don't buy from non-official rotel dealers).