Help me select Rotel Amp 1095/1090

[Tapesh]

After reading reviews and doing some search/research I have decided to go for Rotel 1066 and Rotel 1095 or 1090.

I need help here as to how do I make my this a 7 channel capable system because 1095 is limited to 5 channel.

I will have to buy another amp 1080 or 1090.

I want to go for 1090 as its supposed to superior as its as good as mono blocks.

But its more powerfull than 1095. I dont know it that will match with 1095 and will sound diff.

Reason why I want 1090 is because it must be very good for music becasue of its power.

My speakers would be Polk LSI series speakers running at 4 ohms.

Thanks in advance

Tapesh

[jimmyp58]

Tapesh:

First question, are you going to be using all 7 channels? That is, 2 front speakers, 1 center, 2 surrounds, and 2 rears? If you are then yes, you'll need to purchase a 2-channel amp --- either the RB-1080 or RB-1090. The 1080 is 200W X 2 and matches identically wattage-wise the 1095 which is 200W X 5. The 1090 is 380W X 2 as you probably already know. Not a problem if you go with the 1090 and that it is "higher" rated than the 1095. You can make adjustments with a SPL or use the internal test tones to balance the sound. You would use the 2-channel amp to power your front (main) speakers. A lot of guys get the 1090/1095 combo though there are some that go the 1080/1095 route. For me, I use a Bryston 14B SST as my main speaker amp. It is rated at 600W X 2. I listen to a lot of 2-channel music so this amp really serves me well for this purpose. But despite the power difference between this amp and my 1095, it blends in very well for multi-channel audio (dvd-a/sacd) and for movies.

If you don't have 7 speakers hooked up, you have a couple of options. You could go it alone with the 1095 for now until you get 7 speakers and use the 1095 to power the 5 you have. Or two, you could go for either the 1080/1095 combo or the 1090/1095 combo; use the 2-channel amp to power the front speakers, the center from the 1095 to power your center speaker, and the 1095 surrounds to power your surround speakers. Your front will be left open on your 1095.

Hope this helps and good luck!

Jim

[Scarp]

I had a similar decision to make. I had the 1090 and wanted back to surround (5.1 only), so had to buy the 1095 for this set to match. Soundwise the 1090 and the 1095 are a good match. The 1080 is only a match with watts, but not completly by sound. I opted for getting a different 5 channel amp instead which for me sounds better in both stereo and surround and is lower priced than the 1090 + 1095 combo.

Anyway, since you want 7.1, I would opt for the 1090 and 1095 option if you got the money to spend on it. You wont be disappointed. Also since both amps use the same chassis, they are the same size and it looks impressive these two huge amps
In the 1090 + 1095 case you should use the 1090 for your front speakers and 1095 for the rest. This will give the best stereo performance of your system

But, if stereo isn't that important and integration seems more important, then I suggest the 1080 for your back surrounds and the 1095 for front, center and side surrounds. Since the three front speakers should have a perfect match (since you'll notice difference more there), you should use the same amp on those three speakers. The 1095 will deliver that to your fronts, while the rears will be fed by two different amps, but you will hardly notice that anyway.

1090 (fronts) + 1095:
pros: better stereo, easier to handle difficult front speakers.
cons: less integration of the 3 front speakers, more shelf space. Costs more.

1080 (rears) + 1095:
pros: better integration of the 3 front speakers, less shelf space, better surround performance. Saves money that you can spend on other things.
cons: less stereo.

So, the decision comes down too:
How important is stereo performance to you? Is something like 80% of listening stereo? Then get the 1090 for the front speakers and a 1095 for the rest. Is it lower, I definitly would opt for the 1080 for the back surrounds and the 1095 for the fronts, center and side surrounds.

[jimmyp58]

A couple more good alternatives that I forgot to consider. Good pickup Scarp.

Jim