RSP 1098 to 1066 Comparison?

[Aussie Geoff]

Hi, as part of my "lets convince myself to buy a 1098 instead of a 1066" process, I (and I'm sure many other readers of this forum) would really like some real world feedback from people who have compared the sound of the two pre-pros.

The kind of questions I have / information I am seeking (subjective I know) are:

What sort of differences have people noticed for different digital sound formats (digital stereo, Dolby Digital, DTS, etc?

What sort of differences did people notice with analogue inputs?

Overall how would you characterise the differences in sound between the two?

What key features "make the difference" in capability between the two?

[Andrew Pratt]

The kind of questions I have / information I am seeking (subjective I know) are:

What sort of differences have people noticed for different digital sound formats (digital stereo, Dolby Digital, DTS, etc?

Stereo is much much better in the 1098 then the 1055/1066 unit. This was foremost the biggest change I noticed as soon as i powered up the 1098. My jaw litterally hit the floor on how clean the music sounded though my 1098 vs what I was used to with the 1055 as my pre amp.

DTS and DD are also a little more robust and there seems to be a little more activity going on with respect to the surrounds and actively steering the effects properly. This might just be that everything is now more clear so i notice it more then I did before vs a difference in the decoding per sa but the results leave you with a very deep and wide sound field

What sort of differences did people notice with analogue inputs?

Again for music I again notice an improved soundstage over the 1055 and 1066 I had before.

Overall how would you characterise the differences in sound between the two?

They're much more similar then different in that the 1098 still sounds like a Rotel but its a more refined sounding machine.

What key features "make the difference" in capability between the two?

The two biggest for me are the improved 2 channel sound and the video upconversion to component. Now that i have the projector being able to run a single component video run to the PJ that can carry all my various video sources is a blessing.

[Harl]

I upgraded from the 1066 and imediatley noticed a siginificant difference in sound between the 66 & 98.

In my system, the 98 seems slightly brighter than the 66. I never used the cinema eq feature in the 66, but tend to use it more on DD & DTS with the 98, to me the brightness is not a bad thing, it actually sounds better in my system, and the cinema eq tames it perfectly when needed.

The overall the depth of the soundstage I hear with the 98 is much greater. Generally more spacious and open sounding.

I agree with Andrew's comments about the surrounds. I am hearing much more detail in the surround information over the 66's. Better placement of surround effects. The surround information I hear in many movies is more spacious.

The added features and convienences are a plus as well.

I must say though that I LOVED my 1066! When I had the chance to upgrade to the 1098 I really was not sure that I would hear much of a difference in sound quality, AND I really wondered how much better my system could sound, the 1066 really sounded fantastic in my setup. I was thinking more of the expanded features that the 1098 would offer (video upsampling, TFT, advanced speaker adjustments, etc.) I even contacted someone at Rotel and asked them whether I would hear a significant improvement over my 1066 and they said "maybe, maybe not", mostly I would benefit from the the added features and flexibility. Well, I must say that I was BLOWN away by the improved sound characteristics of the 1098. The difference is definitely noticeable.

In my opinion, does this mean the 1066 is not worthy of your purchase, absolutely not! I will say again, the 1066 is a GREAT SOUNDING processor! If money is no object, you will not regret going with the 1098. If money is an issue, you can't go wrong with the 1066. Or go for the 1066 and spend some of the extra cash on improving other areas of your system if they need it.

Well, just my opinion. Hope it helps.

[Azeke]

I concur with Andrew and Harl, the 1098 is a step-up over the 1066. It provides increased dynamics in HT, and it is better sounding in 2 channel than the 1066. The 1098 also has better Cirrus dacs and an improved processor (32 bit I believe). The individual tweaking of speakers serves as a plus and allows better blending of the speakers. (The pleathera of setup options are what many members here requested on their wish list for the 1066).

The question remains, is the 1098 worth twice as much as the 1066? (I loved my 1066, but the 1098 really floats my boat). IMHO, yes, the improvement was that significant (even my wife noticed the sonic improvement, although she was dismayed by my new purchase). Your mileage may vary.

Regards,

Azeke

[lcajiga]

Please read the article I posted today from The Perfect Vision magazine. It will help you with the decision.

Regards,
Luis




Regards,
Luis

http://www.luiscajiga.com/HT.htm

"It is not what you see and hear...it is how!"

[Aussie Geoff]

Thanks everyone so far for your balanced, constructive feedback on the relative merits of the 1066 and 1098.

You've pushed me over the edge and I've placed my order in the queue for a 1098.

However, I'm sure there are many others interested, so those of you who have also made the comparison, why not post and add to the information?

[Scarp]

Biggest plus point is the correct bassmanagement for multichannel analogue inputs (i.e. no bassmanagement on this ) and direct analogue bypass. The 1066 always digitizes analogue inputs, but the 1098 can directly bypass those inputs. Especially for a good cd player this is a big plus and gives much improvement.

On surround the improvements are noticeable.

[Eiffel]

I'm confused now... I thought the 1055 or 1066 did NOT digitize analog inputs (be they 5.1/7.1 or 2 channel). This is stated in one of the FAQs on Rotel's site.

http://www.rotel.com/support/faqs/faqs-rsx1055.htm

Can someone clarify this?

Thanks

[Andrew Pratt]

The 1066 always digitizes analogue inputs, but the 1098 can directly bypass those inputs. Especially for a good cd player this is a big plus and gives much improvement.

That's not entirely true....as I understand it what it does is take the analogue inputs and send a copy of it to the DAC's where its digitized and an LFE channel via the crossovers generated. Meanwhile the original signal is left untouched and sent along like a true analog bypass. Now assuming you have the latest firmware you can turn off the generated bass signals so the net result is that you do end up with a true analog by pass on those inputs. I believe this is how Denon impliments it as well on their units.

[Kocl]

I concur with Andrew and Harl, the 1098 is a step-up over the 1066. It provides increased dynamics in HT, and it is better sounding in 2 channel than the 1066.
Azeke

hi, this is my first post.
I'm looking for a new Ht processor or a stereo amp to update my system,
The question is, does the 1098 in stereo sound like 1070.

[Andrew Pratt]

Good question...it seems they both have the same noise levels for the analog inputs so my guess is they're likely quite similar when you use the analog bypass on the 1098