1066 Bass Issue

[Booster]

I just read a thread in which a bass management issue with the 1066 was mentioned. Could someone please explain the problem more fully (Andrew)? I have a 1066/1075 combination and was unaware of this. It did, however, take much work to setup the sub for multichannel music vs DVD.

[Andrew Pratt]

Essentially the 1066's BM works with a hardwired 80 hz cross over in place where a copy of the front sub bass is copied and sent to the subwoofer. If your dvd player is set to have the fronts as large you'll likely find that the bass is too strong as the sub and the fronts are both playing the same bass. For some speakers it won't matter too much as they can't reproduce the bass with any authority but it can be an issue. The solution as was outlined in great detail in earlier threads is to cut the resistors that control this cross over. You can have Rotel do it for you or if you're feeling brave do it yourself.

[maddog]

Andrew, is the hardwired crossover at 80 Hz or 100 Hz? Also, is it the same crossover value for all Rotel receivers and preamps that have it hardwired? I thought I read in some posts a couple of years ago that is was hardwired at 100 Hz and that would be used for the sub output when you turned on the sub for the multi-channel input.

[Andrew Pratt]

hmm you might be right I think it is 100 for the Rotel's

[maddog]

There is an upside to having the hardwired crossover for the multi-channel input. In particular, if your SACD player does not have any bass management, the hardwired crossover will serve as that bass management and let you use a sub with your SACD player connected to the multi-channel inputs. Of course, it's not flexible being hardwired at 100 Hz, but it's better than nothing if you want to use a sub with your SACD player. Additionally, if you do not want to use a sub with your mulit-channel input, you can just set it to off in Setup. Just something to consider before you pop the top and start cutting resistors.

[Booster]

Thanks for the info. Is this hardwired crossover only operative when fronts are large? I have my fronts set to small and use the sub for bass. My multichannel BM is in the sacd player and I have been able to adjust levels to get excellent music quality.

[Kevin D]

Nope, it's always there on the multi-inputs as the large/small settings do not apply to them.

Kevin D.

[maddog]

Does anyone know if the Rotel tonal controls (bass/treble) should work on the multi-channel inputs? Also, should they work in general on an analog pass-through?

[will1066]

Not 100% sure, but they work just for the 2 front channels when via the multi input, I think. They work in general for analog pass-through.

[maddog]

Thanks for the response will1066. It works on my RSX-1055 also. I was just trying to find out how it is supposed to work vs. how it actually does work.

The bigger reason for asking this question is that I really don't hear any bass doubling when I use the subwoofer with my CD/SACD player connected to the multi-channel inputs. My CD/SACD player does not have any BM and just it's L&R outputs are connected to the multi-channel inputs. My Rotel RSX-1055 has the last firmware that was made available for it. I currently have my mains set to small and the crossover set to 80 Hz in Setup, which should be used when I listen to the built-in tuner and music from my CD/DVD multi-changer connected to the Rotel through the digital connection. To my ears, the change in sound from all three sources sounds similar when I switch from small/80Hz to large/sub-off in Setup. In fact, when I use my sub, the tuner sounds more bassy than the SACD player that supposedly has bass doubling. I also found an old thread on this forum where someone at Rotel claimed the bass doubling was "erroneous".

Anyway, I ordered the Stereophile Test CD 2 which has a bass sweep. When I get that, I'll be able to tell for sure how the multi-channel inputs actually do work on my Rotel vs. how they are supposed to work.