1077 New Rotel Digital Amp

[Andrew M Ward]

I just heard the new Rotel 7 x 100 digital amp driving a pair of KRELL LAT-1 speakers.

Unreal!

you guys are going to like this.
First of all, the LAT-1 is extremely difficult to drive and the shop owner was extremely skeptical that a seven channel 1oo watt amp could drive a speaker that a two channel high end amplifier "shut down" on...

the rest is history.

The 1077 Shined and kicked some serious butt, playing at insane volumes and clean and dark and quiet as so many of our favorite amplifiers, but it's only $2500 and just 100 watts...

stay tuned, and get you dealers to bring one in and hook it up to the most complex difficult load and drive the piss out of it and you tell me!

Just my 2 cents.
As Jeff Rowland says "a properly made digital amplifier will always out perform and toroidial and capacitor design." The key phrase is "Properly"

Yikes...

[tboooe]

Wow!!! Any word on a 2 channel offering? When are these digital amps supposed to be released in the US?

[lvhung]

I dream one days 993 is mummy return
;x(

[Andrew M Ward]

oh yeah

The next offering will be a:
500 x 1 Mono
and then a
500 x 2 dual mono
world wide release...

The the 7 x 100 is available this coming week, shipping whenever you're ready...

suffice to know that many "high end" digital amplifiers were cremated and dissected to build this bad boy. i'm in love

BTW: I own a pair of Mark Levinson No. 333 power amps... so a cheap digital amp is not really my thing, if you get my meaning.

[Aussie Geoff]

Andrew,

Interesting and pleasing to hear and not surprising... (to me at least)
After coming "this close" to buying a pair of RB-1090 amps I was held back hearing a friends Bel Canto Evo Digital amp on a direct comparison with the 1090 and I really liked the Evo's sound...

I have been "exploring the dark side" and trying various digital amps out... They range from OK but not for me (like the Crown K1) to simply Excellent (like the Bel Canto Evo) and Outstanding like the Halcro Logic MA20 to Awesome (like the NuForce Ref 8's I listened to yesterday.)

What has amazed me is (as you say) the sheer sonic superiority of the best of these amps. The tightness of the bass. The detail in the midrange. How clear and transparent the treble is… And often the rated power has nothing to do with it in the sense that a traditional linear Class B transistor amp has. I’ve seen a 125W Bel Canto drive B&W speakers better and louder than a Rotel 1090 or a Macintosh 602 with 600W a channel…

These new high resolution siwtching amps (lke the RMB-1077 you are describing) are amps that play well beyond their league price wize. I am finding digital amps that are as good or better than well respected amps as 5 times their price - putting a new meaning of "value for money". So I guess it is pleasing (and not surprising) that Rotel with their strong value for money reputation are moving into this lead as "early adopters"...

I have been waiting and waiting for the Rotel Digital amps that were demoed in January and have (had?) all but given up... They seem to be based on the well respected B&W ICEPower modules used by Jeff Rowland etc... which I haven’t heard yet but have good reps.

Do you have any sense of the availability and pricing of the larger 500W stereo models? I don't know whether to wait or (give in to my very strong temptation) to buy the NuForce or Halcro... I know digital is the future in amps for me…

Geoff

[Spearmint]

Very good to know these amps are finally getting released, also the fact that they perform well, is a big plus.

BTW Geoff have you tried an Elektra amp (I realise it’s not digital) during your testing?

[obiwan]

Very interesting. I have Dynaudio Contour S5.4's being driven by a Bel Canto eVo2i. The 5.4's have only been with me a week or so now and the Bel Canto drives them perfectly well. When I get the energy I'll getmy old Rotel Michi 200W/channel power amp out from under the bed and see how that compares to the Bel Canto with the bigger speakers. I was wondering if the Dyns would appreciate the greater power of the Rotel Michi, and if they did, should I get a 1090 for even more power. But if there's a 500W Rotel digital coming out, well that's probably worth waiting for an audition. But would any of them be better than the Bel Canto anyway? Time will tell, damn these continuing education course ruining my next few weekends and eating into valuable hi fi playing time.

[Adz]

Either this is an over the top review or the new age has arrived.
http://www.nuforce.com/reviews/Stere...8-July2005.pdf

[Aussie Geoff]

Adz,

Either this is an over the top review or the new age has arrived.

If I hadn't heard them I would have said "over the top" but having spent several hours comparing - IMO the new age has arrived... :banana:

If the RMB-1077 is even close with its 7 channels for US $2500 it will make it one of the all time audio bargains!

Geoff

[Adz]

Still, probably makes some sense to wait a while longer as a Company like Nuforce has stated that its continually refining its technology and tweaking its flapship product, the Reference 8, 8B and 9. I'd love to be able to demo one directly against my Bryston 6B SST which probably wouldn't stand a chance if the reviews are accurate as its besting the even higher echelons of quality amps.

[shadow]

Well, you can always wait longer for tweaking and refinements, but that logic leads to you never getting the new technology. Heck, you could hang onto laserdisk for the last ten years waiting for hi def DVD! IMO the only valid reasons to wait are price and reliability, which both appear to be covered with the new Rotel.

[Andrew M Ward]

The new age has arrived (is my guess)

The new amps bring with them some excitement and some old school "lets compare" and see what we like attitude.

this is only a good thing for audio, as a whole.

[Adz]

Well, you can always wait longer for tweaking and refinements, but that logic leads to you never getting the new technology. Heck, you could hang onto laserdisk for the last ten years waiting for hi def DVD! IMO the only valid reasons to wait are price and reliability, which both appear to be covered with the new Rotel.

No. That's not what I meant. I should have said to wait until the kinks are worked out. Probably within a year.

[EAmin]

The next offering will be a:
500 x 1 Mono
and then a
500 x 2 dual mono
world wide release...

Finally, this is great news. Question: Will there be any sound quality advantages of going with the mono vs. the stereo? Analog amps benefit from having their own power supply, however, I'm trying to figure out if the same benefits are true of digital amps.

I guess my RB-1090 and RMB-1095 are hitting the pawn shop in the near future.

[DrJRapp]

Andrew

Any information wether the 1077 has bridgeability? I know with other digital technologies when channels are bridged the distortion actually drops off quite a bit. This is contrary to the behavior of analog amps.

[Andrew M Ward]

Andrew

Any information wether the 1077 has bridgeability? I know with other digital technologies when channels are bridged the distortion actually drops off quite a bit. This is contrary to the behavior of analog amps.

The Rotel is not designed to bridge, but it's interesting you should mention how digital amps behave differently than conventionally designed amps.

the new Rotel amps absolutely love low impedance loads

[DrJRapp]

the new Rotel amps absolutely love low impedance loads

That means they must have very high current capability. Probably why so much punch for such small rated power.

Andrew, would you call this tiny powerhouse a good matchup for the Classe SSP 300 or 600 pre/pro?

[Andrew M Ward]

Gosh?

You know Doc, I never actually considered using the Rotel amp with the Classe' Preamplifiers.

I have an SSP600 so I'll give you some feed back on that when I get a 1077 next week. I imagine it would be a wonderful match.

As much as I have been known to "Poo-Poo" anything other than Classe' with Classe' ...

[gd]

When the descriptive forecast of 'smaller-more efficient-less expensive' was written in the press releases, I was hoping that the 'less expensive' part meant something like $1500 for a multichannel digital power amp.

But this initial buzz is intriguing nonetheless... very keen to hear about that Rotel / Classe comparison (thanx, Andrew!)... as well as some Rotel / Rotel comparisons.

[DrJRapp]

You know Doc, I never actually considered using the Rotel amp with the Classe' Preamplifiers.

I have an SSP600 so I'll give you some feed back on that when I get a 1077 next week. ...

I look forward to that. I've been in an upgrade mode ( or rather mood) of late and I've been looking into a move into one of the higher end lines for a processor. Classe is one of my candidates if they can get their pending software upgrades worked out.

[Stevebez]

Well I guess I may soon be converted to the digital age - especially after a review like that ... I would love to hear some of these units in situ against my RB1080 ...

I just cannot get my head around how they manage to filter the digital switching noise generated... then they say they have analogue switching .... huh ???!!!

Guess the new age has arrived. I will be up for a 2x500w stereo unit for sure... if the technology is as good as the review suggests.

It does seem there is some serious development going on here though ... and this may be teh first peak at what the digitals are capable of - where ROTEL are at in terms of this path I don't know.

Rgds Steve.

[Andrew M Ward]

Classe is one of my candidates if they can get their pending software upgrades worked out.

What software upgrades are you refering to?
My unit is absolutely perfect and bug free...

[GosonFletchy]

Andrew,

Do you have any more news to share. What new product is on the way? When will it arrive? How much will it cost? What can we expect in the future from Rotel?

G.

:assimilate:

[rnoble]

If anyones thinking of running their analog Rotel's out the door send me a line!

[DrJRapp]

What software upgrades are you refering to?
My unit is absolutely perfect and bug free...

My dealer claims there is a major software update due out soon including PLIIx`which is not currently listed in Classe's specs.

[Andrew M Ward]

What software upgrades are you refering to?
My unit is absolutely perfect and bug free...

Dolby PLIIx will be supported on the next hardware generation, not on the next software release. THe exsisting products are not liscenesed PLIIx the next generation of hardware will be.

[spkerguy]

How does a digital amp work? I would imagine I would have to have a processor that could handle a digital amp. How does sound quality compare?
Thanks,

Ken

[DrJRapp]

Dolby PLIIx will be supported on the next hardware generation, not on the next software release. THe exsisting products are not liscenesed PLIIx the next generation of hardware will be.

Kinda PO's a person when a dealer oversells an obsolete piece of gear.

[mattburk]

Any one have a picture of the 500watt mono amp or dual 500 watt amp? When are they coming out?

[Aussie Geoff]

I have an SSP600 so I'll give you some feed back on that when I get a 1077 next week. I imagine it would be a wonderful match.

As much as I have been known to "Poo-Poo" anything other than Classe' with Classe' ...

Well - Andrew do you have the new toy to demo yet?

[Andrew M Ward]

Sorry ...

I'm on the road for 4 weeks in a row...

Dallas this week - Honduras Next week - Houston Third week - CEDIA fourth week...

Then i'll be back in the office and play with the 1077... Sorry guys, i wish i was working it right now...

:Z

[Feisal K]

How does a digital amp work? I would imagine I would have to have a processor that could handle a digital amp. How does sound quality compare?
Thanks,

Ken

Ken,

PSAudio has a nice analogy explaining how a PWM amp works

Most digital amps nowadays take a normal analog input from a preamp, or some receivers have digital inputs and "converts" the bitstream directly into PWM.

This new Rotel 1077 would be great with, say for example the RSP 1098

Sound quality, i refer you to Aussie Geoff's post above (5th from top)

[RebelMan]

Any one have a picture of the 500watt mono amp or dual 500 watt amp?

Here is a pretty good shot of both. I am looking forward to the day when these babies are released.

[DrJRapp]

My interest in digital amps got peaked last year when, while redecorating our master bedroom, I found it necessary to replace the Denon 3801 I was using with something much smaller. After some quick research I purchased a Panasonic XR25 receiver, which is a trichord design. It's 2" tall and standard width and depth and weighs about 7 lbs. It delivers five channels of 100w RMS and cost the whopping sum of $249 from J&R music world, shipping and handling included.

All the reading I had done on this puppy said exactly the same thing, "unbelievable". Some even compared it to the likes of Krell. Honestly, I took them all with a grain of salt. All I really was hoping for was to power some small bookshelves in 5.1 to relatively low background levels so I didn't need stellar sound quality. I was very pleasantly surprised. This tiny powerhouse was clean, clear and had plenty of punch. My RB15 main speakers (the smallest reference bookshelves Klipsch makes) could fill my entire 26 x 15 x 10ft heavily damped room with ease. The sound , while a bit less warm than the Denon, as still very warm and involving, with a lot more apparent punch than the 110wpc 3801.

With a unit as cheap as this, as expected, I had some issues with the build quality, but not the sound quality. It seemed to me the audio world was on to something. I'm rarely an early adopter, but the time has come to upgrade my amp setup sexperimenting with a 1077 seems the right thing to do. So, I'm waiting for a 1077 to show up, then I can give some insight as to how it sounds with a 1098. I'm not 100 percent sure it will deliver sufficient power for my system (especially in 2 channel) but, based on what Andrew Ward said, I think there may be some possibilities.

[thyname]

Keep us posted Jerry, please!

[Zoran]

RebelMan,

What a Rotel preamplifier is on the picture? Poor resolution doesn't allow to see precisely... Looks exactly like the RC-1090 - which is already discontinued, I've heard.
Some new model, say RC-1092 or so...?
Anyone heard on some new stereo pre from Rotel, supposed to mate with new digital power amps?

Thanx.

Zoran, Macedonia

[jim777]

Anyone heard on some new stereo pre from Rotel, supposed to mate with new digital power amps?

Maybe a tube pre-amp :rofl:

[Aussie Geoff]

Anyone heard on some new stereo pre from Rotel, supposed to mate with new digital power amps?

Yes.... but not until 2006. It is rumoured to be a real step up in quality from the RC-1070 to match the new digital amps...

Geoff

[RebelMan]

What a Rotel preamplifier is on the picture? Poor resolution doesn't allow to see precisely... Looks exactly like the RC-1090 - which is already discontinued, I've heard.

Correct, it is the RC-1090. Only the power amps are new (in the picture).

[miket]

Hi Guys,

any info on price and/or release data for the stereo/mono amps? I presume they will be similar to the rb1090 or thereabouts? On the new pre I'd imagine it replaces the rc1090 hence it should be better than the rc1070, the question is if it is better and by how much than the rc1090?

thanks in advance for any info ..... miket

p.s. I like the size of those things, blends in well with other rotel stuff!

[Kobus]

Why did they go for "only" 100 wpc? A higher figure would have widened their market.

[gianni]

From what I've heard about the Rotel and other digital amps, its not quite so cut and dry. Although it is rated at only 100w, it does a great job with difficult to drive speakers.

[Kobus]

It does seem weird however that the gap between the first release and the next is so big, 100 wpc vs 500.

So, if I am in the market for a 1095 at 200 wpc, it might be worth waiting for the 1077.
Any comments on how they should compare?

[gianni]

It does seem weird however that the gap between the first release and the next is so big, 100 wpc vs 500.

So, if I am in the market for a 1095 at 200 wpc, it might be worth waiting for the 1077.
Any comments on how they should compare?

On another thread, DrJRapp has said that he is waiting delivery of a Rotel RMB-1077 and has promised to pass along his findings. I believe he has Rotel RB-1080 & 1075 so this may provide some useful insight. From his previous posts, he seems to have an extensive background in A/V and the ability to be pretty objective when it comes to equipment comparisons.

Yes, the jump from 100w to 500w does seem pretty big. I would at least wait until some reviews start to become available to see if the 1077 will be worth an audition before jumping in on the 1095. I would want to compare them side by side.

[lvhung]

Just a fashion game with 1077 or what