Rotel 1055 Vs Rotel 1066

[NHT]

Hello forumners. I need assistance with some Rotel gear. AT the time, I am using the 1055 receiver as my pre/pro, paired with a Rotel RMO1095. This combo is pushing B&W CDM7nts and HTM7 center channel. Although it sounds wonderful now, I was wondering if I can improve the sound quality by getting the 1066. I watch movies 70% of the time and music 30. I understand that the 1055 is more beneficial in that if I want to do 7.1 I wont need another amp to run my extra rear speakers but Im uncertain if I am interested in 7.1. Does the 1066 have superior processing qualities than the 1055? Has anyone compared the two? Besides the fact that if I stay with the 1055 I will have a built in tuner, are there any other benefits? My main concern is in the processing with movies. If anyone can lend some inputs and thoughts I would be grateful . Thanks in advance.

[eelco74]

If you use the 1055 as a pre/pro, you get about 90% of the performance of the 1066.

As far as internal design, the 1066 and the 1055 share the same DACS, processors etc. Sonically they differ as the 1055 is a all in one box solution, and the tuner creates some noise.

I personally think that a 1055/1095 or 1066/1095 combo will not sound that different. I would put my money elsewere.

[aud19]

Ditto. The cost would outweigh the bennefits IMO. Put the money in to better sources, cables, display etc.

Jason




Need a new display? Questions about new display technologies? Visit RPTVs, plasmas, and other monitors @ HTguide

[NHT]

Thank you for your response. Im sure you know how it is when the upgrade bug hits you and Ive got it bad. Im always on the quest to make my system sound better. Ive heard that the RMB1095 can be biamped. Is this true? This is the first time IVe heard it but a guy from another forum swears that he has biamped his 1075 with amazing results. If anyone here has biamped their 1095, please show me how. Thanks

[eelco74]

I have tried bi-amping with my RB-981. If found no significant difference soundwise. Also two 981 amps might sound a tad different, so you can get channel and sonical inbalance.

So I sold one of my amps and got a 985MkII instead for my surround channels.

[Kevin D]

I think someone's got some terms confused somewhere down the line..

You can't biamp an amp. You biamp speakers. IE, running the high input and low input on the speakers with different amps (or two channels on one amp) He could have biamped his speakers using his 1075, but then it would only be a 3 channel amp not 5 (what eelco did I'm sure).. IE, left front to high input, left rear to low input, same thing for the right with the center channel left over. You could biamp using your 1095 and your 1055 if you wanted. Running all high inputs off your 1055 and all low inputs off your 1095, but the difference in amp quality between the two could lead to a degradation in sound quality.

Now some amps can be 'bridged'. That's where two channels of an amp are physically combined together from inside the amp. You still lose the number of channels the amp has, but you get almost double the power output. Unfortunately neither the 1095 nor the 1075 can be bridged..

You've got a good thing going. See how the 1068/1098 comparison turns out. If it turns out well, get a 1068 and a tuner, or upgrade to the 1056 with probably 90% of the 1068's sound.

Kevin D.

[NHT]

now concerning biamping. Can I use four channels of my 1095 to biamp for my mains and then use the remainin channel and one channel of the 1055 to biamp the my center? and then I just use the surround channel of the 1055 to power the rears? Would this give me a great improvement in sound? When Biamping and doing it wrong, would I run the risk of damaging or messing up anything? If possible can someone please show me more detail on how to do this tweak to my system. Thanks again. THe person I spoke to that biamped his system received wonderful results. Thanks again for you help.

[eelco74]

Almost...:-)

I had two 981's. One for high left/right and one for bass left/right.
I had a RC-972 witch could run both amps. But I found no real sonical benifit in having two amps. To me it sounded just the same.

Since I got my Denon 2900 i started using my Denon 3801 as a pre-pro, because I needed the 5.1 input (the 972 is a stereo pre-amp).

So I sold one 981, and got a 985MkII. Now my 3801 does no amplifying at all. And it is easyer to migrate to a RSP1068 when it arrives.

But yes you can do biamping with a 985MKII, you only end up with 1 channel to spare.