RSX 1055: convince me

[mattyboy]

Ok all - I am on the fence b/w NAD T762 and Rotel RSX 1055. I have both in house until Wednesday for comparison.

During initial auditions, I've found the NAD to have a slightly larger soundstage and to be a bit warmer. Certain tracks and CDs are noticeably different b/w the two receivers.

The NAD makes an audible 'pop' when changing satellite channels - that is going to drive me nuts. I have not heard the Rotel exhibit the same behavior. The only other drawback to the NAD that I can attest to is the first milliseconds of CDs skipping out when connected via digital audio - not a deal breaker as the problem is solved by using analog cable. On the other hand, it has A/B speaker switching built in, which will save me a few hundred bucks over the Rotel as the 1055 needs a separate amp for zone 2.

After having read dozens if not hundreds of internet posts, there seems to be a general quality issue with NAD products - volume issues, channels cutting out, etc. I don't seem to find the same severity of problems with the 1055 - maybe idiosyncracies or annoyances, but not glaring problems.

So here is the question: Is there anything (as owners) that you could point out about the 1055 as major drawbacks. Assuming I can live with the slight sound quality difference, I am currently leaning towards the Rotel. Support seems better, quality seems less in question, looks and remote are better. Any other pros/cons of either receiver would be appreciated.

[aud19]

Sounds like you've already made your decision I however do caution that if you prefer the sound of the NAD you could end up in time regreting getting the Rotel.... However I will say that the 1055 should improve with break-in. Has the one you're auditioning been broken in for a couple weeks?

J.R.




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[mattyboy]

The Rotel has been slightly broken in for about 8 days before I purchased it. I watched the sales guy take it out of the box two Thursdays ago, and I purchased it last Saturday. I don't think it saw very heavy use during that time.

I unpacked the NAD from a sealed box on Saturday also - it had never been run before then.

[skipm]

One thing to consider. If you have to use analog from your sources (SAT, CD, DVD, etc.), then you are using the sources audio DACs, not the ones in the NAD that you like so much.

-Skip

[Tha Freak]

Also note that the second zone option on the Rotel has nothing to do with Nad's a/b speaker switch...

the second zone let you listen to something completely different in that zone, as for example, you could watch a DVD in your HT room at a volume of 45 while your wife is upstairs reading a book and listening to her favorite CD, or a radio station at a volume of 32...the second zone is completely independant than the main zone...

the a/b switch let you connect a 2nd pair of speaker(b), but it will play the same thing than on the main(a)...




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[gd]

Wow... this popping issue is starting to concern me while I assess my next AV upgrade... seems more and more makes are exhibiting these problems over time... and now add NAD to the list?... and of course these bugs are infrequent or intermittent, and vary in severity, just to make everything even more difficult.

This forum's members have reported occasional popping in the 1066 prepro... and the 1055's DACs and processors are virtually the same as the 1066... you might want to seek specific feedback on that.

Maybe you should just go for the one you like the best, and make sure your dealer knows your concerns with these issues, and that you won't accept a flawed unit.

I guess I could live with mild popping when switching TV channels, because TV isn't especially important to me... but if one NANOsecond of my music is interrupted, that's an unacceptable deal-breaker... and over the $1k barrier, I'd insist on a unit in which I had a working choice of digital or analog connections.

Sounds like the Rotel you have works... maybe you should grab it while you can... you can tailor your system sound more dramatically with different speakers, for that matter.

[Matt Sprouls]

Save yourself some time and money (In the long run). Bring home a Rotel RSP-1098 and an Anthem AVM20 to A/B.

I started out with a Rotel 1055 and Paradigm Monitor 7's back in May, sounded great but I wanted more.....More......MORE. (Que the monster laugh). I am now totally out of control.

Good luck!

[Eiffel]

I recently got a RSX-1055, and hesitated for a long time between this receiver and the NAD T762. I'm happy with my choice, which is not to say that the T762 is a bad product...

I haven't been able to conduct a side by side audition of these two products, but here are the key differences I noted:

Rotel:
-No fans
-Cool look, easier to use front panel
-Can be software upgraded
-Has better HDTV (YPrPb) switcher bandwidth
-Has better RDS/RDBS tuner capabilities (works in Europe and US)
-Defeatable bass management for 7.1 sources (requires hack though...)
-Recording and listening are decoupled (this can be used as a Zone3 in some cases)
-Has Cinema EQ
-May have a better analog section, and seems to have less reliability issues
-Better support (club rotel, of course, as well as via Rotel)
-Easier to integrate in a computer controlled system (simpler protocol, push versus pull model)
-More hardware upgrade options (amplifiers, etc.)

NAD T762
-Has 7.1 input (instead of 6.1)
-Completely reassignable amplifiers (potentially for zone 2, etc)
-Better zone 2 capabilities (video, separate remote, can select same source as zone 1 automatically, more flexible triggers)
-More inputs (analog, digital and component video), including front ones
-Extra channel of amplification, and 6x100W (vs 75W)
-Can have two pairs of stereo speakers (A+B)
-Has headphone jack
-Svideo down conversion to composite
-Can recall multiple speaker settings (presets), and can use same physical inputs with different logical devices (e.g. CD and DVD are connected the same way, but appear as two different devices)
-Radio station names can be customized
-Input names can be customized (Rotel only allows to customize the name of the 5 video inputs)

Overall, the NAD has more features, but I found that I would not use most of them in the forseable future.

[mattyboy]

Eiffel - thanks for the helpful response. A few followup questions:

Rotel:
-No fans
-Cool look, easier to use front panel
-Can be software upgraded
-Has better HDTV (YPrPb) switcher bandwidth - What is the NAD bandwidth? I don't have HDTV, yet.
-Has better RDS/RDBS tuner capabilities (works in Europe and US)
-Defeatable bass management for 7.1 sources (requires hack though...)
-Recording and listening are decoupled (this can be used as a Zone3 in some cases) - not sure I follow this part; can you elaborate?
-Has Cinema EQ
-May have a better analog section, and seems to have less reliability issues
-Better support (club rotel, of course, as well as via Rotel)
-Easier to integrate in a computer controlled system (simpler protocol, push versus pull model)
-More hardware upgrade options (amplifiers, etc.) - What do you mean by this?

NAD T762
-Has 7.1 input (instead of 6.1) - How does this differ from the Rotel, and how would/could I use this?
-Completely reassignable amplifiers (potentially for zone 2, etc) - Does the Rotel NOT have this?
-Better zone 2 capabilities (video, separate remote, can select same source as zone 1 automatically, more flexible triggers)
-More inputs (analog, digital and component video), including front ones
-Extra channel of amplification, and 6x100W (vs 75W)
-Can have two pairs of stereo speakers (A+B)
-Has headphone jack
-Svideo down conversion to composite - no big deal for me.
-Can recall multiple speaker settings (presets), and can use same physical inputs with different logical devices (e.g. CD and DVD are connected the same way, but appear as two different devices) - Does the Rotel really not have this? If not, how do you assign CD and DVD to the same audio cable?-Radio station names can be customized
-Input names can be customized (Rotel only allows to customize the name of the 5 video inputs) - Could you give me an example?

Thanks for helping a newbie out!

Additional question: Can I infer from the above that the NAD can drive indoor Zone 1 (A speakers), outdoor (B speakers), and Zone 2, given enough amplifiers?

[Eiffel]

See my answers below.

Eiffel

What is the NAD bandwidth? I don't have HDTV, yet.I believe that it's around 30 MHz, which is just enough for HDTV (1080i). If, like me, you're using a computer and connect it to your projector, this bandwidth might not be a little bit low...
-Recording and listening are decoupled (this can be used as a Zone3 in some cases) - not sure I follow this part; can you elaborate?With the Rotel you can record from any source while listening to another source. The NAD can only record from the source you're listening to. If you connect the Rotel tape out to an integrated amplifier, the RECord switcher can be used as a 'RECreation zone' switcher, with video capabilities to boot
-More hardware upgrade options (amplifiers, etc.) - What do you mean by this?This is subjective, but there are many upgrade options within the rotel family which would preserve the house look and sound: multiple amplifiers to choose from, ability to upgrade to a better pre-amp, etc.

NAD T762
-Has 7.1 input (instead of 6.1) - How does this differ from the Rotel, and how would/could I use this?The extra input could be used to connect an external 7.1 processor, or a DVD-A/SACD player with 7.1 outputs. In practice though, there is no consumer level 7.1 format, so even 6.1 is overkill: SACD and DVD-A are 5.1 at best... You should also know that if you're using the zone feature on the NAD, you only have a 5.1 direct input
-Completely reassignable amplifiers (potentially for zone 2, etc) - Does the Rotel NOT have this?The Rotel is much more limited: you can reassign the front amplifers to surround rears... that's it. On the NAD you can connect whatever you want to each of the 6 amplifier inputs... You could do bi-wiring, feed 3 stereo systems or use only the amplifier section of the NAD
-Can recall multiple speaker settings (presets), and can use same physical inputs with different logical devices (e.g. CD and DVD are connected the same way, but appear as two different devices) - Does the Rotel really not have this? If not, how do you assign CD and DVD to the same audio cable?You just select DVD (usually on the Video1 button) to listen to either CDs or DVDs
-Input names can be customized (Rotel only allows to customize the name of the 5 video inputs) - Could you give me an example?When I press the Video1 button on the bundled remote, or on the unit, the display reads 'DVD'; when I press the Video2 button, it reads 'HDTV', etc. If you have a third party remote with buttons with such labels, it is even easier... Neither the Rotel nor the NAD come with wonderful remotes (although the NAD Zone2 remote is cool), and upgrading to a more capable product is probably wise (Check out JP1, MX-x00 and Pronto remotes for good selections)

Thanks for helping a newbie out!

Additional question: Can I infer from the above that the NAD can drive indoor Zone 1 (A speakers), outdoor (B speakers), and Zone 2, given enough amplifiers?

As is, the NAD could feed both A and B speakers (stereo only, listening to the same source). With a separate stereo amplifier you could have zone 2 fed too.

To get the same feature on the rotel, you would need to buy an A/B/A+B stereo speaker switch (a fairly cheap item), although getting a separate amplifier for the B speakers would likely yield better results with either receiver.

I hope this helps

Eiffel