Watch Out Krell, here comes Rotel:tales of the RMB 1077

[Gump]

Gump,

The Bel Canto is specially set-up for bridging, with the channels then operaitng out of phase with each other in a push / pull fashion to get lower distortion and tigher cleaner sound. They are audibly much better bridged than not (unlike normal linear amplifiers which are normally not quite as clean when bridged....)

However that is a special feature of the Bel Canto which was designed into it to deal with the power limitation of the TriPath chip... The Rotel uses different technology and is not built to be bridged as far as I know....

If you want more power - wait and get the RB-1091 or 1092...

Geoff

Thx for the info Geoff. I'm looking for an amp to drive my 803D's and the new digital amps are definitely intriguing. The 1077 sounds like it is a great amp. I'm trying to research this as thoroughly as possible because, like the 803D's, whichever amp I invest in I hope to enjoy for many years to come.
It sounds like I'm going to have to be patient and wait to demo the new 1091/1092 to be sure.
thx again.

[DrJRapp]

It sounds like I'm going to have to be patient and wait to demo the new 1091/1092 to be sure.

Not necessarily. Go back and read Andrew Wards comments. He is driving 803Ds with his 1077, amongst other speakers.

[RebelMan]

Not necessarily. Go back and read Andrew Wards comments. He is driving 803Ds with his 1077, amongst other speakers.

Perhaps, but he also said the 1092 will totally kick your A$$.

Gump, the 1077 was primarily designed with movies in mind and the 1092 for music. As good as the 1077 is the 1092 should be better. In either case, if the costs remain the same, as they have been projected to be, and if you are mostly a music lover looking for a two-channel solution, then I would wait until the 1092 becomes available before making any final decisions.

[DrJRapp]

I heard today from a source that I consider reliable that the reason for the 1091 and 1092 delay is that Rotel engineers have been unable to replicate the high level of sound quality that they achieved with the 1077. Since they want the 1091/1092 to be able to operate seamlessly with the 1077 they won't release the bigger amps till they get it right. I empasize that this is only hearsay, and nothing that has been officially released.

[shadow]

Sounds as if the 1077 is a keeper. How many other dealers do you guys know that have them now? My dealer did not know of the 1077 until I told him.

[Indytown]

I heard today from a source that I consider reliable that the reason for the 1091 and 1092 delay is that Rotel engineers have been unable to replicate the high level of sound quality that they achieved with the 1077. Since they want the 1091/1092 to be able to operate seamlessly with the 1077 they won't release the bigger amps till they get it right. I empasize that this is only hearsay, and nothing that has been officially released.

You mentioned repeatedly in several posts that the soundstage of the 1077 is projected into the room.

I found that to be the same with the Classe cam400 when compared to the Bryston 4b sst, Levinson 432, and a Boulder amp.

If it is not offensive and overly bright that is a good thing for low level listening.

I find B&W 800 series need some transperency in the amp for the midrange to bloom. Not brightness just clean, non aggresive very detailed delivery.

[Eliav]

Hi
I am a bit confused with the new enthusiastic information about the 1077. I have been recently considering adding a Krell two channel amp (300 w/chan) to my 1095 (driving 803s) for stereo listening, since I do not have a way to have A to B comparison, would you vote for the Krell ? how in your opinion would the 1092 sound compared to the Krell monster ? it it worth waiting for ?
Thanks
Eliav

[DrJRapp]

Hi
I am a bit confused with the new enthusiastic information about the 1077. I have been recently considering adding a Krell two channel amp (300 w/chan) to my 1095 (driving 803s) for stereo listening, since I do not have a way to have A to B comparison, would you vote for the Krell ? how in your opinion would the 1092 sound compared to the Krell monster ? it it worth waiting for ?
Thanks
Eliav

I think so, but I'm not sure a Krell enthusiast would agree. The 1092 should be a real beast. Neither is required to drive the 803s ...your 1095 should be doing quite well.

[Aussie Geoff]

Hi,

My view - if you need a new amp now - get the Krell - you will really notice the improvement over the 1095... If you can wait and want to you could try the 1092 in the first half of next year instead...

If you want a wild side approach - try the 1077 now (it will help all your speakers) and then upgrade to the 1092 for the fronts later...

Geoff

[DrJRapp]

Hi,

If you want a wild side approach - try the 1077 now (it will help all your speakers) and then upgrade to the 1092 for the fronts later...

Geoff

That's sort of my approach. I'm contemplating a move to 803ds or 802ds and have been assured the 1077 will handle either well. However, I can always add the 1092 later if necessary.

[Pieter]

I'm contemplating a move to 803ds or 802ds...

My eyes must be deceiving me.

Jerry, would that be for a secondary, something on the side from your Klipsch system, you plan on setting up in the loo for occasional relaxing and meditative listening?

Now who would have ever thought?!

[DrJRapp]

Jerry, would that be for a secondary, something on the side from your Klipsch system,

Now who would have ever thought?!

It will be for a secondary, well sort of. I'm building a dedicated theater which is quite a bit smaller than my current listening room so it doesn't require the dynamics or the room filling ability of the Klipsch Reference 7 series. The Klipsch will stay where they are. You can debate which is the primary and which is the secondary if you choose. I'm disappointed that Klipsch didn't introduce the Reference Primere at Cedia, just some new heritage pieces for the heritage fans. I understand now that it won't come till next summer.

[mradem]

At the moment I have a rsp1098 and rmb1075. I also want to upgrade the 1075 specially for the fronts. I think it would be better for me to wait for the 1091/1092 and just keep the 1075.

[DrJRapp]

At the moment I have a rsp1098 and rmb1075. I also want to upgrade the 1075 specially for the fronts. I think it would be better for me to wait for the 1091/1092 and just keep the 1075.

The most important question is: what are your speakers?

[kwojciec]

Hi Jerry

I have an interest in Rotel digital amplifiers. I have the RB1080 and the RMB 1075. I planned to upgrade to Halo A21 and A51, or use a 5 channel 250W amplifier from the Parasound Classic series. I was following your trial of the A21 closely and then, of course, I am following this thread. I like the sound of the Rotel amplifiers a lot and I would be happy to get a digital version of those. Here are a couple of questions related to the subject:

1. In your discussion of the A21 you claimed that, contrary to the RB1080, it sounded great when playing loud and fell apart at the normal levels. However, I felt that the RB 1080 is similar to the A21 in this respect. Raising the volume gets more detail from the music (probably not to the extent of your example of the A21). I do not trust my ears that much nowadays, but I found confirmation of this statement in one of the reviews of the RB 1080. I forgot which one, but I think it is still somewhere in the Rotel website. Would you be so kind to comment on that?

2. You wrote that the RMB 1077 sounds more powerful than both the RB 1080 and the RMB 1075, however you also claimed that it did not outpower the RMB 1095. Isn't it true that the RB 1080 provides, at least in two channel, more power than the 1095?

Last, let me thank you for the very insightful contribution to the subject of amplifiers you made on both the Rotel and Halo forums

best

Krzysztof

[DrJRapp]

Hi Jerry


1. In your discussion of the A21 you claimed that, contrary to the RB1080, it sounded great when playing loud and fell apart at the normal levels. However, I felt that the RB 1080 is similar to the A21 in this respect. Raising the volume gets more detail from the music (probably not to the extent of your example of the A21). I do not trust my ears that much nowadays, but I found confirmation of this statement in one of the reviews of the RB 1080. I forgot which one, but I think it is still somewhere in the Rotel website. Would you be so kind to comment on that?

I believe what I really said was that the A21 sounded great at normal levels but fell apart at low levels. Never experienced this with the 1080 with my speakers. Of course there will always be some loss due to the Fletcher/Munson effect, but what happened in the case of the A21 was the high frequencies, which were (at best) weak at normal levels, dissapeared completely and the lows became irregular. Your results will vary from mine, as will some other critic's since we are all using different speakers and different ears.

2. You wrote that the RMB 1077 sounds more powerful than both the RB 1080 and the RMB 1075, however you also claimed that it did not outpower the RMB 1095. Isn't it true that the RB 1080 provides, at least in two channel, more power than the 1095?

Once again you need to be a bit careful how you take things out of context:
1077 sounds more powerful than 1080 = My opinion
1095 is more powerful than 1077 = factual since 5x200 is 1000w and 7x100 is 700w.

The 1080 is rated with the same output per channel as the 1095. Theoretically at least, in 2 channel mode, the 1095 has the potential of delivering more peak power than a 1080 because it has the resources of it's 5 channel power supply to draw from.

[Nolan B]

curiously....have you felt how warm/hot the unit gets after long periods of use? does it really stay cool?

[DrJRapp]

ICE cold...lol

[Pieter]

Edit...
My apologies to the Dr. for an unintentional insult.

[Dozer42]

I've had my 1077 burning in for not quite a week, even after watching movies at full tilt it's barely warm to the touch.

Awesome amp. Never heard anything like it, in a good way.

[Nolan B]

can anyone comfirm with cerntainty if it was B&O or Rotel who actually funded the original design of ICE power? just curious.

[gianni]

I've had my 1077 burning in for not quite a week, even after watching movies at full tilt it's barely warm to the touch.

Awesome amp. Never heard anything like it, in a good way.

Glad to see you like your 1077. Better than those Behringer A500's you were demoing last week eh?
:W

[mradem]

The most important question is: what are your speakers?

At the moment I have some modified Kef Q7's.

[Aussie Geoff]

can anyone comfirm with cerntainty if it was B&O or Rotel who actually funded the original design of ICE power? just curious.

It was B&O funding a reasearch project involving universities etc and then marketing it... See this link for their main web site promiting the technology

Geoff

[Nolan B]

It was B&O funding a reasearch project involving universities etc and then marketing it... See this link for their main web site promiting the technology

Geoff

interesting that the B&W PV1 uses ICEpower in its amplification.

http://www.icepower.bang-olufsen.com/sw2267.asp

[Feisal K]

A lot of subwoofers use class-D amplification, have been for awhile now

[sprout]

Hi, here in the UK I have just had a reply from Rotel this morning

"Many thanks for your email enquiry regarding the new Rotel RMB-1077 Digital Amplifier.

The RMB-1077 will be available from mid October at a suggested retail price of £1695.00"

Can't wait :W

How much are you guys in the States paying for one?

Anyone have a view or even better experience on how it will get on driving my speakers which are mainly Kef reference series. Model Three/2's and Model ones centre is a 200C but I am going back to using my Def Tech CLR1000

Thanks

sprout

[DrJRapp]

Sprout

Stateside MSRP is $2500. So far we have heard of people driving Krell KAV, Klipsch RF7, B&W 803D, Klipsch KLF30, successfully. All except the KLF are considered difficult loads. No reason why your KEF shouldn't like it's new supply source.

[sprout]

Sprout

Stateside MSRP is $2500. So far we have heard of people driving Krell KAV, Klipsch RF7, B&W 803D, Klipsch KLF30, successfully. All except the KLF are considered difficult loads. No reason why your KEF shouldn't like it's new supply source.

Thanks,

I value your opinion, it is much appreciated.
I will post here when things are up and running

Cheers
sprout

[DrJRapp]

We had some guests over for dinner tonite with their kids. That meant an opportunity to show off the "home theater". Since there were children of varying ages we chose Finding Nemo to entertain everyone.

With the 1077 the overall intensity of the sound track was much more involving then it ever was with the 1080 and 1075. The diversity and intensity of the overall track with its sustained sounds at high spl is a true test of an amps reserves. The 1077 was designed for HT application and in that capacity it truely shines.

[grit]

We had some guests over for dinner tonite with their kids. That meant an opportunity to show off the "home theater". Since there were children of varying ages we chose Finding Nemo to entertain everyone.

With the 1077 the overall intensity of the sound track was much more involving then it ever was with the 1080 and 1075. The diversity and intensity of the overall track with its sustained sounds at high spl is a true test of an amps reserves. The 1077 was designed for HT application and in that capacity it truely shines.

Hey Jerry, I KNOW you've posted about music in THIS thread, but I have to ask you again (before I decide to spend $2000+)... what do you think of the 1077 for just stereo vs the 1080? I do use HT with my setup (Rotel 1075, 1068, 1060 and B&W 703s, 705,s htm7), but I'm getting more into music again, and am very concerned that my next upgrade will improve 2ch music. Then again, I was worried about what you said re: the 1077 projecting the center channel outward, detaching it from the screen.

How do you feel the 1077 handles this balance vs your 1080/1075 combo? I'm sorry to ask again. Reading your opinions and gauging my feelings against them is helping me to decide whether to make a different upgrade, or hold off until I can test a 1077, but I'm itching to do something soon.

[DrJRapp]

Grit

I had a choice, keep my 1080/1075 combo and return the 1077 or keep the 1077 and sell off my other amps. I chose to keep the 1077, and the more I listen the more I am convinced that was a good choice. I'm 70% music listening, 30% movie watching.

If I were just listening to stereo, I would probably wait for the 1092

P.S. I'd like to expand on the soundstage issues a bit. I've now had a chance to tweak and play with speaker positioning, balance and timing a bit more and let me say that the center channel doesn't present as much of a problem as I thought it would. What I did was drop the center level down 1 db from the readings I got from DVE and my ratshack meter, also I increased the distance setting by 3 feet. What this effectively did was to acoustically push the center back towards the screen. Now it works for me! For 2 channel listening what I did was increase the distance between my speakers by 5 feet and increase toe by a lot. Increasing toe really does wonders for sound stage accuracy with the horns in my Klipsch. I've also purchase a bunch of new CDs so I won't have preconceived notions of what the soundsatge "should" sound like.

I must admit, I've had a ton of fun finding the best conditions for this amp. My wife calls it "playing with my toys", and she's absolutely RIGHT. That is what this is all about, isn't it?...FUN!!!!

[wjchan]

FYI, the custom rack shelf for RMB-1077 is now available from Middle Atlantic. The part number is RSH4A2X ROTEL RMB1077

--wilson

[Kevin D]

Sweet.. That will make my life easier this month..

Kevin D.

[shadow]

FYI, the custom rack shelf for RMB-1077 is now available from Middle Atlantic. The part number is RSH4A2X ROTEL RMB1077

--wilson

Why would you need a custom rack shelf for a 17 lb amp? What am I missing?

[Kevin D]

Weight doesn't have anything to do with it. He's talking about the laser cut front plate that only allows the front of the amp to show, making a really nice flat rack.

Like this:

[Kirium]

Does anyone like Geoff know when the 1077 is being introduced into Australia, and how much it'll be?? I'm expecting about $3500, possibly more.

[grit]

Grit

I had a choice, keep my 1080/1075 combo and return the 1077 or keep the 1077 and sell off my other amps. I chose to keep the 1077, and the more I listen the more I am convinced that was a good choice. I'm 70% music listening, 30% movie watching.

If I were just listening to stereo, I would probably wait for the 1092

P.S. I'd like to expand on the soundstage issues a bit. I've now had a chance to tweak and play with speaker positioning, balance and timing a bit more and let me say that the center channel doesn't present as much of a problem as I thought it would. What I did was drop the center level down 1 db from the readings I got from DVE and my ratshack meter, also I increased the distance setting by 3 feet. What this effectively did was to acoustically push the center back towards the screen. Now it works for me! For 2 channel listening what I did was increase the distance between my speakers by 5 feet and increase toe by a lot. Increasing toe really does wonders for sound stage accuracy with the horns in my Klipsch. I've also purchase a bunch of new CDs so I won't have preconceived notions of what the soundsatge "should" sound like.

I must admit, I've had a ton of fun finding the best conditions for this amp. My wife calls it "playing with my toys", and she's absolutely RIGHT. That is what this is all about, isn't it?...FUN!!!!

Thanks Jerry! I was talking about buying speaker wire to my girlfriend, and she said, "It's ok. I just wouldn't spend x dollars on WIRE. But it's not my money." She doesn't really understand when I bring new stuff home to demo, or tweak the stuff I have. But yeah, the point is that is IS fun!

Thanks for the clarification on the sound stage issue. Dunno why it didn't occurr to me that the placement settings could compensate for that difference. I think I'll hold off on upgrading the amp until i can test the 1077. Thanks again for all yer input, and for being the brave one.

[Aussie Geoff]

Does anyone like Geoff know when the 1077 is being introduced into Australia, and how much it'll be?? I'm expecting about $3500, possibly more.

Kirium,

1st Quarter 2006 and "in the order of $3,500" was the advice I got...

Geoff

[markmaple]

I just ordered a RMB-1077 today at lunch. I should have it by early next week. I can't wait. I have the same Klipsch that DrJRapp has.

[scient]

I just ordered a RMB-1077 today at lunch. I should have it by early next week. I can't wait. I have the same Klipsch that DrJRapp has.

You ordered a RMB-1077 at lunch?! Was it filling?? :rofl:

Sorry couldn't resist! :B

[gd]

You ordered a RMB-1077 at lunch?! Was it filling?? :rofl:

It was amp-le...

:twisted:

[Kirium]

Kirium,

1st Quarter 2006 and "in the order of $3,500" was the advice I got...

Geoff

I heard from International Dynamics today "around $3200" with no set date yet, but expect to hear confirmation in a month or so.

[grit]

It was amp-le...

:twisted:

:lol: :rofl:

[bzrk]

will this amp be "too much" for a couple of bw705's?

Forgive my ignorance but im fairly new to the ht world but ive always been a fan of rotel. My parents always had rotel and i now have a simpel rotel stereo amplifier.

I already have 2 bw705's and want to buy a new setup to replace my aging rotel 931. Was thinking of a 1068 with a 1077. Right now i only have the 705's but i the future (money issue) ill buy the 704 of 703 as front speakers.

came across this site googling for new "toys"