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

[Texan]

Special Thanks to DrJRapp, Gump, et al

I am a newbie to this forum but I have been "lurking in the shadows" and reading the numerous postings relating to Rotel's line of products (especially their new 1077) and I would like to offer my thanks to all of the folks that have presented their opinions and asked such enlightening questions on this thread.

Today I upgraded my system and joined the Rotel Owners Club with the purchase of an RSP-1098, RMB-1077 and a pair of B&W 803D's. If everything goes well, I should take delivery this evening.

While I was able to Demo this setup at my local dealer, I would not have been nearly as comfortable committing the $$ to my purchase without your collective reviews and discussions of the many facets of this hobby and Rotel's great equipment.

Thanks again.

Keith

[DrJRapp]

Keith

Welcome to the club. Congrats on the new gear. The 1098 and 1077 are a great control & power team. I'm iterested to hear your comments about the 1077 803D combination. Your gonna love it I'm sure!

[grit]

I am a newbie to this forum but I have been "lurking in the shadows" and reading the numerous postings relating to Rotel's line of products (especially their new 1077) and I would like to offer my thanks to all of the folks that have presented their opinions and asked such enlightening questions on this thread.

Today I upgraded my system and joined the Rotel Owners Club with the purchase of an RSP-1098, RMB-1077 and a pair of B&W 803D's. If everything goes well, I should take delivery this evening.

While I was able to Demo this setup at my local dealer, I would not have been nearly as comfortable committing the $$ to my purchase without your collective reviews and discussions of the many facets of this hobby and Rotel's great equipment.

Thanks again.

Keith

I'd be comfortable (especially if it was your money! ). Congrats on your new purchase. Let us know how it sounds!

[Gump]

Keith,

Congratulations.
That's a slam-dunk system...enjoy!

[boffo]

Hi. I'm curious if you've experienced a "popping" noise when you change audio sources, or when the audio stream changes (for instance when a DD program goes to commercials that aren't DD). I had that problem when trying the 1077 with the 1098, with two different 1077's. Yet when using a RSX-1067 receiver as the preamp, there's no popping.
Amp sounded great with both 'preamps' btw.

Thanks,
Jim

[DrJRapp]

Hi. I'm curious if you've experienced a "popping" noise when you change audio sources, or when the audio stream changes (for instance when a DD program goes to commercials that aren't DD). I had that problem when trying the 1077 with the 1098, with two different 1077's. Yet when using a RSX-1067 receiver as the preamp, there's no popping.
Amp sounded great with both 'preamps' btw.

Thanks,
Jim

I had that same problem wth my 1098 and 1075 when the 1098 was new. Rotel replaced my 1098.

[kbaudio]

Would there be much benefit to bi-amping with the 1077? If so, would you use another 1077 or other equipment? Also, which Rotel pre-amp is the best choice for the 1077? I'm new to separates and am trying to learn a great deal before replacing my Denon 3802. I have Paradigm Studio 40s for mains, a Studio CC-570 for the center, and Studio 20s for surrounds. Thanks for the help.

[DrJRapp]

The real question should be if your speakers will benifit from bi-amping. The 1077 is like any other multi-channel amp, it's channels can be used for almost any purpose. For example, right now I am using the 1077 to power 4 surrounds and 2 zone 2 channels. Wether to use another 1077 or some other amp I think will be vey dependent on what you are attempting to accomplish with your speakers.

[Aussie Geoff]

Jerry,

right now I am using the 1077 to power 4 surrounds and 2 zone 2 channels

Interesting.... What are you now using for your fronts?

Geoff

[DrJRapp]

Jerry,

Interesting.... What are you now using for your fronts?

Geoff

Experimenting with a number of things. Aragon 3005 (a great amp that is in a different league than Rotel), NuForce Ref 9s, trying to get a good deal on Classe CAMs also awaiting the RB 91 & 92. I'm looking at speakers that are considerably more power hungry than my current RF7s.

[kbaudio]

The real question should be if your speakers will benifit from bi-amping. The 1077 is like any other multi-channel amp, it's channels can be used for almost any purpose. For example, right now I am using the 1077 to power 4 surrounds and 2 zone 2 channels. Wether to use another 1077 or some other amp I think will be vey dependent on what you are attempting to accomplish with your speakers.

Thanks for the help. I could pick up the 1077 and biamp my front 3 channels and run the surrounds out of my Denon for now. I'll have to see how it sounds. Would you recommend this or should I power all 5 speakers normally and wait to biamp (if necessary) when I have another amp? I could biamp the mains and power all the others, but that would leave the center underpowered.

[boffo]

Thanks for the advice.
It's strange, though, the 1098 works fine with my 1095; it's only with the 1077 that I get the popping. The 1098 does click, of course, but that's a horse of a different color.
I'm at a loss.

Cheers
Jim

[jfinneru]

drJRAPP, have you taken a look inside the cabinet? as you can see inside there are five 200ASC modules but 2 x 250ASP for the front channels. these modules are 130w/8Ohm, 250w/4Ohm. could you try to put your front speakers to some of the other terminals other than front speaker terminals and deside if you think it sounds the same

[DrJRapp]

drJRAPP, have you taken a look inside the cabinet? as you can see inside there are five 200ASC modules but 2 x 250ASP for the front channels. these modules are 130w/8Ohm, 250w/4Ohm. could you try to put your front speakers to some of the other terminals other than front speaker terminals and deside if you think it sounds the same

That's very interesting, I'll have to give it a try.....thanks

[sprout]

Jerry you are selling it :E

Wish you lived in the UK

Good luck
sprout

[mattburk]

Experimenting with a number of things. Aragon 3005 (a great amp that is in a different league than Rotel), NuForce Ref 9s, trying to get a good deal on Classe CAMs also awaiting the RB 91 & 92. I'm looking at speakers that are considerably more power hungry than my current RF7s.

How would the gemstones compare to the aragon?

[DrJRapp]

How would the gemstones compare to the aragon?

Can't really say. I've never heard them. They arn't on my short list. Sorry

[nikos]

What have you guys been paying for the 1077 ???

I purchased the B&W 604s with LCR600 center and DS6 surrounds.

I'm planning to add a velodyne DD12.

I have a crappy old sony pre/pro that I'm kinda waiting to upgrade....

I'm wanting to see if I'm getting a really good deal on a new unit....

Also, will I be able to bi-amp my fronts with the extra channels, since I have a 5.1 system.

Thanks,

Nick

[obiwan]

Anyone else see the AUstralian Hi Fi review of the 1077. Haven't go it in front of me (its at home), but they said something about it having protection circuitry whereby the power gets progressively dropped above 6kHz (I think) when under stress, such that the output is decreased to 15W at 20kHz. Could this have something to with the softened top end you guys have been talking about? Do any of you drive it hard enough for the protection feature to come into play?

[Kevin D]

Probably, maybe... The way it was explained to me is that it doesn't distort. As you go past the point of what it can safely do, you just don't get any more. Do I drive it hard enough for it kick on? Most likely. However they do it, I've never noticed.

That's what I love about it. The more control over the low end makes the 100 watts do more then my old 200 watts was capable of. Plus at really loud levels if I do push it past a safe level, I won't damage anything or ever even notice it.

Kevin D.

[soldonandy]

Yes, the A21 was used, but obviously sat around for awhile before I got it, therefore it took some time for the capacitors to "form". As I mentioned there is real technical basis for equipment changing sound characteristics over time. If you really listen carefully, you will find that your amps change sound over the first 30 mins after turn on as they warm up, this happens every time power is shut off for awhile.

Capacitors are energy storage devices. When unused they lose their ability to fully store current due to dielectric leakage. This effects their rated value. Modern electronics contain hundreds, if not thousands of capacitors, so you can imagine what the overall effect is. Capacitors "form" (come up to their rated value) over time. If you want to see an example of this in action just grab that camera in the closet with it's built in flash. Put in some fresh batteries, turn on the flash and time till the ready light comes on. Fire it off and repeat. You will notice that the charging time gets shorter over the first 5 or 10 flashes. This is the result of the capacitors "forming".

I tried to make that explanation as non-technical as possible. If anyone wants further elaboration, please don't hesitate and PM me.

Oh BS Jerry, you got these people eating out of your hand. The reality is
that there may be some possible theoretical truth to your statement but probably not audible. At best, some of the electrolytic capacitors that are overrated for breakdown voltage may gradually reform the insulating film at a smaller thickness and end up having a slightly increased capacitance. If the original values were chosen correctly (for bypass or coupling) this should not matter (be audible).

Another possibility is that the heat in the unit bakes out residual moisture and solvents with a resulting slight increase in isolation resistance on the printed circuit board. This type of "burn-in" should be done at the manufacturer during final test.

I think our audible memory is more limited than we think, what you think you hear that is changing is most likely you getting used to the new piece of equipment.

[Kevin D]

The only definite in the break in debate is there will always be two sides.

So lets keep it to PM's if you want to debate it any more.

Kevin D.

[Charlie]

I just finished watching/listening to the first hour of Master and Commander in DTS ES because I believe it's perhaps one of the most challenging films for a HT setup to reproduce cleanly. The rapidly reoccurring cannon shots truely test an amps ability to keep up. I also waited till the rest of the family left for school & work before I spun that disc because I wanted to be able to play it at levels a bit higher than we normally listen. The 1077 did an admirable job. The overall sound reminds me of the RSP1066 RMB 1075 combination I used to run. It's a bit warmer and fuller than the RSP 1098 with 1075, but with better detail and an extended top end without really being "bright".

Just for everyones information I run my Mains and Center as large and surrounds and rear as small, crossing over the surrounds to my sub at 80hz and rears at 100hz.

What Sub are you using. Thanks

[Charlie]

Perhaps not my dream amp, but certainly very likable. My wife won't care as much as I do, my rack WAS chock full, no room for anything else. The 1077 changes that. Now I have room for a video processor and a second DVD player.

Hello Jerry
If I have 703's Denon 4308CI and Rotel 1077 amplifier what kind of sub you recommend? Thanks

[TommyV]

I would think they would have to drop the price of this amp since the RMB 1076 is coming out with one less channel at almost $1000 less.

[Kevin D]

The new amps use the new style, cheaper 100 watt modules (some say sound better, some say sound worse). The 1077 would have to be redesigned to use the new units if the price were to drop much at all.

Kevin D.

[TommyV]

The new amps use the new style, cheaper 100 watt modules (some say sound better, some say sound worse). The 1077 would have to be redesigned to use the new units if the price were to drop much at all.

Kevin D.

How do you think these new digital amps would sound compared to the amps in a RSX-1057?