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Hello! I'm a relative newcomer to the club. As a Rotel products user, however, I have often read the threads posted here by fellow members in order to find solutions to my various audio concerns. In addition, I have found the posts here to informative and helpful. Of late, I find Microfast's "parts up-grade" expose to be quite interesting. Personally, I would have neither the skill nor the "guts" to perform surgery on the innards of a $3,000 piece of electronic gear for purposes of experimentation but I highly commend him on his efforts. The findings of his work may do much to further educate the members of this forum. Which brings me to the point of this particular thread.
I will soon be in the market for a better HT processor. At present, I own a RSP-1066 which I consider to be one of the best buys ever for its quality, versatility, and affordability. Over the years, I have owned a couple of other $1500 HT processors (Acurus and Adcom) and, although I think that the Rotel is, by far, the best sounding of the three, in the sonic areas of detail and imaging, they all performed pretty much at the same level. I have even heard some critics comment that $1500 processors do not vary that much in sonic performance. But it made me wonder that If Rotel could accomplish what they did with the 1066 for a $1500 price-tag, what kinds of sonic improvements could they have achieved for a meer $500 more? This is the reason that I find Microfast's experiments so enlightening. If I'm going to purchase a $3000 processor, I would like to know that I'm getting my money's worth. In my opinion the additional TFT monitor probably boosts the price of the 1098 considerably. This is money that, otherwise, could have been spent on better parts which would have resulted in an even better sounding pre-pro. ala Microfast's findings, or maybe better still, with the TFT's exclusion, could have lowered the price. In spite of its positive press, several high-end dealers where I live who sell Rotel products and like the 1098, in particular, have told me that they consider it to be over-priced and for the money, there are better processors to be had. My auditions over the past weeks have further convinced me that this notion is not far-fetched. Now don't get me wrong! Rotel is a great company which makes great products. But they may have somewhat missed the mark in their marketing of the 1098. I think they could have produced and sold it at a far more affordable and competitive price than they are presently doing or taken measures, i.e. better parts, to have made it even better. So far, this is what I am starting to interpret from Microfast's experiments and I cannot help but to wonder that in regards to the RSP-1098 are we spending more but, in reality, really getting a lot less? Just my opinion. I welcome you feedback.
I will soon be in the market for a better HT processor. At present, I own a RSP-1066 which I consider to be one of the best buys ever for its quality, versatility, and affordability. Over the years, I have owned a couple of other $1500 HT processors (Acurus and Adcom) and, although I think that the Rotel is, by far, the best sounding of the three, in the sonic areas of detail and imaging, they all performed pretty much at the same level. I have even heard some critics comment that $1500 processors do not vary that much in sonic performance. But it made me wonder that If Rotel could accomplish what they did with the 1066 for a $1500 price-tag, what kinds of sonic improvements could they have achieved for a meer $500 more? This is the reason that I find Microfast's experiments so enlightening. If I'm going to purchase a $3000 processor, I would like to know that I'm getting my money's worth. In my opinion the additional TFT monitor probably boosts the price of the 1098 considerably. This is money that, otherwise, could have been spent on better parts which would have resulted in an even better sounding pre-pro. ala Microfast's findings, or maybe better still, with the TFT's exclusion, could have lowered the price. In spite of its positive press, several high-end dealers where I live who sell Rotel products and like the 1098, in particular, have told me that they consider it to be over-priced and for the money, there are better processors to be had. My auditions over the past weeks have further convinced me that this notion is not far-fetched. Now don't get me wrong! Rotel is a great company which makes great products. But they may have somewhat missed the mark in their marketing of the 1098. I think they could have produced and sold it at a far more affordable and competitive price than they are presently doing or taken measures, i.e. better parts, to have made it even better. So far, this is what I am starting to interpret from Microfast's experiments and I cannot help but to wonder that in regards to the RSP-1098 are we spending more but, in reality, really getting a lot less? Just my opinion. I welcome you feedback.
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