Audio 1068/1098

[toossie]

I'm a newbie according to HT. My setup is: Tuner RT955, CD RCD971, Pre RC995 an Pro RB971 MKII. Although I know this is not toprange I'm pretty happy with the sound so far. But since I'm moving to a (much bigger) new home, I want some new floorstanders and a nice HT-system. But, like everybody else, I don't wanna mess up my audio sound. I'd like the RSP 1098, but since my new home is gonna cost me a lot of money I'm thinking of the RSP 1068 as well. Does anybody have an idea of what I should do? Is a 1068 or a 1098 better in audio than the amps I've got now? Do I have to get a new poweramplifier for the HT-system or can I do some nice things with the setup I have right now? Maybe this sounds stupid to you, but I'm pretty new at this and I want to spent my hard-earned money as well as possible. Thanks for your help.

[Andrew Pratt]

Toossie please don't feel like any question you have is stupid we all have to start somewhere and its far better to ask then make wrong assumptions. You have some good gear to build from with your existing equipment but you're going to need to purchase another amplifer if you intend to stick with seperates (meaning a power amp and a pre amp vs. a receiver like the RSX1056) There's a couple of recent threads comparing the 1068 and the 1098 pre amps so I'd suggest you read those to get a feel for the differences between them and listen for yourself to see if the 1098 is worth the extra money to you.
Depending on which speakers you end up looking at and how loud you like to listen to your HT I'd suggest looking at the RM1075 power amp or the RM1095 to power your new speakers. You can then use your old stereo amp to power the rear surround speakers or a second zone if you like.

The above assumes you're looking for a total revamp of the system...you could buy a receiver like the RSX1056 and use it for the HT and use your stereo amp for the front speakers. You might also be able to use your pre amp with this as well if it has a bypass mode?

[eelco74]

Hi,

Nice to see some more Ducht people overhere,

You should definately check out some of the earlier threats here in this forum. I too had a pre-power combo (RC-972 and RB981). I would suggest that a RSX-1056 in combination with your RB-971KmII would be a nice combo. You can use your poweramp for the front channels and let the internal amps of the 1056 drive all other channels.

This will probably give you about 90% of a 1068/RB1075.

Since prices in Holland are different fron the US, a 1056 is more value for money. I already own a RB-985MKII and a RB-981. So thats why I chose the 1068.

Don't hesitate to ask any questions. We don't mind...

[Arnold van Oostrum]

What to do depends on choices you have to make. How important is stereo listening for you. Will HT sound become the most important part in your listening experience?

Your pre-amp RC995 is a beauty and if you favor stereo you should stick with it. I wonder if the RSP1098 will come close to the RC995.
A setup with a AV-receiver (RSX1056 or RSX1068), where you let your RC995/RB971 drive the fronts is possible and will let keep your stereosetup. Choose not the most expensive at this point if you're just starting with HT. It gives you the opportunity to see if you will favor HT over stereo. If so, then you invest in a more expensive HT setup and replace your stereogear.

But the best advice is to listen yourself. If you w

[toossie]

Thanx guys, for your quick and helpful response. Many years ago I had a Pro Logic surround amplifier from Pioneer (I still have it actually, but I use it for stereo in my "guitar-studio"). I then decided, I'd like a new system for stereo only. My livingroom wasn't perfectly suited for surround at the time anyway. So at this moment it's stereo 100% and HT 0%. But in my new home, I'm going to have the perfect room for a nice HT-system with the perfect place for a nice plasma and some nice floorstanders. I would be an idiot if I wouldn't go for that. So I'm going to take a closer look at your comments and let you know what I'll come up with.

[toossie]

Oké guys, I've been searching for hours on the net and reading a lot of usefull stuff on this club, but I'm still a bit confused. I think, for a "beginner" like me the RSX-1056 will do just fine. I'm eager to listen to this beauty. I like the idea of redirecting the fronts to my 2 channel amp, so in time I can go to 7.1 as well. But I can't find anything about a possible bypass on my RC995 and actually I don't know exactly why it's necessary, so maybe you can give me a little more help on this issue?
Second thing is, will the system with this setup be "wife-proof"? I know I'm not an expert, but when my wife has to push more then three buttons to get some sound, she will throw some components out of the window. In short, what I'd like to see is: same setup I have right now, but when I turn on the RSX, the surroundsound will start to work, of course depending on what source is being played. Can I make it work this way or something similar? Thanx again!

[aud19]

I think the thinking behind the bypass is to allow hopefully better 2-channel performance when doing critical listening to stereo sources with your 2-channel gear or to bypass your stereo set-up when watching a movie and utilize the processing of the 1056 if you get it.

You can set default surround modes for the different sources so for example if you use your DVD player as your CD transport you can set the DVD input to default to stereo or perhaps DPLII-Music if you prefer. Then when it receives a DTS or DD signal it auomatically detects that and decodes in the appropriate surround format automatically.

Rotel gear is relatively easy to use and your wife should have little to no difficulty but there are ways to make it even easier. For example I own a universal touchscreen remote with macro capabilities. I recently programmed it with two macro sections one titled "Watch" the other "Listen To". Under "Watch" there's a button for DVD, D-Cable, VCR and LD and under "Listen To" a button for CD(Surround/Digital), CD(Stereo/Analog) and DVD-Audio. When you press any of those buttons all the components switch to appropriate inputs/surround modes etc. Pretty darned easy for my girlfriend and step-daughter to use There are even more expensive and cooler ways of doing that with the like of Creston etc but they're probably more practical if you're moving towards a whole home, networked A/V, PC, Lighting etc system.

Jason




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[eelco74]

If you want to keep your RC-995 for Stereo here is waht you have to do :

Connect the front pre-out of the 1056 to the video input of the rc-995.
Set the volume to a fixed setting "ie 2 o clock"
Then calibrate your speaker levels on your rsx-1056.

The only problem is that if you want to watch a dvd, your RC-995 has to be on, volume set at "two o clock" and video in has to be selected. I had a simular setup and my ex girlfriend understood it easilly. I too had few macro's on my pronto, but it was not really needed.

btw I found the rsp-1066 just as good as my rc-972.
Now the 1068 is better sounding, so It might be close enough for your taste to the 995.

Find yourself a good dealer, where you can borrow one for the weekend to try at home.