Setup help recommendations needed.... please.

[tominizer]

I have one Rotel 991 and two more coming. And then there's the unknown pre/pro I haven't bought yet. I'm moving on from a 5 channel 985 and the older matching 975/980/985 pre/pro's to a bit more power . And I can't decide, wait on the 1068 or flip a bit more dough at an Anthem 20.

Anyways, number one, what are you guys using for surge protection? I've searched through the forums and now I'm confused as people seem to be all over the place on this one. I've been looking at the Monster stuff................ because every body else does. I'm not convinced. I also have to sit down now and figure out the draw from three 991's and whatever other pieces I'll be running to see if I have to pull another line to the HT area ops: Any thoughts would be appreciated. At the end of the day, I just don't want to get egg-ed by lightening or something.

Should I be running three 991's on a seperate circuit.............. I'm thinking that I better, although I must admit, I haven't sat down to calc out the current needs yet.


Lastly, noted that there's a 991 and a 993 on Ebay. I'm just letting people know so that I don't buy them ................ I think that 993 would finish me off for 7.1 setup. Three 991's and a 993. Now that would look good on a rack.

[Andrew Pratt]

Yes I'd install a dedicated line for those power amps...I have two 20 amp lines feeding my gear rack so power isn't a problem for me:yesnod: I'm not using any surge protection on my amps at the moment though. The source's and the 1098 are on a decent APC surge bar but given how clean our power is out here I don't need anything too fancy.

[aud19]

Dedicated 20 amp lines for your amps are the best but not the easiest way to go. As for surge protection I've had good luck with some APC Line R 1200VA's http://www.apcc.com/products/family/...atures#anchor1 which do power conditioning as well and are quite affordable. Other people swear by Brick Wall surge protectors http://www.brickwall.com/.

As for the processors... I'd at least wait until you can hear the 1068 so you can compare it to the Anthem and make an informed decision on which one sounds better and for the price. Features, looks etc are the deciding factor if the performances are comparable.

Jason




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[tominizer]

Thanks for the feedback guys.

I'm pretty certain I'm going to pull in a 20A dedicated line for the amps now. I was in the basement last nite.......... it's going to be a little bit tough but I think I can do it. I can get it fairly easily into the laundry which is beside the HT room as the laundry in not finished. Only problem then is that the HT/laundry wall is actually the side of the HT room. So getting the 20A outlet to the middle of the front wall is going to be cosmetically tough without a slice and dice. I may just go to the side wall with the outlet and have to live with the cord on the floor. *sigh* One thing is apparently clear now........ when I finished the basement, HT was not a primary concern........... which now has turned into a regret. Farg !!!

Next in line is the pre/pro. Anthem is still high on my selection list. I don't think I'm going to go to the 1098. I'd like to try the 1068, but I have no idea as to it's release. My goal now it to find a unit that has balanced XLR outputs as all the Rotel THX 991's I have accept that sort of connection and I can get those connectors fairly cheap locally. So still searching the used market as well to see if a deal comes up. My plan is now drifting to buying something used and spending a little more on my front end speakers as I have a few bites on my Infinity Overture 3's.

Oh yeah, and now the wife is also wanting to move for sure........... That's good and bad. Mainly good as it means a new HT room planning process may begin..................... bad as that may turn expensive after all the surfing I've done and looking at what people have posted online. Staggered wall studs, insulation, doubling up on the drywall, lots of extra outlets, etc, etc, etc. This is much much worse then the car audio stuff I use to be heavily involved in.

[Andrew Pratt]

I think if that Anthem is still available I'd seriously consider it. IMO its likely going to sound better then the 1068 for about the same cost given the deal you have available. I could be underestimating the 1068 but unless it sounds significantly better then the 1066 my money would be on the anthem...esp since its very flexible for setup options.

Fro the power..if you're going to be moving anyway maybe the 20 amp line isn't worth the cost at the moment...it won't mean beans to anyone else looking to buy your house.

[aud19]

I'm with Andrew, if you may be moving skip the 20A line until the next house or your wife decides you're staying (believe me I know you have no choice in the matter...lol). When you do it, you will have to cut holes in the drywall and patch it after the wiring's run. (Good time to paint the room...lol) It's a bit of work but worth it to not have cords all over your floor IMO.

Well personally I wouldn't put a whole lot of weight in the whole XLR thang... unless you require it for VERY long runs. It's arguable that XLR does nothing and some people actually feel it's worse for short runs.

Jason




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[tominizer]

Yeah, that whole 20A thing may be a complete waste. I'm sort of hoping in the next month or two we find something house wise. That will decide things for me on a few fronts.

I'm looking at making my own XLR's, so the cost will not be too prohibative vs going out to buy expensive ones. Also going to make new power cords for the Rotel 991's as a friend of mine recommended that I do so specifically for those amps. That should be a fun little project.

[aud19]

Does your setup require long runs from your pre/pro to your amps? That's the only time balanced XLR's have any bennefit. (Some people even argue that!) I'm not debating if you can make XLR cables affordably, I'm saying you may not need or want them. I assume if you can make your own XLR cables you can also make your own RCA cables too? The added bennefit is that if you don't need XLR's for long runs you have more options of pre/pro's to get and may save you money on the pre/pro and cables. Either that or you can spend the same amount on RCA's as you would have to get XLR and have some damn nice RCA's or spend it on other equipment etc. My opinion basically is that the money would be better off applied elsewhere unless you require long runs...

Jason




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[tominizer]

Not sure about the runs. The rack will hold four Rotel 991's and I have three. But I'm eyeballing another one :LOL: One thing is for sure, the market opens up if not looking at units having balanced connectors. Just trying to plan for the flexibility to do XLR's if necessary.

[tominizer]

BTW, I have two matching racks, one on either side of the TV.

[aud19]

Well it sound like you're going to have pretty short runs to/from the pro and amps. No more than 10-15 feet anyway. There's just no advantage IMO to spend extra money on a pro or cables for XLR's with that distance in mind. That money could be way better spent on other things (better display, source etc, etc). Where you will notice a difference. Besides If you look in to it I bet a lot of the pro's with balanced outputs you're looking in to aren't "true" balanced pro's anyways. Also like you pointed out, looking at pro's without XLR's opens up many other possibilities.

Jason




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