RDV 1092 reviews?

[Vicente]

Any of you heard of a review for the new RDV-1092 player?.

I don't know for how long this player has been in the shelves in the USA , but now you can already buy it in Spain and I still didn't heard anything good or bad from it, either from magazines or individuals of this or other forums.

Regards

[len73]

Hi Vicente !

Don't know if it is that useful, but a famous german magazine (Stereoplay) will review the RDV-1092 in detail in the next issue (july 06).

I will get it, so if you understand german I could scan the article and send it to you.

Let me know if you have interest.

Len

[Marcel54]

I would be interested in that review too.

Marcel

[Aussie Geoff]

len73,

I think we would all like a summary of the review once you have it (just the key points of course )

Thanks in advance

Geoff

[Vicente]

Hi Vicente !

I will get it, so if you understand german I could scan the article and send it to you.

Let me know if you have interest.

Len

Thanks len73. My german is very basic but I have some friends that can do the translation for me. If you have chance you can send me the scanned article, but it is also a very good idea if you could summarize what it says.

I just talked to my Rotel dealer and he has sold one unit. He didn't have a lot of time to make it a full test but his first impression was not too good.

The thing that most amazed him was that he tried to use it with the newest Pioneer plasma (1080p - Full HD) and couldn't get it to work in that quality.

He talked to me also of the impossibility of use it at the same time thru HDMI and components and that he couldn't hear some of the sound channels in the TV (I know about this because the 1060 makes the same. I have to go to the OSD menu and set it to stereo).

He told me in confidence that he would not recommend this player to a friend until Rotel makes some changes, and that for that tag price there are many other brands with a much better performance.

Well, it is a first impression, but he is used to many different brands and models, so I use to believe in what he says.

I expect your news and hope there are better.....

[len73]

Hello Vincente, Hello everyone,

No probies, I will summarise the forthcomming article with real pleasure ! I expect to recieve Stereoplay's next issue by the begining of july, so let's say end of next week !

Quite surprised about your dealer's comment, Vincente, as the title I saw on the Stereoplay's teaser was something like "The cream of both sound and video"...

Can't wait to read a full an detailed review of this player...

Stay tuned !

Cheers,

Len

[mjb]

Quite surprised about your dealer's comment, Vincente, as the title I saw on the Stereoplay's teaser was something like "The cream of both sound and video"...

Thats what I understand too (http://www.stereoplay.de/d/77850), and I'm looking forward to their review. The manual is online here: http://www.rotel.com/support/pdfs/manuals/RDV1092.pdf

[foeth]

Here's the review:

http://www.stereoplay.de/sixcms/media.php/188/stp0506RotelRB1092.pdf

[mjb]

Here's the review:

http://www.stereoplay.de/sixcms/medi...otelRB1092.pdf

For the RB-1092, not RDV-1092 :cry:
Who came up with this naming scheme?

[foeth]

Oops, I misread!

[Vicente]

I just had a look to 1092 owner's manual and compared to 1060. I found the following:

No VCD or SVCD reading. ?????

No JPG files reading.!!!!! Why?

Still no DVD RW+- reading. Probably it will read it but they don't make a compomise on it.

Still no DivX or Xvid reading. I don't understand why very cheap products from the competence have it and Rotel not.

Of course no SACD.

Still no memory for the last 5 or 10 disks read (I think 1050 does it). I found this very usefull.

It has lip sync. Very good. With so much processing
usually image is a little bit slower than sound

It has IRE (blacker than black) setting but ONLY FOR NTSC.

Edge enhancement.

Apart from that we'll have to hear and see if it really is "The cream of both sound and video"...

[len73]

Hi everyone,

Just had a phonecall with my dealer that installed a RDV 1092 in his showroom this week. The only thing he said to my was : "WOOW ! This player has a huge potential and uses the same video-chip than the Classé CDP300 does"

For him, this player is a REAL bargain. Ok, again, it dosen't have all the bells an whistles (as usual for ROTEL), but it does perfectly what it is supposed to : playing DVD's !

By the way, it seems (!!) that the IRE setting is not limited to NTSC !

I know my dealers as a very well informed and experienced guy, so...

Now I am waiting for Stereoplay's next issue...

Stay tuned...

Len

[voxy]

This will definitely my next upgrade. I want to get rid of RCD 1070 & a JVC DVD player all together to have a neat set up.

I just hope it sounds good for 2 channel as well. :T

[Boone38]

I have had the chance to put a few songs and about 2 hours of listening thru mine and would agree that the audio side is very detailed and smooth. I had the 1060 prior and and can see a bigger sound stage and deeper in the vocals. I have not yet tried the video portion. This is to be the area that really brings the player to life with the upgrades.

So far have not regretted the purchase. Agree that 1500.00 is allot and there are other players out there. I now have all Rotel and the looks are great.

[ghostbuster]

I want to have this one badly, but i'm in doubt because the new formats comming up (hd-dvd / blu ray)

[voxy]

I have had the chance to put a few songs and about 2 hours of listening thru mine and would agree that the audio side is very detailed and smooth. I had the 1060 prior and and can see a bigger sound stage and deeper in the vocals. I have not yet tried the video portion. This is to be the area that really brings the player to life with the upgrades.

So far have not regretted the purchase. Agree that 1500.00 is allot and there are other players out there. I now have all Rotel and the looks are great.

To be honest, if the cost is about USD 1500, I may get the Arcam DV137 or DV79 instead.

[Boone38]

Retail and what you buy it for are too different prices. I got mine for 20% off.
Will your Arcam dealer do the same?

[len73]

I want to have this one badly, but i'm in doubt because the new formats comming up (hd-dvd / blu ray)

I think all the same. On the other side Denon is preparing a real bomb with the 3930 even if it won't include either BlueRay nor HD-DVD...

I think these formats will need time to really enter in homes...

Still waiting for a real test...

Len

[skippy]

Do you know when the magizine StereoPlay, with the review is available in the store?

[len73]

Got the last Stereoplay as well as the last Video issue today. Both magazines have just tested the 1092 DVD player. Have no time right away to summarize both articles, but I can already tell you that both magazines were really impressed by this player !

For information, Stereoplay has given the 1092 superb ratings ! This player seems to overcome the RCD-1072 for CD playing ! 8O

I will summarize both articles this evening, so stay tuned !

Len

[len73]

Stereoplay review

Finally...here we are with the review...

Let's begin with the Stereoplay review (Stereoplay is a very good HiFi magazine, so do not be so surprised not to find very detailed information about it's video part !)

_____

Hard competition…Stereoplay tested the ROTEL RDV-1092 (1500us$) together with the ARCAM DV 137 (about us$ 2000)

The ARCAM is a universal player, that is also packed with hightech : Vaddis 888 processor, 6 video-converter, 14 bit converter @ 165MHz…

On the other side the ROTEL, Cirrus Logic DVD processor (CS4396) together with the AVC 2510 video-converter of National Semiconductor, 12 bit converter…

Serious advantage for the ROTEL, as it is working with higher speed when converting analog to digital audio signals (ARCAM works with 1bit conversion – Wolfson converter) what results in the lab in less noise and smaller jitter.

Both player have their own character, but the tester couldn’t really find enourmous difference between the two players. They found the ROTEL to be more powerful but with less structure in bass, even though the ARCAM was not going as deep as the ROTEL. On the other side, they found the ARCAM to be more detailed in the highs especially when playing classical stuff.

In DVD multichannel : the ROTEL gives more life to action scenes, but in DVD-Audio is the Arcam slightly better…

The video now…They found the ROTEL to be highly contrasted, its progressiv-scan is considered as really efficient (very soft moves).

Let’s have a look at the figures and conclusions :

ARCAM DV 137
SACD : 67/70
DVD-A : 67/70
DVD : 58/70
CD : 56/70

Very good player with exquisite video playback, excellent at cd and multicanal playing

ROTEL RDV-1092
SACD –
DVD-A : 66/70
DVD : 59/70
CD : 55/70
Noble player with excellent video-features, very good at cd playing and astonishing at dvd playback...
____

So what to say about this : for 1500us$ you have something like the best DVD player in its category on the market right now…

[len73]

VIDEO review

Here is a more detailed review from the very good VIDEO magazine...

Enjoy...

______

First highlight : the AVC 2510 of National Semiconductor : « the most expensive video-converter on the market (at the moment) that is able to upscale any video signal till 1920*1080p ! »

The unique point they had to complain about, apart from the lack of SACD support, is to be found with the drawer : « the drawer is solid, but a bit noisy when a disc is being played, and the titles are accessed with precision but not with speed (not really fast) »

Material used to test the player :
Receiver : ROTEL RSX-1057, Speakers : B&W 801D, beamer : MARANTZ VP12 S4. Software used : « James Last – Gentleman Of Sound »

Even in the 576p mode, the RDV-1092 delivers astonishing results : « Really spectacular, very sharp pictures » They compared the player to the PIONEER DV 989 AVI and found the ROTEL to be softer, but lacking in color reproduction : « PIONEER has more picture-harmony »

But wait…

When turned to 720p and 1080i, the ROTEL began to take a serious advantage over the PIONEER : « The de-interlacer works cleaner, pictures are more quiet and are expressed with more harmony »

The top was then reached when switching into the 1080p mode : « even the SONY FullHD Panel (KDL-79X2000 – equipped with a video-scaler) was not able to deal with the ROTEL ! »

So far for video quality…Not bad, not bad at all !

Let’s have a look at the sound now :

The magazine did quite an unfair comparaison (with the AUDIONET VIP G2 – a reference player costing about 5x more than the ROTEL !) : « the player was not really able to compete in the low end of the spectrum with the AUDIONET »

But when compared to the PIONEER : « no way to compare the two players : « The Rotel sounds better, especially in the lows, that are more structured and detailed »

Conclusion :
« Exquisite piece of electronics, very well built that result in a perfect picture and sound, ROTEL established itself in the world of HomeCinema, and represents a true alternative to High-end competition »

Now to the figures :

- Picture test (max 35) : 30
- Sound test (max. 30) : 27
- Lab results (max. 10) : 6
- Use (max 15) : 7
- TOTAL : 80/100

VIDEO results : VERY GOOD

____

Hope you will find these lines useful...

Personnaly, I will wait a bit, at least until the brand new DENON DVD will be released (this fall) and will then maybe consider buying a new DVD.

Cheers,

Len

[Marcel54]

Len,

Thanks for the summary. My German isn't half bad so if you could find the time to scan the articles you would do me and I believe some others too a great favor.

Marcel

[len73]

Hi,

Of course I can do it, but would it be possible for a moderator just to precise me what is the best way of doing it ? Private Messages ? Posting it right here ?

Thanks in advance for this little precision.

Cheers,

Len

[Blindamood]

Since the review compared the Rotel vs. the Arcam, I just wanted to add that I read on another forum that Arcam has since removed the multi-channel SACD processing from the DV-137. Apparently there were some issues with it, so they decided to pull it in favor of maximizing the DVD/DVD-Audio quality. I believe it still supports 2-channel SACD playback, however.

[shadow]

Since the review compared the Rotel vs. the Arcam, I just wanted to add that I read on another forum that Arcam has since removed the multi-channel SACD processing from the DV-137. Apparently there were some issues with it, so they decided to pull it in favor of maximizing the DVD/DVD-Audio quality. I believe it still supports 2-channel SACD playback, however.

Good point! This is a huge disappointment for me since I wanted to get the Arcam as my universal player. With the end of the multichannel SACD option, I think the balance has swung back to the Rotel now.

[Blindamood]

Since I would really like to standardize on all Rotel, I wrote to Rotel the other day with a couple of questions about this unit...unfortunately their answers confirmed to me that the RDV-1092 is probably not the best choice for me.

Besides lack of SACD, the other missing component is bass management for DVD-Audio. That is, all speakers play in 'Large' mode, regardless. Since I'm using 'Small' speakers (B&W 805S/HTM4S), this is not the best option for me. Also, I was told that the crossover (for Dolby Digital/DTS) is set at a fixed 100 Hz. This is also not optimal, as the B&Ws can definitely do lower than that (e.g., 80 or even 60 Hz).

Of course, since I'm currently using an Onkyo DV-SP1000, it's gonna be very difficult to find a better option... :lol:

[shadow]

Thats a deal killer for me too, since I need speaker size options. This is an incredible oversight for a component that cannot send its hi def audio signal by digital cable to your processor. Hard to see how this screwup came from a company like Rotel :cry: Next option for me is the Denon 3940 due in September which has the Realta chip from the 5910 plus improved sonics for SACD/DVD-A.

[len73]

Stereoplay full review

Hello,

Here is finally the full stereoplay's article related to Arcam-Rotel Duel...

Enjoy...

Cheers,

Len

[gianni]

Since I would really like to standardize on all Rotel, I wrote to Rotel the other day with a couple of questions about this unit...unfortunately their answers confirmed to me that the RDV-1092 is probably not the best choice for me.

Besides lack of SACD, the other missing component is bass management for DVD-Audio. That is, all speakers play in 'Large' mode, regardless. Since I'm using 'Small' speakers (B&W 805S/HTM4S), this is not the best option for me. Also, I was told that the crossover (for Dolby Digital/DTS) is set at a fixed 100 Hz. This is also not optimal, as the B&Ws can definitely do lower than that (e.g., 80 or even 60 Hz).

Of course, since I'm currently using an Onkyo DV-SP1000, it's gonna be very difficult to find a better option... :lol:

I would not let the lack of good bass management stop me if I were set on buying the RDV-1092. I know it means a few more cables, but I would use a bass management controller like the M&K BMC-mini or the Outlaw Audio unit.

People tend to over look these or not want to hassle with them. but let me tell you from my experience (with the M&K) my RCD-1072 sounds better going through the bass mgmt. unit than does a digital signal to the Rotel receiver using it's dacs and bass management. The BMC-mini is pretty transparent and it does a better job than many players and processors do in the digital mode. You really owe it to yourself to explore this option. If I eventually buy a RDV-1092, without a doubt, this how I will configure my system.

[grit]

Also, if you're using a Rotel pre/pro, you can set an option to copy the signal from the speakers to the subwoofer, and low pass it at whatever crossover you pick. Just another option to consider, if you're going all Rotel.

[Blindamood]

I would not let the lack of good bass management stop me if I were set on buying the RDV-1092. I know it means a few more cables, but I would use a bass management controller like the M&K BMC-mini or the Outlaw Audio unit.

Gianni, you make a good point about using an external bass management box. However, I'm kind of a 'minimalist,' and would rather have an all-in-one solution, if possible.

Interesting thing, though, I was experimenting with the bass mgmt in my Onkyo the other day, and actually liked the sound better (more full) when I set my front and center speakers to Large. So, might not be such a bad thing after all.

I did notice that the Outlaw ICBM is no longer available...don't know why. And the M&K BMC-mini seems a bit limited to me, as it only provides one built-in crossover level (80Hz). Seems a bit strange for such a device, IMO. I'm guessing they're going for THX compliance, which stipulates 80Hz crossover, as in my Onkyo (which is THX Ultra compliant).

[Blindamood]

Here is finally the full stereoplay's article related to Arcam-Rotel Duel...

I'm guessing the article was pulled due to copyright concerns...?

[len73]

Not at all ! Was made on purpose !

Wanted to see if anyone would have a look at, as nobody said me anything about my two summaries...I do not say it took me hours to do it, but a bit of time surely !

The link could easily be reactivated if anyone has interest...

Cheers,

Len

[mjb]

Wanted to see if anyone would have a look at, as nobody said me anything about my two summaries...I do not say it took me hours to do it, but a bit of time surely !

Len, I certainty appreciated your effort, so sorry I didn't comment before. I think the 1092 is going on my want/wish list!

[Vicente]

Sorry Len73 for not giving any comments to your review summaries, but I've been on vacation without Internet until today.

It seems that the 1092 is a good piece of equipment and now I'm in doubt if I should spend 1500 Euros for it.

I have to talk to my dealer to see if he has changed his appreciation, but, as he's selling many other brands, with universal readers upscaling up to 1080i at a fraction of the price of the 1092, and with the new technologies coming, probably he still thinks this is not a good option.

Maybe we should wait for more reviews from forum members, but for me it's going to be a difficult decision.

[Vicente]

It seems for the great number of views that this is a hot thread. Sure many people are expecting reviews of the 1092 and it is a little frustrating finding so few.

So c'mon if you've got one, or had a demonstration at a dealer or know about a publication that made a review, please share your comments. Many of us will appreciate them.

Thanks to all

[len73]

Sorry Len73 for not giving any comments to your review summaries, but I've been on vacation without Internet until today.

Hello there !

No problemo...I was also in holiday during the past days !

Maybe we should wait for more reviews from forum members, but for me it's going to be a difficult decision.

To say the truth, I still don't know if the buy of a 1092 is a good option. The fact is that this player is still missing SACD capactiy. I will wait for the brand new Denon player, that seems, at least on the paper, to be a very hard competitor for the Rotel.

Wait and see...

[Vicente]

Hello there !

No problemo...I was also in holiday during the past days !

I hope yoy had a pleasant vacation time. I would appreciate if you can post again the original reviews. I did'n have a chance to see them, but only if it doesn't cause too much work to do it.

Thanks Len.

[Vicente]

I'm amazed! 2445 views of this post but nobody reporting anything!

Maybe Rotel has done the worst investment in its life with the launching of the rdv 1092 :?: No reviews from popular hifi magazines, no reports from users....

I was checking Alta Fidelidad, the Spanish magazine that did very good comments of the 1060 but even for the September issue there is not any foreseen review of the 1092.

No comments either in the English forum "AV Forums".

I know people waits for a while after launching of a new product to check its qualities and avoid first units problems, but for this reason companies usually send their new products to magazines for them to evaluate and so possible customers start buying them.

From then mouth to mouth is the best way to spread the goodness of the product.

Let's hope that Rotel sees this big amount of views and react, so we, possible buyers have more elements to decide the buying of the 1092 or not.


pd.: Len, as the Stereoplay and Video magazines (in German) are the only ones that made reviews I will appreciate very much i f you can attach them again. Thanks

[len73]

Hello Vincente,

Sorry for being late (I got married a week ago !), but here is the full StereoPlay review.

To be honest, I am also a bit surprised not the read more good reviews about this player. But maybe it is too early ?

On the other side, there are many very good products to be released (watch out the German IFA to be held in Berlin from the 1st to 6th of September !) and I think that many people are simply "waiting" to see what the competition is about to release...

Wait and see...the 1st of September isn't that far on the schedule

Cheers,

Len

[Vicente]

Congratulations Len! I wish you at least the 28 happy years I've lived since I got married... and many more I hope...

Yes, maybe it is a little bit early for magazines to report the player, but it is more strange that no individuals have posted anything about the 1092 (well, just one report by penny lane).

I remember when the Rotel digital amplifiers were released that there was a big debate and everybody wanted to give oppinions about their new toy.

Hope this happens also because it's summer (in the nothern hemisphere) and people is still on vacation. At least in Spain everything is closed and empty but the beaches. :sn

Again Len my best wishes for you and your wife and thanks for the Stereoplay review.

[Vicente]

Well, as I didn't find any serious reviews about the RDV1092 (only a short and not well documented article in the Spanish magazine 0n-off), I went to my local dealer and he gave me the opportunity of trying this unit at home.

I connected it to my projector, a Mitsubishi HC3000 thru HDMI and thru digital and analog cables to my rsx-1056, and compared to my rdv1060 thru components in video and same links in audio.

First impression is that it is a little bit slower than the 1060 but no biggie. Also there is a little drawback that the projector should be connected in HDMI before turning on the reader. If you don't do this you don't get any images. Also if you change the projector mode to components the HDMI transmission is lost from the player and you need to restart it again from zero to recover the HDMI link. (My dealer told me this is normal in all HDMI readers).

Well, in the video side, the 1092 is sharper than the 1060 (the scaler does his job very well). It's a pity that the pj can't get the 1080p (it is only 1080i) that the 1092 is able to reach. Images seem deeper too and the noise I found in some films has been highly reduced.

The NTSC/PAL switch is still there and you MUST use it if you want to get the most of both DVD systems, even if you select the auto mode in the setup (change it to NTSC when you want to watch with quality a DVD in this system.

Now with the rdv1092 you can't either see JPG photographs or reproduce Supervideo films. Also something like DivX or Xvid formats are banned in this unit (most of the competence in this prices is doing it now).

Also the IRE (blacker than black) function works only when you are in NTSC mode and is not supported for PAL.

In the audio side, the sound is in my opinion better too. I didn't compare it in DVD-A as there is no easy job to switch cables between the 1060 and 1092, but for example listening to musical DVDs, like Jacques Loussier, Diana Krall or Phil Collins I notticed a better response in highs, and a lesser boommy lows. Vocals seem to be less present. In resume sound was flatter, and I don't mean it in the bad sense, the whole music and vocals were better blended, without prominent highs and lows that can cause you to be tired after some time listening to them. Same with CD's.

The differences were greater in digital than in analog mode (always in my humble opinion).

Apart from that, SACD disks are not allowed to play in the 1092 (something that Denons, Marantzs and so on do)

In resume, I like this unit, but still have serious problems about the convenience of buying it.

First: 1500 Euros (1950 US Dollars) with a mere 5% discount (you don't find easily better deals in the Spanish dealers) is a lot of money, and the resell of the 1062 is not either a great business in these days.

Second. How this unit will compare to cheap ones like the Denon 1092 or the Marantz 6600 (even the Oppo) as I don't need now 1080p?

Third. How the 1092 will compare to the new Denon 3930, that will be in the Spanish market in probably a couple of weeks with the same price?

Well my decision now is to return the unit to the dealer this afternoon, and ask him to check it against the cheaper players and also wait to the new Denon to see the differences.

Any other reviews and opinions from owners of the 1092 will be highly appreciated.

[metallo]

I got my RDV-1092 for a week ago, still waiting for the new cables to arrive... first impressions was nice though :W

Read this article in the meentime, http://www.postchronicle.com/news/te...21238669.shtml

/Daniel

[Wardo]

I’ve had my 1092 for 6 weeks now and I LOVE it! This is a very fine machine!
Unlike Vicente, I prefer the analog side of this player. My 1098 and 1092 are supposed to have the same DACs, but for some reason I find cd playing to be more dynamic thru the analog inputs. It will also produce an amazing sound stage in 2 channel format. You will be able to place ALL vocals and instruments. The DVD-A is astonishingly clear crisp and smooth and the lows seem to have no bottom.
All I have to compare the video to is my RDV1050 and satellite HD. First off there is no comparison, this machine has beaten anything I have ever viewed on my 42” plasma. The colors are so vibrant, sharp and lush with no jitter that I could see. I wish I had a 1080p TV so I could see just what this player has to offer in it’s video.
The only negative I can find is the how long this players takes to get to the dvd menus and to spin up a cd. Seems like Rotel could have made the player react to the input a bit faster, but everything considered, it was worth every penny.

Eddie