Rotel RB 1092 thoughts?

[musman]

I will be getting a new RB 1092 any day now. I was curious what other owners of this amp think.

The system I will be using this amp on is here http://home.wideopenwest.com/~mvallely0812/

[miner]

I have had this amp now for about 2 months. I bought when my RB-1070 went to the shop for fuse issues. I have been very pleased with the amp. My pre is a Rotel RC-1090. My mains are B&W N804 witha B&W ASW800 sub. Size and weight were an issue for me when I was contemplating replacing my RB-1070 - so the RB-1092 it was. No way would a RB-1090 fit on my shelf above my Mits 55" TV. The Rb-1092 runns cool as a cucumber. I got my amp for $2150. There is a guy on A'gon selling 4 for $1995 each - a very good price - in Austin, TX.

[musman]

How do you think it sounds compared to you RB-1070? I have a Krell KAV 300i That sounds very good but these big speakers of mine need a little more power even though they are 92db sensitive. I am a tube kinda guy a getting this Rotel with it's small size & Digital design (sine wave is still analog though) is a leap of faith for me.
Thanks.

[miner]

It sounds so much more 'richer' than the RB-1070. The first change I heard was the bass extension. The sound stage was more localized at first but has now opened up. I am very pleased with my RB-1092. There are a number of reviews on this site.

[bleeding ears]

Musman, please tell us what brand those monsters are?

I see you also have speaker wire the thickness of garden hoses, awesome!

[Kobus]

Musman, please tell us what brand those monsters are?

B&W, believe it or not.

[CombatWombat]

Matrix 800s

Quite a different style to what most are acoustom to from B&W

[Aussie Geoff]

Kobus,

I believe you - they are the B&W Matrix 800's if I am not mistaken - It must be 15 years since I have seen a pair... I'm sure after that someone must have told Bowers or Wilkins that "It doesn't matter how good they sound, they need to fit into a living room without creating a divorce!" and eventualy they moved on to the more conventional Nautilus 800s etc.

Famed for their "Totem Pole Look" and (at the time) class leading sound - they remain formidable speakers in every sense! And from memory hard to drive - bringing many an amp to their knees... Indeed at the time it was only a huge Krell that I heard drive them adequately - though nowdays I'm sure there are more in that class! However I think the Rotel RB-1092 with its 1000+ W into 4 ohms will do very nicely and open those 800s right up!

Geoff

[musman]

They are the B&W Matrix 800's! They started making them back in 1992 or 93 stopped making them in 96 I think. They really aren't that hard to hard drive 92db in fact. But I do not listen to music very loud. The speaker wire is Autiotruth & Audioquest there is a separate connection for all the drivers, so you could have four amps on each speaker!!
If you go to my web site & on the main page to the left you will see a cut away photo of the speaker, if you click on it you can see the inside & it also lists the specifications.

My site >> http://home.wideopenwest.com/~mvallely0812/

[Kobus]

That speaker will make a magic centre channel.

Seriously, what will the wife say when you bring them into the house.

Kobus

[musman]

Well since I am not married she can't say anything. I do tell every girl I date that this is my hobby & if you don't like it BYE! Also I tell them I was in this hobby long before you & I will be into this hobby long after you. So that explains why I am not married. Also I have no interest in getting married.

[miner]

You can blow a speaker but can a speaker ... uh, never mind.

[Kobus]

:lol:

[musman]

They are ported speakers aren't they!

[nbourbaki]

I just demo'd the RB-1091s (dealer didn't have a 1092 in stock) paired with B&W 803D speakers. I thought it was a very polite sound. Not great transparency but very polite. The title track on Jamie Cullum's Twentysomething has a snare drum on the right channel. On this setup the sound was diffused. The dealer was sure that it wasn't the amp but the B&Ws. We played the same track on a pair of Mac monoblocks driving a couple of Vandersteins and it was easy to pick out the snare. I really had high hopes for the Rotel.

[musman]

I know it's not the last word in sound quality but I want to give it a shot.

[Aussie Geoff]

I just demo'd the RB-1091s (dealer didn't have a 1092 in stock) paired with B&W 803D speakers. I thought it was a very polite sound. Not great transparency but very polite. The title track on Jamie Cullum's Twentysomething has a snare drum on the right channel. On this setup the sound was diffused. The dealer was sure that it wasn't the amp but the B&Ws. We played the same track on a pair of Mac monoblocks driving a couple of Vandersteins and it was easy to pick out the snare. I really had high hopes for the Rotel.

Given that you changed both the speaker and the amp, the dealer may well have been right!

Geoff

[Joey_V]

1092 was good, but I had a demo that was consisted of the 1090 vs the 1092, and I preferred the 1090. Though the 1092 is far easier to physically integrate to any system.

You can search for my old thread review on this forum.

[musman]

The RB-1092 will be here in about two days!! I don't know if you guys know this but the 1092 is not a digital amp. It is an analog amp with a digital power supply.

[miner]

The RB-1092 will be here in about two days!! I don't know if you guys know this but the 1092 is not a digital amp. It is an analog amp with a digital power supply.

Correct, with B&O ICEpower supply. I have now had the amp for about 2 months and it has been nothing less than spectacular.

[musman]

Great to hear miner. It must drive the heck out of your 804's. Do you know what model of the ICE amp they are using?

http://www.icepower.bang-olufsen.com/sw2013.asp

[chrispy35]

Judging by the block diagrams on the B&O site, the ICEpower Analog and Digital modules are identical except for their front end. That square wave coming out of the power conversion block still looks quite digital to me. This is where the thermal efficiency is coming from...digital power output.

Chris P.

[Sim reality]

I think the exact term is "analogue controlled PWM switching amp"...

(EDIT: never mind... The COM and MECC looks like ICEpower core modules)

[musman]

I just got my RB-1092!! I will comment on the sound after I break it in & get some time to listen.

Update,

Over all I really like the RB-1092 it has great bass control & will play at high volumes with my Matrix 800's. Not that I need that but it's nice to have it there when I decide to get crazy.