Potential Rotel customer with a few questions

[dmeister]

Hello. I am shopping for some new gear, and have decided between either the Rotel or NAD lines. I just wanted to ask some Rotel users a few questions in order to help with my purchase decision:

1. For those Rotel owners who are familiar with NAD gear, how would you compare the build quality and construction between the two lines? NAD components seemed "beefier" to me than the Rotel gear, at least in terms of weight, casing rigidity, lack of play in controls, and that sort of stuff, which I found surprising. Was this my imagination? Unfortunately, I'm kind of a stickler about that sort of thing...

2. Is the only difference between the 1050 and 1040 DVD players the DVD Audio capability? (Rotel's site is kind of hazing regarding some of the specifics of the 1040, like progressive scan quality and such.) My local Rotel dealer also said that the video performance of the 1040/1050 was better than the higher-end 1060... Does anyone know for certain whether this statement is accurate? If so, does Rotel plan to introduce a new "higher-end" DVD player, like the old 1080? I would be getting a complete system, and video performance is very important to me.

3. What kind of remote does the 1068 come with? I know the 1066 came with your basic programmable remote (1050?), but I saw a new touch-screen remote at the Rotel dealer, so I was curious if the remote has been upgraded for the 1068.

4. What would you say is a typical dealer discount on Rotel systems (e.g., 5%, 10%, or 15%)?

5. Is Rotel gear as sensitive to issues like ground-loop hum, radio frequency interference, and DSP "pops" as NAD gear?

Any other words of wisdom you can offer regarding these two lines would also be appreciated. Thanks for any insight you can share!

[Andrew Pratt]

1. For those Rotel owners who are familiar with NAD gear, how would you compare the build quality and construction between the two lines? NAD components seemed "beefier" to me than the Rotel gear, at least in terms of weight, casing rigidity, lack of play in controls, and that sort of stuff, which I found surprising. Was this my imagination? Unfortunately, I'm kind of a stickler about that sort of thing...

Both are well known for making solid gear that sounds great. NAD's had some quality control issues with their receivers lately and the new line is fan cooled which might be a put off (it would be for me)

2. Is the only difference between the 1050 and 1040 DVD players the DVD Audio capability? (Rotel's site is kind of hazing regarding some of the specifics of the 1040, like progressive scan quality and such.) My local Rotel dealer also said that the video performance of the 1040/1050 was better than the higher-end 1060... Does anyone know for certain whether this statement is accurate? If so, does Rotel plan to introduce a new "higher-end" DVD player, like the old 1080? I would be getting a complete system, and video performance is very important to me.

I think that's true but I'll let someone else comment that has more experience with their DVD players.

3. What kind of remote does the 1068 come with? I know the 1066 came with your basic programmable remote (1050?), but I saw a new touch-screen remote at the Rotel dealer, so I was curious if the remote has been upgraded for the 1068.

Not sure...either way I'd look into a pronto

4. What would you say is a typical dealer discount on Rotel systems (e.g., 5%, 10%, or 15%)?

10 percent's the norm with the odd person getting 15.

5. Is Rotel gear as sensitive to issues like ground-loop hum, radio frequency interference, and DSP "pops" as NAD gear?

There was a problem with the 1080 and 1095 power amps but that seems to have been taken care of.

[dmeister]

Thanks, Andrew. I was getting a little worried after seeing nearly 40 views and no replies to my thread!

Actually, I prefer the better heat dissipation afforded by fan + heatsink cooling over heatsink cooling, alone. Besides, NAD fans are pretty quiet. Does your Rotel gear run pretty hot?

And no wiggly buttons or knobs or flimsy cases on your Rotel stuff, I hope?

[Andrew Pratt]

No they're pretty cool...esp the amps. The 1055 receiver I had before never got that hot either...certinatly not hot enough to get worried about it and build quality is not an issue either...besides you've got a 5 year warrenty with Rotel gear...how long is NAD's?

[dmeister]

I'm actually not sure about NAD's warranty; probably only about 2 or 3 years, though.

[aud19]

Rotel's gear is built pretty darn solid and like Andrew mentioned it's got a 5 year warranty. Also I tend to believe fans to be a result of lesser engineering, besides the nuissance of extra noise. (Just my opinion) My Rotel gear barely gets warm never mind hot.

Jason




Need a new display? Questions about new display technologies? Visit RPTVs, plasmas, and other monitors @ HTguide

[dmeister]

Also I tend to believe fans to be a result of lesser engineering, besides the nuissance of extra noise

But keep in mind that the super-duper Pentium processor you probably have in your computer, which represents the culmination of years of technological innovation, has one strapped to it. Many higher-end receivers use them, as well. Heat and electronics don't get along very well, and I don't consider convection cooling, alone, to be particularly efficient. If Rotel gear runs cools without a fan, that's all that matters though.

* * *

Anyway, if anyone else has anything to add concerning the difference in DVD player performance, I would love to hear it. And thanks, again, for all of the feedback.

[aud19]

Actually I have a super duper AMD processor in my computer

Jason




Need a new display? Questions about new display technologies? Visit RPTVs, plasmas, and other monitors @ HTguide

[triDave]

Progressive Scan/Video quality

2. Is the only difference between the 1050 and 1040 DVD players the DVD Audio capability? (Rotel's site is kind of hazing regarding some of the specifics of the 1040, like progressive scan quality and such.) My local Rotel dealer also said that the video performance of the 1040/1050 was better than the higher-end 1060... Does anyone know for certain whether this statement is accurate? If so, does Rotel plan to introduce a new "higher-end" DVD player, like the old 1080? I would be getting a complete system, and video performance is very important to me.

One can only hope I think the video performance for the RDV-1060 is really lousy. Don't go for that one if video performance is important for you. If you want top notch DVD-A quality, then yes

And don't count to get good progressive scan quality either, I have seen cheep LCD-projectors and Plasma-TVs outperform the progressive scan delivered by RDV-1060...

Dave

[junior77blue]

Based on reviews and personal experiecne I would stick with denon/marantz/panasonic for DVD players...

[mitch57]

Integra/Onkyo also makes great DVD players. In some cases better then Denon/marantz/panasonic.

[ds22030]

dmeister....here is an observation for you....in looking for used equipment, I often run into NAD equipment that has a problem of some sort...less frequently with Rotel....I am not a dealer or anything....just what I have noticed....