RSP-1068 vs RSP-1066

[Nick T]

Hi all,

Have been reading posts on this forum for the past couple of weeks, and finally decided to join. I'm looking to buy a rotel pre/power combo in the next couple of months (should be a nice step up from my current onkyo amp!), and i have a couple of questions.

Firstly, whats the main differences between the rsp-1066 and rsp-1068 feature-wise? I assume the 1068 will be a little more expensive, but is it worth the extra?

Secondly, does anybody know when the 1068 will arrive in Australia? I talked to a retailer last weekend concerning this and he guessed july or august. Can anyone give me a more accurate date and a $rrp of the 1068 for Oz?

Thanks in advance

[Atorak]

We know you are new to these threads, so ill go easy on ya! There are 20 other threads about this exact topic, comparing the 1066 to the 1068. Basically, the 'feeling' is, that the 1068 is closer to the 1098 than the 1066 in terms of performance.

Personally, I own the 1068 (bought it last week) and the 1075 driving a pair of B&W Nautilus 804s. I freakin love it. As a matter of fact, I just added a pair of DH Labs Q-10s to go with it, and the combination is simply stunning. The Monster MCX-1s I was using before were giving me harshness on the high end, and were not doing anything for me on the low. Well now, bass has improved 300%, and I no longer get rough highs, or brightness, but just a smooth upper range.

Anyway, a bit off topic, but if you are looking to drop ~2.5k on some really good gear, id grab the 1068, a 1075 (or 2 channel if you want), and be ready to impress your friends, as well as yourself.

[Nick T]

Thanks for the info Atorak. Will look at previous posts before posting my own in the future

Cheers

Nick

[Aussie Geoff]

Nick T,

Does anybody know when the 1068 will arrive in Australia? I talked to a retailer last weekend concerning this and he guessed July or August. Can anyone give me a more accurate date and a $rrp of the 1068 for Oz?

Re date - not locked down yet but think May / June is a real possibility.

Re Aussie Price - Not officially set yet but depending on your dealer think about AUD$2,200 to 2,400 as the RSP-1066 etc have all just dropped in price due to the rising Aussie $

If I were you I'd wait OR buy the RSP-1098 which is now retailing for $3,999 and can be had for less than that if you have a good dealer relationship....

Geoff

[Raptor]

Can anyone provide a further update on the arrival of the RSP-1068 and a RRP Aus$ ?

[Max Goh]

Hi Nick

I recently replaced my RSP-1066 with RSP-1068 and was very happy with the new features and improvement incorporated to the RSP-1068. The new feature where you can pre-set the start-up volume which I thought was a really neat feature to have - at least I enjoy having it. In addition, this unit is much quieter than the RSP-1066 and sound quality is also awesome! Frankly speaking, I don't think anyone will regret buying this unit.

Hope this information will be helpful to you. Cheers!

Max Goh

[Stevebez]

Power and Processor

The main changes on the 1068 from the 1066 are quite substantial in my view being

1) Change of t/former from square (more noisy) to quieter toroidal

2) Change of processor to the same as that in the 1098.

3) Seperate power switch on back panel, which I think is linked to a small power conditioner inside the unit. Brings it in line with 1098 layout.

These as far as I know are the main changes. There are more neatly arranged input and output plugs on rear panel - Also to note is most of the input and output plugs are now situated further away from the power input, which should aid in reducing noise etc. other than this these plug changes seem more cosmetic than anything else.

Can any one add to this list ...?

Rgds Steve

P.S. will upgrade as soon as it is available here I think 8) , although not sure what the delay in release in UK is due to ? Perhaps bug fixing ?

[Nick T]

Thanks to everyone who has replied to this post over the last few weeks. I've decided that i'll go ahead and purchase a 1068 over the 1066...that is, when they arrive in Oz.

Raptor, in regards to the arrival of the 1068 in Australia, i've contacted the importer for Rotel in Oz and was told that the 1068s are due to arrive at the importers at the end of May, so retailers should have them early June. A shipment of RMB-1075s and RDV-1050s are also due in at the same time. I was also told that the RDV-1040 will NOT be shipped to Australia. Hopefully this will change in the future.

In regards to $ of the 1068, no price has been announced. But as an indication of a rough price, the guy from International Dynamics (importer of rotel to Oz) told me that the price of the RSDX-02 amp/dvd combo would be AUS$2000. It retails for $1499 in the US. So, with the RSX-1068 retailing at US$1699, and doing a quick calculation based on the above figures, the 1068 should be around AUS$2260.

But to stop all this guessing, i'll give the importer a ring in the next couple of days to see if a price has been set. I'll post the details on this forum as soon as i find out

[dmcgowan]

G'Day Nick,

I spoke to International Dynamics on Monday and got a similar story. Hoping that the RSP-1068, RMB-1075, RDV-1050 combo might be sneaked past the expenditure review committee in the next month!

Got similar comments on pricing (~$2300) for the 1068 from the guy I spoke to (think his name was Claude?). Seems there are no RMB-1075s in stock in Melbourne anywhere right now

Cheers,







Darren

[Nick T]

Hi Darren,

Yes, Claude was the guy i was talking to as well. He said the rsdx-02 amp/dvd combo came in at a lower price than expected so lets hope that trend continues with the 1068

RMB1075s are very hard to find in Sydney too at the moment - rang 8 retailers last week, and no-one had any in stock. I was offered a real good deal on an RMB-1095 but the budget can't stretch that far unfortunately. From memory the price was about $AUS2400 for the RMB-1095, which is a bloody steal.

I asked Claude if the shipments of 1075s and 1068s due in May were sufficient to cover back orders and he said that about a 1/3 of the 1075 shipment was for backorders - couldn't give me any figures for backorders of the 1068 though

Cheers

Nick

[dmcgowan]

Hmmmmm, $2400 for the 1095? Thinking of ways to stretch the budget...

Whilst I'd love the 1095, I'm just worried about then needing to spend another bucket of cash getting our lounge room rewired to take it. I can see that $2400 followed up by $600 for a dedicated 20Amp line is not going to be popular with the speaker of the house...

[Aussie Geoff]

DMCgowan,

That price (in Aussie $) for an RMB-1095 is a steal...

We have a 240V system and you don't need a dedicated 20A circuit. Our 15 Amp circuit for the mains are fine. You should (as a courtesy) make sure that circuit is not on too many other high current devices (they often run past several power point sin the house.

Now in terms of electrical noise - if (say) there was an old fridge on the same circuit - you'd benefit from a second 15 Amp line just for your HT - but this can be done cheaply (($200-$300) by an electrician running a new cable from the switch and connecting this to your wall plug (usually in the ceiling). This is a good thing anyway as it would give your whole HT a common ground, minimising any ground loop issues.

What you do need to allow for though is the height and weight of the beast. It's higher than most racks take and heavier that most people can safely lift on their own. Once in place though - you'll be smiling

I'd go for it...

Geoff

[dmcgowan]

Thanks Geoff,

My problem is that the twin power points that are on the wall behind where the current HT sits already have a 5 board power board in both of them. But good to hear that it isn't the end of the world - the house is only 5 yrs old so I'm hopeful that power shouldn't be a limit.

Weight shouldn't be too much of a problem - I had a custom 36mm MDF HT cabinet built when our son was born to raise the toys out of his reach. The RMB-10xx will be about 1200mm of the ground so it'll be a while before he can get to it (figuring it's better he trashes a $300 PS-2 than the $2k Rotel stuff!).

It's a steal, but then I'd need to buy a RB-1080 for the 7.1 channels so the whole thing just starts to approach $6k rather than the $4k I was hoping for. Plus if I'm gonna spend $6k, why not spend $7k and hang on for the RSP-1098. Gotta hate the fact that our ability to spend the bucks never stays paced with our ability to earn them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Cheers for the thoughts Geoff,





Darren

[Raptor]

Glad to see some Aussies out there!

G'Day Nick T, Aussie Geoff, Darren and everyone else. Great to see a few Aussies out there.

New Rotels Arriving When?
I have also enquired this morning here in Australia about when the RSP-1068 & RMB-1075 is coming. I've been told late June, however for the RSP-1068 a different story....

I was told I it would more likely be August.

Explaination
Before offering the RSP-1068 they would need to clear the stocks of RSP-1066's. I seem to remember this occurring before to someone in another post.

Prices?
For anyone intertested, I seem to be able to get the RMB-1075 for around A$1250 (aprox US$875). Can anyone else confirm that this price is good at the moment?

Availability of RMB-1075.
I too have been searching for the elusive RMB-1075. No new stocks available, however there seem to be a few demo models around...easily obtainable.

More Info please
I think it goes without saying but anyone with any new info for the Australian RSP-1068 & RMB-1075's arrival, it would be much appreciated for it to be published here for everyone. I know one thing is for sure, we all hate long waits!

Thanks for everyones input and contribution to a terrific forum! :T

Raptor Rich

[dmcgowan]

Hey Rich,

That rings pretty true. I spoke to a guy at <well known store> in Richmond last month who was trying to tell me the 1066 was a great buy, could do me a great deal and not sure the 1068 would be that much better than a 1066 at a good price (nudge, nudge, wink, wink, say no more etc etc).

I've heard similar prices for the 1075 but the issue seems to be more a case of finding one than getting a good price. I was thinking it made sense to hang on and go all out for a 1068/1075/1050 purchase in one go for the discount.

The delay on the 1068 until the 1066s are cleared does make sense from Interdyn's point of view I have to admit. Although if one dealer has planned ahead, cleared his/her stock and has the ability to sell from day 1 it's hard to see how they can police it? The delay until August was news to me - the guy from Interdyn sounded like he thought they'd be here in June / July so thanks for the update...

Cheers,





Darren

[RisingPhoenix]

My local Rotel dealer in NSW has some 1075's in stock i believe...

Steve

[Nick T]

Hi all,

just a quick update on the pricing of the 1068 in Oz. Looks like several of the members here (me included) have been told varying arrival dates for the 1068 (late May, mid June, late June etc) so we'll just have to wait to see when they actually come in. However, on the pricing front, Len Wallis Audio (located Lane Cove, Sydney) had a short write-up about the 1068 in a magazine (think it was Australian Hifi, but will double check), and they quoted a RRP of $2299. The write-up that Len Wallis did was not a review, just an overview of the 1068's features. I found the price quote interesting, seen as though Interdyn have yet to confirm a price for the unit. WOuld like to know what others think about this price - i think its reasonable but was maybe hoping it to be a little less. Might have to haggle a bit on the price

Anyways just thought i would let the Aussie members know about this 'development'.

Cheers

Nick

[Aussie Geoff]

Nick T,

Good news re the availability about to come out (think weeks at most).

That price of $2,299 Ausie is about right given a USA $1699 or so price and a exchange rate in the 70 to 75 cents US per Assie $. For example at 70 cents the Aussie equivalent would be $2427, while at 75 cents it is $2265.

You can usually get about 10% off by talking taking your time and being nice. More than that is good and (generally) requires a large buy or longer term customer relationship with the store. They only have a total 25-30% margin on the Rotel goods (sometimes less) and need to cover after sales service etc.

Geoff