I am at a crossroad, RB or RMB

[Johannisson]

Hello people at HTG
I am at a crossroad (no not the Britney flop of 2002) and I need your input.

My system today is the following:
Fronts – B&W 703
Centre – B&W HTM7
Rear – Dali concept 1 from my kitchen system, temporary until I have a pair of B&W DS7.

It is today run by a Denon AVR-4308. Great picture and nice features like WiFi and dual HDMI out. So what is my problem you might wonder? Well to be honest I lack that nice umph in the bass from the front speakers. I know the B&W 703 can deliver what I want when listening to CD:s but my system is not delivering that right now. So I need to correct that, since I am from Sweden and working abroad in Korea and my Korean language skill is similar to the IQ of professional boxer (zero). This results in that I can’t find a good place to listen to what I want to upgrade with.

So after a bit of rambling my question boils down to a choice between two Rotels.

Option 1 is to buy a RB-1080 and let that power my 703’s… this will set me back by 1.350.000 Won (Korean money)
Option 2 is to buy a RMB-1075 and bi-amp my 703´s and let it run the HTM7 as well… this will set me back by 1.139.000 Won (Korean money) slightly cheaper.

So what would you recommend and why?

Thanks for reading and even bigger thanks for replies.

//Fredrik Johannisson a swed in asia…

[Ken49r]

RB-1080 or RMB-1095 with the 703's.

I would also consider pairing up the amp with a Rotel surround processor in the future as well. I recently upgraded from an Onkyo AVR to the RSP-1069 paired with my RMB-1095. The RSP-1069 gave me a better upgrade than the RMB-1095 did paired with the Onkyo. I realized the Onkyo was bottle necking the signal from CD player to amp. The sound is so much cleaner and alive now. I used to have to turn up the volume on the Onkyo to get my speakers to open up. Now even lower volumes sound good.

Edit: I should add that my comparison was done with 805s as the mains in 2 ch listening. I did demo the RSP-1068 against the Onkyo when i had my 704's and the difference wasn't that big. The 704 sounded great with both processors. I wish I still had the 704 to compare with the RSP-1069.

[Dmantis]

Thats the problem with Denon receivers. They are very nice with features but there amp have always lacked dynamic range and overall actual power.

Now I didn't see a sub in your system, do you own one?If not then I suggest before you go adding amps , buy a matching sub. B&W subs are very musical and I think if you add a sub, run the fronts in small, cross over them around 60hz, you will find Dynamic range and the Impact you are looking for.

This will take a huge load off the receivers amps and free up some power for Dynamics.

[imbeaujp]

Hello, the 1080 is a better choice. Personaly, Bi-amp with a 1075 makes no sens if you want better bass response. The damping factor (bass control) of the 1080 is much more better !

Room treatement or adding a sub woofer could be an option if you want more bass. Have you check your room response with a software like RoomEQwizard ? Maybe your speaker and amp are ok, but your room is absorbing the frequency you want to feel. With that software, you will be able to change speaker placement (just a feet move can improve bass response) and get the information you need to make a decision.

JP

[Johannisson]

Thank you for your input.

The room is a nightmare to try and furnish for good sound, and it is a temporary living. Don’t get me wrong the apartment is super nice with built in computers and WiFi (high-tech Korea)… surround cables is already put in the walls at the construction phase. Butt I will work for Korean Volvo another year, then I will head back to Sweden wear I belong So I don’t want to put up drywalls and blast open the floor for better acoustics. So I have to do what I can with what I got. As you can see in my stylish drawing the room is huge, connecting eferything with an open floor plan is great for lighting but not always so great for sound. The wall to the balcony is glass from floor to ceiling, that is three section that can be slid aside. During summertime they are constantly open making the room even bigger. During winter time they are closed and use the balcony for isolation.

I will purchase a SVSound PC ultra to get that kick in the chest I want when watching movies. (see drawing)

And a Rotel 1080 to control my 703’s a bit more effective.

But the SVS PC ultra do not have a supplier in Korea so I have to import one my self and that is a hassle so I will first and foremost get the Rotel 1080. After that I will get a subwoofer that can deliver all the bass I want.

I have installed sliding curtains along the glass-wall side and on the opposite side so can get the room pitch black for movie watching. The problem then is that the acoustics change radically.

So far I guess the Rotel 1080 is the way to go, when I move back to Sweden I will set up a 2 channel music room as well as a movie room. And then I can use the 1080 for the 2 channel listening and find a different solution for my movie room.

//Fredrik