How good is the RMB 1085?

[markjrho]

Hi, I have been doing a lot of reading on this little amp, and I am impressed with what I've read. However, I have been unable to find a dealer that has it hooked up for a listen.

My concern, or my question, is how much of a performance jump will I get over my Yamaha RX-V 657, which is rated at 90 watts per channel. Will I just get a more refined and detailed sound from the Rotel, or will I get much more grunt and power as well.

Any thoughts will be helpful.

Thanks.

PS: I will eventually upgrade to the Integra Pre-Pro for its HDMI 1.3 capabilities.

[htsteve]

Hi, I have been doing a lot of reading on this little amp, and I am impressed with what I've read. However, I have been unable to find a dealer that has it hooked up for a listen.

My concern, or my question, is how much of a performance jump will I get over my Yamaha RX-V 657, which is rated at 90 watts per channel. Will I just get a more refined and detailed sound from the Rotel, or will I get much more grunt and power as well.

Any thoughts will be helpful.

Thanks.

PS: I will eventually upgrade to the Integra Pre-Pro for its HDMI 1.3 capabilities.

markjrho,

This amp would be a significant upgrade to your Yamaha. The ratings would suggest not (100 vs 90), but the Rotel will deliver 100 watts to all channels at once with low distortion. You will get better everything: detail, soundstage, grunt and smoothness. Also, Rotel tends to be conservative with their power ratings.

I had the big brother to this, the 1077. I ran B&W N804's, and an HTM1 with it. It sounded very good. It has surprisingly good bass control. For a little while, I ran 802D's in bi-amp mode until I got a different amp. That setup was quite nice as well.

Also, the unit is small and runs cool, which is nice.


Hope this helps.

[bnieman]

markjrho,

No comparison. The Rotel will smoke the Yamaha in every aspect. Htsteve is also correct in stating it's not really 100w vs 90w, The box store brands do not list power rating with all channels driven at once and usually base their rating on a perfect sine wave... when was the last time you sat down to enjoy a sine wave? I prefer music and movies

If you are interested I am selling my RMB-1085 on Audiogon along with my RSP-1068 to upgrade to a Rotel HDMI receiver. I am asking $1050 for the RMB-1085, $925 for the RSP-1068 or both for $1900.

RMB-1085 http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.p...232164439&item
RSP-1068 http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.p...232164440&item

[markjrho]

Wow! Thanks a lot, it really helps getting thoughts from "real world" users.

Bnieman, that sounds like a pretty good deal, but I wont be ready to do anything until after the holidays. If its still available, I'll reach out to you. Thanks again.

[bnieman]

Sure thing,
Let me know