Differences between RSX-1550 and 1560 ??

[Tha Freak]

I was trying to figure out how to connect my Sennheiser 136 on my RSX-1055 and my girlfriend asx me "why don't you get one of those new receivers that you talked me about a few weeks ago ?"...

I was speechless...and a stupid answer came without warning "well because we don't have a tree that grows 1000$ bills in our backyard!" :banghead: how stupid of me !!! the door was wide open !!!

anyway...I caught a upgratitis :B

I was wondering the main differences between the 1550 and the 1560 ?

As I can seen 2 extra channels for the 1560 and I was surprised to note that the 1550 are not with the new Class D amplifier design ?? And since when Rotel plays with the number, stating a 100w/ch in the product presentation but in the stats sheet you can see that it’s 75w/ch (all channel driven) ?

[hifiguymi]

You pretty much have it, it's amplifiers. The RSX-1550 is 75 x 5 and they are class A/B amps. They pretty much haven't changed the amps from the RSX-1058/RSX-1057/RSX-1056/RSX-1055. The preamp section and DSP engines are much improved but the amps are the same. The RSX-1560 has the same front end as the RSX-1550 but it is 100 x 7 and they are class D amps. The binding posts are also higher quality and laid out better.

Eric

[tpirovol]

The only real benefit is the 2ch extra that the 1550 does not come with which is nice if you want to Bi-Amp your fronts. It also is a Class D amp instead of a Class A/B.

I had the 1550 and upgraded to the 1560. I am very happy with the 1560 but would say that the sound quality difference might not be worth the extra money depending on your speakers.

Thanks Terry

[grit]

I know i'm rezzing an old thread here, but could someone provide some more detail? I've got a very small window to exchange my 1550 for a 1560. My speakers are Era D14's, LCR D4, and D4's in the back.

[Nuthed]

If you're not doing a 7.1 set-up I would stick with the 1550. Even if you did, adding an external stereo amp would be easy, since the 1550 has processing and outputs for 7.1 anyway. The 1550 is $600 cheaper to boot.

Another thing I discovered when looking at the specs for both, is that with just 5 channels driven the 2 are with 2 wpc of each other.

[Tha Freak]

So beside the two extra channels, and amps configuration being different, all else is the same? All the electronics are identical, converters, decoders, switchers, connections...
So unless you really need the two extra channels, there is no real benefit ??

[hifiguymi]

Yes all is the same other than the amps. The internal layout is different because the chassis' are different, but they have the same electronics.

Eric

[MickeyVee]

Nobody has mentioned the difference in display's.. I much prefer the 1560 two line display & that was the kicker for me (similar to my old RSX-1067)

- the 1560 has a rating into 4 ohms so I'm more comfortable with difficult speakers (I'm running Martin Logan's)
- the 1560 can be configured to bi-amp speakers - great as I'm planning on moving up the ML line
(pretty much a moot point for me now as I have a 1572 on order to drive the mains)

The 1560 is an inch taller, Class D so it doesn't need the big toroidal transformer (I think they're pretty much the same weight).. there must be more of a difference inside the units to account for the volume difference and size considerations between the two units although I'm not sure what it could be.

[grit]

Everything that's listed here seems to pretty much encompass everything I've found out. The biggest difference I think is the way the amps drive lower impedance speakers. You'll lose power with the class a/b amp (1550), while the class d amp holds steady (1560), doubling power into 4 ohms.

Also, I'm a big fan of the 2 line display, coming off an old 1068 processor. Its lots easier to see whats going on. Example - using the CD input, the bottom line on the 1560 shows "PCM 2CH" or "BYPASS" depending on which I'm using. On the 1550, the word "BYPASS" scrolls across the screen when I switch from PCM to bypass, then disappears to be replaced by "CD". If you rely on on-screen info (through your monitor) OR have your equipment out of sight, this obviously makes NO difference. For me, it's a night and day difference.

And for no good reason that I can identify, I dont like that my banana plugs dont fit all the way into the back of the 1550 bind posts. They fit like they should on the 1560 bind posts.

[hifiguymi]

One of the main reasons for the size of the RSX-1560 is standard rack heights. The next size down is 1.75in smaller and I don't think everything would have fit on the back panel at that height. The RSX-1550 is the only piece in the 15 Series that isn't a standard rack height.

Eric