Toss up or not?

[sal1k]

Go easy on me, this is my first post :-)

My wife and I have purchased a new home, and at long last I have cut the shackles of most of my Bang & Olufsen collection, and have some money to play with (some goes toward appliances, and new carpeting), but most will go to a solid stereo or 2.1 system.

Television is not that important to us, though as long as it can display HD content 1080p and we can stream netflix, that's fine.

We're considering B&W speakers paired with a Rotel RSX 1560 or 1550...

First off, which one is the better unit for 80% music?

Secondly, would the new Pioneer Elite SC25 give the 1560 a run for it's money?

Please forgive me since I have been in the world of B&O for over 10 years, I'm only now coming up to speed on the advances I have missed.

So here are the questions:

Rotel 1560 or 1550, if we're going to pair them with B&W CM7s or 684s, or CM9'S (hjave to get the wife acceptance factor on that one)

Secondly, Would the Pioneer SC25 compete with what Rotel brings to the table in the 1550 or 1560?

Thanks so much!
Sal

[htsteve]

Sal,

First of all, welcome to the forum. Hopefully, you will find lots of good information.

If you are really interested in a 2.1 system, I would consider a stereo pre-amp and a nice two channel amp, plus some good speakers. The Rotel or Pioneer units you are looking at are full home theater units. You would be paying for capability in the receiver you will not use in a 2.1 system. However, if you plan to go to 5.1 at some point, then the receiver is a good place to begin.

For Rotel, the 15 series stereo pre-amp would be the RC-1550 or RC-1580. The amp to get would depend on which speakers you decide upone. Of your choices listed (which are excellent choices BTW), the CM9 is the top of that list (the midrange driver is quite excellent). Your wife might like the very nice piano gloss finish, a demo would be in order if you can do that. However, the CM7 or 684 would also be very nice.

As to the Pioneer vs. Rotel, my opinion is that the Rotel would be the better performer. The Rotel will have a better power supply and better parts, circuits, etc. And they come with 5 year warranties. Also, I would not run the CM series with a receiver, even nice ones like the Pioneer or Rotel. They will drive the CM's fairly well, but the full potential of the speakers will not be realized. A dedicated amp is what is best. That is why many of us get into separates.



Hope this helps.

[kmcheng]

If you really only want 2.1, then you may also consider an integrated amp.

The relatively new Krell S300 comes to mind.

Another point: If you go with the pre/amp route that htsteve suggested or the integrated amp route that I suggest, you will need your source components to do the decoding of whatever digital signals into analog.

[gd]

If you go with the pre/amp route that htsteve suggested or the integrated amp route that I suggest, you will need your source components to do the decoding of whatever digital signals into analog.

I'd recommend that in any event, for an 80% music usage.

Mostly because of a lingering synch flaw, and it's not unique to Rotel... many AV receivers whose internal DACs are utilized tend to drop out the first .5 - 1.5 seconds of music while trying to lock on to the signal... as small an issue as that might be for movie users, it is death for music lovers.

This issue has been existent for years, and with several manufacturers... it gets discussed infrequently, probably because A) most users concentrate on movies, where the issue goes undetected, and/or B) serious music users will have a dedicated CD player or DAC connected directly to analog inputs.

Otherwise Rotel makes fine AVRs... Pioneer is also good (don't know if they exhibit the synch delay)... furthermore, it appears the issue will not be fully resolved by anyone in the near future.

I'd also recommend a solid 2-ch integrated amp, and a BluRay / DVD player of your choice (check Oppo)... if you do critical CD or music-server listening, you might consider adding an outboard DAC.

[sal1k]

Thanks for all your answers so far... My wife and I are going to audition speakers / receivers / amps, etc this weekend.

We're certainly open to all options, but I think that even though we're 80% music, we'd like the option to go 5.1 in the future (with family visiting, etc), so a receiver may be the direction we seem to already be headed.

Thanks, and I'll keep these boards posted.

Sal

[sal1k]

Sal,

First of all, welcome to the forum. Hopefully, you will find lots of good information.

If you are really interested in a 2.1 system, I would consider a stereo pre-amp and a nice two channel amp, plus some good speakers. The Rotel or Pioneer units you are looking at are full home theater units. You would be paying for capability in the receiver you will not use in a 2.1 system. However, if you plan to go to 5.1 at some point, then the receiver is a good place to begin.

For Rotel, the 15 series stereo pre-amp would be the RC-1550 or RC-1580. The amp to get would depend on which speakers you decide upone. Of your choices listed (which are excellent choices BTW), the CM9 is the top of that list (the midrange driver is quite excellent). Your wife might like the very nice piano gloss finish, a demo would be in order if you can do that. However, the CM7 or 684 would also be very nice.

As to the Pioneer vs. Rotel, my opinion is that the Rotel would be the better performer. The Rotel will have a better power supply and better parts, circuits, etc. And they come with 5 year warranties. Also, I would not run the CM series with a receiver, even nice ones like the Pioneer or Rotel. They will drive the CM's fairly well, but the full potential of the speakers will not be realized. A dedicated amp is what is best. That is why many of us get into separates.



Hope this helps.

Thanks for the response. We're on a fairly tight budget (as mentioned in my first post), so getting a receiver + amp may not be possible... unless of course there is cost cutting elsewhere. Or an overhaul of the components we would be choosing.

The thing is ideally I'd like one box to be the "brains" of the system, and output to everything out of that box. I know that is pretty idealistic, but that's what I really want.

Now if I can get a decent receiver (not rotel), but get a stereo AMP to drive the B&W speakers, I could live with that.

[sal1k]

I checked out a review here:

http://hometheatermag.com/receivers/...0_av_receiver/

I'm confident after tomorrow's audition, I'll be a Rotel owner (and B&W).

Especially when I read another article about Rotel being honest with it's power ratings:

http://forum.ecoustics.com/bbs/messages/1/213110.html

Sal

[sal1k]

Well, got me a pair of CM9 speakers, and a Rotel RSX-1550 receiver.

Wife came and listened as well, and was blown away.

:-)

We don't take delivery for a couple of more weeks, which is fine because we're not in the new house yet. But we're excited to re-enjoy entertainment!

Sal

[gd]

Excellent.

I can't imagine you'll wind up less than thrilled once you're settled in.

Rotel's strength is music... they cheerfully scrimp on other bells and whistles to make music happen.

Do remember that new AV receivers contain lots of technology, and can appear to (or actually) be errant or flawed from time to time... if such an unlikely thing happens with your Rotel, be sure to check in here for advice, in addition to consulting your retailer.

Enjoy.

[htsteve]

Sal,

Awesome! Excellent choices. You will really enjoy that combination. Remember that the speakers and electronics take between 100 and 200 hours to break in and really open up.

I'm very glad your wife was able to come along and be part of the fun.


Will the system be in a carpeted room? Curtains on the windows? These are simple things that can tame a room from sounding too shrill or ringy.

[sal1k]

gd:

The dealer is a local (really close by) family owned business (has been a B&W group dealer for a while now), so it's really nice for customer service in case anything is wrong.

hsteve:

Do the manuals describe the proper way to "break in" the speakers and the receiver?

The room has hardwood floors (with a thick rug). The previous owner (who has moved just three doors down), is a composer, who had the room soundproofed for his piano, so the acoustics are pretty good. He also was a B&W fan, in fact, when we first saw the house with the realtor, I recognized the pair of B&W 704s near his piano, in addition to the whole house wired for sound!

Fun fun!

Sal

[htsteve]

hsteve:

Do the manuals describe the proper way to "break in" the speakers and the receiver?

The room has hardwood floors (with a thick rug). The previous owner (who has moved just three doors down), is a composer, who had the room soundproofed for his piano, so the acoustics are pretty good. He also was a B&W fan, in fact, when we first saw the house with the realtor, I recognized the pair of B&W 704s near his piano, in addition to the whole house wired for sound!

Sal

Sal,

Sweet. Nice house to get. As for breaking in, that's the best part. Just play them. Normal listening volume. No magic formula.


Hope this helps.

[sal1k]

Sounds wonderful! Music playing 24/7 throughout the unpacking process!

Sal