Replacing RSP-1098+RMB-1075 -> RSX-1560 ?

[len73]

Hello,

After hours or reading and relfexions, I would like to have your opinion about this possible upgrade :

I am currently running a RSP-1098+RMB-1075. Everything works perfectly.
But wanting to upgrade the Pre to get HDMI as well as new Dolby/DTS HD format, I just come accross the possibility to replace these 2 machines through a Receiver, that not only enables a 7.1 but also video and audio treatment.

Do you guys think this conclusion makes sens ?

What advice could you give me ? I am strongly wondering why a HDMI/Dolby format upgrade is not possible on this 1098 !? (at least here in Switzerland...)

Thank you for your comments

Cheers,

Len

[htsteve]

Len,

I would not replace separates with a receiver. There would be a performance drop off. As good as the amps are in a Rotel reciever, they are not the same, nor as good as, a 1075.

There are a couple of ways for you to get the HD Audio formats. As you mentioned, getting a new pre-amp will do that. Also, you can get (or maybe already have) a Blu ray player that decodes these formats and outputs them via analog. Just hook them up to the 1098 in the analog inputs. This is a very viable way to do this. This is what I do in my system as my pre-amp does not do the decoding.

As for HDMI. Only an outboard HDMI device (video scaler?), or a new preamp will allow you to have HDMI access.

The 1098 is not upgradeable to HDMI, as far as I know. Hopefully someone with more knowledge will post here.

At the end of the day, I believe your best route would be a new pre-amp that does HDMI and the new audio formats. Something like the RSP-1570 would definitely fit your needs.


Hope this helps.

[TopmeTom]

I would go the route above as well.

I sold a 1068/75 combo a few years ago due to truehdmadness..
I have just picked up a 1069/75 combo and could not be happier, don't get caught up with hdmivitus.

[mjb]

Len, take it for someone who has wasted a lot of money following the marketing boys promises (aka BS), and keep your gear! The 1098 is a fine processor, still yet to be superseded, and the 1075 is a well respected amp: just add an HDMI switcher if your TV if its lacking HDMI inputs, and you're up to date. Some HDMI switchers can even learn the remote control codes from other equipment functions. You can either use a DVD player with internal HD decoding via the 1098's direct analog input or one that transcodes to DTS via TOSLINK .

[Dmantis]

Hello,

After hours or reading and relfexions, I would like to have your opinion about this possible upgrade :

I am currently running a RSP-1098+RMB-1075. Everything works perfectly.
But wanting to upgrade the Pre to get HDMI as well as new Dolby/DTS HD format, I just come accross the possibility to replace these 2 machines through a Receiver, that not only enables a 7.1 but also video and audio treatment.

Do you guys think this conclusion makes sens ?

What advice could you give me ? I am strongly wondering why a HDMI/Dolby format upgrade is not possible on this 1098 !? (at least here in Switzerland...)

Thank you for your comments

Cheers,

Len

I'm gonna go on the other side of the fence. I would suggest you give it a try. There are some benefits from going back to a receiver. I did and I'm happy with it.

Seperates are the best in performance due to the power supplies being in different chassis among many other reasons but a receiver is nice as it's everything in one box.

If your speakers are not very demanding like 6 or 8 ohm load then I suggest at least giving it a try. ICE amps are powerful and clean. I like them better then the older design.

I had the rsp1068 and the mighty rmb1095.

Good luck with what you do and please report back your findings.

[len73]

Thank you all for your comments and feed-back.

I really appreciate it !

I think I will first get a BD player (still haven't got one) that could decode the new hd formats (through analog out) and will feed my current 1098 (truely superb) and see what is going out of it.

To put it in other words, wait a bit more...

The quest of a very good BR Player has just begun...
Any suggestions ? (I am closely looking at the ES version of Sony (being a ES fan years ago...)

What do you use with your Rotel systems ?

Thank you again !

Cheers,

Len

[Robo1067]

hi Len,
I am using the Oppo BDP-83 Blu Ray player.
Using the players analogue 7.1 outs and internal decoder for the HD audio codecs.
Couldn't be happier.
Sounds fantastic.
Rob

[TopmeTom]

i was about to say OPPO, I have a sony 350 at the moment, going to sell that and my oppo 983 for the oppo blu.

[len73]

Any idea where to get Oppo stuff in Switzerland ?

[htsteve]

Any idea where to get Oppo stuff in Switzerland ?

len,

Here's info on Oppo:

http://www.oppodigital.com/InternationalOrders.asp

If that does not work, I have a Denon BR player that decodes the HD audio quite well. I've been very happy with it. Here is the Denon website in Switzerland.

http://www.denon-hifi.ch/denon/startpage/default.html



Hope this helps.

[JDH]

I'm using a Panasonic DB60 with my Rotel RSP1069, you could try a Panasonic DB80 with your RSP1098 with analogue connections.

JDH

QUOTE=len73]Any idea where to get Oppo stuff in Switzerland ?[/QUOTE]

[TommyV]

There is also a Denon 2010 that is nice and has a better analog section than the Oppo if you do not care about having SACD and DVDA all in the same box (There is also a repacked Marantz version of the same player).

http://www.denon.de/site/frames_main.php?main=prod&ver=0&MID=3&sub=1&action=detail&Pid=418

I would either do that or get a 1069. You never mentioned what speakers you have.

[wasabichondro]

If your sytem is set up fine don't change it for HMDI. Just use multichannel outputs my 2 cents.

I am using the Panasonic BD-80 connected to my receiver via multichannel looks and sounds great. I myself am looking to add an external amplifier and use my receiver as a preamp/processor. Not sure to get a 120 x 5 for all speakers or 130 x 2 for the main 704's though?

[wasabichondro]

p.s. I am new here but I have been browsing this club for a couple of years. I just finnaly had an opinion as oposed to reading others.

[gd]

Any idea where to get Oppo stuff in Switzerland ?

I think Oppo is strictly online-only vendor. Shipping to Europe may be costly(?)

Cambridge Audio will soon be releasing a BD player. Seems to be very loaded: latest codecs, BD-Live, SACD, DVD-A, HDCD.

http://www.blu-ray.com/news/?id=2271

[mjb]

Any idea where to get Oppo stuff in Switzerland ?

http://www.opposhop.com/

EU spec, and shippped out of Sweeden.
http://www.opposhop.com/en/help/5/shipping_delivery

OppoShop
Hammarbygatan 5
72460 Vasteras
Sweden

Telephone: +4621188718 (Sales/ Support)

Its amazing what you can find on Google if you look.

[Audio_ElF]

Oppo in Europe / Sweeden don't yet have the BluRay player ... that is a Region A / USA product only. http://www.crtprojectors.co.uk/oppo_bdp83.htm in the UK (and will ship to rest of Europe) have the Oppo both as Region A and as a hardware switching Multi-region version (see the website for more details). I'm sure there maybe other places in Europe doing similar.

To add into the argument ... I sold a Rotel RSP1068 and RMB985MkII to buy a reciever (admittedly a Yamaha) and apart from convenience of HDMI switching and HD Audio Codecs, I didn't gain anything, more like I lost.

Eloise

[TommyV]

I know I pondered brand switching many times for HDMI but finally held out. Now that I have the 1069 in its current form I am so happy with the upgrade in not only sound but convenience. Having been using multi analogs and now HDMI for years to get hi rez audio I definitely agree, do not downgrade equipment just to get HDMI.

[len73]

Thank you for all your comments !

Yes, the Denon 2010 seems quite interesting !

The recent release of the Cambridge is also something I will have a look at !

On my shortlist I also have the Sony BDP-S5000ES

I will keep you informed about next steps.

Oh, by the way, my current speakers are Monitor Audio, Gold series :-)

Cheers,

Len

[whmacs]

Hi Len73,
I'm running a RSP-1098, RMB-1075 and RB-1070 (7.2 system) with a Sony BDP-S5000ES bluray player. The S55000ES does all the HD Audio decoding and sends it via analogue cables to the RSP-1098.

The sound quality is outstanding and I have no plans to upgrade. I highly recommend the S5000ES. It's built like a tank and has performed flawlessly for the past nine months. Saying that, I've heard plenty of good things about the Oppo BDP-83. I don't think you can go wrong with either player.

The S5000ES is connected to my 4x2 HDMI switch which in turn routes to my plasma and projector.

Here is a link to my setup:
Equipment

cheers,
Stephen

[JMDooley]

HDMI Upgrade

I don't know if anyone mentioned this, but the 1098 is upgradable to HDMI.
It is for HDMI 1.1 that only passes video.
No audio decoding through the HDMI.
I have a Sony BDP-S1 player with HDMI to my Sony 52XBR3 TV and a Optical hook-up to the 1098.
The picture and sound are great!!!
I am going to to the upgrade for HDMI through Rotel soon for the convience of it with all the HDMI devices that I have.
James

[mjb]

I don't know if anyone mentioned this, but the 1098 is upgradable to HDMI.

Unfortunately, this upgrade is not available in Europe. If you want HDMI, you have to buy an external switch, or a 1570.

[dmcgowan]

Len73,

I have the OPPO BDP-83 going to RSP-1098 via 7.1ch RCA and it is just fine. Not sure if he would ship to Switzerland but you can buy the Oppo here in Australia in a region free form.

http://www.merlinaudiodesign.com.au/First_frame.html

I think Switzerland would have same 240V power supply as here so all you need to do is change the plug to fit.

Cheers,



Darren

[JMDooley]

Opps

8O Sorry about that.
Thanks for clearing that up MJB.
James

[Whacked!]

RSP-1580 Announced

Len,

I too think you would be disappointed going back to a receiver. If you're looking for a little more flash than some of the other items mentioned, and can wait for a bit, the RSP-1580 has been announced.

http://blog.ultimateavmag.com/cedia2009/

Norm

[TopmeTom]

CRT ship to europe, for the OPPO.

Mine is being delivered today, huzzah!

[len73]

Hello everyone !

Thank you for all your comments.

Finally, I get the Sony BDP-S5000ES - superb player !
Still waiting for the cables (RCA) for testing proper TrueHD and DB MasterAudio.

I will wait a bit now (need to refund a bit)...

The annonced 1580 seems superb as well... The next upgrade for me will be a good HC-Projector and then we will see :-)

Have a nice day,

Len

[len73]

Me again, with another question...

My dealer just sent me a list of discounted Rotel 10 series. On it, I just noticed a RMB-1077 at a real bargain.

Would you, guys, advice me to upgrade that way from my current 1075 or should I preferably pass my way and look for 15 series a bit later?

Your advice would be more than welcome.

Thank you in advance.

Regards,

Len

[TommyV]

That is really personal preference. I bought the 1075 over the 1077 or 1085 because I like the way the Class A/B sounds. Not everyone agrees so you'll have to decide that for yourself. I would focus on a new pre/pro or BD player but that is just me.

[mjb]

Me again, with another question...

My dealer just sent me a list of discounted Rotel 10 series. On it, I just noticed a RMB-1077 at a real bargain.

Would you, guys, advice me to upgrade that way from my current 1075 or should I preferably pass my way and look for 15 series a bit later?

Your advice would be more than welcome.

Thank you in advance.

Regards,

Len

Len, I went from a 1075 to a 1077 and always felt it was a great upgrade. I loved the 1077. I loved its size, weight, and above all its sound. Very precise, and not at all mushy. The bass is powerful but not overpowering, and better at lower volumes too. I still find it amazing that so much power can come from such a little box, its a lot louder than the 1075. Its probably the best of the 10 series Class D amps, all things considered, and its 7 channel too.

But Tommy is right, its a personal thing, and you should decide for yourself. Some people are not so enthusiastic and prefer the thought of class A/B amplification for their speakers. I personally like what Rotel have done with the B&O class D ICE modules, and would recommend them every time.

[len73]

I will have to decide pretty quickly, as me dealer has only one piece left at a very very special price...

I always wanted to upgrade to the rmb-1095, but never got the opportunity of doing it. It is clear to me, that if the 1077 really approach the 1095 capacity, I would be truly tempted to make that change...

Is that something you would confirm ? I know the 15 series is out, but such bargains are always interesting...

Thank you for you help.

Cheers,

Len

[TommyV]

The 1095 and 1077 are even more different. You are talking about a 200x5 Class A/B monster vs a 7x100 Class D. I went through much agony in deciding which amp to buy. All the 10 series was on sale and I was leaning toward Class D. I discussed it at length with my dealer and he could have easily talked me into a more expensive 1077 and the 1085 was basically the same price so I know there was not financial intent on his advise.

Yes I liked the "idea" of the Class D small amp with big power that runs cool but after listening to some Class D amps and talking it over with my very trusted dealer, I decided I wanted the 1075 for sound alone. I would actually like some of my shelf space back that this monster took up but I have never regretted it once I hooked it up.

Ask yourself first, do you need 7 channels? Have you listened to to the Class D and do you like the sound? If you really want an amp upgrade maybe go look over at some Classé models. If you just want more power then the 1095 is another great option.