older vs newer Rotel

[wasabichondro]

I am looking at getting either 10 serries class a/b amplifiers or the 15 serries class a/b amplifiers to power my B&W 704 mains. Do any of you experienced Rotle owners see an advantage to do this other than money?

I also was considering getting even older Rotel amplifers and bridging them to power the center HTM7 and 705 B&W surrounds?

thoughts?

[97disco]

wasabichondro,

I am running the 1075 to power nearly the same (704's, HTM7 and B&W 303's rears) with a Rotel RSP 1066.

I am more than happy with its performance so far, but would like to upgrade on the pre sometime soon.

... just my two cents!

[Ferres]

If it will come out cheaper, then by all means get the older model. The improvements between product generations is usually marginal.

The pre-pro on the other hand is a different matter since it decodes HD audio.

[wasabichondro]

I think I might lean towards the RMB-1075 as well. I have had my current set up for 4 years am happy with it. I just feel the mains need a little more juice and a 45% increase across the board would be even better. I can always get a larger (2) channel if I really feel I "need" the additional 80 watts of power for the mains.

[Opus007]

I also run a RMB 1075 with a 1069 and even though more power is better I am very pleased with the performance of the 1075.

[bcampbell]

Just to throw my hat in here too, I have a 1069 with a 1075. Sounded great, then I found a super cheap 1090 and the sound is much better now. I am still very happy with the performance from the 1075 though. I would say just get what you can for your budget. I would highly recommend the 1090 for stereo if that is your main use since it will power any speaker you ever buy.

[wasabichondro]

Is 380 wpc too much for the 704's rated at 150 watts?

[htsteve]

Is 380 wpc too much for the 704's rated at 150 watts?

No. You really can't have too much good power. Underpowering speakers is dangerous to the drivers. Quality amps like Rotel deliver lots of clean current, controlling the drivers for very clean and dynamic sound.

Are you referring to a 1090, at about 380 wpc? Really powerful stereo amps are wonderful for main speakers. The 1090 would be an excellent choice for the 704's. And, given it's current capabilty, you can upgrade speakers down the road without worrying about the amp.



Hope this helps.

[JonJeffman]

My two cents, which is coming from my past research and not actual listening comparisons between different models, is that there was a noticeable step up in quality between 8xx series and 9xx series due to the incorporation of a lot of features from the Michi line. But the differences between 9xx and 10xx are fairly marginal. I can't comment on the 15xx series, no experience with it at all.

I'm running a RB-1080 amp (only cause I found one cheaper than most RB-990's), otherwise I was looking at the 9xx series to save money as well.