upgrade from RSX-1056 and B&W 600's

[newuser12345]

Hi everyone, this is my first post here. I bought a RSX-1056 and a set of B&W 600s for a 5.1 setup in 2004. Given all the new blue ray/HDMIs I am considering the following potential upgrades

1. Do nothing/just use optic audio and wait for 2-3 years for 3-D/HDMI 1.4 to mature
2. Upgrade to RSX-1550
3. Upgrade to RSX-1560 and bi-amp front
4. Upgrade to RSX-1560 with two additional 600 speakers for 7.1 setup - it is not easy to wire a 7.1 setup in my family room but not impossible

Which of the above makes most sense now? A few things

1. I am not sure if I want to go with analoge out from DVD player option.
2. Assume 600 speakers are still good enough/no need to upgrade here?
3. Does anyone know if and when Rotel will have HDMI 1.4 support?
4. How much disccount dealer can give on 1550 and 1560? (think the listing price is 1,999 and ~2,500)
5. Does Rotel/Rotel dealers do trade-ins/upgrade? How much does a 2004 RSC-1056 roughly worth now?

Many thanks for your help.

Tom

[Frank Helmling]

1. Do nothing/just use optic audio and wait for 2-3 years for 3-D/HDMI 1.4 to mature

[hifiguymi]

If 3D is really important to you, then it might be a while before Rotel has a product for you. If 3D isn't a big deal now, then the current products are really nice. The RSX-1550 has the same amplifier section the RSX-1056 has but it has a better preamp section and much better surround decoder. The RSX-1560 does sound a little different than the RSX-1550, it's a little faster sounding and slightly leaner sounding in the bass/mid-bass. Both would work well with the speakers you have.

The main thing is whether or not 3D is a big deal to you.

Eric

[kmcheng]

1. I am not sure if I want to go with analoge out from DVD player option.
2. Assume 600 speakers are still good enough/no need to upgrade here?
3. Does anyone know if and when Rotel will have HDMI 1.4 support?
4. How much disccount dealer can give on 1550 and 1560? (think the listing price is 1,999 and ~2,500)
5. Does Rotel/Rotel dealers do trade-ins/upgrade? How much does a 2004 RSC-1056 roughly worth now?


Tom

1. I am not sure why not. Some players has very good DAC capabilities, e.g. Oppo.
2. That is really dependent on personal tastes, room size, room acoustics, etc. I am sure the new 800 diamond series would be an improvement over the 600, but that comes at a steep price.
3. Probably not any time soon.
4. From my personal experience, 10% to 15% is the norm. If you are buying speakers as well, you may get more.
5. Most dealers do trade-ins, but maybe not at a price you want to sell.

More importantly, what features do you want to improve on with your planned upgrade? Blu-ray playback of lossless codecs? Two-channel performance for CD playback? HDMI connections for 1080p video signals?

[artv4]

stick with 5.1 and upgrade to the 1550

[theblue]

THIS: 1. Do nothing/just use optic audio and wait for 2-3 years for 3-D/HDMI 1.4 to mature

If you want to spend some money then I would buy a nice external amp, then later on buy a pre-processor which has all the latest features that you might want 7.1 / 3D / HDMI 1.4

[TommyV]

I have no interest in 3D but that may be different for you. If it is important to you than I would say wait.

If it was me, I would look at a nice BD player with quality analog output like a Pioneer Elite 23FD, Marantz 7004 or Oppo 83. That or just get a 1550 and a less expensive BD player.

None of the dealers here take in old gear. I always found that an odd concept when I hear people talk about that. Like a pawn shop or something. Your best bet is try audiogon.