RSX 1550 - Help and Guidance

**madmac** · 10 May 2011, 10:05 Tuesday

I can help you with a few of your questions. Use the HDMI and let the Rotel convert audio. The Oppo 93 is not designed to be used as a DAC unit. The 95 is. The Rotel will very likely have better DAC conversion than the BDP-93.

As for the setup. Carefully read the manual. You MUST set up the Rotel properly for all parameters for it to sound and operate at it's best..... each speaker distance to listener.....db levels must be properly matched using a SPL meter. The Rotel menus are extremely user friendly so experiment and use them. I STRONGLY recommend all speakers set to small with a subwoofer crossover at 80hz. It will free up A LOT of power for the Rotel amp and it will 'sing' for you!!. Buy the best center channel speaker you can afford and try not to box it in and get it as close to the level of your left and right speakers as possible.

Rotel does not like being in hot areas and you might run into trouble if you do not give it adequate ventilation. I DO NOT recommend boxing it in!!. It needs good ventilation on all sides. Your idea of using fans is good.

**hurin** · 10 May 2011, 12:04 Tuesday

Originally posted by mishalgunner

Hello

1. I will have a Oppo 93 hooked up to this for my Blu Rays, DVD Audios and SACDS - what are the optimal settings? Shall I do processing in the Rotel or in the Oppo?

The Rotel.

With regards to SACD, the rotel doesn't support DSD and they recommend multichannel analog, but for better or worse, I would like my system to be HDMI - how would I play SACDS over HDMI

PCM.

what do you recommend for cooling?

Try 3 inches between the Rotel and the cabinet walls first. The Rotel's safety circuit should turn it off automatically if it runs to hot.

The 1550 can now passthrough 3D, so I should be set on that level, but only at 1080i

You lost me, why would you possibly use 1080i for blurays.

**mishalgunner** · 10 May 2011, 16:27 Tuesday

Thanks guys

@Hurin - b&w support told me the hdmi 1.3 on the 1550 can passthrough 3d, but at 1080i, not p - I guess this has to do with it not being hdmi 1.4 compliant - thanks for the other feedback

I'm really worried about the heat - summers here can run at 100 degrees for months - everything's air-conditioned, but I have an irrational fear of components overheating I guess

@madmac - I hope the cmc2 is a good center - I've heard the cmc but wasn't too impressed - ordered the cmc2 instead - do you not recommend putting this inside the cabinet? I guess I could place it on top of the media cabinet and wall mount the 55" led if it will make a good difference to the sound quality - cheers for the feedback

I was thinking of putting everything everything in a rack, but the wires could be really messy - essesntially the main exposed wires will be the main hdmi from the rotel to the tv and the front speaker wires - can I hide these easily?

would the hdmi cable have to be special (high speed) to be able transmit perfectly over 10 or so feet? Can an hdmi cable be safely concealed under PVC ducting?

Thanks

**madmac** · 10 May 2011, 17:46 Tuesday

Originally posted by mishalgunner

Thanks guys

@Hurin - b&w support told me the hdmi 1.3 on the 1550 can passthrough 3d, but at 1080i, not p - I guess this has to do with it not being hdmi 1.4 compliant - thanks for the other feedback

I'm really worried about the heat - summers here can run at 100 degrees for months - everything's air-conditioned, but I have an irrational fear of components overheating I guess

@madmac - I hope the cmc2 is a good center - I've heard the cmc but wasn't too impressed - ordered the cmc2 instead - do you not recommend putting this inside the cabinet? I guess I could place it on top of the media cabinet and wall mount the 55" led if it will make a good difference to the sound quality - cheers for the feedback

I was thinking of putting everything everything in a rack, but the wires could be really messy - essesntially the main exposed wires will be the main hdmi from the rotel to the tv and the front speaker wires - can I hide these easily?

would the hdmi cable have to be special (high speed) to be able transmit perfectly over 10 or so feet? Can an hdmi cable be safely concealed under PVC ducting?

Thanks

In regards to heat....be afraid...be VERY afraid !! :E

Put the center speaker on top of the cabinet and preferably on a stand......wall mount the monitor. :T

10 ft for a quality HDMI is fine...

**hurin** · 11 May 2011, 10:27 Wednesday

Originally posted by mishalgunner

@Hurin - b&w support told me the hdmi 1.3 on the 1550 can passthrough 3d, but at 1080i, not p - I guess this has to do with it not being hdmi 1.4 compliant - thanks for the other feedback

Loosing half the picture quality to get 3D does not sound like a good trade-off to me.

The solution however is simple. The Oppo 93 has dual HDMI outputs, one picture one sound, so just connect the Oppo directly to your screen bypassing the Rotel.

**mishalgunner** · 11 May 2011, 11:35 Wednesday

My thoughts exactly, not a good deal at all - 3D is not the most important thing to me, but I want it as a feature (3D footie, 3D movies) to go with my 3D display

This leads to another question - the Rotel seems to be really bad when it comes to futureproofing - I don't care about ipod support, wireless etc, but I feel I am missing out when it comes to HDMI 1.4 (now in its early stages, but will no doubt be upgraded as time goes on)

The Audio Return, 1080p 3D is just the start methinks

The Denon 4311CI has hdmi 1.4 and seems to be well futureproofed (I don't want to go into a thread about the 1550 vs the 4311) and is the same price for me - I've heard the Rotel and love it - never heard the Denon but it gets good reviews

Back to the question: Should I stick with the 1550 and work around the technical shortcomings or return and go for the Denon (for example)? They both cost the same (or any AVR in the 2k range), but I have the feeling the rotel has put the money into sound fidelity and not into gizmos - the higher tech AVRs that have whizz bang features @ the same price, so obviously, they can't be as good as the Rotel? Or are they?

If I use the dual HDMI on the Oppo, which HDMI would go into the TV and which one into the AVR (I believe one HDMI output has better processing?) - also how would it affect the settings (i.e. what would need to be changed?)

@Aussie Geoff @KevinD @madmac @hurin @ any 1550 owners

What do I lose by keeping the 1550 over a high tech AVR? I'm a gadget freak, but acoustic fidelity is the most important thing to me - would it make sense getting the HDMI 1.3 1550 over any 1.4 compliant model from a Denon or a Marantz or an Onkyo? Will Rotel release an HDMI 1.4 machine in the next 6 months and make me cry into my milk?

I know that one needs to hear everything etc etc and the discussion can rage on forever with no clear conclusion, but from a technological standpoint, and considering I have good B&W speakers - is the RSX 1550 worth the long term sacrifice on tech?

Thanks Guys

@

**madmac** · 11 May 2011, 13:26 Wednesday

If music is the most important thing for you, then get the Rotel without hesitation. The Denon will not compete with it on a sound and musicality front. All these new receivers have piles of gizmos but Rotel puts their efforts into the components and Amps. I had a high end Yamaha amp but when I upgraded to my Rotel, It blew it away on the sound front. No comparison !!

I am currently in possession of the Oppo BDP-95 and will review it here in this Forum shortly. Off the cuff I can tell you it's quite a piece of hardware !!.

**hurin** · 11 May 2011, 15:24 Wednesday

That's (obviously) HDMI1, HDMI2 is for sound, or a secondary display. But really I own the Oppo 80 myself and the menus are practically self explanatory, I never owned a product with menus this easy.

Rotel's force is sound, the sad truth is their video solutions suck and are overpriced. If you buy a Rotel receiver or pre-processor just set HDMI to bypass and forget about it. Let the player handle video processing and let the Rotel handle sound.

I'm sure the Denon offers better video support than the Rotel, but it's still inferior to that of the Oppo, so you won't need it anyway.

**Kevin D** · 11 May 2011, 21:43 Wednesday

Honestly, no company really cares about future-proofing today anyway. Things move way too fast.

Rotel has longer production runs and lower production units. So that means they will either be slightly behind new features or way behind new features, depending upon when in the cycle you buy.

They will do their best to add features as possible. Adding 3d pass-through to the 15 series was one of those features. I think it was a Denon/Marantz piece that had the same chipset that would support the same pass-through, but D&M's solution was to buy a new 1.4 unit.

Also the Rotel's have a 5 year warranty. You've all ready answered your question by stating " acoustic fidelity is the most important thing to me". Like you thought, the bells and whistles cost money, but not as much as the silkscreen logo's on the front they bring. They have to pay for the potential sales those logo's bring.

Kevin D.

**frankgobbo** · 18 May 2011, 23:53 Wednesday

Are there any hints/indications Rotel is about to do a model refresh?

The reason I ask is I've been tossing up lately buying a Denon AVR4311 to replace my ageing Rotel RSX1056. I loved the Rotel but the 1550 was just too expensive in Australia ($3300 - about $3500 USD) when I can get the Denon etc for less than $2k from overseas (Hong Kong/Singapore).

This past week though, Rotel have caught up and dropped their prices in Australia, so the RSX1550 now retails here for $1999 ($2100USD). Expecting maybe 10-15% discount or so in stores, that means they compare very favourably price wise with the Denon.

My only real issue, as you say, is Rotel can be quite behind the other brands, especially where bells & whistles are concerned. Even the HDMI inputs are lacking significantly over the competitors these days.

So I'd love to look at buying a Rotel but I will be VERY annoyed if a replacement comes out in the next few months. Is there even a hint of one out there? Does anybody know? They appear to have come out a bit over 2 years ago, which is a lifetime in the HT game these days.

**mishalgunner** · 19 May 2011, 06:21 Thursday

@frankgobbo

I think Kevin makes a very good point - Denon will release models every year (basically on the 4311 the 11 represents the Model Year) - with a replacement every year, redundancies are built in, and the desire to support the product beyond it's shelf life is suspect at best

As Kevin has pointed out, Denon could have passed though 3d on their chipset too (for last years models) - but they didn't - their solution? Buy the 4311, and if you have the 4310, "tough s***, we've got a business to run" - this really says it all. Rotel took their time, but they provided the support and added life to their product - this shows a companies true approach to products and customers. I'm not saying Rotel is perfect, far from it, but I feel like it has retained some of it niche low volume attitude (this is a good thing - see Oppo - great great service) despite being devoured by the B&W group (or whatever their holding company is called).

With Rotel, you may pay more, but your money is going into the components, designed by picky sound engineers (I paid 2200 USD for my 1550 and I could have had the Denon for 2000 with more features, but declined).

Rotel makes a unit that you will be happy to use for years because every component is well thought out - acoustic fidelity is paramount. Denon want's to incorporate the newest tech and all those gizmos cost money - you can bet that when your paying a DSD license, and to Auddessy Apple etc, then you will compromise on the core fundamentals of the components to meet your price point. I have no doubt the most expensive Denon (can't remember the model name) is great, but it costs a great deal more too.

I am a huge gadget freak - however, I have learned the hard way that on high end (relatively) components, you have to go for quality and not the latest technology because that technology will change in 6 months, and then you will be tempted by something else (the Denon 4312 next year). However, when you go for quality and focus on the core function (for an AMP, AVR, sound is paramount, not digital gizmos), then your DVD Audios will still sound great in 4 years. When airplay v2, v3 and HDMI 1.5 blah blah all change the game for incremental increases in accesibility, the Denon might not look like such a wise purchase.

My complaints re: the Rotel have little to do with the Tech (airplay, auddesy {sic}), and more to do with the lack of a couple of options (DSD for my SACDS, but PCM is alright, so I guess I'm nitpicking) - the installation is nigh on impossible for a newb like me, but as this is my first system, the dealer install is key

**mishalgunner** · 19 May 2011, 06:33 Thursday

@Kevin / AussieGeoff

Guys, the rotel 1550 gets a bit toasty when I keep it on for a while (I use it for everything, so it's always on when I'm watching TV / listening to music etc). There is enough clearance and a small pc fan is fitted in the cabinet behind it...

I am about to go through my quarterly gaming phase (LA Noire, and later this year The Elder Scrolls 5 Skyrim) - basically, I get really into these story based games over 2 weekends every 3-4 months (otherwise the Management will kill me) and play 15-20 hours without a break, sleep and then play 15-20 hours again. I know it's crazy, but I love it.

Basically, I'm scared that my 1550 will not be able to keep up with this ridiculous schedule, and either get damaged from overheating, or constantly shut off from overheating

What are my options? Is this a rational fear?

Oh and another quick question - I'm placing my center speaker in a center cabinet in my AV Stand (above the rotel) - to keep inteference etc to a minimum, is there any way I can dress the cabinet space for the CMC2 center to optimize it for speaker placement?

Thanks guys

**Vicente** · 20 October 2011, 02:18 Thursday

Hello all.

I'm having an issue with my 1050. I have connected the intputs for blu-ray (video1), CD & EXT Multianalog trough HDMI to my Pioneer Plasma.

Sometimes, when I'm watching a video concert, I use to switch between these three intputs to hear the sound differences they provide, and many times when I select Video1(blu-ray), video is OK but sound is missing. If I switch to CD, sound is recovered, but again if switching to Video1 sound is kept missing, so I have to switch to any of the other inputs like Tape and back to Video 1 and then sound and video are recovered.

Anyone of you is having the same issue? Am I doing something wrong?

Thanks for your support.

Best regards

**hurin** · 20 October 2011, 03:15 Thursday

There are two things you're doing wrong. First one is to start a new topic in an old tread.

Second is it sound to me as if you connected the bluray player to the flatscreen using HDMI and then connected the analog outputs on the flatscreen to the rotel.
This is practically guarantied to give you the worst sound, since hardly any buyers use the analog outs on a flatscreen the manufactures have no incentive to use decent DACs.
You should connect the player directly to the rotel. And consider getting a CD player instead of using your bluray player.

**Vicente** · 24 October 2011, 09:18 Monday

Hello huring

I think I'm not doing wrong asking a question here for the 1550 as I understand that the title is selfexplanatory and it says "RSX 1050 help and guidance" that it is what I need, but I have no problem in opening a new thread if necessary.

Second, maybe I have not explained myself right, but I have all the connexions from the blu-ray player (oppo bdp 93) to the receiver, and from the receiver throug HDMI to the plasma, so the problem is not from the sound from the plasma, but the sound from the receiver.

This weekend it happened again, and I can't understand why. There is never a problem switching between analogic inputs (CD or multichannel), but every time I change to Video1 (blu ray-hdmi) I loose the sound. It seems that HDMI changes the video but not the digital sound. I have to change to Video2 and then back to video1 and then I recover the sound.

Tomorrow, I'm waiting for the visit of my dealer's technician that comes to adjust all the equipment and I will addres him this problem. We'll see if he knows why.

Also, huring, I know there are some fine (and very expensive) CD players that should be perfect to hear CD's. but read the reviews of the Oppo

OPPO Digital - Ultra HD Blu-ray Disc Players

http://www.oppodigital.com/blu-ray-bdp-95/blu-ray-BDP-95-Review.aspx

Based in the heart of Silicon Valley, OPPO Digital designs and markets high quality digital electronics that deliver style, performance, innovation, and value to A/V enthusiasts and savvy consumers alike. The company's attention to core product performance and strong customer focus distinguishes it from traditional consumer-electronics brands.

and probably you will change your oppinion about using a blu-ray player to listen to CD's.

Regards

**hurin** · 24 October 2011, 10:52 Monday

The problem most likely is a handshake issue caused by the Rotel when the Oppo tries to 'talk' with the plasma.

First in the setup on the Rotel set HDMI to 'bypass'. If this does not work try bypassing the Rotel completely. The Oppo 93 has dual HDMI outputs. Connect the Oppo directly to the plasma, and run sound to the Rotel using the secondary HDMI output.

PS: I am at a loss to understand how the title can be 'selfexplanatory'. The 1050 and the 1550 are not the same. It is impossible to help if you won't give the correct unit number. My previous answer was based on the idea you had the 1050 stereo receiver.

**Vicente** · 25 October 2011, 04:41 Tuesday

Sorry hurin, I can see now that it was my fault because it was a misspelling.

I was meaning 1550 but I wrote 1050 (and I did it twice!!!).

Clarified this, thanks for your answer.

I would not like to conect directly the Oppo with the plasma, as mine is a fabulous 43" Pioneer, but old for the actual standards as it only has one HDMI input, and I'm using the Rotel to receive all the inputs and use the output for the plasma.

Thanks again. I will try your tips

RSX 1550 - Help and Guidance

RSX 1550 - Help and Guidance

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