Rotel RB1090

[TimbaLand]

Rotel RB1090 is a class AB amp dishing out 380w x 2. In the current rotel models what would be the equivalent of this amp?

[bigburner]

Hi TimbaLand,

RB-1592

http://classaaudio.com.au/index.php?id_product=123&controller=product

Perhaps a Rotel expert on the forum will tell us why it doesn't appear in a product search on Rotel's web site.

Nigel.

[wkhanna]

After some expert sleuthing (i.e. Googling) I dug this up.....

RB-1592

[PewterTA]

They haven't officially released the RB-1592 yet... that's why you can't find it.

Seeing the internal pictures of it, it is "almost to a T" the exact same RB-1090 with the 15 series cover on it. I'm sure there's some things like newer parts in it, but the topology all looks exactly the same. Should be a beast of an amp!

[bigburner]

Should be a beast of an amp!

But if you want a real beast at a rock bottom price then this is worth considering:

http://shop.emotiva.com/collections/amplifiers/products/xpr2

Nigel.

[wkhanna]

That is a lot of amp for the price!

I would love to compare the Emotiva to the 1090.

My guess is there would be more in common between the two than there were differences.

[PewterTA]

I had the Emotiva XPA-1 for a week or so and compared it to the RB-1090, the Rotel won my heart. The Emotiva didn't have a slight musicality to it that the Rotel seemed to have...

Now I haven't heard the new ones.... and I would be tempted to get the XPR if funds weren't spent... But I'm guessing even if it isn't as "musical," as the Rotel... I'm betting that I would know how to fix that. hee hee.

[audiocvk]

You're right, they do have more in common than different but with slight differences. One is not better than the other, will try and describe the differences.

I own two Rotel RB-1090 (The RB-1592 is identical inside as RB-1090 but only with new case design on outside)

I own four Emotiva XPA-1 amps and two Emotiva XPR-1 amps. I also own pre-amps and CD players from both Rotel and Emotiva, all on par with each other.

Sound of Rotel and Emotiva amps are on par with each other, which one thy will like is how you like your sound presentation as follows:

Rotel RB-1090: - Sounds very nice, slightly warmer sounding with slightly rolled off highs for a smoother tube like sound, large sound stage but vocals are more center focused with a heftier forward sound. Strong, robust sound. Very good build quality but more expensive than Emotiva, less bang for money than Emotiva.

Emotiva XPA-1: Sounds very nice, similar to Rotel but with vocals being slightly more wider sounding, less center focused and slightly less forward but large sound stage. Highs aren't slightly rolled off, hefty sound, sounds similar to Parasound, understandable as it comes from the same factory that builds the Parasounds.

Emotiva Build quality is very good, well manufactured from start to end, lots of value for your money since buying direct without having to pay middleman cost. Hard to beat value, performance, and quality for the price!

Both Rotel and Emotiva have excellent customer service in my experience over the years. I could be happy with either Rotel or Emotiva and continue to like both, and have both. You really can't go wrong with either, both reveal all the quality of detailed sound. You won't be missing any detail in sound with Rotel or Emovita, they both do it without compromise. As with any amp, it's more important to team up the right speakers that go well with the amps.

It took me quite a lot of time of testing, studying, and comparing the sound differences of these amps over a matter of months to do this accurately!

So soundwise, there is no winner here... just pick what presentation of sound fits your likes more. Good Luck and enjoy!!

[Finleyville]

I am interested in your opinions similarities/differences with the XPR amps!

[PewterTA]

Michael you don't need more amps. :P

[audiocvk]

The Emotiva XPR-1 amps are nice, gives a little more of everything. I'm actually thinking about selling my Rotel RB-1090 setups to get another XPR-1 setup and I thought I would never give up my Rotel RB-1090 amps so can't believe I'm even thinking this now, I'm debating about and it will be a hard decision but going between the Rotel RB-1090 and the Emotiva XPR-1.... I am preferring the Emotiva XPR-1 better for my ears. The Rotel RB-1090 is slightly veiled and high frequencies rolled off with makes it smoother, while the Emotiva XPR-1 doesn't have the high frequencies rolled off and isn't slightly veiled so it's easier to hear details at the cost of not being as smooth as the Rotel RB-1090, but allows it to be a bit more cleaner sounding. The Emotiva is still a smooth amp but just not as much as the Rotel's, but I would rather the high frequencies not be rolled off or slightly veiled after comparing the two, even if it is at the cost of smoothness, so it will be more a personal taste thing as some will vote more for the smoothness.
Hope this helps with XPR-1 vs RB-1090, thanks!!

[PewterTA]

If you're good with soldering... I can tell you how to modify the amp to make it sound a lot better.

WKHanna was so impressed with my RB-1080 that he didn't want his 1090 back (he liked the 1080 that much better). Then I told him the 1090 would be the same thing with more bass.

It definitely will make you reconsider getting rid of the 1090 and I think you'd feel no need to get rid of the 1090s.

HOWEVER, if you decide to get rid of the 1090(s), please let me know, I'll take them!