Rotel 1095 malfunction?

[Mark_89]

Hello,

I've recently bought a second-hand Rotel 1095 MKII. So far it's been fairly hellish on me. The problem I am having is the following: when I turn the switch on the front to the 'off' position; the amp does not turn off at all. I can play a song through the Rotel from my cd player through my processor just fine whilst the Rotel has it's switch to off.
Anyone experience with this? Any fixes? It's driving me nuts since another highly likely related issue is that I blow my 16a fuse 75% of the time trying to switch the unit on (even created a whole new group for the 1095). Probably because the Rotel goes straight to the 'on' mode.

Need help. As it stands right now this thing is one helluva expensive brick in my room as I don't want to risk damaging my speakers (B&W 703s).

[madmac]

Well, there are worse malfunctions! The unit not turning on at all would be far worse no??!!

Personally, I leave my Rotel on 24/7 and realizing that this costs me some electrical coin, I believe most of the damage that happens with any electrical gear happens upon start up and cool down. It also keeps my amp nice, toasty and well broke in!

In your case, why not turn it completely off via the main power switch on the back? On Rotels, the switch on the back has a standby and off position. I'm sure if you hit the 'off' it will shut down?

[Mark_89]

For me it's just as simple as the unit not doing EXACTLY as stated and this has me worried deeply since this is not some puny receiver but an amp with the power to blow my speakers as well as my fuses so I'm not taking any chances.

Did some testing today and the plot thickens. When I put the trigger switch on the back to 'on' and then plug in a trigger wire I can hear a relais like 'click' when the trigger -well- triggers the unit but the behaviour stays the same: whether triggered or off: the unit still stays on and I can still play music from my speakers in both triggered or off mode. So whats the point of this relais then?

This amp has no switch on the back (except for the trigger); only one in the front. And whether I put it in on or standby mode the unit stays on..

[madmac]

For me it's just as simple as the unit not doing EXACTLY as stated and this has me worried deeply since this is not some puny receiver but an amp with the power to blow my speakers as well as my fuses so I'm not taking any chances.

Did some testing today and the plot thickens. When I put the trigger switch on the back to 'on' and then plug in a trigger wire I can hear a relais like 'click' when the trigger -well- triggers the unit but the behaviour stays the same: whether triggered or off: the unit still stays on and I can still play music from my speakers in both triggered or off mode. So whats the point of this relais then?

This amp has no switch on the back (except for the trigger); only one in the front. And whether I put it in on or standby mode the unit stays on..

Why are you so worried about the amp blowing speakers or causing damage by it staying on? Is it doing anything else bad instead of just staying on? You are right however that the unit is 'not supposed' to be doing this but sending it in for repair will cost you some coin. This is not something that you can fix or something that will magically go away. It sounds like a power relay switch issue of some kind. Certainly fixable but again, it will cost you some money to fix it. It's up to you to decide if it's worth paying to fix it.

[mjb]

It's possibly just a faulty on/off switch - sometimes some contact cleaner will lubricate the release mechanism. Otherwise, your choices are send it for repair, or turn it on and off from a power strip switch.

[madmac]

It's possibly just a faulty on/off switch - sometimes some contact cleaner will lubricate the release mechanism. Otherwise, your choices are send it for repair, or turn it on and off from a power strip switch.

Make sure if you try the contact cleaner thingy that you unplug the unit and leave it that way for a good while! I doubt that will work in this case though but it's worth a try I suppose.

[Mark_89]

It was quite the undertaking but the amplifier is now fixed. Thank god I am blessed with a father that knows his electronics. Problem turned out to be the relais thats connected directly to the main power switch. The thing was fused in the closed position, letting the amplifier stay on all the time. After fixing it and replacing the fuses in my house we are now back in business. Images below right after the relais was replaced.

The beast disassembled. The replacement of the misbehaving relais is seen on the small circuitboard in the lower center of the image:


And a close up of the replacement:

[wkhanna]

Fantastic news!

Great pics, too.

[Mark_89]

Quite pleased with the results. Instant improvement in sound. My 703s seem to have come alive. Everything is tight and controlled, every sound is more separated from the speakers and everything no longer becomes a mess at higher volumes. Now only for better bass management and connections.. Can't wait to get my hands on a Marantz AV7702 as processor for this thing.

[mjb]

Problem turned out to be the relais thats connected directly to the main power switch. The thing was fused in the closed position, letting the amplifier stay on all the time. After fixing it and replacing the fuses in my house we are now back in business.

Congratulations, and thanks for the update... I don't know what it is with Rotel and relays, but they seem to fail fairly often - perhaps its down to age.

[Mark_89]

Congratulations, and thanks for the update... I don't know what it is with Rotel and relays, but they seem to fail fairly often - perhaps its down to age.

On the one hand it's a nuisance, on the other I'm glad that this particular item fails and not something else. It's a relatively simple repair (minus the annoying amount of stuff you need to take out of ze big box in order to access the particular circuitboard) and nothing else get's damaged when this relais blows.

We've put in a relais with the same specs but from a better manufacturer; hoping it'll last another 15 years. My father said it was the first time he'd seen a relais stuck like this. On the other hand: I got a very small weld-bulb on one of my outlet pins when I plugged the amplifier into the wall outlet whilst the fuse was still blown. This thing has a very scary power peak on start up. And I hear the 1090 is even worse in this regard..

[madmac]

On the one hand it's a nuisance, on the other I'm glad that this particular item fails and not something else. It's a relatively simple repair (minus the annoying amount of stuff you need to take out of ze big box in order to access the particular circuitboard) and nothing else get's damaged when this relais blows.

We've put in a relais with the same specs but from a better manufacturer; hoping it'll last another 15 years. My father said it was the first time he'd seen a relais stuck like this. On the other hand: I got a very small weld-bulb on one of my outlet pins when I plugged the amplifier into the wall outlet whilst the fuse was still blown. This thing has a very scary power peak on start up. And I hear the 1090 is even worse in this regard..

It's funny you say that about the 'scary power peak' on start up! My wife used to get scared and concerned every time I powered up my Rotel saying....... "Is it supposed to do that" !!! Hehehe!!

[wkhanna]

I hear the 1090 is even worse in this regard..

The lights dim in our house when I power my RB-1090.
I really need a dedicated circuit for my system.

[madmac]

The lights dim in our house when I power my RB-1090.
I really need a dedicated circuit for my system.

Ya but you have to admit........that's Rotel POWER for ya !!

[PewterTA]

Excellent work on getting the amp repaired!!!!

Where'd you get the Relay?? It's making me wonder if I should replace my relay with the better one.... hmm.....

[Mark_89]

The lights dim in our house when I power my RB-1090.
I really need a dedicated circuit for my system.

That's what I did and still the fuses blew. Only when changing to a 16A fuse that could take higher peaks did it stay on. Thing's a beast.

Excellent work on getting the amp repaired!!!!

Where'd you get the Relay?? It's making me wonder if I should replace my relay with the better one.... hmm.....

Not sure. Friend of my father came up with it. Markings on top should give an idea.
My father also said that he'd never seen a fuse fail in this way but that may be down to the design of the amp.

What I also noticed is that, when you disassemble this thing, you can't help but notice that the 1585 looks EXACTLY like this amp.

[wkhanna]

What I also noticed is that, when you disassemble this thing, you can't help but notice that the 1585 looks EXACTLY like this amp.

That is what Dan & I found too, after having had our 1090's apart multiple times.

[Mark_89]

That is what Dan & found too, after having had our 1090's apart multiple times.

Makes me wonder how much of an upgrade the RMB1585 actually is over this thing and why in the world they decided to add fans to the design.

[PewterTA]

Which is why Rotel should send me a demo unit so we can confirm! If it sounds better I'd buy it!

[TimbaLand]

I had a 1095 and I got a 2 months old 1585 from a dealer at almost half price. I took it and the 1585 sounded sweeter. I'm not good in in describing sound but my experience was that the 1585 sounded better. My main speakers were driven by the RB1090 and I ended up selling both 1090 and 1095 because the 1585 sounded better. Maybe it was my ears justifying the purchase but before I bought it I used to think 1095 and 1585 are the same

[Mark_89]

Everything working fine now but I still have some small troubling issues. My Rotel 1095 is now connected via RCA to my Marantz SR5003. The Rotel has it's own group and fuse; the Marantz is on my normal room group. When I connect the Rotel the way it is intended (with a ground wire) it will produce a very audible humm at idle. When I remove the ground wire from the 1095 group this humm is reduced and barely audible.
Was really wondering what to do about this and if using a Marantz AV7702 with XLR cables will cure this hum (since the AV7702 is also not grounded).

Another weird phenomenon I'm having is that my subwoofer (BK XXLS400), which is on my room group, produces a little 'bzzzt' every time my Rotels relais comes on; even though it's on another group..

[Kevin D]

Disconnect the line going to your Sat or cable box. If the hum goes away, your service line is not grounded correctly.

Kevin

[Mark_89]

Disconnect the line going to your Sat or cable box. If the hum goes away, your service line is not grounded correctly.

Kevin

I do not have any box. My coax cable is going straight into my tv. I also have a pc on my room group but that is connected to my receiver via optical.

[Kevin D]

Is the TV not connected to the Marantz in any way? I've even seen it cause problems when the thing the cable is screwed to is plugged into the same circuit anything else connected is plugged into.

You need to find out what is causing the ground loop, which means disconnecting everything and plugging back in one by one until it returns. The cable line is usually the problem.

Kevin D.

[Mark_89]

Is the TV not connected to the Marantz in any way? I've even seen it cause problems when the thing the cable is screwed to is plugged into the same circuit anything else connected is plugged into.

You need to find out what is causing the ground loop, which means disconnecting everything and plugging back in one by one until it returns. The cable line is usually the problem.

Kevin D.

I have finally sorted this issue. It was the tv cable which transmitted the buzz via the hdmi to my processor. Found this out yesterday whilst installing my new AV7702. But now I have a bigger problem..

I have had some volume related issues with the 5003-1095 combo which I thought was down to either the 5003 or dirty cables; but now I've connected the 7702 with XLR and the issue persists.
The problem I'm facing is this: when I fire up my processor-Rotel 1095 combo and go into the channel level control on my processor and then switch through the channels (each giving white test noise), sometimes one of the channels (it appaers to be random which) yields no sound or very low very distorted sound. Since I started monitoring the issue this has occured on different occasions in the front left, rear left and center channels. When I then subsequently raise the general volume in the channel control (not the individual levels but the general level with the remote), the erring channel comes back to life and starts playing normally again.
Having had this issue with both the 5003 and the 7702 and with bopth RCA and XLR I conclude that this must be the Rotel.

So.. now the fun begins with sorting this mess out. Via another thread on this forum I was hinted that this might be another relais issue and my father thinks this highly plausible. However this would be a seriously f##ked up situation since I would then have to pull loose the transistors thermal coupling to the cooling plate. *big sigh* Very big and high-risc operation.

[Mark_89]

So. couple of months later. The channel issue still persists. I have been in contact with a Rotel engineer and he confirmed the suspicion of the three channel relays being to blame.
He has forwarded me to the local B&W repair department. Awaiting a reply from them. And then I need to decide on whether or not to send the unit in for repair or to repair it myself. Replacing the relays requires the entire unit to be taken apart so it is probably gong to be prohibitively expensive. But repairing the thing myself comes with the risk of destroying the whole amp if the wrong wires are connected. *sigh* Decisions decisions..

[aschoots]

Hi Mark,

Curious to how this has worked out. Did you (have) the relays replaced, and did that solve the issue?
I am looking to buy a used 1095 or 1075, and would like to know if these nice machines are easy to repair.

best regards, Alex