RB980BX vs RB985

[jorgen]

I have a RB985 in my hometheater and i am thinking of getting a RB980BX.
Is There a big differencei 2 channel performance. Is worth buying the RB900BX to get better stereo sound?

[jorgen]

Has any one heard these 2 amps?

[wkhanna]

i ownd the RB980BX for many, many years.
it was the first 'real' piece of equipment i bought back in 1994.
it was bullet-proof, rock solid, & i used it hard for many years....
finally sold it bout 7 years ago to a nice guy in dakota to finance a used RB990, which now runs my rear surrounds.....

dedicating the RB980BX to you main fronts while using the RB985 for your remaining surround speakers will make an improvement, allowing them more headroom & power.

be aware, the RB980BX is getting long in the tooth, age will cause certain components to degrade, especially capacitors .....
to get the best performance possible, you may want to investigate having them refurbished.
but at that point, the cost my not justify the investment....

jmho ymmv

[jam200]

Like Bill, the RB980BX was my introduction to Rotel. It had a sweet sound through my Polk Audio RTA 12's back in the 1990's. Never used the RB985's so I can't comment on them.

[gp4Jesus]

RB985 versus RB980 (and 981)

OP: I have three RB 900 series amps in my 5.5 Home Theatre. 985, 980BX, & a 981 doing a combo of LCR tri-amp duties. You won’t go wrong using a 2 ch & 5 ch 900 series amps together in a 5 or 7 channel system.

A useful side note - the first version* 985s*:
a. the left front & surround channels share a bridge rectifier & capacitor banks.
b. the right front & surround channels share a bridge rectifier & capacitor banks.
c. the center has its own BR & CB...
...so I use it as a 3 channel though, per a Sound & Vision test it easily met its 100 WRMS X 5 power spec w/out distress driving less than easy to drive speakers.
* can’t say about the 985 mk2

I prefer the 980’s bass response over the 981 driving my LR tower’s woofers, but that’s a nit pic. Only the 985 is driving mids & highs above 80hz. I think it does well.

Specifically what attributes do you care most about? Meanwhile, I’ve been meaning to do some mid & HF comparisons for all anyway, to the Rotel community’s benefit. I’ll post my findings as soon as I can, while you let me know what you’re “looking” for.

Tony.

[wkhanna]

great stuff, guys!!!

thanks for everyone's input :T