Receiver Advice

[skip marr]

Thanks Earl for the link.

I am in the market for a new AV unit. Years ago in 1975, my first stereo receiver was ann HK - picked it over a Marantz due to hig current, square wave response, and negative feedback. Later had to change due to speakers change, and got a Yamaha. For 8 years I hated it because it was harsh - not as dynamic as the HK. Well, lightning hit our house, fried the Yamaha, and I went to Circuit City and picked up an HK on a 30 day buy.

I went to various shops and compared head to head. It killed the Yamahas and the Denons. Marantz was in the dumps back in 1992-1993, so didn't do a comparison to them. Did compare to Adcom (close) and Rotel (almost identical). Kept the HK due to funds, but now want to get my first AV unit, and do it right.

Any owners of a 1055 - let me know how you like the unit, what you are running with it, what else you looked at. I have narrowed it down to HK, either the new 7200 or the new digital piece (1001), possibly Marantz, the 7300 maybe, and the Rotel. I'd like to hear from any 1055 owners, or any other Rotel fans, positive or negative - why you chose what you did, what else you looked at, etc. Any other suggestions in the Rotel line like seperates, DVD, etc. Thanks for anyones comments!

[gianni]

I spent months and more hours than I will ever admit reading, browsing forums and auditioning before I bought my receiver.
The contenders were the Rotel RSX 1055 and 1065, Marantz sr8200, and B&K 305. I went with the 1055.

After all the time I spent shopping it finally came down to sound quality. After several side by side auditions with all of the above units I just did not feel any of them were superior to the 1055. With the 1055 being the least expensive of the group I could not justify more money for receivers that were not going to sound better. The 1065 and the B&K have more robust torroidal transformers but in my listening I just did not hear a meaningful difference. And if I want to up the ante, for the money I would of spent on the more expensive units I can add an external amp to the 1055. That combo would surely out perform any of the amp sections in the flagship receivers. In addition the combo would give me added flexibility.

Also, the B&K was lacking PLII and I didn't like the menus or method for selecting sources. Very easy on the Rotel. The 1055 is very similar to the RSX 1066 pre/pro in performance. (search for Andrew Pratt's thread on this)


My 1055 is driving 4 ohm M&K speakers that are inefficient and does just fine with this load. Do not let the 4 ohm placard on the back of the unit fool you. Besides my own experience, Rotel tells me that it is there to satisfy the electrical authority. The newer units also have enough bandwidth to handle HDTV switching.

I am pleased with my 1055. It easily sounds as good as the 2 channel gear it replaced. Would I buy it again? Absolutely.

[Arnold van Oostrum]

What receiver you want, is a very personal choice. It depends on how you enjoy music and HT. And ofcourse what speakers and cables you are using.

I've heard many receivers. To stick with Rotel, there is a big difference between the RSX-1055 and the RSX-1065. The only reason for this difference is the amp-section, the RSX-1065 has a just more power which translates in more dynamics and a clearer sounddetails. Espacially when things go loud in a movie, the control of the RSX-1065 is much better.

I traded a RSX-1065 for a Marantz SR-9200. The main reason is that the Marantz has a smoother, more detailed surround sound. In HT the Marantz displays much more fine details and therefor has a more spatial surround sound.
The dynamics are reasonable the same, although the Marantz has a tighter bass.

My suggestion, choose about three models where you think it will suite you. Then go audition those under the same conditions, meaning in the same room with the same speakers and other equipment. Good luck.

[Madd]

How much do you want to spend and what speakers do you have :?:




Never argue with a fool,one may not know the difference!