Have 1095 & Denon 3801. Will 1068 be a sonic improvement?

[dbart]

I would like opinions on my question. Thanks

My gear:

M&K S-150 THX Mains
Energy RVSS Bipolar/Dipolar Surrounds
BagEnd Infra-18 Sub
Rotel 1095 Multichannel Amp
Denon 3801 Pre/Pro
Infocus X1 DLP Projector
Panasonic RP-91 DVD

[eelco74]

Hi,

I have only one answer : YES !!

I also own a 3801, powered bij a RB-981 and a RB-985MKII.

I have tried the 1066, and I can tell you it will improve drametically. Surrround has more steering and especially more ambiance. But stereo is the biggest imporvement. The analogue inputs on the 3801 are not very good. The 5.1 input is a bit better.

Since the 1068 is an improvement on the 1066, you will gain a lot by replacing the 3801.

I have my 1068 on order and will sell my 3801 as soon as it is delivered.

[GSamF]

Yes, yes, god yes.

Had the 3805 w/o connecting to the amp and compared to the 1095 and 1068--so not a direct comparison, but the jump was HUGE so I got rid of the 3805 within the return policy and made the Rotel jump (yes, the difference occured largely due to the amp but the processor helped create the detail and precision, plus the rotel has better bells and whistles with the crossover options).

My humble opinion,
Sam

[aud19]

Ditto Happy Listening :T

Jason

[dbart]

eelco74,

Please let me know what you hear when you get your 1068.

[Andrew Pratt]

Yes you'll hear a big difference...and to be honest the 3801 was the least musical sounding Denon receiver I've heard even when compared to the 3300 and newer units so yes the Rotel will sound much better.

[dbart]

Cool...thats music to my ears Andrew.
I will be auditioning a 1068 very soon. I have always had a suspicision that the Denon my be a weak link in the chain and not doing my speakers justice. Not that itsa bad reciever, but I think I have moved past the reciever and need to get into true separates.

Dave

[dbart]

Well I have the 1068 in the house for evaluation. Personally I hear only a slight improvement in two channel seperation as compared to my Denon 3801. The top end is slightly warmer and a bit less fautiging. All in all I can't justify the upgrade to the 1068 as the Denon has most of the processing features less some bass management adjustment. I use THX speakers so setting all my speakers to small with a crossover to 80hz is the same used in my Denon anyway. The noise floor is the same as the Denon where I still hear some hiss and hum from my 1095 amp.

I was hoping to here a more substantian improvement, but for me I do not. Therefore I will be returning the 1068 and saving for a more expensive pre/pro such as Anthem or the Rotel 1098.

Cheers

[shadow]

Your personal experience is instructive. Follow any forum like this and you see lots of people claiming a certain upgrade will "blow away" another option. Your experience is similar to mine. I think the Rotel is better, but not by much on my Martin Logan speaker system. When you factor in the large cost increase, it is difficult to justify the expenditure. The moral for me is to be skeptical of the over-the-top review/endorsement and listen for yourself as you have. The results then tend to be more ambiguous.