Amp Advice

[rich0372]

I'm not sure what to do I have a pieneer elite receiver that I'm going to replace with 1068 or 1098. I also have a rmb1080 for fronts. should I get 2 more 1080's or 1095 same money or 1075 or even rmb1066 bridged 150 by 3. I have floorstanding speakers allaround klipsch klf30s up front klf20s in rear klfc7 center. Most of my music I listen to is in 2 channel but I do like sacd, also I love to watch movies. would the 2 1080s or 1095 be an overkill? Please help

[Elmac]

Hello Rich,
I have been going through the sme thing that you are, and everyone recomends RMB1095 and RB1090. What I found out that you never overkill your amps. Plus 1095 and 1090 are cleaner sonding amps than the 1080. I don't know y, but the resolution of those amps is better. But on the other hand I don't know your speakers the best way is to home test both amps if you can
hope this helps

[aud19]

Klipsh speakers, being VERY efficient you likely don't need the 1095 or 1090. I'd go with the 2 additional 1080's or the 1075 personally

Jason

[soundhound]

I'm with AUD19, I run an RMB-1075 thru Klipsch RF3's and assorted Klipsch (8) total and the 1075 @ 3/4 volume gets the nose and ears bleeding quite heavily. One could probably do an outdoor rock concert w/ the 1095. BTW, at low volume these things sound incredible together. The money saved on the amp tends to go quite a ways on other goodies for the system.

[rich0372]

I'm with AUD19, I run an RMB-1075 thru Klipsch RF3's and assorted Klipsch (8) total and the 1075 @ 3/4 volume gets the nose and ears bleeding quite heavily. One could probably do an outdoor rock concert w/ the 1095. BTW, at low volume these things sound incredible together. The money saved on the amp tends to go quite a ways on other goodies for the system.

does the 1075 sound as clean and detailed as the 1080? I also noticed the 1075 only has 180 damping the 1080 has 1000 so it has much more control right? thas why I was leaning towards the 1080 I could also go 1080 fronts 1080 rears 1070 for the center I don't think I need 1090 as the 1080 is very loud

[aud19]

Anything over 100 is more than enough for damping so don't worry about that. Having said that, if you have a 6.1 system, 3 1080's sure would be sweet :P Though again, probably overkill especially for your surrounds. It feels so strange telling someone not to get the bigger amp! :lol: The Klipshs' are just so darned efficient that I agree totally with soundhounds comments: the money you save by going with the 1080/1075 combo would yield greater improvement in your system if spent elsewhere (cables, sources etc).

Jason

[zedlep]

We are making recommendations based on his current speakers, completely neglecting the upgrade bug. I would recommend to buy more than you need, if the budget will allow (read the 1095), it's easier on the pocket book in the long run. The 1095 is certainly big enough for all but the most demanding applications. I have never regreted buying too big of an amp, but have bought too small of one on more than one occasion. Can't go to the WAF well too many times! :B

[aud19]

Well unless he upgrades to big B&W Nautilus' for ALL channels or something the 1080 and 1075 should still be good :lol: Like I said, there's no harm and getting extra amp (you can never have enough :P ) but I strongly believe he would get more improvement with that money spent elsewhere upgrading other parts of the chain. There's no point in putting a 600HP motor in a Geo Metro with tiny pizza cutters for tires, stock transmission etc...( A bit of an extreme example but... )

Jason

[zedlep]

Yeah Jason,


Your right, I forget sometimes that there are still sane people in the HT community like rich0372 and yourself, that have'nt let themselves succumb to the pull of this hobby and the dollars spent. I, not being one of them, must defer to your reasonable judgement. Good call.




zed

[DrJRapp]

does the 1075 sound as clean and detailed as the 1080?

I own Klipsch Reference 7 series which I power with a RMB1075 for L,C,R LS&RS and power the two rear channels of my 7.1 system with a RB1070. My listening room is HUGE at over 7000 cu ft and I can power the system cleanly to insane SPL levels. The RMB1075 is every bit as clean as the RB1080 and has historically had less issues. Remember that the power difference between the 1075 and the 1095 amounts to about 2 db in SPL, which is a barely noticable difference to the human ear (would be greater if all channels peaked simultaneously..which NEVER happens). Damping is plenty for any modern speaker. You also may have less problems powering the beast as I have read here on these boards that the 1095 doesn't reach it's full potential without a dediacted 20 amp circuit to power it.

[rich0372]

thanks for everybodys advise the problem is i am one of the insane ones :B i'm always upgrading to get a little more i'm going to try them both out as my dealer will let me do that. Rich

[rich0372]

I do have a dedicated 20 amp breaker as i do my own electical work :B :B Rich

[Andrew Pratt]

That's difficult choice to make...like Jason says I'd tell you to buy the 1075 now given your current speakers but then if you do upgrade as much as you say having hugh power available could be an issue down the road. So assuming you're looking at the 1095 or two 1080's I'd likely go for the 1095 if only b/c it'll give you an extra channel to play with for 7.1 or a passive sub etc. The subtle sonic benefits the 1080 has would likely be lost when used when powering surrounds etc....of course for something really wild get the 1090 now for the fronts and later add a cheaper amp for the other speakers :twisted:

[aud19]

Thanks for keeping him grounded Andrew! : :lol:

Jason

[Azeke]

I believe in the Chaos theory, the more complex a system the more that can go wrong, however I digress.

If I had budget issues and/or space issues, I would utilize the RMB-1075 as the Surround amp and a RB-1080 as the fronts. However, I went for the overkill just in case, you never know when you might want to upgrade your speakers, amps are long term investments.

If I didn't have budget issues, in retrospect, I may have purchased the RB-1090 (or some other 2 channel amp) and the RMB-1095, however currently, I have the RMB-1095 and the RB-1080 and I am indeed happy, maybe I'll hit the lottery, where bang for the buck is only, superceded by the amount of money you own 8O (upgraditis).

I guess we should be careful what we wish for,

Azeke

[sdecker]

Rich

nice to see another Rotel fan in CT. Where are you located? Im in Wallingford.

I use a 985mkII(older version of 1075) and a RB-1070 mated with Klipsch KG speakers. Reaching an insane volume is easy with Klipsch speakers.

I would go with the 1075 for the surrounds and center channel and the 1080 for the mains. IMHO, the 1070 sounds slightly better with my mains(kg 5.2's) than the 985mkII, but it could be my imagination. Bass seems tighter and alittle more pronounced.

Your welcome to come over and have a listen. LEt me know

Earle

[rich0372]

Hey Earle I'm in north haven right next door to you I think I'm leaning towards either 2 1080s or 1080 and 1070. It may be to much but I figure better be safe than sorry anyway I could buy 2 1080s for the same price as 1095 and 1080 and 1070 for $300.00 less. I was thinking about getting 1075 but what if {even though I love my klipsch speakers} I upgrade my speakers someday and need more power you know that nasty upgrade bug :twisted: I was even thinking of the 1090 and the 1080 :B :B Rich