Rotel Rsp 1066 vs Anthem AVM 20!

[Juan Cortez]

Hello

I am new to the fourm and want to say hello. I was wondering about what you guys think about these two processors? I am setting up a 7.1 system. I am matching them with Paradigm Studio 40s all the way around with a Studio-cc and Servo-15. So my main question is the Anthem worth the extra money? Also how you compare Anthem PVA amps to The Rotel amps? I can not afford the 200 wat amps so I am deciding between PVA 7 or RMb 1075, and RB-1070. Any other sugesstions would be accepted.

Thanks Jay.

[Andrew Pratt]

Welcome to the forum!

The 1066 and the Anthem really aren't meant to be compared against each other given that the Anthem costs twice what the 1066 does. Rotel is coming out with the 1098 pre amp that should be available soon (if SARS doesn't slow it down even more) which will be about the same price as the Anthem but offer a few more interesting features (built in LCD screen!) There's a few threads about the 1098 if you search for them if you're interested.

Anyway I really like the Rotel (obviously) and its got a lot going for it but if both were given to me it would be hard to give back the Anthem. That said the real question to be asked is does the extra $$$ justify the benefits the Anthem offers? If you can I highly suggest you listen to both and decided from there. With the money you'd save buying the Rotel you could buy much better amps which depending on what you're using for speakers could make a bigger difference in over all sound quality then the differences between the Anthem and the Rotel.

[Juan Cortez]

Hello

Thanks for the reply. I am going to use my system 50/50 (movies/music).
The Thx and balanced outputs on the Anthem are not a big concern for me. I did get a chance to listen to the Anthem and was amazed by the sound of it. The dealer did not have the 1066 to audition so I have not heard it yet. Basically I am looking for a a preamp which is good with music and movies. I am going to audition the Rotel soon.

Thanks Jay!

[Danbry39]

Juan,

Like Andrew said, it comes down to whether or not Anthem is worth the extra cash. I feel the Rotel is very fine with regard to music and HT and hope you get a chance to audition one prior to making a final decision. The Anthem will be a bit better sonically, as well as offering more flexibility. Both, imo, look very nice. If both were offered at the same cost point, I'd choose the Anthem, but, as it is, I could probably buy a nice amp and the Rotel for only a bit more than the price of the Anthem.

So, I'd offer an alternative suggestion. Try out the Rotel and see if it meets your satisfaction sonically. If not, think about the Rotel plus the addition of a quality two channel preamp. If you choose wisely, you would beat either pre-pro in two channel sound. In either case, the Rotel and Anthem offer fine HT performance.

In any regard, you're going to end up with some fine equipment.




Keith

[LEVESQUE]

I'm not agreeing with everyone here. I had both the Anthem and the RSP-1066 in-house, and I made a really long comparison. For me, the difference sound wise was not enough to justify the double price difference. I decided to invest in new speakers instead, and the difference was bigger then this "lateral" move with pre/pro (IMHO).

The RSP-1066 is really near the Anthem in term of performance, but it cannot keep-up in the configuration options.

I'm having a really good deal on the RSP-1098, and will have it for alot less the the Anthem. Anxious to compare it to the Anthem.

Will post my review soon! (I hope LOL)...

[create]

Hope you don't mind me jumping in on your thread, Juan C!

I'm contemplating the same move as Juan. Balanced connections not important. Would you guys say that for HT, the two are on par? (Ie, the difference will be heard more in 2-channel audio?)

REally looking forward to reviews on the 1098! If this improves on the 1066 I think I'm sold!!

[sndtowne]

[ I am deciding between PVA 7 or RMb 1075, and RB-1070... ]

Juan, another thing to consider is that the PVA-7, while a very good power amp, is only 100 watts per channel (not 120) rated by the same conservative method that Rotel uses. (Conversely, the RMB-1075 would probably measure about 140 WPC by the same power rating method that Anthem uses on the PVA-7.)

The PVA-7 also costs $100 more US than the RMB-1075/1050 combination. True, you would get about 30 more (real) watts per channel on the 7.1 rear effects channels with the PVA-7, but since these are mono anyway I don't know that it would make an audible difference.

But on the other five channels, the RMB-1075 will have 20 real watts per channel more power.




Bruce

[Juan Cortez]

Hello


I have decided to go with the Rotel Rsp-1066. I might even go with the RMB-1095 and RB-1080 since it is cheaper than the Anthem amp and preamp set up (AVM-20 and PVA 7). Man those 200 watts will make the Studio 40s sing. I realized that the Rotel sound quality is very close to the Anthem and that the extra 2000 Canandian is not really worth it. Instead I decided to use the extra money toward amps. Like levesque said the sound quality is very close but when it comes to configuration the Anthem wins. Does anyone who owns a Rotel and has the RR-969 programmable learning remote, do you use it or did you replace it? I know the remote is not the best of designs.


Thanks

Juan Cortez.

[Andrew Pratt]

I use a pronto instead of the OEM remote.

[sndtowne]

[ Does anyone who owns a Rotel and has the RR-969 programmable learning remote, do you use it or did you replace it? ]

I use the Remote Technology RTI-T2 remote. It is superior to the Prontos (I have owned Prontos too) but some people gave up on RTI because they had some problems some months back (which are now solved).




Bruce