Input on RSX-1065 vs 1066/1075 combo?

[Ron67]

Well I've been auditioning everything under the sun for a couple of months now and I keep coming back to the RSX-1065 combined with B&W DM604 S3 mains, LCR600 Center (maybe...) and the DM601 S3 Rears. They're an awesome match! Nice and clear but not shrill or overly forward with plenty of 2 channel bass for music and 5.1 HT.

On the dark side I keep thinking about the 1066/1075 combo. The local dealer only has the 1095 to demo which of course at 200W x 5 sounds better than the 1065. I didn't bother pricing the 1095 out. I figure it's both a little too expensive and probably overkill for the 14 x 15 room even though it's open for another 20 feet on the left side. But what about the 1066/1075 combo? Has anyone stacked them up against the 1065? Obviously on paper they look better, but keeping in mind I'll have to add the tuner to keep the wife happy, is there enough of a difference to justify the extra $$$? Your thoughts and opinions are greatly appreciated!

[ZX 6R]

We do that comparison quite a bit where I work. The 1066 + 1075 is noticeably better sounding. If you can swing the extra expense I would certainly encourage you to take that route. If your dealer has a trade up program also I'd definitely recommend taking advantage of it at some point and going for the 1095 just for the sake of the 604s. The 604s really benefit from the extra control afforded by the bigger amp. The other option would of course just be to add a 1080 at some later point for the 604s and then do 7.1 if your room allows it. If you have a rear projection TV I'd also check into getting a single 602 as a center instead of one of the dedicated centers. The 602 is a closer match, but it's not shielded so you have to mount it away from the TV if you have a direct view set, but with rear projection you just drop it on top of the set like the centers(for best performance standing vertical) ......

[Ron67]

Thanks ZX 6R

That's good information! The 604's did sound markedly better when we jumped from the 1055 to the 1065 so I figured the cleaner signal from the seperates and added power would improve on the sound even more. The 1080 idea is actually pretty clever too. Not sure that I'll be going to 7.1 anytime soon though. I do have it prewired in the ceiling though...

Since you know your B&W stuff, I'll add that I wasn't happy with the sound of the LCR600. We didn't spend a lot of time tweeking the 1065 and I suspect that maybe in surround mode the mains were set to small. There was a huge drop in sound quality going from 2 CH to 3 CH or Music Surround modes. Right now I have a Boston VR10 center which I believe is pretty darn good BUT it's driven by a rather marginal off-the-shelf at BB entry level Sony so it's hard to get an appreciation for it. The dealer told me to bring it in next time for a comparison. The 602 idea isn't bad... my Sony RPTV is big enough I could lay another 604 on it's side on top 8O Not really practical though :P

[Matt Sprouls]

Have you gave any thought to doing a 1055 with a 1075?
Solves your tuner problem and saves money over the 1066/1075 combo.

I currently have a 1055 and bought it with the plan of adding a 1095 real soon.

[Neal_C]

I will second going with the 1055/1075 combo. Not only is it cheaper, but you get the tuner you need and with the redirect feature, you are set for 7.1 in the future.

Thats what I have and no complaints here.

Neal

[ZX 6R]

Thanks ZX 6R

Since you know your B&W stuff, I'll add that I wasn't happy with the sound of the LCR600. We didn't spend a lot of time tweeking the 1065 and I suspect that maybe in surround mode the mains were set to small. There was a huge drop in sound quality going from 2 CH to 3 CH or Music Surround modes. Right now I have a Boston VR10 center which I believe is pretty darn good BUT it's driven by a rather marginal off-the-shelf at BB entry level Sony so it's hard to get an appreciation for it. The dealer told me to bring it in next time for a comparison. The 602 idea isn't bad... my Sony RPTV is big enough I could lay another 604 on it's side on top 8O Not really practical though :P

I agree with your dealer you should definitely bring the Boston in. We always encourage folks to bring stuff in. Remember though, no matter how you think the Boston sounds it's not gonna sound like a B&W. As you noticed even the B&W center doesn't sound like the left and right.....Center channels are inheritanly a compromised design so if you can, you want to minimize or eliminate the compromise. Basically they are a product of the marketing department and not the engineering department of any speaker company(and now they are all forced to make them because their competitors do). If you really want your mind blown try this with either the Boston or the B&W. Put on a nice simple acoustical track with strong female vocals and have someone orient the center channel speaker vertically for you as you listen......Listen for a few seconds and then go back to the horizontal orientation.....do this a few times and I think you'll be pretty darned surprised at the results..........even negating all that, remember soundtracks are mixed on identicals all the way around so that's really what you should shoot for(and the 602 is closest in design to the 604).....Now back to the Rotel content. I think you'll find you'll play with those surround music modes for about a week and then forget about them. The bottomline is if stuff was recorded in 2 channel it's generally gonna sound better that way. You'd think that logically making it 3 channel would enhance it but usually all it does destroy the stereo effect. If your left and rights are placed properly on good recordings you'll swear there is actually a third speaker in between them or your in a 3 channel mode when you're not. Not sure how much time Rotel spends on these modes but I have a feeling their kinda one of those feature sheet checkbox type things their forced to do. Oh and one final thing....Practicality and great home theater should never even be thought of together! 1066+1095 .....5 604s and dual asw 675s or death! :LOL: .........Next I suppose you'll be talking about silly things like childrens college education or you might actually want to squeeze someone else in this room.....geeze some people! :twisted:

[Scarp]

As another options, you could get a RSX1055/1065 and a RB1070/1080. Use the receiver part for center and surrounds and use the stereo amp for your 604 fronts.
I use a RB1070 for my 604 fronts and it has enough power and strength to make my 604 very controlled and calm. I've heard the 604 with other amps and they dont give it the nice sound that the speaker potentially has.
Using a multichannel amp for the 604's I find less good sounding (I also have a RMB1075 for the center and two surrounds).

But perfectly would be to have everything separate

[Ron67]

Well I bought the RSX-1065 today Down the road I can trade in and go all out with the 1095/1066 combo or get the 1080 to drive the fronts.

I also bought the 604 mains and the CCM8's for the surrounds. CCM8's were a little more than the 601's but had really impressive sound for a ceiling mount.

One major downer - I couldn't fit the 604's in my Infiniti G35 so I have to use the wife's car tomorrow. I could kick myself for not thinking of that!

I also preordered the new 1060 DVD player. They're hoping to get them in by late May/early June. Everything's a little up in the air as far as performance until they arrive but one would think it would be at least as good as the 1080... If not I can return it etc.

I was able to compare the two centers. My Boston was def. hotter more in-your-face forward etc while the B&W was well balanced but so similar in most other respects it was hard to pick a winner. For now I'm going to stick with my Boston. I will probably borrow a 602 after I get everything tweeked and I'm comfortable with the sound/settings. It would be pretty cool to rig up a pair of 602's as a center but I'm not sure there'd be any way to do that...

Lastly - I ordered the new SVS PB2 sub. They start shipping next week and I'm probably a week or two down the waiting list so it'll be awhile before that gets here and the wife divorces me :P