Possible new Rotel owner needs amp advice

[THX1139]

Hello all! I am a relative newcomer to the audio scene and have some questions about a Rotel combo I am thinking of upgrading to. My current system ,that I have owned for about a year, consists of :
-Yamaha RXV-2400
-Yamaha DVDS 840
-Energy Connoisseur C-9 Fronts, C-C3 center, C-R3 rears
-SVS 20-39Pci

I use the system for approx 75% movies/dvd concerts, 25% 2Ch music. While I am happy with the performance of the C-9's, they are lacking in a few areas. While their bass performance is very good, the mid range at time lacks some detail and seems a little flat to me. The higher frequencies are also very lacking at times. The Yamaha 2400 does a good job of driving them in 2 Ch at high volumes, but runs out of gas fast driving all 6 channels at higher volumes. The Yammy tends to run at a higher temp than I am comfortable with at high volumes, and I have had to send it back once for warranty repairs for a blown transformer. Needless to say, at times I like to listen to high volumes at times.
So far I have auditioned:
-Rotel 1098/1095 driving B&W 703/HTM7/DS7/PSW750 and Paradigm 100's
-B&K 507 and B&K Ref50/200.7 driving Martin Logans,Vienna Acoustics, Def Techs, Paradigms
-Integra RDC7/RDA7 driving Thiels,Vandersteens

My favorite combination so far is the Rotel/B&W 703 combo. My question is this: My local dealer doesn't have a 1075 in stock that I can listen to, but is the RMB 1095 overkill for the B&W's? Would the 1095's massive 200wpc damage the B&W surrounds if cranked a little to high, or would it be better to go with the less powerful 1075? Sorry to bother you guys with such a newb question, but any help here would be appriciated.

[aarsoe]

In general, you can never get to much power. The 1095 will allow you the play louder, and more importantly have bigger reserves.

It is a common mistake to think that you can overpower your speakers, but in fact it is distortion that will kill them. If your pushing your amp towards its limit, the distortion increases and the chances of damage are bigger. Thats why a bigger amp is, in general, better.. (That is unless your 16 and throwing parties when your folks are out!!)

[soundhound]

If it were me I would start by replacing the Yamaha reciever with a Rotel pre-pro, amp package and I would bet your'e speakers would sound considerably better, and even the RMB-1075 would run cooler, and give plenty of volume. I first stepped into Rotel seperates from a Yamaha RX-V850 reciever, and 3 Carver TFM power amps, and the front end made all the difference in the world. Building a system is not a bad way to go as many people can't afford to go out and "get" a system, Bob

[Aussie Geoff]

Hi,

The 1095 will do perfectly for the 703s - they like the current.... And all the other speakers will benefit.

Next step is clearly a pre-processor - such as the RSP-1068...

Then there are choices depending on what you want to do at the time:

• 7.1 sound (more B&Ws )
• CD Player such as the RCD-1072
• Universal DVD Player
• Better sub such as the B&W ASW-750 or SVS PB2+ or a REL

Geoff

[Azeke]

Welcome,

Hands down, I would definitely get the RMB-1095 to power your 703's, no second guessing on that purchase. Perhaps your dealer will provide a discount, since the 1075 is not around. Good Luck

On a secondary note. There's that word again, overkill :lol:

What is meant by this terminology?

Perplexed,

Azeke

[aud19]

As a Rotel/Energy (I've even got the C-9's) owner I think I've got some valuable info for you

If you're planning on upgrading everything anyways I have to second what Soundhound said. Upgrade the amp/pre/pro first and see what those speakers can do with better amplification and processing. You may be pleasantly surprised. You may also want to re-evaluate your interconnects and speaker cables as well (not sure what you have though..?)

My C-9's sound phenomenal with my 1075 (though I do wish I had a 1080 to power them and go 7.1 :P ) With good clean power/processing I'd have to say the C-9's tweeters are one of their best points being quite airy and crisp with out getting spitty or agressive. During demoing I actually preffered them to B&W's tweeters as I found B&W's have more of a tendency to get spitty when pushed on some material. B&W's do tend to have a tiny bit fuller midrange though the Energy's are still quite good in this respect with proper amplification and as you mentioned their bass is prodigous. The other major difference I noticed between Energy/B&W is that the Energy's were a few more rows forward.

If you still find the Energy's lacking after upgrading pre/pro, amp and interconnects (try Cat Cables, link at the bottom of the page ) you can always till upgrade the speakers but if you find the sound much improved (which I think you will) you may save a lot of trouble and expense

Jason

[BruinsFan]

I gotta agree with the folks above. Owning some older Energy speakers (over 14 years) - there was a good jump in sound quality going from my older Yamaha (5 years) to Rotel. Aside from some of their more commercial minded prodcuts - Energy makes some great products. I've purchased new Klipsch speakers - mainly just try something else. I still have the Energy speakers and am tempted to get another Rotel just for them in the spare bonus room.

Energy Speakers are not as efficient as Klipsch - at least mine aren't even close - so if you can swing for more power - I would vote for that. You don't have to play loud to get the benefit of more power.

[aud19]

So Mike any updates on the situation? Have you been able to try out your current setup with better processing and amplification?

Jason