I am now a 1098 believer

[NHT]

As some of you might know, I bought an open box Rotel last week and expressed my deepest distaste for it as it did not meet the performance that I expected. I upgraded from a 1055 as a pre/pro and being that it was an open box, I thought that there was something wrong with it sonically so I was able to exchange it out for another one. Lucky for me, the dealer didnt have any more open box units so he gave me a brand new one for the same price as an open box($2200). Hows that for a deal?

Well...I would like to thank everyone for hanging in there and trying to help me as I am now a firm Rotel believer again. This new unit quite simply ROCKS! This was the upgrade I was looking for. I watched the Alamo and Walking Tall and was in disbelief at how good the sound was. This is definately a step or two up from the 1055. Everything just came to life. Details, transparency, just sonically victorious over the 1055. I popped in some cds and immediately noticed the difference. It was night and day difference from my 1055 and the faulty open box 1098 that I returned. There was just so much more detail and crispness in sound that my I was floored and ecstatic at the newfound sonics I was hearing.

I no longer have buyers remorse as I did when I first brought the open box unit home. Now I would say that this upgrade was justifiable and it paid itself off with improved sound. So it gets my utmost recommendation to all the people who are skeptical about upgrading to this unit. It is sonically satisfying and a bag of chips.

[Sithlord]

1098 Bliss

That is excellent news mate. Your impressions now sound like mine when I upgraded from an Denon AVCA1-SE amp to the 1098. The difference was night and day just amazing stuff. I hope your unit is more realiable than mine has been and if it is you will continue to be blown away at just how good the 1098 can be. :T

[Aussie Geoff]

NHT,

Fantastic news... You must let the dealer know so that they can have the other one repaired...

I'm also glad you can hear the difference and find it a wortwhile step up - for me the difference between the 1055/1066 and the 1068/1098 was quite significant so I was a little worried as to how / why you couldn't hear it...

I know it will give you years of enjoyment and doubtless be the start of an upgrade path for some other components!

Geoff

[Azeke]

NHT,

This is indeed great news. We were all beginning to worry about your taste :lol:

The 1098 will continue to improve for the next several weeks, depending on your playing time.

I concur with Geoff, you must let the dealer know, so another will not suffer from your "Rotel woes".

Congratulations again, and keep us posted.

Regards,

Azeke

[PiDD]

Great news! Nothing like spending a load of cash and not getting anything for it!

Now you can rediscover your A/V collection.

[aud19]

Glad to hear it worked out for you :T Enjoy the new toy

Jason

[will1066]

Yep, glad it worked out for you. I wonder what was wrong with the open box unit. If it worked but sounded bad, it technically wasn't defective, right?

[NHT]

Thank you all for your support. I have always loved Rotel when I upgraded from a Denon 2801 to a 1055. The difference was night and day back then and now with the upgrade from 1055 to 1098 was indeed night and day. I really dont know what was wrong with the open box unit because it did work. All I know is that this one sounds like it should....better. Ive never doubted Rotel as it is in my price range and the sound is fabulous. Thats why Im a fellow Rotelian. Throughout my complaints with the old unit, I felt like such the outcast and ugly duckling. Now I feel like one of the boys.

[DrBoom]

Was there a difference in sofware version between the old and new unit you have ?
I know there are several versions out there with different DSP boards, so there are probably also other hardware mods they have done throughout the years.
It's still weird that although it worked perfectly, it didn't sound right.

[NHT]

Yes, actually I checked and this unit has 2.1.1 while the open box had the newer software 2.1.3. It does still puzzle me as to why it sounds different but I spent the whole day listening to my cd collection and I am just speechless and just simply amazed. I know youve all heard this before but it has breathed some new life into my system. For the time being, Im audio content.