***Official*** Rotel RSP 1066 Fact and LOGICAL discussion thread (1 Viewer)

[JohnSC]

I am in the same boat. I will definitely be needing a tuner. As I will be replacing my Marantz SR-680 receiver with the 1066 and a 1075 amp, I will use the tuner from the SR-680 for the short term and who knows, maybe the long term. I have no other use for it as I live in an apartment and probably won't get too much for it on the used market.

 

[JohnSC]

Any more reviews? How is the 1066 performing? How about new owners, any opinions?

 

[Steven Phipps]

I think we are all to busy enjoying them

 

[Gregg Z]

Ditto
All I can add at the moment is, DONT get a SACD player if you like your concert DVD's. James Taylor - Live at the Beacon Theater WAS one of my favorties, but after hearing James on SACD, the DVD is now a let down.

 

[Gregg Z]

Actually, I do have something to add/open as a question.
I thought that the 1066 WAS NOT supposed to have Dolby Digital EX but Rotel's own version called "XS"
BUT, on the front of my 1066 there are 3 little logos in the bottom left corner of the face. The middle one CLEARLY says Dolby Digital EX / Dolby Prologic II.
Does anyone else's say Dolby Digital EX? When I looked at the pictures of the 1066 in the Rotel catalog and the manual, that logo only says "Dolby Digital/Prologic II". Also, on the website under the specs for the 1066, it doesn't list Dolby Digital EX.
I put a Dolby Digital EX disc (Toy Story 2) in and played it, but nothing on the 1066 indicated that it was decoding EX, it just said "Dolby Digital" on the display. I dont have my rear channel speakers hooked up, so I don’t know if that had anything to do with it.
I took a flashlight and shined it on the LCD display to see if there was an EX indicator etched in the display that maybe should light up. Sure enough, to the left of the Dolby Digital indicator is the etchings for an indicator that says "THX Sur EX" that I have not seen light up yet. This etching is not shown in the manual either. If you look at LCD diagram in the manual they show a gap where this indicator is.
Hmmmm....
Gregg

 

[Steven Phipps]

You are right Greg, mine has it too, but maybe they had the display set up before deciding if they would have actual THX EX included or not.

 

[Gregg Z]

Hi Steven,
THX Surround EX and Dolby Digital EX are synonymous. My 1066 has a logo on the front that says Dolby Digital EX and the LCD display has, yet un-illuminated, a TXH Sur Ex indicator.
So I guess what I'm saying is, to paraphrase Johnny Cochran, "If the logo is show'd, then the unit must decode"
I sent a note to Rotel tech support, we'll see what they say in the morning.
Gregg

 

[John Morris]

My 1066 has a logo on the front that says Dolby Digital EX and the LCD display has, yet un-illuminated, a TXH Sur Ex indicator.

Wow! That is too cool! What a bonus that would be if the 1066 actually had DD-EX. Even more so, what a bonus if they snuck in THX-EX processing. I wonder if they included DD-EX processing but just didn't want to wait to get the unit certified by Dolby in order to get it onto the market before the 950? If so, who cares if it is certified before or after you buy it! As long as it has it!
I know that Dolby even had to certify the final, to be shipped, Outlaw 950s which they did late last week, so actual Dolby certification is really a pain in the butt and very time consuming during a new product launch. Maybe, Rotel just decided to not wait for Dolby's certification timeline in order to try to steal the market, or part of it, from Outlaw.
That's probably not a bad marketing idea at all!

 

[Steven Phipps]

Well, I tried the 7.1 speaker set-up, popped in Gladiator, and DTS ES lit up. I popped in Toy Story 2, and only the DD lit up, so it does not illuminate. It would be nice however, if they at least put a Rotel XS symbol that illuminates when it detects the signal, oh well.

 

[JohnSC]

Well, I tried the 7.1 speaker set-up, popped in Gladiator, and DTS ES lit up. I popped in Toy Story 2, and only the DD lit up, so it does not illuminate. It would be nice however, if they at least put a Rotel XS symbol that illuminates when it detects the signal, oh well.

Steven,

Does this mean it does decode DD EX snd simply doesn't display the fact or is it ROTEL XS being used?

 

[Steven Phipps]

I would imagine it is the Rotel XS that is being used (though I am no expert), but how much different is it from actual DD EX processing, and as for THX processing, how much different is the Rotels own Cinema EQ? I guess this warrants a call to Mike at Rotel. I'll get back to you all later in the day. In the mean time, maybe it would be nice if some of you new owners posted a few things about your 1066's. Alot of people are anxious to here your views, good or bad.

 

[Tony Lai]

I wonder if it is possible to hack the 1066/950 to get DD-EX and THX-EX?

T.

 

[Craig_Kg]

Hopefully, Rotel will put the RS-232 port to use with a s/w upgrade enabling DD-EX and THX-EX .

 

[Steven Phipps]

LarryB,
Agreed!!!!!

 

[Gregg Z]

Hi Steven,
Did you happen to talk with Mike about the DD-EX question? I sent tech support an email but did not receive a reply yet. Usually they are very quick to respond so I can only assume that:
a) Mike and/or Tim were out today
b) based on my question they were frantically calling the factory to tell them they are putting on the wrong logos
c) Everybody at Rotel was monitoring the Outlaw forum so nobody got any work done today.
Gregg

 

[Kevin C Brown]

The 950 includes DD EX.

Also, don't forget that only THX Ultra2 (not the original THX, THX Ultra or Select) includes decorrelation of the 2 center rear speakers in a 7.1 system, such that you do *not* get a mono signal out of both of those speakers.

The 950 definately does not have this, and it is very unlikely that the 1066 has this either.

 

[Steven Phipps]

Actually, during my conversation with Mike yesterday, the 1066 *does* decode the CB speakers in stereo, it is not THX, but Rotels own decoding. Mike did confirm the unit does not utilize the "authentic" DD EX or THX EX decoding, but Rotels processing is just as good, or better because it decodes the CB channels in stereo. Which is better decoding is debatable, as you have to hear both, side by side, therefore, I do not want to get into a debate such as that. I asked about a possible upgrade later for DD EX & THX EX and he was unsure.

 

[John Morris]

but do you really think Rotel is planning all its corporate strategy around "stealing" market share from an Internet mail order company that so far has shipped only 30 units of a competing product?

LarryB: It's not hard to denegrate someone elses opinion or guess; especially when you have none of your own... or do you? Why do you think Rotel is selling their 1066 with the DD-EX logo on it? Why would they expose themselves to such a nasty lawsuit from both Dolby and from consumers, who bought the unit too. Why not take the time to correct their mistake of either wrongly including the DD-EX logo, or to wait till they got final certification from Dolby before starting to sell the 1066? Why do you think they couldn't wait?

 

[Steven Phipps]

I think, sometimes, some of you are reading too far into things. Why does there always have to be some diabolical plot involved? Facts are facts, the 1066 only uses its own XS not dolby's, therefore, that is where the argument is, if any argument even exists in this sense, which I don't believe there can be at this point. Maybe at no point for that matter, as you will have to consult all the people who are debating over wires, DAC's, amps, etc. making differences. Not a debate I am interested in! But compared to the 950, I guess this is a plus, considering the 950 only decodes mono. How much of a step up? I sure as hell don't know. But, maybe people will be able to send their 950 into Outlaw and they will have an upgrade on their chip to allow this later, I can't predict the future. But then there is the issue of having discrete inputs with the 1066 as opposed to matrix on the 950 (CB inputs, 1066=2, 950=1). Then again, will a format ever utilize this? Too many questions, too little time!!!

 

[John Morris]

Why does there always have to be some diabolical plot involved?

Steven: I absolutely agree! Where have you been during the past year in all those Outlaw threads?
I guess it is theoretically possible that someone, somewhere made the mistake in simply selecting the DD-EX logo rather than the DD logo when they set up the silkscreening assembly line. Then probably either no one ever QC'ed the front panel for mistakes, or whoever did, didn't know what to look for. And no one ever noticed the front panel screening when they tested the new units, nor when they fixed the initial returned units either.
Then again, I think making the DD-EX issue a marketing decision rather than simply gross carelessness, actually puts Rotel in a better light. Don't you?
As much fun as it is to guess as to the cause, maybe someone can find out what really happened and report that here for us all to read. I wonder if Dolby is gonna require Rotel to recall those mislabeled units to change the front panel logo?