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Are Rotel Pre/Pro's any good? (1 Viewer)

Evan S

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Honestly, I don't have the Rotel to compare, so I can't answer that question. However, HTF member KeithH has the 555ES and he said that it uses some of the best DAC's he's ever heard. I think he was using an outboard DAC and said the Sony's were as good. For what it's worth. Thinking about it realistically, the Outlaw gives you Analog pass through on all channels (Rotel does not), offers an 80htz bass management point for SACD/DVD-A (does the Rotel offer this?). Gives you a tuner (Rotel doesn't), and supposedly uses the same chips as the Rotel.

We all know the problems Outlaw is having on this board, but I don't see much on the Rotel (save stunningly good looks which the Outlaw cannot match in a million years) that bests the Outlaw for $600 more ($300 or so after discount). In fact, the Rotel is INFERIOR in a lot of areas.

If the Rotel hits the market prior to Outlaw, I'll give it a shot to win me over. I'm open minded. But, on paper, I think the Outlaw has some advantages.
 
W

Will

The Rotel not having an AM/FM tuner is a point in Outlaw's favor for me, since I want to be able to listen to the radio. I guess I could use my current receiver as a tuner, but that isn't optimal.

I personally would not use the manual 80 Hz analog crossover setting on the Outlaw, since as I understand it, that 80 Hz switch removes everything below 80 Hz in ALL non-LFE speakers -- left, right, center, surround left, surround right...

I believe the Rotel's D/A's and Outlaw's D/A's are excellent and so I don't know if there's a good reason to be concerned about not having analog passthrough for CD playback. CD's are pure digital afterall and always require D/A conversion, unlike phonograph records.

My Sony will give me output in 2 channel through the 6.1 outputs, but it far underperforms the results I get when using the stereo L/R outputs specifically for 2 channel playback.

Ouch! Anybody know if that's specific to the Sony SACD player or if most other DVD-A / SACD players also play CD's through the 2 channel outs much better than through the 6.1 channel outs?
 

Jim_C

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Feb 6, 2001
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Well, as for the 'Outlaw vs Rotel' I have to say that I'm leaning ever so slightly towards the Rotel. I'm going to give the Outlaw a fair shot though.

I have to say, in a rather superficial way, that I hate the looks of the Outlaw and it IS a factor in my purchasing decision. If I'm willing to pay for the Rotel but want the Outlaw performance then I might be stupid enough to buy the Atlantic Tech clone of the 950. Yeah, yeah, throwing away money I know.....
 
W

Will

As I understand it, Rotel currently has two tuners, the RT 1080 for about $500 MSRP, and the RT 940 for about $350 MSRP.
 

Jim_C

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You know, I don't think it really sunk in until Will's last post. The Outlaw/Atlantic unit has a tuner built in. Doh! Yeah, I know, how could I miss that fact?:b

Given that I'm planning on spending the money for the Rotel 1066 ($1500) and the Rotel 1080 ($500) I'd have to say that the Atlantic Tech version of the 950 has just moved up a couple of notches. I suspect that for me it will come down to either the Rotel or the Atlantic Tech.

We should keep our eyes open for reviews for both.
 

george king

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May 29, 1999
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Evan,

You have been very helpful, and informative, and I greatly appreciate that. However, I am still a bit confused. I am in the process of upgrading my system and a preamp (to replace the Yamaha 995) and CD or SACD player are in the works, and I am strongly considering the 555ES SACD player. Your input is invaluable.

Let me see if I have this straight. SACDs on your 555 sound great through the analog outs. CDs sound good on the analog outs. CDs sound great when simply using the L/R analog outs on the 555ES. Is that correct?

If that is correct, do you have any explanation on why that might be the case. I may be befuddedled, but I would think that once the D-A conversion is made, then how the signal is sent out of the player (L/R of the 6 SACD outs or the main L/R outs) shouldn't really matter.

Help!
 
J

John Morris

If that is correct, do you have any explanation on why that might be the case.
Sure, superior design, superior electronics. If the op-amps are better, so will be the sound. Digital is easily done within a processor, the analog part requires a good design and quality matched parts. IMO, the 555es has both.
 

Legairre

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Apr 4, 2000
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Jim,

I'm kind of in the same boat as you, except I don't need a tuner. Like I said I haven't used it in my Denon in the three years I've owned it. I'm going to try the AT and the Rotel. Depending on the sound of the two I'll have to make a decision. My dealer will do the Rotel for $1275.00. I'll have to see what I can get the AT for. I just can't deal with looks of the Outlaw.
 

george king

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May 29, 1999
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Legairre,

Thanks for the information, and your explanation makes sense. However, (and I may be wrong) the explanations seem sto imply that there are separate, and possibly better op-amps on the analog L/R outputs as compared to the 6 analog outs. If this is the case, why would Sony put in a separate (and possibly better) analog out for redbook CD as compared to SACD. Am I missing something?
 

Legairre

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George you may have been responding to John's post. I don't know anything about Sony's products.

Good luck with the 12v adapter.
 

george king

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May 29, 1999
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625
Legairre,
You are right (me bad), sorry about that. I am going to pick up the part at lunch, and give it a try tonight.
Thanks again for the info.:)
 
J

John Morris

the explanations seem sto imply that there are separate, and possibly better op-amps on the analog L/R outputs as compared to the 6 analog outs.
George: maybe I misunderstood your question? I don't believe that the Sony uses seperate op-amps(but I could be wrong on this) for different outputs. What I was referring to was that different players use different analog components and it is IMO, those different analog components, like op-amps, that makes one unit sound better than another. For example, look at the Sony SACD players. They all use the same DSD processor yet no one would say that the 777es doesn't sound better than the $300 non-es Sony SACD player.
 

george king

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May 29, 1999
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John,

I certainly understand that different players with different components will sound different and in some cases better.

I guess my question is On the Sony 555ES SACD layer, why should Redbook CD's sound better using the main L/R analog outputs as compared to the 6 analog outputs used for delivering SACD. I may have completely missed the boat (which has been known to occur), but I thought that was what Evan was saying. Am I wrong?

Thanks in advance
 

Evan S

Senior HTF Member
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Nov 21, 2001
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George, trust me the 555 is an awesome performer for both Redbook and SACD and a great value as well. Why Redbook performance sounds better on the stereo L/R rather than the 5.1 outputs designed for SACD, I cannot tell you. The thread I linked everyone to earlier in this thread has a decent discussion on it, but mostly it's pure speculation.

This is a quote taken from that thread from KeithH to RicP discussing the exact same thing. Both guys own the player and are discussing the sound difference in the different connection methods.

Ric, from what I have read, you must use the stereo analog outputs for CD and stereo SACD playback on the 'XA777ES. Apparently, you cannot use the front left and right jacks of the 5.1-channel outputs for stereo sources. It is possible that Sony designed a better analog output stage (shorter path length, less interference, etc.) for the stereo analog outputs and, therefore, designed the player to only play stereo sources through them.
 

george king

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May 29, 1999
Messages
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EvanS,
I believe you. I have heard the 555ES through a Ref30 and some B&K amps. However, I only listened to SACDs, assuming that Redbook playback would be good. It never occured to me to think that Redbook would be different on the different analog outs. It just seems counterintuitive that Sony would have a better analog path on the stereo outs as compared to the 5.1 outs. I guess that is the basis of my question and confusion.
Thanks for your and everyone's replies. You have all been most helpful.:)
 

Jim_C

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Feb 6, 2001
Messages
2,058
Okay, here's Tim's response. It's 800 watts. I suspect that whoever put together the catalog did a little cut and pasting and forgot to edit the 1095 numbers.
>>Dear James,
Thank you for purchasing Rotel! I apologize for any confusion. The power
consumption for RMB 1075 is 800 watts maximum.
Best Regards,
Tim Wyatt
Technical Support Supervisor - [email protected]
B & W Loudspeakers - (978) 664-2870 - www.bwspeakers.com - Fax: (978)
664-4109
Rotel of America - (978) 664-3820 - www.rotel.com - Fax: (978) 664-4109
 

Jim_C

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Feb 6, 2001
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>>Jim,
I'm kind of in the same boat as you, except I don't need a tuner. Like I said I haven't used it in my Denon in the three years I've owned it. I'm going to try the AT and the Rotel. Depending on the sound of the two I'll have to make a decision. My dealer will do the Rotel for $1275.00. I'll have to see what I can get the AT for. I just can't deal with looks of the Outlaw.
 
W

Will

Rotel has two tuners according to my dealer, the RT 1080 for about $500 and the RT 940 for about $350 MSRP. And of course there are tuners from other manufacturers for less.
 

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