OK, I'm convinced. Seperate amplification makes a BIG difference. (1 Viewer)

[Tom D]

Take a number fellas, the poor house aint big enough for all of us.

 

[Jim_C]

Legairre,

How do you classify the sound of the Rotel? Do you consider it to be warm, neutral, bright? I'm moving towards separates and plan on getting the Rotel 1075 to go with my Klipsch. I listened to a Rotel some time ago but I don't really remember how I classified it.

 

[Legairre]

Jim,

IMO the 1095 is a little on the warm side. I say that because I know my speakers are on the bright side and I tried them with a Yamaha receiver a few years ago before I bought them. Ouch, talk about a bad combination. Not that Yamaha receivers are bad. My speakers just didn't match with it well. Way too bright. I then tried them with the Denon 3300 I have now, and it really calmed them down. Even with the Denon, listener fatigue was still possible. Music after a while at high volumes would kind of give me a headache, or strange feeling of I've had enough for now.

With the addition of the 1095 I've played lots of music, and a lot louder then I have ever played it before. But I haven't gotten that feeling like I would with the Denon, so the 1095's amps must be a little warmer than the Denon's amps.

I noticed your in Mass. When I was 1095 shopping none of the dealers down here in CT would budge from the $2000 price of the 1095. I found SpearitSound in Northhampton Mass and they said they would knock 15% off Rotel gear. I took the 1 hour drive after work one night and picked it up for $1700. If you can't find a dealer that will bugde on the 1075 you may want to give them a call.

 

[Jim_C]

Thanks for the info. I suspected that Rotel was considered warm but wanted some confirmation. I've always tended to prefer a bit brighter sound, I guess that's why I have Klipsch. I'm really looking forward to hearing how the Rotel sounds with them. I hope that it sounds good to me because I've convinced myself that Rotel is an excellent choice.

Thanks also for that info about Spearit. They have another location in Boston that's much closer to me. When I do go to audition the amp I'm planning on going there.

 

[Legairre]

Jim,

I'm a little biased toward Rotel after getting this amp. Now I'm waiting for Rotel's new $1500 pre/pre. With the 15% off it's actually below the price I had set for a pre/pro. Rumor is it will be out in March.

 

[Andy Bell]

Glad you are enjoying your 1095 Legairre.

I have the RB-1080 2 channel amp driving my Studio 100s and have loved it ever since I added it to my set up. I plan to get the 1095 this year to drive the other 5 channels and use my Denon 4800 as a pre/pro.

Like you I want to get a seperate pre/pro. Just waiting to hear more about the Outlaw 950 and watching closely what other companies are getting ready to release.

Andy

 

[Legairre]

Andy,

I'm kind of doing the same thing. I'm in no hurry for a pre/pre, so I'm going to wait a few months and check out some of pre/pros from Outlaw, AT, Rotel and whoever else comes out with one in my price range.

I'm also looking to upgrade to the 100s. Does the 1080 drive them well enough?

 

[Andy Bell]

Legairre,

I am very pleased with how my Rotel amp drives the Studio 100s. IMHO you would be happy with the combo.

Hopefully you can try your amp and the 100s together before you buy and decide for your self. I'll be interested to know what you think.

Andy

 

[Legairre]

Mark,

Not only was there listener fatigue but I also had that shrill from the speakers at high volumes that would just hurt your ears. With the Rotel I can play it louder for longer periods of time without any listener fatigue or the shrill that hurts my ears.

My Denon receiver's amps are said to be warm by many magazines and several users on this forum and I had these problems even with the warm Denon. I added the Rotel and all is good now. So the Rotel must be warmer than the Denon. That's why I say it's warm.

I just seached reviews at ecoustics.com and audioreview.com for 1095 reviews. All the reviews I've found so far this morning on the 1095 are describing it as warm in the treble. Maybe past Rotel products are bright and the newer ones are warm.

 

[RobertW]

as mark said, the problem you are experiencing may have more to do with some type of distortion rather than just the warmth of the amp.

in my comparisons of the rotel 1095 versus the various parasounds i've listened to, i'd say the parasound is a bit on the warm side, while the rotel was fairly neutral. this may appear as a bit of brightness with the vienna's, which to my tastes are almost too laid back, but didn't seem too bright with paradigm studio 100's, which some have accused of being a bit bright.

although i recall reading some review of the rotel 1095(or 1090) that mentioned that it seemed a bit more on the neutral side than previous rotels they had tested, so perhaps there has been a change made to achieve this.

my parasound 1500a, which i feel is on the warm side, sounds very similar to my denon 3300. where it differs is that it is much cleaner and open-sounding than the denon. not warmer, just more refined, and with a lower noise floor. i haven't played it at really loud volumes, but i would assume this would translate into clean sound without a hint of distortion. i know that the volumes i do have it at really don't seem all that loud, just because there are no artifacts in the sound to irritate my ears. i would assume that the denon, when called to produce that kind of volume levels, would be straining a bit given it's limited power supply for five channels, thereby adding considerable noise and distortion to the sound.