RMB-1075 enough for N802s? (1 Viewer)

[Dennis B]

Jeremy,

Have you had a chance to audition the 803s when you were shopping for the 802s?

 

[ManojM]

The amount of bass the 804s make is very dependant on the amplification. The amount of current an amp makes is what makes them really sing, more than the wattage. I found that 804s make a surprisingly good amount of bass with the right amplification and when put on their spikes. Depending on the size of your room you may be very happy with the 804s alone. I also find that REL subs blend very nicely sonically with 804s, and coincidentally, they have a cherry finish which matches the B&Ws very well. I suggest hearing the 804s with good amplification and comparing them to the 802s, as the cost of the former would be about what you would spend on the 802s.

 

[Joe e h]

Jeremy

Did you have a Rotel 1080 prior to the 1090? I have had my 1095 for a week now and am pleased. I am now thinking about what amp to add for 7.1 sound. Of course I have to pick up the Pre/Pro first, but forward planning.

Joe

 

[Jeremy Hegna]

"Have you had a chance to audition the 803s when you were shopping for the 802s?"

Dennis, No, I've never heard/seen the 803s. My dealer has 801s, the 802s, the 804s, 805s, HTM-1/2, and the SCM-1. They will special order any that a customer wants. I was considering the 803s initially until this pair of 802s came in on the trade in. I'm not sure if you know how I got the deal (posted in another thread)...but a gentleman had the 802s for about 15 months. He wanted a pair of the 800 Signatures, so he traded in his 802s. They allowed him a certain amount for trade-in on them and that is what they sold them to me for, minus my trade-in of a pair of 604s. If you would like the exact amounts, private message me and I will let you know.

When all was said and done, I got a pair of 802s for just a bit more than a new pair of 803s. Also, the gentleman that previously owned them, took wonderful care and used Levinson amplification. They are just over a year old, so they are perfectly broken in. I also got the full B&W warranty that I would have if they were new.

If we were talking about new (MSRP) prices on the speakers, I would've looked harder at the 803s. There is no way I could've paid full retail on the 802s.

Jeremy

 

[Jeremy Hegna]

"Did you have a Rotel 1080 prior to the 1090? I have had my 1095 for a week now and am pleased. I am now thinking about what amp to add for 7.1 sound. Of course I have to pick up the Pre/Pro first, but forward planning."

Joe,

Yes, I had the 1080 for about 6 weeks with my 604s while I waited for the 1090. The biggest reason for the 1090 was because I knew that I was going to go big on my front end. The 1080 is no slouch though...it did great things for me. It definitely highlited some nuances in the music that I was unable to hear with just my Denon 5800. In fact, Stereophile gave it one hell of a review this month. They had it hooked up to a pair of Revel Salons, pair of B&W 800 sigantures, and a pair of Paradigm Studio 100s. On the bench, the 1080 doubled down at 4 ohms and the reviewer mentioned that he may make one a permenant fixture in his review rack. A very positive performance with comparisons to equipment that cost 5-10 times the cost...and they were favorable comparisons. As I mentioned earlier, I consider myself a rookie at this seperate stuff. So far, I am very happy with what Rotel has added to my sound, with my gear.

I wouldn't hesitate to recommend the Rotel 1080. It seems that compared to Parasound, B&K, and others...the Rotel has the edge with current, wattage, and they post all of their specs 20hz-20,000hz. B&K, for example, only posts their wattage at 1khz. Not that this means anything for the end product, but it is something that caught my eye when amp shopping.

Jeremy

 

[Dennis B]

Jeremy,
Wow, that's a one-in-a-lifetime opportunity. I'm kinda in the same situation as you were before the deal. The 802s are way over my reasonable budget, but you know, if I stop eating for 6 months...
That's why I am still seriously considering the 803s, but it seems there isn't much sympathy to them, at least in terms of value.

 

[Jeremy Hegna]

It's kind of weird. I did alot of listening to the 804s long before I'd seen 802s. But when I did listen to the 802s the difference on the low-end was BIG. I'm not sure how the 803s handle the bass, but I know about the 804s. That's cool, though. Everyone that has the 804s have great subs to handle the bass.
Just before I bought my 802s, I was ready to add an SVS Ultra sub. I'd been back and forth with Tom and Ron asking all of the necessary questions. I was actually taking the weekend to think about it when I ran into the 802s. With these speakers, it's almost like I've added another sub or two. The 802s can slam on the low end, especially musical scores in movies...Pink Floyd and Rush last night, etc. They really are Full Range speakers, and I would never, ever dream of setting them to small
I'm so glad I've got you guys to chat with. My new speakers are all I've thought about this week. My wife is sick of hearing about them, my buddies at work are ignorant to speaker technology, etc. It's good to have a healthy support group like HTF
Jeremy

 

[Mark C.]

No question the 803s can do more than the 804s. In my listening tests, the 803s went deeper and the soundstage seemed fuller, more enveloping.
That being said, the 803s list for $1,500 US more than the 804s, and I didn't see the value for what seemed to me a slight improvement. Now, if I could have afforded the move up to the 802s, well....
I "settled'' for the 804s, and mated them with a Classe CAP-101 integrated amp. The sound from this system simply makes one melt.

 

[Jeremy Hegna]

Dennis,

Have you gotten a chance to go to audioreview.com?

Alot of times, the reviews are a ton of gibberish, but as with anything...you look long enough, you can find some valuable information.

There are well over 100 reviews of the 802s and probably 80% of them are from owners that seem to be very informative and true. Be prepared though, for those of us that consider a purchase like the 802s to be a "once every 10 years" type of a deal it can be depressing. Some of those guys have $100,000 worth of electronics hooked up to their 802s. Transports, Stand alone DACs, pres, pros, Levinson amplifiers, etc. WOW, this is very unfamiliar territory.

Jeremy

 

[Dennis B]

Jeremy,
Yeah, HTF is so cool.

We should spend more time listening, though...
Anyway, I realize perfectly that the 802 is a much better speaker than the 803. I'm under the impression, though, from my auditioning, that the 803 is also a much better speaker than the 804.
Oh man, every time I think of this I realize I won't be happy unless I go for the 802s... :rolleyes
Is there a link to that review of the 1080?

 

[Dennis B]

Mark,
Nice setup. See, it comes back to my previous point that very few of us end up settling on the 803 because of the price difference to the 804...:frowning:

 

[Dennis B]

Jeremy,
I know what you mean. There was a thread these days over on the speakers forum where this guy's buddy had SIX sobwoofers, then another guy said he sould add TWO MORE, then the first one said 'never mind, he's getting a Lexington MC-12 instead' or something like that, that's really another reality... :frowning:
But thanks for the suggestion, I'll browse over at audioreview and see if I can find something worthy.

 

[ManojM]

Dennis, if you are thinking about going with the 802s with a Rotel amp and upgrading later to a better amp, then that is not a bad idea. When I first got my 804s, I originally mated them with a B&K 202 receiver, and I am honestly suprise how good they sounded. With a good mid-fi amp, they will sound good, its just with a better amp, they will sound a lot better.
Jeremy,
You don't need $100,000 worth of electronics with the 802s to make them sound really good. A good Krell 2 channel amp can be picked up used, depending on the model, for $2500 to $5000, and a good Classe amp can be picked up for about the same. Although I agree going with monoblocks, BAT, or ML would be even better, getting to the 90% of the best level can be had for much more reasonable prices. I power my 804s with a Classe CAV-150 amp which is a six channel 150/watts channel amp. Even so, when I think about how much my HT system cost, I realize that "reasonable is relative." My secretary makes about as much in a year as my HT is worth.... Isn't this hobby great?

 

[Dennis B]

ManojM,
I gues you went back to my original question, if the 1075 would represent some kind of problem, if the sound would by poor or mushy or something. I guess it's time to start saving some money...

 

[Justin Doring]

The N803 makes no sense to me. It has a little more bass than the N804, but the highs and the midrange don't seem as transparent. It's also $1500 more which is a lot of coin for a mixed-blessing speaker. There's a good reason your dealer doesn't have it on display. The N802 is a different animal, however, and it is primarily a music speaker (I also think it sounds better than the N801).

Rotel makes good amps and are appropriate for the CDM-NT series B&Ws, but don't kid yourself. They compete with NAD, B&K, Marantz, Adcom, ATI, Sunfire, etc. (i.e. they are mid-fi amps). They are destroyed in every area by Proceed, Aragon, and Bryston, and we won't even talk about Krell, Classe', Pass, McIntosh, and Levinson. If you can't afford a decent, high-end, high-powered stereo amp or monoblocks for the N802s, go for the N804 and get a better amp (such as a multi-channel Classe').

 

[Jeremy Hegna]

"Yeah, HTF is so cool. We should spend more time listening, though..."
I do plenty of listening when I'm at home...it's when I'm at work that I spend all of my time on HTF
Audioreview, when I was buying my 1090, did not have the 1080 listed for review...they may have changed that. Otherwise, Rotel.com is a good place to start and some of the magazine web-sites in their archives.
You may have a hard time finding that article I'm talking about in Stereophile. It is this month's mag, so they tend to make people buy them first, post the articles later, when the new mag comes out...
Manoj,
I know I don't need $100k to give my 802s the best sound, but I'm sure it's the road I'm heading down...why not? Some guys put that much or better into their tractor collection, hotrods, Harley Davidsons, remote control jets, etc.
Dennis,
I don't think you will notice "problems" with your 1075. I'm sure you will be as happy as I am with my Rotel. Just don't audition a $5,000 amplifier with your new speaks before you can afford it...

 

[Jeremy Hegna]

"If you can't afford a decent, high-end, high-powered stereo amp or monoblocks for the N802s, go for the N804 and get a better amp (such as a multi-channel Classe'). "

Sorry Justin,

I completely disagree with this statement. YMMV.

Jeremy

 

[Justin Doring]

Balance is the key to a good sounding audio system. A Rotel RMB-1075 mated with B&W N802s is absurd, just like Levinson No. 33s mated with B&W DM303s is ridiculous.

 

[ManojM]

Jeremy, I am going down that same road myself... At one time $2000 seemed like a lot for audio gear, now it's a good deal... Next thing you know $5000 or $6000 doesn't seem like all that much as you get less and less sensitized by the cost. I wonder if I will ever get to the point where Wilson Grand Slams will make sense...

 

[Jeremy Hegna]

"Balance is the key to a good sounding audio system."
Agreed
"A Rotel RMB-1075 mated with B&W N802s is absurd,"
Why? Have you heard this combination or is this an educated guess? I can comment on the 1090/802 combination, or you can read my posts earlier in this thread. I don't think that the 1075/802 combo is the BEST of both worlds, but it is certainly not absurd. Rest assured, those of us that have Nautilus speakers are not laying on our back and giving up now that we have our dream speakers. I'm sure, most of us will continue to upgrade and most likely the amp section first. Unless one makes a ton of money, this shit has to be done with baby steps, my brother. The way you seem to see it...it's not worth buying an $8,000 pair of speakers if you cannot afford an $8,000 amplifier at the same time. This is simply not true, believe me, I'm living it.
"...just like Levinson No. 33s mated with B&W DM303s is ridiculous."
Unless of course you were planning on upgrading those 303s down the road. I would be willing to bet that the #33 would make those 303s sound pretty freakin' good though
Jeremy