Rotel 1066 Users... (1 Viewer)

[DarrylM]

I have been considering either a new Rotel 1066 or an Outlaw 950 preprocessor, and I'm trying to determine which one is the best route to go.

The Outlaw users have cited several advantages for the 950, including bass management on the analog inputs (with an 80 Hz cut-off), setup through either the pre/pro display or the on-screen display, better DACs (192 kHz vs 96), a tuner, and -- of course -- a much lower price tag.

The Rotel does, of course, allow for software upgradability and is a nicer looking unit (for what it's worth). Is this it, though? Does anyone else have anything to add on the Rotel's behalf for the extra cash? If you bought the 1066 over the 950, what was your rationale for it?

 

[EarleD]

I never have heard the 950 but I own a Rotel 1055 used as a pre/pro only.

I think the general consensus is that the 950 is a great HT/music pre/pro and the 1055/1066 is a great music/HT pre/pro. The upgradability is great, Rotel is putting out new firmwares all the time.

I love mine.

Earle

 

[Chriss M]

i've tried both and ended up keeping the rotel. The outlaw 950 that i had was a red-dot version, and produced a loud hiss in my system. Apparently they have further improved this with the new blue-dot version, which i have not tried.

There was a bunch of things i liked better about the outlaw - mainly full menu navigation without the OSD, and the triple crossover. It is ugly though

The outlaw is $899 and the rotel can be had for 1200-1300 from a dealer, plus the outlaw includes a tuner, so it is a good deal cheaper.

 

[Tom Lee]

Just to let you know, The Dac's on the outlaw is not better then the dac's on the rotel.

 

[Bob-N]

I also had both at one time to audition over a long weekend. I ended up with the Rotel 1066 also. I thought that the 950 was a bit harsh (bright?) in my system. Fatiguing was the word I thought of when listening to my CD collection. The Outlaw unit didn't exhibit the hiss some users had.

Bob

 

[Mark C.]

I went with the 1066 because I had its predecessor, the RSP-972, and liked it very much. The 1066 sounds even better in my system, and it's much more tweakable (is that a word?).

 

[Bill Polley]

If you are seriously trying to decide, then get the 950. The 950 has a 30 day, no questions asked, money back return policy. You can audition it in your home for 30 days for the cost of shipping. First impressions are deceiving. I never believed in a "break-in" period, but I had a red dot unit that sounded much better after a few days of listening (and leaving it on with nothing playing while I was gone or sleeping).

It sounded fantastic. Then my final, hiss-fixed "blue dot" arrived. I switched the 2 units, and the blue dot sounded awful. Well, not awful, but VERY different than the red dot. There was absolutely no hiss, and everything was crystal clear, clean, and detailed, but it sounded very "honky". I left it on and went to work. When I came back, it sounded pretty good. The next day it sounded awesome. I hooked the red dot back up to compare, and the hiss was back, but the sound was nearly the same. The new blue dot is quieter, smoother, and richer. The sound stage is wider and deeper.

I would agree that the Rotel may sound as good as the blue dot 950, but I really doubt it could sound better.

 

[DarrylM]

Just to let you know, The Dac's on the outlaw is not better then the dac's on the rotel.

Tom, Are you saying that with something other than the fact that Rotel uses 24/96s and Outlaw uses 24/192s in mind?

 

[DarrylM]

The 950 has a 30 day, no questions asked, money back return policy. You can audition it in your home for 30 days for the cost of shipping.

Unfortunately, I wouldn't be able to do the same for the Rotel, so a head-to-head comparison would still be out of the question.

 

[DarrylM]

I appreciate all of the feedback that I have received so far. It seems like most of you 1066 owners who responded bought the Rotel based upon some perceived differences in sound quality. Did anyone of you feel that the 1066 offered enough features to justify the additional cost over a product that has a tuner, better bass management, and so on?

 

[Bob-N]

Assuming sound quality was equal? I probably would have opted for the 950. I was one of the first ~250 buyers (my number was 239-ish) and I was really hot for the 950. After waiting over numerous delays over the course of about a year for me (others waited longer), I really wanted to like the Outlaw unit. During my first 3 weeks or so, I felt that the 950 didn't quite "sound" right. My suspicions were correct when I compared them back to back in my system.

I really struggled over the features that the 950 had (triple crossover, tuner, set up via display, 80hz analog crossover, customer service/communication) as well as the price difference. In the end, I wanted what sounded best (to my ears) and would work around the rest.

Too bad you can't do a side by side comparison and keep the one you like. You're going to have a tough decision ahead of you. Good luck.

Bob

 

[Dave Ma]

Well, Rotel has been in Audio for a very,very long time! They make a "QAULITY" product with a 5 year warranty. There are only select few Rotel dealers. You cannot even buy Rotel on the Internet. Outlaw looks like it is cheap, can only be bought on the internet(hope you do not have a problem)after purchase. Rotel has firmware/software updates all the time. The updates are also "FREE". Do it your self or take to your dealer to upgrade it for you. That is the biggest plus about the Rotel besides the "SOUND QUALITY". Better parts from a well established company. If you want to look at seperates, a "TRUE" seperate would not have a tuner inside a processor like the Rotel does not. Yes, I will take the ROTEL please You should be able to buy both, compare and return either one you did not like.

 

[Patrick R. Sklenar]

Dave,

Outlaw Audio is the result of many dozens of years "in Audio". Each of the principals have "been in Audio" for a very, very long time. They learned what works and what doesn't "in Audio" and created Outlaw Audio to serve the educated customer.

Let's see ... "There are only a select few Rotel dealers." ... "Outlaw ... can only be bought on the internet". Sounds like it's easier to find buy an Outlaw then. As far as post-purchase problems ... Outlaw takes care of their customers, even going so far as to offer a no questions asked money back guarantee for 30 days. If you don't like the color of the power button, if the blue of the display clashes with the red of your amp's power indicator ... it doesn't matter, they'll take it back up to 30 days after you've recieved it and give you your money back. Since you're not dealing with Rotel directly, do your "select few Rotel dealers" offer this? Do they let you take one home for a month to try it with your equipment in your listening environment?

"Better parts ..."? Oh, have you been inside both the Rotel and the Outlaw? Heck, have you even seen the outside of an Outlaw piece in person? Based on your comments, I sincerely doubt it. Outlaw uses very high quality parts in their products. Admittedly there are those that don't like the logo (not me, I like the logo), but the parts used are first rate. Just as I have to assume they are in the Rotel.

You may be quite qualified to speak to the benefits of the Rotel ... but your knowledge of the Outlaw is quite obviously lacking. In fact, it's so lacking as to make me wonder why you put down the Outlaw since you don't know anything about it?


DarrylM,

Like Bob-N I was one of the first adopters of the Outlaw 950. Unlike Bob-N, I found the sound of the 950 to work well with that of my Boston Acoustics VR-M series speaker set up. Three quarters of a year later I'm still completely thrilled with it. Considering the 30 day guarantee, I honestly think you should give it a try. At the worst, if you decided that you didn't like it, you'd be out only the $30 or so it would cost to ship it back to Outlaw Audio.

And to address Dave's concern about service, ask Bill Polley what he thinks of Outlaw Audio's service what with all the hoopla over the infamous "950 hiss" (which coincidently, I've never heard out of my first run 950).

Just my two cents as a satisfied Outlaw customer.

 

[Alex Prosak]

Darryl,

If having a tuner is important to you, why not use a 1055 receiver instead of the 1066 pre/pro? I don't know what your listening habits are but those that have tested both indicate that there is very little or no difference in sound quality (I reckon that will depend on how good the rest of your gear and your ears are). The 1055 will also save you a few bucks vs. the 1066 although it still isn't priced as nicely as the Outlaw.

Alex

 

[DarrylM]

Yes, I will take the ROTEL please You should be able to buy both, compare and return either one you did not like.

Unfortunately, the "select" Rotel dealer in my area does not allow returns -- just exchanges.

PS
Sorry about some of the redundancy here with Patrick's post... He must've been posting his as I was writing mine!

 

[Bill Polley]

When the "blue dot" (final, upgraded, hiss fixed) units were announced, I, and several others asked to get the newer units.

The Outlaws shipped me (and the others) the blue dot free of charge, and allowed me to compare it with my existing 950 for 7 days. I kept the one I liked better (the new blue dot unit) and returned the original. The Outlaws paid the return shipping also. If I would have had trouble deciding, I could have kept both units longer, and they would have billed my credit card for the balance, crediting me the full amount back once I returned one of them.

The 950 also has a 5 yr warranty.

I am not Rotel bashing. I am sure it is an outstanding product (it ran a close 2nd to the 950, in my eyes). Price, the tuner, and the triple crossover were the determining factors for my buying the 950 (especially the triple crossover).

 

[DarrylM]

By triple crossover, are you referring to the ability of the 950 to use different crossover settings for the mains, center, and surrounds? If so, what does the Rotel do? I have large mains, and would probably set the cut-off lower for them...

 

[Kevin C Brown]

I was trying to decide between these two last fall. It came down to 2 items for me:

1) The Rotel has the "double bass" problem that you cannot eliminate unless you buy an Outlaw (!) ICBM.

The Outlaw has the same problem, except that you can eliminate it by simply using the 80 Hz analog crossover on the 5.1 inputs.

2) That 80 Hz analog crossover. Outlaw's got it, Rotel doesn't.

You know when you come across a piece of equipment, you like it a lot, and you find a catastrophic flaw in it that just can't allow yourself to purchase it? That's the 1066 for me. "Double" bass just doesn't do it for me. I'm pissed off at Sony, because they haven't yet put out an ES universal SACD/CD/DVD-A/DVD-V player. And I'm pissed at Rotel because they haven't fixed the double bass problem in the 1066 yet.

Even considering that Rotel's xS modes for "expanding" 5.1 DD/DTS sources to 7,1 *do* give you non-mono rears, and the Outlaw doesn't. I may even eventually move on to something else just because I wish the 950 had that, but it won't be the Rotel until they *fix* it:

http://www.htguide.com/CFBoards/inde...estTimeout=500

The funny thing is, I *didn't* want a tuner, and I think the Rotel looks a heck of a lot better than the Outlaw. But a flaw is a flaw...

 

[Kevin C Brown]

I was trying to decide between these two last fall. It came down to 2 items for me:

1) The Rotel has the "double bass" problem that you cannot eliminate unless you buy an Outlaw (!) ICBM.

The Outlaw has the same problem, except that you can eliminate it by simply using the 80 Hz analog crossover on the 5.1 inputs.

2) That 80 Hz analog crossover. Outlaw's got it, Rotel doesn't.

You know when you come across a piece of equipment, you like it a lot, and you find a catastrophic flaw in it that just can't allow yourself to purchase it? That's the 1066 for me. "Double" bass just doesn't do it for me. Kind of pissed me off actually. I'm mad at Sony because they haven't done a universal ES player yet, and I'm mad at Rotel because of the double bass problem.

Even considering that Rotel's xS modes for "expanding" 5.1 DD/DTS sources to 7,1 *do* give you non-mono rears, and the Outlaw doesn't. I may even eventually move on to something else just because I wish the 950 had that, but it won't be the Rotel until they *fix* it:

http://www.htguide.com/CFBoards/inde...estTimeout=500

The funny thing is, I *didn't* want a tuner, and I think the Rotel looks a heck of a lot better than the Outlaw. But a flaw is a flaw...

The funny thing #2 is, I keep trying to find a big enough flaw in the 950, that would enable me to get rid of it (in good conscience) and get a B&K Ref 50. (THX Ultra2 = non-mono rears too, among lots of other stuff the Ref 50 has that *neither* the Rotel or Outlaw has.) But I still have my 950...

 

[DarrylM]

I may even eventually move on to something else just because I wish the 950 had that, but it won't be the Rotel until they *fix* it... The funny thing is, I *didn't* want a tuner, and I think the Rotel looks a heck of a lot better than the Outlaw. But a flaw is a flaw...

Kevin, would you have purchased the Rotel if you had no plans of using the analog inputs?