Rotel 1098 review (1 Viewer)

[Andrew Pratt]

This is a rather detailed review on the technical aspects of the new Rotel 1098 flagship pre amp.

Review

I'll add to it that when I upgraded from using the 1055 as a pre amp to the 1098 my jaw hit the floor at how incredible it sounds. I also upgraded my amp from a HK PA5800 to the Rotel RMB 1075 at the same time which I'm sure contributed to the new found clarity but I still can't help smile everytime I fire them up

 

[Kevin C Brown]

Seems more like an advertisement than a review.

Individual crossovers for different (sets of) speakers? What are the crossover freq choices? Can it do calibration in steps of 0.5 dB and distances to speakers to 0.5 ft? Does it have a distance to subwoofer setting? THX Ultra 2, or just the xS modes for 7.1 (in addition to DD EX and DTS-ES)? What is the 2 ch sound quality like? Does it have the same "double bass" issue as the 1066? Does it have 2 sets of crossover adjustments; one set for audio sources, one set for video? (I like to use lower crossovers for audio.) Any "cinema eq" -like feature? Useable remote? Backlit? Option to digitize the 5.1 analog inputs? (24/128 ADCs are pretty darn good.) I'd be curious about all that and more...

 

[Mark C.]

Kevin:

The 1098 owner's manual is available for download at Rotel's site. But I believe the answer is yes to your questions.

 

[Andrew Pratt]

I'd be curious about all that and more...

Here's the owners manual that IMO is one of the best I've ever read.

 

[Andrew Pratt]

The thing that really impressed me about the 1098 was that for the 1055 and 1066 us Club Rotelers came up with a laundry list of items we'd like to see changed on those first models. Rotel did change all that they could given the hardware they were working with but said that some simply were not possible at this time but that they'd keep them in mind the next go round...well the 1098 is the next go round and guess what? every item we requested showed up and then some As complex and flexible as this beast is its still very easy to configure and the menu's are intuitive and easy to understand. I really love the video upconversion as well since it will allow me to run only one set of component cables to the projector over which I'll be able to upconvert my compostie VCR and s-video DSS and the progressive scan DVD player..couldn't be easier. About the only thing that bugs me is the TFT screen. Sure its a neat idea but I'm firmly in the anti lights group. I want a black box with as few a lights as possible so as to not distract me from the music or movie. You can turn off the display by pressing and holding the menu button on either the remote or pre amp but it will turn back on once you power it down and defualt to turning on again the next time you power it up...understandable since I'm sure there'd be someone that would call tech support freaking that the screen was broken if it stayed off but I'm working with Rotel to try and find a way to have it remember it was off and stay off yet still not confuse the public. Hopefully we'll find a solution but if not its not a big deal to hold a button for a couple of seconds (yes I'm that anal )

 

[Yogi]

Its more like a press release/advertisement. Says nothing about the sonic attributes of the prepro.

 

[Andrew Pratt]

I'm sure the major mag's and online review sites will have their reviews up shortly.

 

[Kevin C Brown]

Andrew- Thanks! Actually, I would have immediately dismissed this guy based on the 1066, but it actually does have a lot of features I'd be interested in...

 

[Craig_Kg]

Did anyone request variable crossover slopes for the bass management?

 

[Andrew Pratt]

Andrew- Thanks! Actually, I would have immediately dismissed this guy based on the 1066, but it actually does have a lot of features I'd be interested in...

Kevin give it a listen you won't be disappointed.

Craig I don't think that was requested.