Rotel RB-1090 vs Cinepro 1k2SE (1 Viewer)

[Lee-c]

I was wondering if any of you have had the chance to test and/or perhaps have owned
both these amps. And if you could give some opinions on which you think is superior and why.
Both are in roughly the same ballpark in terms of cost, give or take. So it's fair game
to compare them head-to-head.

 

[Lee-c]

Surely we must have some members that have tested both these amps. Feel free to give your
opinions on them.

 

[MikeAF]

Lee,
I had the Rotel for a weekend about a year ago and put it up against some Sherbourn monoblocks and liked the Sherbourn better. I now own a Cinepro 12KSE and absolutely love it. It has more power than I will ever need and it makes my Diva's sound so sweet. I like it so much I bought a 2K6III to go with it and couldn't be happier. If the 1090 and 12KSE are about the same price go with the Cinepro, you won't be disappointed.

Mike

 

[Lee-c]

Thanks for the reply, Mike.
In what areas do you think the Cinepro outclasses the RB-1090? I noticed the Rotel has a
higher rated continuous output than the 1K2SE; on the other hand, the Cinepro has a ton
of headroom above it's rated output to handle spikes in demand.
Do you know if the Cinepro has a separate transformer for each channel, or does it feed off
one transformer for both channels? I know the Rotel has a dedicated power supply for each channel.

 

[MikeAF]

Lee,
If the Rotel has the same WPC then maybe it wasn't the model I listened to. The Cinepro is very airy and clear. I'm not much of an audiophile but I know the Cinepro and Bryston 4B-St were the two amps I boiled down my choice to and the Cinepro remains. I believe the Cinepro has one power transformer but don't quote me on that. Check out Link Removed to get more info.
Mike

 

[Lee-c]

The Rotel I'm talking about is the RB-1090, it's rated at 380 WPC at 8 ohms and 700 WPC at 4 ohms.
If that isn't the one you tested out, then I guess we are back at square one. hehe
But it was good to hear about some impressions of the Cinepro.
I'm just amazed that there aren't at least 4 or 5 members that have tested both amps. I expected
there to be a bunch of opinions floating around in this thread by now.
I'm pretty sure the Cinepro has one power supply, because they don't mention two of them
on the Cinepro site, but they don't really seem to specify, though.

 

[John Kotches]

If the shared power supply is sufficient to the task, there is little to be gained by going with two discrete power supplies.

Regards,

 

[Lee-c]

John, in terms of sheer power, I agree. But I think I remember reading that having to send current
from one power supply to multiple channels can introduce distortion, IIRC. Which is the
only reason I really asked. Although, if you take the Rotel's twin power supplies, they deliver
more power per channel than if you split the one big power supply's output of the Cinepro in half.
Maybe that's why the Rotel can deliver more continuous power? The Cinepro has huge reserves going for it.

Both have a ton of power. What I'm really wondering about mostly is the quality of
sound they can produce and how those various sonic characteristics match up.

 

[John Kotches]

The tradeoff would be a very slight increase in crosstalk / decrease in channel seperation (they are the same thing in different words). That's it.

In terms of sonics, I haven't heard the Rotel, but own a Cinepro. It sacrifices very little to a BAT VK-6200.

Regards,

 

[Sihan Goi]

From what I've read, the Rotel RB-1090 can be good or bad. The Absolute Sound gave it a great review, comparing it to the likes of the Odyssey Stratos stereo amp, another great amp with great price/performance ratio, but What Hifi? gave it a not so good review, claiming it sounds harsh and unrefined despite the enormous power rating, when compared to other amps.

Again from what I've heard, the 1090 outclasses its multi channel brother, the RMB-1095 which I own, and I'm already very satisfied with the 1095. The 1095 has been compared to the likes of the Parasound HCA-2205AT and the Sherbourn 5/1500A. The Sherbourn monoblock is simply a single channel of the 5/1500A in a separate chassis, so I'd expect performance to be about the same, if not a bit better due to less channel crosstalk. In the same vein I'd expect the RB-1090 to outperform the Sherbourn monoblock due to this reasoning.

 

[Pete H]

I have not compared the Cinepro and Rotel but I have owned the Rotel for about two years. The Rotel is highly thought of by both Absolute Sound and Sterophile. Both mags consider the Rotel to be a great value. This is another way of saying it has weaknesses but get ready to spend a fair amount more to cover those weaknesses. I would have to agree.

It is very easy to listen using the Rotel for extended periods. It manages to allow this without rolling off the highs. The dynamics are very good. On the other hand I consider it slightly muddy in the lower-mids. This isn't a glaring problem but is noticeable. At the very bottom it will push a lot of air.

If your speakers need a lot of power the Rotel could be for you. All that said I must admit that I will be upgrading from the Rotel. I am doing this to take my system to the next level but I don't expect the gains to be significant. Just meaningful to me.

 

[Lee-c]

Thanks for replies.
Anyone else that has experience with these amps, please feel free to chime in. I think this
is an interesting match up between two amps with impressive specs.
Both are well thought of by various enthusiasts, but which delivers the superior sound fidelity?

 

[John Kotches]

Lee,
It doesn't matter what we think, we aren't choosing between the amplifiers, you are.

Regards,

 

[Lee-c]

Very true, John. But seeing as how I'll likely not get to hear them go head-to-head, it's a
good idea to ask some fellow enthusiasts who have heard them what they think.
The more informed opinions, the better.

 

[Steve Morgan]

Have you taken a look at the Cinenova Grande? I have a Parasound 2205a and have been looking to upgrade after researching a lot of amps I went with the Cinenova Grande. Cinepro was one of the amps I considered along with the Llano, and EAD 1000. Give it a glance.

Steve

 

[Lee-c]

Steve: While the Cinenova Grande is certainly a very nice amp, it's a 5 channel amp. And what
I'm talking about are 2 channel amps to drive main speakers.
The Cinenova Grande also costs far more than a 1K2SE.
But if you want a powerful amp to handle all your Dolby Digital needs, that would be a great choice.