Rotel RPS-1066 vs. Anthem AVM-20?? (1 Viewer)

[Daniel Mai]

I know, I know... They are not in the same category and should not be compared. AVM fans are gonna be all over this one, but let me explain.

I currently have Rotel and I find myself listening to music alot lately, so I'm wondering if I should upgrade to Anthem because (in order of priorities):

1. How the sound, for music of course, of the Anthem? Is the differrence that much noticeable between the two? (rotel sound pretty good right). If the difference here is quite marginal, then I'm sold on this alone.

2. Bass Management is better on Anthem.

3. Anthem seems alot better on features and controls.

4. Anthem has a built in Tuner equates to one less component in the rack.

Has anyone been able to compare these two units side by side and what are your thoughts?

Thanks!!

 

[Lee-M]

The HT dealer from which I bought my AVM-20 has both for comparison, and I have to say there is no comparison. The Anthem is far more musical; the features are superb, and it's just way more sexy.

...And I could not get used to that volume knob on the Rotel ...

 

[MikeTz]

I compared both units and the Anthem is better in many respects. It is very transparent on music, an excellent video switcher, has useful bass management, allows more complex audio/video control, and costs about twice what the Rotel unit does.

The Rotel processor also sounds very good (but less transparent than the Anthem), provides all of the modern encoding for movies, has ample inputs/outputs, and is well suited for most home theater applications.

If you want the best possible sound, spend $10K and get a Lexicon, if you don't mind spending $3K for a processor you will be happy with the Anthem. If you have modest amplification, speakers, and sources spend $1.5K and get the Rotel. Neither processor will disappoint you.

Listen to both before you buy and decide for yourself if the extra money for the Anthem is worth it.

Good luck

MT

 

[Mifr44]

Daniel,

Tough call. I would say that if you are disappointed in the sound of your system with the Rotel processor, give the AVM-20 an audition. But it sounds like you are happy with the RSP-1066, so I am hestitant to say you will experience a worthwhile improvement.

Michael

 

[Daniel Mai]

Mike,
I've had the Rotel RSP-1066 for four months now, but something in me just itches for the Anthem. Not only that, but if I sell my RSP-1066 and the tuner RT-1080, I would only have to come up with about 1K to get the Anthem.

Michael,
Thanks for your subjective observation, I've read quite a few of your posts regarding the Anthem. In fact, you troublesome (Anthem) people are the reason why I'm contemplating this upgrade.

With all the traffic here, I thought I'd get alot more responses than this. There's gotta quite a few people out there that went this route.

 

[Levesque]

I had the Anthem AVM20v2 in-house to compare with my RSP-1066. After listening to alot of DVD, CD, DVD-A and SACD, I couldn't justify the double price for the Anthem, and kept my RSP-1066. For me, the difference was not big enough.

It's my opinion only. For my ears, the Rotel was really near the Anthem, and for half the price, it was a keeper for me.

 

[Daniel Mai]

Lévesque,
It's great to hear from you. You haven't post lately, I didn't know you actually had them side by side. I thought you were just thinking about it and decided to upgrade your speakers to Studio 100 instead.

 

[Chas_T]

Anthem owner here.

I think Lévesque makes a great point. If you can put them side by side and play with the AVM-20 in an in home audition, it would be worth the effort.

You know, it might even be worth your while if you want to upgrade (depending on point of view of course) is to listen to the BK50, Sunfire or the Halo 2. They are also in that price range depending on discount structure of the dealer.

You may even want to listen to the Krell Showcase, which is more money, but it's an excellent unit too. Many love the sound of this SSP, especially for 2 channel music.

Orrrrr, you may even want to wait until the new Rotel makes it's appearance into this competitive price range of SSP's. Just adding a bit more fuel to the fire.

Sometimes upgraditis is a disease of the highest nature. If you like what you have, why not stay with the Rotel combination?

 

[Levesque]

Daniel. I just sold my business, so don't have a lot of spare time those days...

I had them both in-house for 2 days. Listened to a lot of different things. For my ears, the difference was minimal, and I decided to put the money on better speakers.

By the way, I just made a deal with my Rotel dealer... 100% credit for my RSP-1066 and he already ordered a 1098 for me... Upgradatis acutis again...

I'm a Rotel fanboy!

 

[Daniel Mai]

Thanks alot, Charles. Why stop there. The highest nature of upgraditis disease has gotten me paranoid and family and friends have looked at me very strangely since my whole system has gone thru 2 overhaul in the last year and a half. They don't know what to expect when they're dropping by. The only I've kept is the Panny RP-91, but I've gotten the Yamaha S2300 for 3 months now and the RP91 will be heading out the door or elsewhere soon. Luckily, my wife has always been very supportive (reminded why I married her) thru it all.

Levesque, somehow I knew you wouldn't let the 1098 pass by. My Rotel dealer is tough to deal with in pricing, but I'm establishing good relations with my Anthem/Paradigm dealer. I know you'll post your first impressions of the 1098 when you get it.

 

[JimmyK]

4. Anthem has a built in Tuner equates to one less component in the rack.

That's what I thought also. However, when setting the FM/AM presets on my Anthem (just got it last night!), I discovered that it had a harder time pulling in stations than my old Yamaha tuner. There is one station in particular that I had no trouble getting on the Yamaha, but the Anthem could not get it at all. So I may put the Yamaha back in the rack.

Although I understand that it's very typical for receivers and pre/pros with built in tuners to be mediocre in the tuner department, I think it's absolutely pitiful for a company to put a mediocre tuner in a multi thousand dollar piece of equipment. For comparason, the Yamaha tuner cost me $75 and does a much better job pulling in stations.

That said, I would have bought the Anthem whether or not it had a tuner. I just thought it would be nice if I could pull an extra component out of my already crowded equipment racks.

JimmyK

 

[Mifr44]

Jimmy,

Your experience with the AVM-20's tuner sounds like the exact opposite of mine. I was surprised to find that the tuner did as well as the $300 Parasound tuner I was auditioning. Since I really don't listen to FM/AM much on our home system, I thought that the AVM-20's tuner was more than sufficient for my needs. I am using an FM whip antenna, so that might be helping with reception.

Michael

 

[JimmyK]

I am using an FM whip antenna, so that might be helping with reception.

What's a "whip antenna"? Is that the same straight antenna they put on cars?

I'm using the "T" antenna that came with the Anthem, the same thing that I was using successfully with the Yamaha tuner.

Thanks!
JimmyK

 

[Mifr44]

What's a "whip antenna"?

Here's one:

http://www.magnumdynalab.com/x_st2.htm

Michael

 

[JimmyK]

Michael,

Where did you install your whip antenna? Inside? Outside?

Did it make a big difference in FM performance over the "T" antenna that comes with the Anthem?

What are you using for an AM antenna?

Thanks again!
JimmyK

 

[George Caronan]

Hello all. I thought I'd add my two cents here. I was THIS close to buying the RSP-1098 but spending one night at Borders perusing a S&V Buyer Guide I saw that the Anthem had more features such as THX post-processing, balanced outputs, not to mention flexibility and the ability to incorporate additional upgrades in the probably not too distant future. The Rotel had two more additional component inputs, DTS 96/24 and HDCD decoding not to mention that cool looking LCD screen. The RSP-1098 in comparison to the RSP-1066 will be much better due to higher grade internal components I was told by a Rotel rep. I don't think the RSP-1066 would be a fair match against the AVM 20 like the RSP-1098. I did manage to audition the RSP-1098 which I thought put out excellent qualities. In the end, the AVM-20 won out for me because of it having much more to offer plus the sound had more definition in my ears. Overall, either would make great additions to anyone's set-up. Enjoy the Rotel and cheers!