The Rotel 1066 is on par with the Adcom and B&K offerings at similar price points, do some demo's and get the one that looks and sounds the best to you. Lastly, it is easy to get a little snobby as you move up in to different levels of equipment, also remember that all of this kind of gear has its' quirks,is oversold professional review-wise and is miserably overpriced. If you are starting out and have around $2,000 to spend and the choice is between entry level separates or a bigtime receiver, you'll be satisfied with the Rotel 1066 and an amp like the RMB 1075. The remote is what it is, kind of a big awkward affair.Īll in all, my opinion is that if you can somehow make it work out, try to stretch to something the calibur of an Anthem AVM 20 or if you have a decent receiver, try partnering it with a good amp first. Also, there can be sound drop outs on the split second layer change on DVD's, something I have read about even with the more expensive pre-amps. On the downside, I used to have a Rotel RSX 1055 and like the 1066, I hear a "pop" in my speakers when changing channels on my digital cable box, something that I haven't experienced on numerous other receivers. Musically, the gap is probably narrower thus giving credence to the reviews that compare it to pricier units. More lively surround processing and more punch to movies. The bottom line is that the Anthem felt more like what I thought I would get when I upgraded to a pre-amp from the Denon. Recently I bought an Anthem AVM 20 floor model at a great price. Most importantly, it will be a nice step up from most receivers, keeping in mind that I feel that it didn't provide the difference I was sold on by my dealer when I replaced my Denon 3803 (pre-outed to the RMB 1075). It is decently built, has a nice feature set and good warranty. The 1066 is a budget pre-amp, albeit subjectively in my view more classy than an Adcom or even a B&K, a few pegs down from Anthem, Krell, Proceed, etc. True, the law of diminishing returns kicks in when you go from a $1,500 pre-amp to a $2,900 pre-amp, but if you listen discriminately, the small differences become worth the premium. I have been seduced by these types of reviews and Rotel's excellent marketing but have come to the conclusiion that like anything else, you get what you pay for. The various Rotel reviews exclaim that you get the performance of units costing many more dollars. Well they did and they didn't.įirst of all, I am a big fan of Rotel, I consider their products to be well-built and a good value for those of us that want to pretend we are in the higher end audiophile world. The difference was clearly measurable (more dynamic) and got me thinking that going to a dedicated pre-amp, things would only get better. This was the first significant change per dollar spent I ever experienced. Prior to buying the 1066, I had a Denon AVR 3803 and added a Rotel RMB 1075. Which leads me to the 1066, my fist entry (at the time) in to separates. This by no means qualifies me as an expert, but I do pride myself on navigating through the hype and achieving a system that is a decent value. The longer you figure out what to listen for and try different things, the more apparent this becomes. One observation in the Audio/Video world is that generally speaking, the jumps in price can range from a real waste to really worhtwhile depending of coarse on all of the elements in your system. I have been in the never ending upgrade cycle for a few years, from receivers to separates, from inexpensive to expensive cables, DVD players, etc. If you have a decent CD player or SACD connect it to the Rotel via the Multi Channel Input using front left and right, once switched the Rotel by passes the processor altogeather ( it says 2 channel mode does this but there is no switching to by pass the processor when you press the button) as soon as I did this I tried a CD and I couldn't wipe the smile off my face the music came alive and I could hear every detail with a clarity i have not experienced with the rotel before, the improvement was astounding!!! if any of you out there are feeling disapointed with the sound in stereo mode I urge you to give this a go you will be suprised by the improvement I will never use the CD input again. The music just sounded unnatural and harsh and I preffered to use my old acoustic research pre-amp until I figured how to getr the best of both worlds with the Rotel. Looks great, sound is good in home theatre setup but very average in stereo the music lacks detail and has a processed sound when using the CD input and the 2 channel stereo mode.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |