Denon 3808/4308 vs. Rotel 1065

[Hank355]

Hello all! New to this forum. I, like am sure a lot of you out there are trying to figure out how to upgrade my system. I also am going to put a widescreen/ surround sound system in my bedroom which is quite large. Right now I have the Rotel RSX-1065 with B&W series 700 speakers. My first question to this lovely forum is, if I hooked up the Denon 3808 or the 4308 to my B&Ws, would it sound better than the Rotel? I know that is a very hard question to answer without listening, but I just need a ballpark assumption before I would even try to buy one to hook it up. Or, should I go for the Rotel 1098? Or is there something in the $3k that would be worth looking into? I know Arcam is good but it doesn't support HDMI audio, and I have a SACD/DVD-Audio player going into my 5.1 analog inputs, so those channels are already being used. I would greatly appreciate any info on this topic, or if you have different suggestions to match my B&W speakers, cause those I am keeping, and I'm looking into the Totem Acoustic speakers for my bedroom with my old Rotel (any thoughts on that would be greatly appreciated, as well!)

 

[mike c]

the 4308 + a rotel 2 channel amp should give you the same if not better performance than the old rotel receiver. (you get all the new video/HDMI stuff as well)

 

[Hank355]

Thanks Mike. Now I don't have a separate power amp, do you think I need one?

 

[mike c]

Thanks Mike. Now I don't have a separate power amp, do you think I need one?

no I don't think so ... but it will help give you the sense of security

plus the fact that you already think that different receivers will sound different, I'm afraid your psychoacoustics will make you think the denon will sound worse than your rotel, when in truth ... these amps all sound the same when given speaker loads they can handle. an external amp will make sure you have all the power you need... (the front 2 channels require the most power).

 

[PENG]

I don't think the 3806 or 4806 would sound better than the Rotel 1056. They may have more power for 2 channel listening but not enough to make a difference. If you need more power, get a power amplifier and use the preouts of the receiver.

Sorry I made a mistake, for some reason I thought you wrote 1056. Since it is a 1065, the Denon definitely won't sound better.

 

[mike c]

to verify, is your rotel receiver a 1065 (predecessor to the 1067 100wpc) or a 1056 (75wpc)?

 

[Hank355]

I have the Rotel RSX-1065

 

[mike c]

ok ... I assume you have only 5 speakers? (if you plan to have 7 speakers in the future, this receiver will be able to support that)

so a 3808 + a rotel 1075 = 3k (130wpc x 5, the rest from the receiver)

or
4308 + a rotel 1080 = 3-4k (200wpc x 2, the rest from the receiver)

or my recommendation
3808 + a rotel 1095 =4k (200wpc x 5, the rest from the receiver)

I have a rotel 1077 myself and though many rotelians will say it's the best sounding rotel EVER ... I simply don't hear a difference.

 

[Hank355]

Yup, I have the 1065 processor, now, with no power amp, and I do have 5 speakers and the subwoofer. What about if I bought the 1057/1067 or the 1098? Or the 4308 from Denon? Which would be better sounding?

 

[mike c]

well first of all, ALL the rotel HDMI receivers don't process HDMI audio ... so the denon pretty much kicks their a$$ in sound quality from HDMI

you'd have exactly the same problem you have now. using the analog inputs on the rotels for multichannel music.

 

[Hank355]

Ahh, I heard that the Rotel does process the HDMI audio, I heard that the Arcam doesn't. So, my new question is if I bought the Denon 4308, and didn't hook up an additional power amp, would I get an equivalent sound out of my B&Ws (also I can get a big discount if I buy the Denon 4308, or 3808). If I can then I will get the Denon. Also, I just bought a Denon DVD-Audio/SACD player that I am now hooking up thru the analog 5.1 inputs in my Rotel. But I heard that the new Denon Blu Ray will transmit the 5.1 audio (analog) directly thru the HDMI. So I will have two players, my Blu Ray and my Denon SACD/DVD-Audio.

 

[mike c]

why don't you try with the just the denon's, since you're keeping the 1065, you can A/B them and decide for yourself.

but since you have two sources with multichannel outputs, the rotels and arcams are simply not applicable.

 

[Hank355]

Thanks so much Mike, you've been a big help. I have one more question that maybe you can help me with. I want to know if the SACD/DVD-Audio formats are dead. If they are, what are people like me supposed to do with the plethora of discs that I've accumulated over the years? And are they planning on coming out with a new audio(phile) format? Also, why don't they just make the Blu Ray players able to read SACD?

 

[mike c]

there are many players that can play SACD and DVD-A's ... for example, my pioneer DVD player can play both the formats through HDMI.

i don't think they'll come out with a new audiophile format, I think the next step would be music on Blu-ray discs.

 

[Antus]

if you take the whole system's performance into consideration, there are more than one way to have better sound.

for example, B&W 805 + Rotel1080 will sound better than B&W705 + Classe2100. i think both system will be similier priced.

before you spend lots money on pre/pro, amp, or receiver, u should identify what's the weakest link before/after the upgrade. if you have a rotel receiver or 2 channel amp already, i would think upgrade the speakers will have greater impact on the overall performance.

are you going to sell your 1065 processer? otherwise, why u want to buy Denon 4308/3808?

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Yup, I have the 1065 processor, now, with no power amp, and I do have 5 speakers and the subwoofer. What about if I bought the 1057/1067 or the 1098? Or the 4308 from Denon? Which would be better sounding?

I think they will all sound the same through the same speakers in the same room.

 

[Hank355]

I am moving the Rotel to another room. Originally, I was going to purchase a cheaper surround sound system and speakers. But I do want to upgrade my system now and include a blu ray player, and the Rotel doesn't have HDMI inputs. I also faced the problem of wanting to not only hook up the blu ray, but my SACD/DVD-Audio player (Denon). So without HDMI from my Rotel, I can't input the Blu Ray sound into the Rotel because I have the analog 5.1 inputs already being used by my Denon, and I want to keep the Denon. So if I wanted to add the Blu Ray to my system now I would have to run the audio thru the optical or coax. Which yields better quality btw? But I heard that the best quality is thru HDMI or inputting it thru the analog channels (which I can't do either with the Rotel). I hope this clears up my dilemma for Antus. And for Acudef...., I really hope it sounds the same, or obviously a bit better. Cause I am not in the market for buying very expensive speakers, plus I might move and the 700s are monsters, esp. with that subwoofer. For my new system (using my old Rotel), someone recommended to me the Totem Acoustic speakers, has anyone heard them, or anyone have ideas, fairly cheap, ideas for hooking up small speakers to my rotel?