10 year old Rotel RSX-1057 sounds FLAT…

[cooldocsman]

I just picked up a good condition Rotel RSX-1057 surround sound receiver. I have a vandersteen 1Ci’s and a Mirage subwoofer. These were being powered by my 2 year old Yamaha RXV-385 receiver (basic home theater receiver from Best Buy) and sounded great even with that. I felt perhaps with such a lie end amp I was not doing justice to these audiophile speakers. So I got the Rotel (a brand that the vandersteen dealer had also highly recommended) - it was a lucky find at a garage sale. After connecting the speakers to the Rotel - I find that although the sound is clear, well defined, it is a bit lifeless and flat as compared to the mass market Yamaha (which has a livelier, fuller sound, with more presence, a crisper highs and a smoother feel) My wife is complaining “Iplease get rid of this .. I like the old amp a lot better!” The used Rotel did not come with a remote do. Got a replacement remote. Any thoughts on what could be the problem here? Is there an adjustment I can make? There is no “presence” or “loudness” or “enhancer” switch on the Rotel - there is apparently a “contour” feature on the replacement remote - but I have not tried it and it appears to have just a boost for high and low end frequencies (which is like regular tone controls rather than presence-control) Could it be that my expectations are flawed and that Rotels are built to directly reproduce the source recording without adding any flavor to it? Please advice!

 

[fmw]

My advice is to go back to using the equipment you preferred.

 

[Replicant 7]

You may want to Google that unit, there is a article on Sound and Vision of that RSX-1057. It's 75 X 5 @8 Ohm's continuously. I didn't read the whole article but from what I read it's got issues. Just Google that unit, you'll find info of it. PDF downloads of a manual. That unit sold new for around 1299.00 at the time. It is an outdated unit.

Just a note, new AVR's also have issues. Yamaha's new Adventage line, with their 2.1 HDMI ports, are still locked and owners are still waiting for a promised future firmware update. Denon and Marantz has only one 2.1 port that is unlocked, that I know of. But 2.1 effects gamers mostly if that matters to your needs. If you do upgrade to a new model of your choice do yourself a solid and research what you want and need before you buy may save you from having buyers remorse.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

What can we say, Yamaha is just better.

But seriously, are you comparing Direct mode vs Direct mode?

Are the Bass levels or EQ similar?

 

[cooldocsman]

My advice is to go back to using the equipment you preferred.

Agree! I have already gone back to the Yamaha for now, until I find the "cure"

 

[cooldocsman]

What can we say, Yamaha is just better.

But seriously, are you comparing Direct mode vs Direct mode?

Are the Bass levels or EQ similar?

Actually I was trying the mode I normally listen to - with center channel and sub. But even normal is flattish. And yes Yamaha (even the basic one) sounds more pleasing

 

[cooldocsman]

What can we say, Yamaha is just better.

But seriously, are you comparing Direct mode vs Direct mode?

Are the Bass levels or EQ similar?

You may want to Google that unit, there is a article on Sound and Vision of that RSX-1057. It's 75 X 5 @8 Ohm's continuously. I didn't read the whole article but from what I read it's got issues. Just Google that unit, you'll find info of it. PDF downloads of a manual. That unit sold new for around 1299.00 at the time. It is an outdated unit.

Just a note, new AVR's also have issues. Yamaha's new Adventage line, with their 2.1 HDMI ports, are still locked and owners are still waiting for a promised future firmware update. Denon and Marantz has only one 2.1 port that is unlocked, that I know of. But 2.1 effects gamers mostly if that matters to your needs. If you do upgrade to a new model of your choice do yourself a solid and research what you want and need before you buy may save you from having buyers remorse.

Thank you - I found the Sound and Vision article you suggested and it reflects my experience - the article has a thorough evaluation of this receiver and arrives at the same verdict - the receiver is very detailed and accurate, but tends to clip at higher volumes, is okay for movies but for music it is flat and lifeless.

 

[fmw]

Agree! I have already gone back to the Yamaha for now, until I find the "cure"

You will need to decide what you want to cure. It isn't likely that different electronics will do that.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

You will need to decide what you want to cure. It isn't likely that different electronics will do that.

It is in the settings. But not all electronics are capable of the same settings - they may differ in their Bass Management, EQ or Tone Control.

For example, the first AVP I ever bought was a Pioneer Elite Dolby Digital AVP. But this thing didn’t have a Pure Direct or Direct Mode. I think it had Stereo mode and other modes. When I compared this $1,800 AVP to a $500 AVR, which had Direct Mode, the AVR sounded so much better.

So in my example, the AVR actually sounded better than the AVP because the AVP wasn’t capable of the same settings as the AVR.

 

[fmw]

It is in the settings. But not all electronics are capable of the same settings - they may differ in their Bass Management, EQ or Tone Control.

For example, the first AVP I ever bought was a Pioneer Elite Dolby Digital AVP. But this thing didn’t have a Pure Direct or Direct Mode. I think it had Stereo mode and other modes. When I compared this $1,800 AVP to a $500 AVR, which had Direct Mode, the AVR sounded so much better.

So in my example, the AVR actually sounded better than the AVP because the AVP wasn’t capable of the same settings as the AVR.

Yes indeed. My point exactly.

 

[lovinthehd]

Just seems you like some of the dsp/eq tweaks in the Yamaha vs the Rotel, nor do the speakers particularly care how much you spent on the amp/avr, it simply needs to be sufficient for your use. Amps on their own should be neutral (maybe flat/lifeless to you?), it's dsp/eq that largely makes the difference among avrs, not the particular "amp" section. You might like current Denon/Marantz units with the Audyssey Editor App to customize the eq the way you like, or use the Audyssey DynamicEQ/RLO features. Yamaha avrs with YPAO and their PEQ might be something you'd like, especially if already familiar with some of the Yamaha feature set.

The contour (assuming it's a loudness contour feature) on the Rotel might help, tho.

 

[ParleyW]

I just picked up a good condition Rotel RSX-1057 surround sound receiver. I have a vandersteen 1Ci’s and a Mirage subwoofer. These were being powered by my 2 year old Yamaha RXV-385 receiver (basic home theater receiver from Best Buy) and sounded great even with that. I felt perhaps with such a lie end amp I was not doing justice to these audiophile speakers. So I got the Rotel (a brand that the vandersteen dealer had also highly recommended) - it was a lucky find at a garage sale. After connecting the speakers to the Rotel - I find that although the sound is clear, well defined, it is a bit lifeless and flat as compared to the mass market Yamaha (which has a livelier, fuller sound, with more presence, a crisper highs and a smoother feel) My wife is complaining “Iplease get rid of this .. I like the old amp a lot better!” The used Rotel did not come with a remote do. Got a replacement remote. Any thoughts on what could be the problem here? Is there an adjustment I can make? There is no “presence” or “loudness” or “enhancer” switch on the Rotel - there is apparently a “contour” feature on the replacement remote - but I have not tried it and it appears to have just a boost for high and low end frequencies (which is like regular tone controls rather than presence-control) Could it be that my expectations are flawed and that Rotels are built to directly reproduce the source recording without adding any flavor to it? Please advice!

What sounds best to your ears man. It’s all subjective anyway.