Emotiva BasX A300 vs Rotel RMB 1077

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paulzhere

Junior Audioholic
Hi

I have an Emotiva BasX A300 for many years now. It has been a faithful companion and has never let me down (touchwood). I recently got a used but mint Rotel RMB 1077 just to try it out and also because I was getting a good deal on it. Although I was expecting the sound signature of the Rotel to be different from the Emotiva , I was expecting that their gain levels would more or less be the same, since the Emotiva is 150w/ch and the Rotel is 100w/ch under 8ohm load and since I am told that one needs double the power to increase the perceived output by 3dB. But on hooking up the Rotel I found that I had to increase the volume on my AVP by around 5dB or more to have the same perceived volume on both. I haven’t had the time to measure it and the assessment was only by the ear but the difference is very noticeable. This left me confused esp since both the amps are rated at sensitivity of 1.2 V.
Any takes on this?

Thanks

Paul
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Hi

I have an Emotiva BasX A300 for many years now. It has been a faithful companion and has never let me down (touchwood). I recently got a used but mint Rotel RMB 1077 just to try it out and also because I was getting a good deal on it. Although I was expecting the sound signature of the Rotel to be different from the Emotiva , I was expecting that their gain levels would more or less be the same, since the Emotiva is 150w/ch and the Rotel is 100w/ch under 8ohm load and since I am told that one needs double the power to increase the perceived output by 3dB. But on hooking up the Rotel I found that I had to increase the volume on my AVP by around 5dB or more to have the same perceived volume on both. I haven’t had the time to measure it and the assessment was only by the ear but the difference is very noticeable. This left me confused esp since both the amps are rated at sensitivity of 1.2 V.
Any takes on this?

Thanks

Paul
Did you calibrate the avp for each amp? What is the gain spec for each amp?
 
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paulzhere

Junior Audioholic
Did you calibrate the avp for each amp? What is the gain spec for each amp?
No. I had calibrated it for the Emotiva and used the same calibration (levels, distances etc.) on the Rotel. I do not like Audyssey so I keep it turned off most of the time.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
How do you do the calibration then? Using the Audyssey setup routine can do levels/delays well, but you don't need to use the eq.

Looking at the specs, the Emotiva has a gain of 29dB, the Rotel 27.4dB.
 
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paulzhere

Junior Audioholic
How do you do the calibration then? Using the Audyssey setup routine can do levels/delays well, but you don't need to use the eq.

Looking at the specs, the Emotiva has a gain of 29dB, the Rotel 27.4dB.
Yes that’s what I do. I use audyssey to calculate the levels and delays but I keep the eq turned off. I don’t like what audyssey does to the higher frequencies.

I see. So the higher gain on the Emotiva might explain the difference in levels that I noticed. That and the slightly greater power per channel. Thanks!
 
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PENG

Audioholic Slumlord
I see. So the higher gain on the Emotiva might explain the difference in levels that I noticed. That and the slightly greater power per channel. Thanks!
Absolutely, as HD mentioned, 29 vs 27.4! That's quite noticeable, though there is something else at play if you have to turn the volume up by 5 dB. Which AVP is it? Then again you did say it wasn't by measurements, just what you perceived as the same loudness, and that is not reliable. The difference should be less than 3 dB in theory unless Emo or/and Rotel's gain spec are/is not accurate. Even then, I would say 5 dB is too much of a difference even if their specified gains were a little off. For example, may be the A300 was actually 29.5 and the Rotel 26, that still wouldn't come to 5 dB unless your perception happened to be off by a couple dB lol so many if...., just measure everything and you will get the true answer.:)
 
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paulzhere

Junior Audioholic
Absolutely, as HD mentioned, 29 vs 27.4! That's quite noticeable, though there is something else at play if you have to turn the volume up by 5 dB. Which AVP is it? Then again you did say it wasn't by measurements, just what you perceived as the same loudness, and that is not reliable. The difference should be less than 3 dB in theory unless Emo or/and Rotel's gain spec are/is not accurate. Even then, I would say 5 dB is too much of a difference even if their specified gains were a little off. For example, may be the A300 was actually 29.5 and the Rotel 26, that still wouldn't come to 5 dB unless your perception happened to be off by a couple dB lol so many if...., just measure everything and you will get the true answer.:)
It’s the marantz av7702. One thing I also immediately noticed after hooking up the Rotel is that it lacks a bit of top end “air” compared with the Emotiva. I think all the reviews for the Rotel that I can find online also mention this fact. That’s not a turn off for me as it sounds more natural to my ears. In any case, maybe that also contributes to the perceived lack in gain?
 
slipperybidness

slipperybidness

Audioholic Warlord
Just turn the volume knob up to 11 and call it a day.
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Unless you can do a level matched, blind, quick switched comparison I wouldn't put too much into what your perceived differences are by ear....hard to know what you're experiencing.
 
Auditor55

Auditor55

Audioholic General
Unless you can do a level matched, blind, quick switched comparison I wouldn't put too much into what your perceived differences are by ear....hard to know what you're experiencing.
Placebo effect going there.
 
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