NAD M15/Rotel RSP-1098 - Is no room correction acceptable for the price?

[Fastnbulbous]

I have been struggling for over three years with a buggy HK AVR 645 that crashes at least once a week and loses all its DSP and room correction settings. Every six months or so I check to see if Emotiva or Outlaw have come out with new processors, and no luck. I use an Emotiva XPA-5 amp and Wharfedale Opus 3 fronts, center, and tri-surround, Sunfire subwoofer. Music 70%, Movies/TV 30%. The room correction does seem to help dialogue be more discernable, as I have an odd shaped room.

I noticed that you can now get a used NAD M15 for under $1,000 and Rotel RSP-1098 for less. I'm tempted to do it. My 42" Panasonic Plasma is nearly a decade old and doesn't have HDMI input. It works fine, and I don't have the budget to replace it anytime soon. So HDMI isn't really a need. I'd assume Rotel and NAD would greatly improve the SQ of my two channel music listening. But I'm concerned about its lack of room correction.

I saw someone in a thread who got the M15 used for under $1,000 back in 2008 even. I wish I could find it cheaper, but I suppose value is steady if the quality is there.

I've researched Integra and some others, new and used, but I don't see anything comparable available for under $1,000.

I'm hoping experienced owners can chime in and reassure me that I can at least adjust levels of the center and surrounds manually. Something to tip me to one side or the other of pulling the trigger. Thanks!

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Don't do it.

I would never buy anything without a full set of HDMI inputs & TrueHD/DTS-HD decoding.

The SQ between these pre-pros and AVRs are insignificant.

I would just grab a Denon 3311 (LIKE-NEW/FULL WARRANTY) from Amazon Direct for $530 shipped.

Or get the Denon 4311 for $1,069 + $59 S/H from Mark Herman. His email is docflywheel@earthlink.net

 

[Fastnbulbous]

But if my plasma only has component inputs, what's the point? Getting my HK receiver to take the hdmi input and translate to component out has been a huge pain in the arse. I have to do a complex routine every time I want to watch a blu-ray, and it's so not worth it. Someone else recommended an Anthem MRX-300, but there's been harsh criticisms of their 2 channel music abilities. Many receivers won't even do what I've been doing on the HK.

Also, after having done the new model receiver route, I'm more interested in trying a used audiophile processor. Many swear consumer receivers are no match for separates for SQ, and there are enough deals to be had that I'd like to hear for myself.

I've been watching auctions on Krell Showcase & HTS and Parasound Halo C2 (didn't go for these due to missing remotes and such), Proceed AVP/AVP-S (too old, haven't seen an AVP2 yet, but would probably be beyond price range), and Lexicon MC-12 and Theta Casablanca III (out of my range). The NAD M15 sold first thing yesterday morning, and I kind of regret not nabbing it. I think I'm willing to try a Rotel and just manually tweak the levels to the specs of my room.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Well, here is a high-end $6K ATI Pre-pro BRAND NEW for only $995:

http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?homeproc&1312208963

It is brand new from an ATI authorized dealer so you get full factory warranty.

Keep in mind that ATI makes amps and preamps for some other companies like Mark Levinson, Lexicon, JBL, Outlaw, Earthquake Sound, among others.

One day I was a hard core analog guy with 24 analog cables.

Next thing I know, I became a digital guy with simple HDMI cables.

Life is like a box full of chocolates. You never know what you're only to get.

If you asks people who have been on both sides of the fence, you will find out that you won't hear a difference between a great AVR and a great pre-pro and a great stereo preamp.

I've done class-A analog stereo preamps, AVR, and pre-pros. There is no difference in sound quality when you LEVEL-MATCH unless you are talking about the sound created by EQUALIZATION (Room EQ) and DSP modes.

But there is no right or wrong. There is nothing wrong with going with a pre-pro.

 

[Fastnbulbous]

That's an incredible deal. I just might do that. Thanks for taking the time to post that.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

That's an incredible deal. I just might do that. Thanks for taking the time to post that.

You welcome.

If I didn't have so many HDMI components and HTPCs, I would have gotten that pre-pro already.

It would have been cool to mate that pre-pro with my ATI AT3005 or AT3002.

You might also want to keep an eye out for an ATI amp like this:
http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?ampsmult&1310914540

They also make a fully balanced 200WPC amp for less money.

The AT2000s & AT3000s amps are the same amps used by Lexicon, JBL, and some Mark Levinson amps, but in a different chassis.

 

[Fastnbulbous]

Does the ATI have room correction? I'm looking through the specs and can't find anything.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Does the ATI have room correction? I'm looking through the specs and can't find anything.

No, it's pretty much one of those "analog" high-end components.

 

[BoredSysAdmin]

But if my plasma only has component inputs, what's the point? Getting my HK receiver to take the hdmi input and translate to component out has been a huge pain in the arse. I have to do a complex routine every time I want to watch a blu-ray, and it's so not worth it. Someone else recommended an Anthem MRX-300, but there's been harsh criticisms of their 2 channel music abilities. Many receivers won't even do what I've been doing on the HK.

Also, after having done the new model receiver route, I'm more interested in trying a used audiophile processor. Many swear consumer receivers are no match for separates for SQ, and there are enough deals to be had that I'd like to hear for myself.

I've been watching auctions on Krell Showcase & HTS and Parasound Halo C2 (didn't go for these due to missing remotes and such), Proceed AVP/AVP-S (too old, haven't seen an AVP2 yet, but would probably be beyond price range), and Lexicon MC-12 and Theta Casablanca III (out of my range). The NAD M15 sold first thing yesterday morning, and I kind of regret not nabbing it. I think I'm willing to try a Rotel and just manually tweak the levels to the specs of my room.

Imo - your main problem is you can't convert hdmi back to analog component without some sort of 3rd party "filter", essentially HDCP stripper.
try connecting your br/dvd player with component/spdif cables