Rotel 1065 Receiver

[Tombstone]

<font color='#000000'>I am shopping for a great sounding 7.1 receiver. I told my Yamaha dealer I loved the RXZ1 features, but was uninspired by its antiseptic sound. I have always preferred the Denon sound, but they have priced their top receiver out of my budget. He said, &quot;wait until you hear the new Rotel!&quot; and led me into a different (upscale) room.

The Rotel 1065 has a macho look (like a huge amp with processor controls) and fantastic sound. The best sounding receiver I have ever heard, including the Denon 5803 and Sunfire Ultimate. Its feature set is not as complex, and you have to add a stereo amp to drive the 6.1/7.1 &nbsp;back speakers, but it has all the features of the $1500 Rotel Pre/Pro, plus an excellent tuner and five channels of amplification conservatively rated at 100w/c all channels driven. And it sounds like separates! All for $2000 list (street price a couple hundred $$ less). It has multi-zone, and all of the Dolby Digital, DTS and Prologic II processing (no THX), and it sounds like separates! I even had him bring the Yamaha into that room and play it with the same source and speakers (B&amp;W CDM-9NT's) to make sure it was the receivers that were different, not just better speakers one room to the next. There was an even bigger difference between the Rotel and the Yamaha with the B&amp;W's than before. Obviously I have been smitten by the sound of the Rotel receiver. But since I have a &quot;cooling off&quot; period while I await a tax refund and another paycheck or two, I would love to hear from anyone out there who has had experience with the Rotel 1065 receiver (pro or con). Thanks in advance for your input, Tombstone.</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'>The Rotel name is well regarded for many reasons, which can best be summed as a history of designing high-quality audio products at affordable prices. &nbsp;Even the vaunted--and grudgingly revered--audio curmudgeon, Peter Axcel writes good words about the company. &nbsp;Having personally owned some Rotel pieces in the past 25 years (and preparing to buy more), I can write with a clear conscience that one gets what one pays for, and then some. &nbsp;

I won't launch into the neverending and useless dabate about a component's sound. &nbsp;And I would advise you to do the same. &nbsp;Read the specs, examine the piece for quality of parts and assembly, check your dealer's history and service record (BBB), and then buy and enjoy.</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'>I agree with Lymann. I own a Rotel amp and CD player, and they are superbly made and sound excellent. I have extensive experience with one of their tuners, as well.

It's not that Rotel doesn't have competition (if you like tearing your hair out over small differences, check out NAD and Adcom, for instance) but I don't believe anything they currently make can be bettered for the money. Rotel gives you a taste of the high end at mid-fi prices.</font>

 

[Tombstone]

<font color='#000000'>Thanks Lymann T and Bassboy, I, too, have always heard great things about Rotel products, especially for the price. Do you think there would be a significant audible improvement between their flagship receiver (1065) and their separate pre/pro (1066) plus their comparably powered amp (1075)? In other words, since they share the same architecture, does the combining of the amp and a tuner in the same box as the pre/pro cause a significant degradation of the sound versus the seaprates route?</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'>If there were to be a significant--or any--audible improvement, it would be due to a number of factors: the much higher damping factor of the seperate amp, greater power reserves in the capacitors, lower negative feedback, etc. &nbsp;None of these factors will produce audible results at normal listening levels, and may not produce any differences at high levels if your speakers present a consistent, efficient load. &nbsp;Therefore, ask yourself . . .

1) How loud do I likes my jams?
2) Is my speakers easy to drive?
3) What is the land-to-air speed of an unladen Swallow?

My guess is, for average, everyday use (90%) the Receiver will make you just as happy as the seperates.</font>

 

[Audioholics]

<font color='#000000'><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td>Quote </td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">3) What is the land-to-air speed of an unladen Swallow?</td></tr></table>African or European? &nbsp;

</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'>Ahh, Mr. Hawke, a well-timed touche'.</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'>I neglected to mention that one company did make a better receiver than Rotel--Lirpa. Unfortunately, they're out of business but you may be able to find one on eBay. If not today, perhaps in...oh, about a month and 13 days.</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'>Lirpa. &nbsp;I remember it well. &nbsp;Would that it could return. &nbsp;As with the Audio Annual Equipment Directory. &nbsp;Which brings a question to the fore: Are there any good printed equipment directories available for purchase (better than the ill-conceived and executed Sound &amp; Vision piece)?</font>

 

[Tombstone]

<font color='#000000'>Lymann T, thanks for the info. The speakers at the moment would be N.E.A.R. 50ME II's, for both music and movies. In the near (no pun intended) future, however, I will be adding a pair of B&amp;W CDM 9NT's for the music portion of my listening. Since both sets of speakers offer &quot;high-end&quot; sound, I'm trying to make sure I don't compromise their sound any more than my school-teacher budget already mandates. That said, I tend to agree with you that I have a hard time distinguishing between the sound of the Rotel receiver and that of the similarly powered Rotel separates when demo'd in the same room with the same music source and interconnects. I guess I'm just looking for confirmation of what I've already discovered. Thanks again, T.</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'>Lymann T wrote: &quot;Are there any good printed equipment directories available for purchase (better than the ill-conceived and executed Sound &amp; Vision piece)?&quot;

Not that I know of. I wanted to do an online directory but have neither the typing skills for the data entry involved nor the money to pay for the bandwidth it would generate.

Whether printed or cyber, this is something that is sorely lacking right now. Oftentimes I find myself spending ten minutes online just to compare prices on a couple of amps, for instance, and the data I come up with may be questionable anyway. A comprehensive directory is needed.</font>

 

[Guest]

<font color='#000000'>Might this be a project within the mean of Audioholics? &nbsp;I'm sure it's physically doable (heck, I'd even offer my copywriting services free of charge, as I'm sure would others), but are the coffers deep enough to spearhead such an undertaking?</font>