KAiN64 Posted June 14, 2003 Share Posted June 14, 2003 Do separates really offer "better" sound quality over a good A/V receiver? If so, in what ways? The Rotel RMB-1095 + Rotel RSP-1066 combo is about $2,588 here, and a high-end A/V receiver is also roughly the same price. Would you prefer the separates combo or the high-end A/V receiver? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
j-malotky Posted June 14, 2003 Share Posted June 14, 2003 Kain Separates is the way to go in HT just as much as 2 CH. The main reason you get better sound and imaging with separates is that there are less shared electronics, transformers, and ground points on separates. The more separation you can have in amplification / processing the better the imaging your system will deliver. Plus it gives you an easier way to upgrade in the future. Once you have great amps you can just upgrade your processor in the future. Separates is the way to go. JM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
easylistener Posted June 14, 2003 Share Posted June 14, 2003 I agree with John. I have been starting to upgrade my system to separates. I have most of the amps now, just need one more. There not the best amps but they are better than the denon's. I have a denon 4802 which is on the higher end of denon recievers. The separate amps are way better. More headroom, dynamics, and imaging. I have been using the denon as a pre/pro and am looking for a new one. When I get a separate pre/pro I will let you now how it sounds. I don't think it will be as big as a jump as the amps, but an improvement. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheEAR Posted June 14, 2003 Share Posted June 14, 2003 "Do separates really offer "better" sound quality over a good A/V receiver? If so, in what ways?" Uh DOH hello Are you serious or just joking,I hope you are just joking. Let me tell you this I had a Denon 5800 receiver(one of the three or four best receivers made)while it did sound good and had a potent amp it in NO WAY matches high quality separates. I am comparing here the Denon 5800 to the SUnfire Theater Grand II with Celeste MOON and standard Celeste power amps. The Sunfire/Celeste bested the Denon in fine detail,dynamics,freedom from any audible stress when driving my Dynaudio Contour speakers even at extreme volumes.The bass was better defined,the midrange fluid,someting the big denon can only hope to achieve. And when listening to high quality music CD's the evidence was even more striking,the air the space around instruments is real with the Sunfire/Celeste where the Denon made more of a mass of instruments.I did listen for days often to a few CD's by Reference Recordings,Wilson,Chesky and AudioQuest.Quality recordings dont lie Some peeps will minimise the importance of a great quality preamp/amp,I think this is BS.As the system is as good as your weakest link in the chain. Yes the Sunfire/Celeste(over 12K) is much more expensive then a Denon 5800(3K),but to me its worth each extra cent.For many the 5800 will be sonic nirvana,to me its just another receiver. When peak performance is desired ONLY separates will do.No doubt about this fact And you can go still a good deal up the ladder in separates,take the top of the line Lexicon or Mark Levinson pre/pro switcher and couple them with Krell FPB series amps or Halcro amps.Then you will hear just how limited a receiver is. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fish Posted June 14, 2003 Share Posted June 14, 2003 Yep, 12k seperates will sound better than 3k avr.Few 3k seperates will perform better than a 5803.IF you got 12k then you need seperates,if you got 3k then you have a tough decision.Do the research and you will find many pre/pro's have issues unless you spend 3-4k on pre pro alone,still with some issues but great sound. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksdad Posted June 14, 2003 Share Posted June 14, 2003 many of you havent heard b&k, and from long time listening i can say (my opinion) that my current reciever kicks butt all over my old rotel gear, and again they costed the same, when i got fed up with rotels problems i traded penny for penny for the b&k i used to have an 1080 tuner, 1080 dvd-a player, 1066 processwor, 1075 amp the headroom dynamics power punch the b&k is everything i expected from rotel but did not get, i agree with fish you would have to pay much more for seperates to get the quality packed into my b&k plus the b&k is 1 of the companies most able to expand for upgrades, they build for newer technoligies expansions so we dont have to buy a new machine every time a new format arrives, rotel burned me out, now i am back to listening 2-6 hours every day again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksdad Posted June 14, 2003 Share Posted June 14, 2003 gee i write bad Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Griffinator Posted June 15, 2003 Share Posted June 15, 2003 I would definitely emphasize that separates are only as good as what you invest in them. Smart decisions about your pre, your choice of amps, etc. will make all the difference in the world. I would also suggest that buying a 5 or 6 channel amp with a pre will NOT make the kind of difference that buying a pre with 5 or 6 monoblocks (or even 3 2-channel amps) will. Obviously, as was mentioned earlier, the more separation you can create between components, the better your net sound quality will become. I mean, really. If this were not the case, everyone would be building those 100% integrated systems with DVD player, amp, and processor in one box. And everyone would be buying them, as well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted June 15, 2003 Share Posted June 15, 2003 I'm using a Denon 3801 for the processing and a couple of Acurus amps for power. I can't tell you if it sounds better than the Denon amps because I've never used them. In fact, before upgrading to the above I used another receiver/amp combo. The $879 Denon/$679 Acurus 125X5 would be hard to beat in separates land for anywhere near the price. And it sounds great too. Buying cheap separates is comparable to buying a cheap receiver. Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danechristian Posted June 15, 2003 Share Posted June 15, 2003 it really depends kain64. on seperates. if the preamp is not good in sound quality. it will effect the sound that will be produced on your amp.vice versa. on the otherhand, in a reciever some of them are good like the top of the line reciever of denon. and other recievers with a good sound processing in them like the harman kardon's specifically the avr- 325,7200 and so on......coz of the logic 7. also in recievers, they some what lack power to drive the loudspeakers. therefore. it really depends on the quality and also to your music taste. read the post that TheEAR posted about the m&k subs. i have posted there some opinions about your home theater thing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAiN64 Posted June 20, 2003 Author Share Posted June 20, 2003 So, you would take the Rotel RMB-1095 + Rotel RSP-1066 combo over any high-end A/V receiver, right? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksdad Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 kain it sounds like you are looking for a go ahead to buy? my experience tells me that my b&k is AT LEAST, as good as the rotel gear, i think better Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jim Cornell Posted June 20, 2003 Share Posted June 20, 2003 Marks theater does kick ***, and even more now, i was there, very nice components, i fell in love with his gear! Regards Jim Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danechristian Posted June 21, 2003 Share Posted June 21, 2003 ---------------- On 6/20/2003 5:14:13 PM KAiN64 wrote: So, you would take the Rotel RMB-1095 + Rotel RSP-1066 combo over any high-end A/V receiver, right? ---------------- hmm.. read my post properly. i think just save your money first and go for a more high end gear. if ever you are in a hurry, yepp rotel rmb 1095 and the preamp that you've stated may do. ohh think of another amp that will drive the other 2 channels for your 7.1 set up. good luck. and may this help you Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksdad Posted June 21, 2003 Share Posted June 21, 2003 just curious kain, i thought you had already bought the 1095 and 1066 processor, if not? do yourself a favor and try to audition more than just the rotel, there are quite a few review site's on line. you might be surprised what you read Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAiN64 Posted June 22, 2003 Author Share Posted June 22, 2003 Read my signature carefully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksdad Posted June 22, 2003 Share Posted June 22, 2003 either you misunderstood my question, or you mistated which equipment you have in your sig Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
arthurs Posted June 22, 2003 Share Posted June 22, 2003 I guess I would say separates sound better to me for many of the reasons noted above, but mostly because what I have sounded best to me after listening to a wide array of both separates and receivers. Just like marksdad is obviously ecstatic with his b&k, it goes back to trust your ears. Audition much, and stay away from a/v dogma, your ears will tell you what rocks your world. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KAiN64 Posted June 22, 2003 Author Share Posted June 22, 2003 ---------------- On 6/22/2003 9:13:03 AM marksdad wrote: either you misunderstood my question, or you mistated which equipment you have in your sig ---------------- Did you read the sentence above my equipment list? It says all the stuff I have right now is highlighted in bold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
marksdad Posted June 22, 2003 Share Posted June 22, 2003 never mind, i forgot who i was dealing with Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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