Rotel RSX 1056

**Huey** · January 2nd, 2006 19:20

I''ve had this receiver just under a week, and thought I''d write up a little review of it. I have this unit paired up with a Rotel rmb 1095, and switched the front amps in the receiver to run as the center rears.

First, this is a very sharp receiver, I have both units in the black and silver series. Connections are enough, although the unit only has two optical inputs, but three coax. Not a big deal, but another optical would have been nice.

Features, there aren''t many, but it does do all of the 7 channel modes. It has adjustable crossover for each speaker groups, as well as a sub crossover, and you can apply bass and treble to each speaker group independently.

Sound, which is the only reason for the upgrade, is great, especially with music. I''ll through a cd in from time to time, and stereo imaging is like nothing I''ve ever heard. With 2 ch, vocals come from the center, like they are supposed to. I had to check to make sure I wasn''t running 3ch stereo. I have never heard stereo sound good.

DD and DTS playback are as good as anything I''ve had, with good separation between all channels. Dynamic range is good, I''ve jumped a couple of times playing movies when they got loud.

So far I''m happy with my purchase, although there is a hiss at louder volumes, 80 plus on the volume scale, with 75 being reference. I don''t notice it durning playback. The other drawback to this receiver, it''s a little tougher to tweak or setup, menu''s are osd as far as I can tell, although most settings can be called up individually with the remote.

I would recommend this receiver to people looking in the $100-$1400 range, but not as an upgrade if they have something near that price range.
Rob

**Hot_Monkey** · January 4th, 2006 01:58

Your new RSX1056 receiver runs on the same set up software that my RSP1098 processor runs on. I can tell you that while the initial set up may be a little more involved... you will really come to appeciate the extensive bass management options for different listening modes. User interface has never been Rotel''s strongest point... but they sound great and give you so many more useful set-up tools that many receivers (even at much higher prices) do not offer.

Nice buy.

If you have any questions about the OSD or menu options please let me know. I am pretty familiar with every nook and cranny.

Monkey

**yromj** · January 4th, 2006 02:09

I like the approach Rotel takes w/ their receivers. They don''t throw in a bunch of gimmicks. They keep the feature set fairly simple, but they allow the user to get the most out of what they are give. The bass management and amp configuration flexibility are awesome features.

John

**Hot_Monkey** · January 4th, 2006 02:20

Plus they look pretty cool... and that effects sound quality I swear...

All Rotel gear looks cool... especially in big clumps...

[IMG]/idealbb/images/smilies/3.gif[/IMG]

Monkey

**Huey** · January 4th, 2006 09:21

Thanks guys! Monkey, I''ve got a question for you about the bass management. They''re are crossovers you can set for each speaker group and then there is a subwoofer crossover you can set. Is the sub crossover a highpass crossover? If that''s the case, couldn''t there be a problem with cascading crossovers? I''ve emailed Rotel about this, but haven''t heard anything back. Thanks for the help.
Rob

**Hot_Monkey** · January 4th, 2006 11:24

I have always set the crossover on the sub page of the menu to the highest setting that any other channel is set... to (I assume) allow it to reach that point in the frequency range. I would be interested to hear what Rotel says... but again my understanding (from my dealer) is that the actual speaker settings will dictate what portion of the frequency range is diverted to the sub... and that setting the sub page to (for example) 80hz will not cause it to play (for example) 40-80hz material from the front channels if that (40hz) is where you have them set. Make sense? I always found it to be somewhat redundant. But the other settings on that page are very useful. You can tweak the sub level up and down from -10db to +10db relative to each of the listed sound formats... DD...DTS... stereo... etc. This has proven VERY useful in tuning my system so that it sounds right no matter what material I am listening to.

Keep me posted on what Rotel says. I will also ask again at my dealer for a clarification.

Monkey

**Huey** · January 4th, 2006 11:44

Thanks Monkey, that''s what I thought and just ended up turning that setting to off, which probably should be set to 100hz(rear speakers) or 120hz, which would be high end for the LFE signal. I''ll be out of town until tommorow evening, but I''ll post when I hear anything from Rotel. Thanks for all of the help.
Rob

**Hot_Monkey** · January 4th, 2006 12:30

No problem... I will actually be stopping by my dealer today to pick up a y-cable that I had to order in a custom length for my system. I will get a Rotel OSD up and running with him and ask about this.

Monkey

**jamhead** · January 4th, 2006 13:41

Thank you Rob for your review. I am definitely looking at this receiver as an upgrade to my 300 dollar yammie.

The tone of your review seems neutral, so I must ask if you feel it is worth the price you paid...of if you feel you should have went another direction? Also, what did it replace?

**Huey** · January 5th, 2006 18:53

Sorry Jamhead for not getting back sooner, was out of town for a day and a half. The more I listen to this receiver, the more I like it. There is a small hiss/hum at 80+, that I''m going to try and diagnose this weekend. I think in the $1000 to $1200 range it is well worth it for sound quality, and features allow you to do just about anything else that you may need to do.

I relaced a Denon 985(2805 mass market clone), which I only paid $400 for, and I feel it was worth the price of the upgrade. This is probably the coolest running receiver I''ve had, barely gets warm to the touch compared to the Denon, or the previous Yamaha which you could cook hotdogs on.

The only reason I may have seemed neutral, is that this receiver is not as intuitive as previous receivers and the hiss/hum issue, which I''m pretty sure is problem on my end, as the Denon had the same hiss/hum, just not as loud. Although I forget to mention, that I feel that preouts push the signal louder, and maybe cleaner, but would make the hiss/hum more amplified as well. I think it is worth the price, part of me wishes I had gotten the true pre, but didn''t want to buy a set of two channel amps to run a 7.1 system. Hope that helps.
Rob