Suppose I could get the Rotel RB-1070(130x2) for $400 and the Rotel RB 1080(200x2) for $675-$700 used. Would the 1080 be worth the extra $275 for the extra 70 watts?

They're both well within my budget. I've acquired some money to put where my mouth is, so I may be buying soon. I'm set on Axioms, and still looking around for the rest of the setup.

I wouldn't be in a huge room(12x10, I think). I listen to a large variety of music, yet my usual is heavy metal such as Dream Theater, Tool, Led Zeppelin, and I like blasting it. some of the DT stuff does a good job of destroying those wimpy 10000 watt lightshow systems in best buy.

This would be IT until I added a used HSU or SVS sub into the mix. I don't want to have to worry about clipping when the peaks of the music come as I'm blasting it. I understand that doubling the wattage only increases things by 3 dB. Since the wattage is not twice as loud but one and a half times as loud, I'd assume the volume difference between the two would be a barely noticeable 1.5 dB, yet I just want to make sure.

Thanks.

thasp- those links aint working..

regardless of what amp you end up with, i would maybe save a little of that cash and splurge on a good sub.. if you like that heavy bass of tool and dream theater, then you will definitely want that xtra punch that a sub will give. SVS and HSU are great places to start.

in a room that small(12x10), some M60's and a sub with about 125 watts pushing it should make your ears bleed!!

bigjohn

I had a RB-1070 powering my M60's for awhile and it worked very, very well. I think you'll be more than happy with it. Save that extra money and and buy a bunch of cd's.

Uh oh...another DT fan. Dream Theater's great for finding the limitations of amps and speakers since they use dynamics well. Don't worry about DT on Axioms, they sound great. VERY big and full. I'm really looking forward to the new DVD this Nov. since I don't get to see them live anymore (I live in the South). As far as power is concerned, 130 watts should be plenty, even in a larger room that's enough to make you deaf. By the way, what Axioms are you getting for mains? My NAD T762 pushes 120 watts in stereo and it's more than enough for my 11'x16' living room. Unfortunately, I live in an apartment so I can't really crank it as much as I'd like to, but I hope to buy a house within the next year. Anyway, have fun putting together your system. Keep us updated.

M60ti as mains.

Sorry for the links... 130 watt amp is this one http://rotel.com/products/specs/rb1070.htm and 200 watt amp is this one http://rotel.com/products/specs/rb1080.htm

Thanks for the input. I think I may go with the 130 watt amp and try to get another $100 together and get a decent sub deal on audiogon, when an SVS tube or modern HSU model comes in cheap.

Sounds like an excellent plan.

Do you only listen to 2 or 2.1 audio? What about movies, SACD's, DVD-A's?

I use the RMB-1075 now, and absolutely love it.

When I get a sub, I was just thinking putting it in the second line level output on the preamp and putting the crossover to 60-70hz, so it handles the stuff the floorstanders can't. So I think that counts as 2.1. Nothing I listen to is available on DVD-A/SACD, so I don't have much use for the format right now.

Movies, yeah, but on the same setup. I'm hooking this up to my computah with the card at stereo-link.com, and watching movies on that with a decent 19" monitor when I do watch the occasional movie. I'm not looking for surround sound down the road. I've heard it, and I wasn't impressed with it.

In reply to:

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I'm not looking for surround sound down the road. I've heard it, and I wasn't impressed with it

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i dont mean to insult you at all(i hope i dont), but did you hear a good surround system??

it is truly a night and day type movie watching experience for me. and this is the first time i have heard someone say that they wernt impressed with surround.. although, it does depend on if it was a good HT system..

bigjohn

No offense taken.

Yeah, it did make a great difference for movies, but was just.. weird with music IMHO. The extra cost wasn't justified for me because of the 95/5 music/movie ratio. I'd have to pay quite a bit more to get a surround system, or downgrade what I already have so I could afford three more speakers and three more amp channels(plus a sub), which I would maybe use for a movie once every three to five days. For the occasional movie, I think I'll be gawking at the difference from my TV's speakers to these.

OK, yes.. i was speaking of surround, as in watching movies in DD or DTS.. just listening to music thru the surround speakers is less than inspiring.. in fact, when i listen to music, i just listen with the 2.1 set up(M60's and vega sub). now my wife, she likes to listen in 'all channel stereo' which disperses the sound through out the entire 5.1 system.

the only time i use the complete 5.1 for music is with sacd's or dvd-a's.

bigjohn

i would go with the more powerfull amp if you can swing it.more power is better imo.....ron

I had both amps hooked up to M80's.The 1070 should do just fine in that small of a room.I ended up keeping the Rb1080 and taking the 1070 back.Its not that the 1070 sounds any differant its just I like to have as much power as I can afford.With the 1080 there is a better chance that I would'nt over drive it.For the most part I hardly ever go past 10 o'clock on the 1070 pre-amp.The 1080 and 1070 are both good amps to drive Axioms.You ca'nt go wrong with either of them.

T, using the rating numbers the difference figures out to 1.87dB. Using M60s this would be roughly the difference between handling a 115dB or 117dB peak. It would be rare if ever that something would hit that narrow range(especially in a room the size of yours)and the 1080 would handle it better. Also note that on split second peaks the 1070 can probably supply at least 200 watts for a brief instant. The 1070 should be plenty, so enjoy, but watch out for your hearing.

Has anybody here had their system clip(ever?) with 130-150 watts of real power? I think I'll be going with the 1070, so thanks to everybody here for saving me $300.

I'm jumping at the first HSU or SVS deal under $450 I see on audiogon. Is there a general preference of HSU boxes over SVS tubes for music, or are they both good?

Thanks again for all the responses here.

I think that you would be hard pressed to clip the 1070 in a room the size of yours.I know my 1080 has never ran out of power in my 20x15 room.It is also pushing a 4 ohm load with the M80's so it is 300 watts in 4 ohm.I think it would be a toss up as far as Hsu or Svs.I recently got a B-stock Vtf-2MK1 from Hsu for $300.00 thats was a pretty good deal I think.

Where can you find the b-stock HSUs? SVS has a b-stock section on their site, yet I can't for the life of me find that section on HSU's.

SPL Calc

I found that very interesting and useful

Thanks for that. The worst I could possibly do in my room, according to my test, is 112 dB.

This is loud, no?

Also.. how often do the HSUs show up on audiogon? An STF-2 would be nice, but getting an STF-3 or VTF-2 for the same price or little more would be even better.

Thanks again!

On the Hsu site click the service tab.Or just give them a call thats what I did.