Rotel 1069 or Arcam AVP 700

shadow 8

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Now I know this is an Arcam forum, but I suspect many of you have experience with Rotel gear. Am comparing these two processors and would appreciate your insights on sound quality comparison and operational issues. They are about $200 apart in USA prices with the Arcam being less expensive. I listen to a lot of DVD-A/SACD and watch movies on DVD too (about 50/50). I do not have a blu ray player yet, but hope to buy one in the next year, so the HDMI audio on the Rotel appeals to me. I assume that I could use analog outputs on the blu ray and and a switcher like the Zektor if I went with the Arcam. Of course, both are not sold by the same dealer, and the 700 would have to be ordered. My amp is a Rotel 1085, speakers Thiel 1.6 and DVD player is the Denon 3910. Your opinions and experience are appreciated.
 
The Rotel 1069 is brand new, so I suspect you've seen one of the first to be delivered. The only advice I can give is to audition both side-by-side (yes I know you said different dealer).

My understanding from the Rotel manual is that the Rotel is HDMI 1.1. If so then it not able to handle Bluray pictures at 1080p but should be fine with decoded LPCM.
 
HDMI 1.1 has no problem passing 1080p by LPCM so this is not a reason not to buy the Rotel. The Rotel will pass 1080p and will upconvert analog to 1080p too.
 
Sorry, very bad edit leading to a posting that is utter rubbish. HDMI 1.0 indeed supports 165 Mpixel/s video, which is 1080p60. Although HDMI 1.3 increased the speed to 340MHz, this is not needed for 1080p60.

What I wanted to say was that HDMI 1.1 doesn't support output of Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD Master Audio streams (that was added in 1.3), but that 8 channel 192kHz LPCM should be OK. The implication of HDMI 1.1 is that the Rotel has no decoding of these HD formats. Clearly this is not a reason not to buy the Rotel - after all the AV9 only has an HDMI switch.
 
disclaimer - I am an owner of an AVP700 - I use it for 50% TV/film / 50% music (stereo 2 channel mostly, driven by a Sonos ZP80). I listened to the previous generation Rotel and the AVP700 - I bought the AVP because I thought the music sounded more "3 dimensional" and more "musical".

I am extremely satisfied with the music reproduction of the AVP700 - I recently added a mid-range outboard DAC (Channel Islands) but really love the music side of things. Movies/TV/DD/DTS sound fantastic on my 7.1 speaker system. I am powered by a high-wattage 7 channel amp, so I have plenty of power to drive the speakers...

The HD codecs and HDMI 1.3a are not available on the AVP. Sounds like the new Rotel doesn't support the new codecs either, which is disappointing considering it is new. At least it supports audio processing on the Blu-Ray and then LPCM over HDMI-Audio.

Smaller companies like Arcam will take longer to release platforms that support the new codecs. This might be because they have smaller engineering teams or because the chips have been generally unavailable to the smaller manufacturers.

It seems like the chip availability problem (see: Lexicon, Emotiva, etc ) will be over soon - let's hope the higher-end smaller volume manufacturer's start planning their HD/HDMI audio pre-amps!
 
Hi,
I believe it will be hard for almost any processor to beat the AVP700.
Of course there is the AV9 but it is actually a far higher price, not actually pricey but expensive.

The sound via HDMI needs a lot of time until settled (if ever).

the AVP700 does it all - well, very well.
 
Went ahead and bought a mint used AVP 700 pre/pro for a good price. I decided to go for known better sound rather than take a chance on the Rotel at this point. I have seen some issues on the forums with bugs in the video software that made me wary at the price I would have had to pay. In about a year, I will see what Rotel and Arcam offer in a HDMI audio pre/pro. Now waiting to receive the Arcam.:clap:
 
Went ahead and bought a mint used AVP 700 pre/pro for a good price. I decided to go for known better sound rather than take a chance on the Rotel at this point. I have seen some issues on the forums with bugs in the video software that made me wary at the price I would have had to pay. In about a year, I will see what Rotel and Arcam offer in a HDMI audio pre/pro. Now waiting to receive the Arcam.:clap:

Congratulations! :hiya: Where did you find the AVP700, an ex-demo or from a private person?
 
Congratulations on your new kit.
 
Got my used AVP 700 today and must admit that it is a significant upgrade over my Rotel 1056. It is especially better on two channel analog cd play back. Much better detail w/o any glare. Cable tv sounds great with better immersion and blending of surrounds with the front speakers. Have not listened to any DVD movies yet but expect them to sound great too. I am happy with the decision. The step up in sound quality was gratifying,and I am happy with my choice.:clap:
 
Got my used AVP 700 today and must admit that it is a significant upgrade over my Rotel 1056. It is especially better on two channel analog cd play back. Much better detail w/o any glare. Cable tv sounds great with better immersion and blending of surrounds with the front speakers. Have not listened to any DVD movies yet but expect them to sound great too. I am happy with the decision. The step up in sound quality was gratifying,and I am happy with my choice.:clap:

:smashin: to hear. I believe you'll have a much rewarding time ahead :)
 
You've deffo made the right decision! Nice to hear someone come back and update the forum with what they went with in the end too.
 
With the unit turned on press the 'DVD' and 'SAT' buttons together at the same time.
The firmware and DSP software versions will then be shown on the front of the AVP700 :)
 
I tried your suggestion with the pre/pro on and offf and got no indication of software version on the control panel. Anyone else know how to pull up my software version on the AVP 700?
 
Jamiee is correct. With the unit powered up you just press both the 'DVD' and 'SAT' buttons on the front panel of the AVP700 at the same time and it will display the current software version.
 
Yeah, sorry I forgot to mention that you need to press the buttons on the front panel :suicide:
 
Hi!

First post here :)

Last year I bought some Genelec 8000 series speakers and I've been using them together with my AV-amp Yamaha RXV-1500 but I haven't been satisfied with the sound from the yamaha and I decided to get a better amp/pre amp to do the job.

I also struggled between Rotel and Arcam and the outcome was that I ordered the Arcam AVP700, will be receiving it on friday.

Question, do you guys recommend to update the software to the latest version?

Regards from Finland.

-T
 
Toube,
It really depends on if the update has enabled features or patched issues that you might need for you specific setup.

Of course first see what version of the software your AVP700 comes installed with then decide from there.

BTW, congrats on your purchace!
What amp did you get to go with the AVP?
 
Toube,
It really depends on if the update has enabled features or patched issues that you might need for you specific setup.

Of course first see what version of the software your AVP700 comes installed with then decide from there.

BTW, congrats on your purchace!
What amp did you get to go with the AVP?

Hi jamiee,

ok will have to check the version first and then decide if the update is necessary. I'm actually not getting any amp to go with it.. I'm using active speakers Genelec 8030 and 8020 so they will take care of the amp in my case :)
 
AVP700 and XLR connection to Genelecs is a sublime combination. You will not go wrong there!

I would update to the latest firmware, we've not had any probs with it. Congrats on an awesome combo!
 
AVP700 and XLR connection to Genelecs is a sublime combination. You will not go wrong there!

I would update to the latest firmware, we've not had any probs with it. Congrats on an awesome combo!

Thanks, I'm going to update the firmware when the avp700 arrives.
A good friend of mine advice me to purchase an A/V amp that has built in support for Dolby TrueHD and DTS HD sound.. Amps like Onkyo TX NR 905, Yamaha RXV-1800, Denon AVR 4308 or Marantz 7002.. so the AVP700 is a bit out of date in those matters.. but I'm counting on that the AVP700 has a sound that will blow all the other onkyos and Yamahas despite their support for HD sound away :)

-T
 
Hi,

is there anyway that the AVP700 would support the Dolby TrueHD bitstream through the HDMI 1.1 input and recrompress it to PCM?
 

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