Hi folks. Up until recently I had been using an older Onkyo TX-DS696 to power my B&W DM604S3 fronts, LCR600 Center, and DM302 surrounds. While the sound was acceptable, I felt that speakers sounded rather starved when things got loud. Enter the Rotel RMB-1075 amplifier. The new amp along with my Onkyo receiver used as a pre/pro was a drastic improvement over the receiver alone. But still, the sound left me wanting more. So, I found a buyer for my receiver and I'm on to trying out pre/pros.

The pre/pros that are in my budget at this point are the 950, and the Rotel RSP-1068. (The NAD T163 also an option, but there isn't a dealer in my area that has it in stock and neither of the dealers will order one just to let me demo it.) So I am taking advantage of Outlaw's 30 day guarantee and I have the 950 hooked up right now. I'll be picking up the Rotel RSP-1068 to audition later this week.

I must say, the 950 is a HUGE improvement over using the Onkyo as a pre/pro. I mean it sounds down right impressive. (Here it comes...) BUT, it has some shortcomings (I see them as shortcomings anyway) that I'm having a real hard time getting over.

1. Component video switching. I have my Hitachi 57S500 hooked up and the 950 is switching between my DVD player and HD cable box. Immediately after hooking up the TV and viewing some HD channels I noticed a significant difference in picture quality. And not for the better. The picture is nowhere near as sharp or defined as it was going through my older Onkyo receiver. And the colors are not as vibrant. So I went ahead and recalibrated the TV with AVIA and while the color did improve, the picture is still less defined. As my wife put it, the picture just doesn't "pop" anymore. This is a huge problem as my equipment rack is a fair distance from my TV and I have only one set of component video cables running between the two.

2. Remote Control Behavior. I see that many have already commented on this so I won't go into great detail here. I'll only say that I wish the remote had separate buttons for input selection and component control. My older remote had this and it was awesome. Unfortunately that remote is gone with the Onkyo receiver.

3. Front Panel Display. It's small and darn bright. And when I turn it to "half brightness" it flickers. A minor detail, maybe. But it can be rather distracting.

4. Front panel buttons. I might be nit-picking here, but they just seem kind of cheap and sloppy feeling. I use the front panel buttons as much as I use the remote so I consider this somewhat important.

So that's the end of my rant. Like I said earlier, the sound is really something else. I'm very impressed. The improvement in sound quality (in ALL regards) is amazing. Even my wife who's not really into the whole home theater thing commented on how great it is. I'm just having a hard time getting over the things listed above. Maybe these are the kinds of things you have to learn to deal with in a “budget priced” component. (It’s hard to call a component that sounds this nice ‘budget priced”.) The only real show stopper is the component video switching. Based on that alone, the Rotel RSP-1068 will have to be a serious let down to convince me to keep the 950. Has anyone else experienced any problems with the component video switching? Maybe I have a bad unit?


Thanks in advance for any advice,

Scott

Hello Scott,

I do believe there is something wrong with your unit or in your setup. Please contact Steve in the support deparment and he will help you resolve this issue asap.

Thanks,

Scott

Follow Up:
Well, I demo'd the Rotel RSP-1068. I actually demo'd two. The first one would not always lock onto digital signal when I was channel changin on my cable box (SA 3250HD) so I exchanged it for another. This one had the same problem. I tried two different cable boxes, several different cables, (optical and dig. coax) and I also tried every digital input on the unit. No dice. It turns out that this problem is not all that uncommon.
So, I can't have that. I hooked up the 950 that I ordered to demo and I was amazed. When I switched from the 950 to the Rotel, I didn't realize an improvement in sound quality. The sound was very detailed, but maybe just a little edgy. Especially at high volumes. So, like I said, I went back to the 950 to give it another listen. I really think the 950 sounds better so I'm keepin it. The Rotel goes back tomorrow. I used some of the money I saved to buy a new universal remote.

Later,
Sraber

It's always nice to see another happy 950 owner. Thanks for letting us know how the audition turned out.

sraber,

Was the component video switching issue resolved? If so how?

Thanks,
Lee

(cocked with my finger on the trigger)

Well, not exactly. Like I said, I had gotten rid of my Onkyo receiver just a day or two before hooking up the 950, so my PQ was pretty fresh in my mind. Since then, I had he 950 hooked up for a week or so, the the Rotel 1068 for another week or so. Afer hooking up the 950, I saw no degredation or improvement in PQ. I suppose I could put the issue to rest by bypassing the 950 entirely by going straight from my cable STB to my TV, just for a test. But, I'm a little scared to do that. I'm very pleased with the way the 950 sounds and (at this point) looks.

Thanks For Asking.

Later,

Scott

I have experienced a video switching issue with the 950. I had my dvd player connected to component 1 input and my sat hd receiver connected to other component in, with a single component cable out to the tv. While watching a dvd ,lost video out to tv. Switched sources to sat and no video displayed.
950 currently being worked on by Steve.