Outlaw 1070 vs Rotel separates vs Denon 2807 [Archive] - Audio & Video Forums

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fahrfignewton
04-29-2007, 05:33 AM
Please help a cash poor youngster! Hello, I was hoping to get some advice on a system I'm putting together for my apartment. The goal is to have as good as possible music playback, without sacrificing (too much) home theatre performance. I have spent the past 6 months acquiring the various speakers I wanted to use on Craigslist, Ebay, Audiogon etc. and am finally to the point of looking at a quality receiver or possibly used Rotel seperates if I can afford it. I've been looking at reviews for Denon 2807 which I can buy for around $900 or the Outlaw 1070 at the same price point and lately I've heard the Rotel separates, RSP-1068 and RMB-1075 and was real impressed (although not heard with the NHT speakers I have....SB3 mains, SC2 Center, SB1 surrounds and SubOne-i Subwoofer)) . I like the Denon for the future "proofing" features, the Rotel for the sound, and I have yet to hear the Outlaw so I really have no idea what the combination might sound like. A couple of local dealers here in the Twin Cities have cautioned me that the NHT speakers tend to require more amplification than most speakers and also that they sound overly "bright" and the british Rotel equipment might exaggerate that. Of course he sells Marantz....go figure. They are salesmen afterall, so I just wanted to get an unbiased viewpoint My questions are these: 1) Does anyone have any experience with any or all of these using the speaker combination that I have? and (finally...whew) 2) Any recommendations as to what the best choice would be for my speakers? I'm leaning toward the Outlaw, brand new at $899, but wanted to see if anyone has heard it first as there is no store where I can go audition one first) Thanks and sorry to be so long-winded

KRiTiKaL
04-29-2007, 10:48 AM
Personally, I have not sampled Outlaw but have heard nothing but good things. Rotel is something I am sure someone can tell you plenty about. Try reading reviews from all over the web. Good luck, enjoy!

kelsci
04-29-2007, 12:13 PM
I have heard a Rotel receiver; I do not know if it was a hometheater or stereo model but it did sound quite good on music. Rotel has a definite musical reputation. They do have a line of separates of whose power amplifiers are powerful enough to push your speakers. As far as to the match-up of the receiver/speakers, that is hard to tell. If possible, buy where you can get your money back. I think you have a money back trail on the Outlaw. You need to weigh the price versus features and conveniences between the Outlaw and the Rotel equipment and for that matter any equipment you may be considering. Denons give good surround sound results but I was not impressed with their stereo performance on music. I like the sound of the Pioneer Elite model 81 that I heard in the stores this past winter, but I only heard it in stereo. However, what I heard put competing Denons, Sonys, and Yamahas to shame. If that receiver performs as good in surround sound as I heard in stereo it would be a humdinger. I am not advocating the 82 and 84 because I read issues about video processing in these units. However, the sound is as good as the 81. Do not consider the Elite 80. I did not like the sound in that unit.

I cannot comment on Onkyo. However, if you have a high def dvd player of some sort, and are interested in the high def dolby and dts codecs that some of the players output, you might want to wait for the newer line of receivers that are supposed to decode these high definiton tracks internally. If that is not you main conern, go with what you intended to do.

canuckle
04-29-2007, 07:48 PM
I think it really depends on where your priorities are. Outlaw and Rotel will probably give you more for a purist 2-channel system. Denon will wipe them away for home theatre. The Denon also utilizes Audyssey which, in my mind, is a marvel for fixing room acoustic problems that most people can't afford to fix with room treatments. Forgive me for not looking your speakers up, but if they're 4 Ohm then Outlaw and Rotel will fair better at wildly high listening levels. If they're 6+ Ohm then all things being equal, I'd go for the Denon to maximize the features that my money is buying.

If you wanted to spend a touch more, consider getting the Denon and using it as a preamp for the Rotel amp. Denon's preamp section is renowned for how good it is and Rotel preamps are considered their weak-spot.

spf
04-30-2007, 03:45 AM
Canuckle has the right of it, power and your preamp will be your deciding factors here. But keep in mind that in takes double the wattage to increase the sound pressure by only 3dBs so I wouldn't go crazy looking for the extra 20-30 watts of power (ie. to double the volume level from say a 75 x 7 watts Denon receiver you would need 750 watts per channel and/or way more efficient speakers) ..... good clean power is all you need. Cheers

Shane

kexodusc
04-30-2007, 03:46 AM
The Denon by itself is a distant third place finisher here.
I've not had the opportunity to play with this particular Outlaw model, but I have mixed feelings about their last receiver. Their amps are great value performers though, and if they've built on that success this model could be pretty good. N. Abstentia is a member here who's been really happy with his. Rotel, well, you know what you get with them.

If it was a receiver you're after, I'd suggest Arcam. Best I've heard at any price, narrowly beating Rotel's latest receiver. I like the idea of going with separates if you have the space though.

jlamo
05-03-2007, 01:23 AM
I am using rotel 1068 and rotel 1075 right now and for music, it is very good compare with yamaha or denon althought the home theater is good also but the feature is not as many as denon or yamaha for HT (EQ, HDMI, and etc). You cannot compare rotel with yamaha or denon for music, Yamaha and Denon is like mono sound system and rotel is stereo sound system; it is like night and day. By the way, I was using Yamaha RX 2700 before rotel.

I also audition rotel with some speakers KEF, Monitor audio and B&W. The best sound is B&W 603 Floorstanding, 600 center and 601 surround.

N. Abstentia
05-03-2007, 06:48 AM
If the Outlaw receiver sounds anything like it's 990 pre/pro counterpart, it's definitely a steal at $899. I did not give the 1070 a serious look because it did not have balanced outputs for my Active Paradigm speakers (plus I wanted seperates anyway), but if that's not a concern for you (and it's probably not) you should at least give the Outlaw receiver a look.