Rotel 1067 crapped out, looking for advice on replacement

[SkiFastBadly]

My current AV system consists of a Pioneer elite monitor, Klipsch RF speakers, and it's all centered around a Rotel 1067. The other day the Rotel started showing signs of crapping out, mainly frequent freezes which may or may not be related to the heat we're experiencing. The only way I can unfreeze the thing is to let it cool down and then unplug it and plug it back in again. I dropped a note to Rotel asking about thermal protection and they responded very quickly telling me that this is not normal behavior and while I might have it serviced, a product that old could have other problems.

So it's time. Boy the world has changed in ten years. It never occurred to me that I could get a receiver that would support wireless, that would be able to connect to my DNLA music server.

The one limitation I have is that I bought my monitor pre-HDMI so I need component output for video, which is quite limiting.

I'm looking at the Pioneer SC-1223 which seems to meet much of my criteria and which Amazon has a good price on. But I figured I'd throw it out there and see what the collective thinks. Given that I am looking for component output, want to spend about a thousand bucks, and will be using it with great speakers, what other suggestions or experiences can you share. Is the SC 1223 a great piece of gear or a piece of something else?

Thanks

[blackraven]

I don't know much about the Pioneer except that it uses Class D amplification which I like. Sound and Vision gave it a very good review. I think that you will like the air, transparency and bass that the Class D amp will give you.

[bfalls]

Does the vendor you're purchasing from have a return policy? Having a Rotel for so long, I'm wondering how happy you can be with with a Pioneer? Granted, this Pioneer is definitely not entry level. I was surprised it didn't provide at least 7.1 pre-outs, but that seems to be the trend. At least you can beef up the fronts and subs if you find the power lacking. It should be more than adequate for your Klipsch'. I've always like the looks of the RF series and own two pairs of RF-3 surrounds. My other Klipsch' are Kgs.

[Mr Peabody]

I'd urge you to look at the Marantz, although some of them are rated at 50 watts per channel that's either a real rating or under rated. I replaced a higher powered Onkyo and have been very happy with what I perceive as an improvement all around. The Marantz is a fuller smoother sound. A friend of mine has a Klipsch speaker package and matched it with just a Marantz 1403, the synergy was very good, I was impressed with such a budget system.

But, if budget permits and wanting something more directly competitive with Rotel, I'd suggest either NAD or Cambridge Audio with the latter being my personal preference bwithout consideration to features.

If, budget, and space, maybe consider Marantz separates. Musicdirect is blowing out some 7701 preamps very reasonable and a matching power amp is priced well and a good bang for the buck.

[3db]

What's your budget?