Rotel rsx 1067 vs. Arcam avr 300 vs. Denon avr 3805

[Jeffrey N]

After 4 years as the unstatisfied owner of a Yamaha RXV 2095 HT receiver, I have decided to take the plunge and upgrade.

My search for the perfect HT receiver (within reasonable financial limits of course) has led me to a choice between three units that all sound pretty good to my ears:

The Rotel RSX 1067, the Arcam AVR 300 and the Denon AVR 3805. Actually, I am leaning towards purchasing the Rotel, but all three, like women of subtly different but equally alluring qualities, are keeping me interested in their respective ways.

Like my choice of a wife, I recognize that I am looking for a long term commitment and I do not want to make my decision rashly and ultimately end up having to pay for a costly divorce and replacement unit

My speakers are B & W DM 602 Series 2's with the matching LCR6 S2 as a Centre. Rears are cheap old Mission shelf tops. I also have a DBox David 302 Subwoofer and a Toshiba SD5700 DVD Player (progressive scan).

My musical tastes lean toward classical and jazz. But I would also want my system to pound out Jeff Beck and Santana with authority and realism.

My biggest complaint about the Yamaha amp was that, although the music it played always sounded clean and precise, I never felt that it could accurately convey the 3 D musical image that a receiver of its cost should have been capable of producing.

I plan to replace my fronts with B&W CM 6's at some point as I do not like the B&W 703's (they do not sound warm enough).

Finally, I listen more to music than watch movies, maybe to a ration of 80% to 20%.

Which of the three named units should I pick over the others for my long-term commitment and why?

Thank you for your responses.

Jeffrey N, Toronto.

[topspeed]

Of the three, I'd rank them Rotel>Arcam, Denon. A lot has to do with what features you want. I have to admit the Denon's auto-room equilisation is a killer feature which is why I'd put it on par with the Arcam although below the Rotel for pure sonic considerations. From experience, my 3803 was not able to properly drive my CDM 7NT's so I rarely advise pairing Denon and B&W speakers, although I understand the DM's are easier to drive. Rotel is a very good, very reputable company that shares distributors with B&W which is why you see them paired so often. I doubt you'd go wrong with it.

That said, if the pre/pro section of your Yammie does everything you want it to, have you considered simply buying a separate amp to drive your front stage? As good as receivers can be, they will never be able to compare to a great separate amp. Separates have huge dedicated power supplies, manytimes discrete for each channel (wishful thinking for a receiver), beefy transformers, and usually better caps and parts throughout. When I added a separate amp to my 3803, the difference was nothing short of stunning. With music as your priority, this may be a more efficient way for you to obtain the sound you're searching for.

[Jeffrey N]

Thank you for your prompt response. I am not sure what you mean when you suggest that I buy a separate amp to drive my front stage since I really am a newbie when it comes to Home Theater. I assume you mean that i get a separate amp to drive the three front speakers.

Incidentally, I find that I have difficulty imagining how to connect or wire things up. For example, I will probably need a manual with illustrations that a four year old can understand to teach me how to bi amp my speakers.

Well, whatever I do, I am not happy with the Yammie's decoding limitations. I like having five or seven channel stereo option. I also like Dolby Pro Logic II and IIx. These features do not exist in my Yamaha. So I am not sure I will keep it unless my dealer shows me how to connect it to my new unit as a powers supply

Now Rotel does talk about a separate Pre-amplifier/Processor as an option. Maybe I will look into that. But will I have to buy a separate Tuner, if I go with the Pre/Pro? And will I be able to incorporate my old Yamaha in the setup? Maybe I can use its Tuner?

Thanks for your response.

Jeffrey N., Toronto.

[topspeed]

I assume you mean that i get a separate amp to drive the three front speakers.

Exactly or at the very least, your two mains for 2 channel stereo.

Incidentally, I find that I have difficulty imagining how to connect or wire things up. For example, I will probably need a manual with illustrations that a four year old can understand to teach me how to bi amp my speakers.

You're not going to bi-amp. Many receivers have pre-outs on the back allowing you to bypass the receivers amps for an out-board or separate amp. All you do is the amp into the receiver and have the speaker leads run out of the new attached amp. However, as your Yammie is pretty well outdated from a processing standpoint, you're going to want to ebay it anyway.

Now Rotel does talk about a separate Pre-amplifier/Processor as an option. Maybe I will look into that. But will I have to buy a separate Tuner, if I go with the Pre/Pro? And will I be able to incorporate my old Yamaha in the setup? Maybe I can use its Tuner?

Welcome to the wonderful world of separates. The advantages are that you can pick and choose whatever you want for a pre/pro, amp, tuner, etc. and it will usually sound much better than any receiver could hope to, even the big monsters like the Denon 5805 or Yammie Z9. The downside is that separates can get real expensive, real fast. If you get a pre/pro & amp combo, you will need to get a tuner (which is cheap). I have no idea if you can use the tuner section of your old Yammie although I doubt it. You're better off selling it and applying the proceeds towards a decent tuner. Another option is to buy a cheaper receiver ($300) like a Yammie 1400 on close-out which has all of the latest decoding as well as YPAO (room eq) and then pairing it with a nice 5 channel Rotel amp using the pre-outs. Now you have all of the decoding, a tuner, auto-eq, and decent amplification. It won't sound as good as a dedicated pre-pro nor will it be upgradeable, but it is an option.

Hope this helps.