Arcam AVR 250/300 vs Rotel RSX1057

[srusmantijo]

Hi folks,

I'm looking to replace my Denon AVR 3300, which starts giving me intermittent audio problems. I have B&W Nautilus 804 and HTM2, rated at 50-200W.

I have auditioned both Rotel RSX1057 and RSP1068/RMP1071 connected to B&W 703. They sound good, much better than my Denon and BW speakers.

I also listened to Arcam AVR 250 and Quad Speakers. Much nicer than the Rotel setup, I think.

I think Rotel 1057 has better feature sets than Arcam, at a better price ($1300) than Arcam AVR 250 at $1600. I wish there were a dealer in San Jose area who has both system so that I can compare them side by side.

Also, do you think that a nice (expensive CDP in the $1000 range) is really that much better than regular $150-$300 CDP?

I would appreciate any input.

[Mr Peabody]

My personal preference would be he Arcam. I feel the amp section and overall sound quality is better. The amp would have better control over your B&W.

A $1k CD player will definitely sound better than a $300.00 one and you should be able to notice the difference with the Arcam and B&W. If you decide to go with Arcam you might want to see how that internal DAC sounds before spending another $1k. Arcam builds some of the finest sounding digital around. Arcam players start around $699.00, take listen.

[kexodusc]

Lucky guy!
2 good brands, I own a few pieces of gear of both right now, and have owned Arcam amps in the past too. I play with these very models quite a bit at my local dealer...It's a tough call for me, but since day 1 I've preferred ever so slightly the Arcam. Dunno why, just a good vibe I guess. Best receiver I've heard under $3000. Seriously. It's that good. Sound wise, these 2 are pretty close. Slight, very slight edge to Arcam I guess. Quality wise, well, Arcam's probably a fancier, audiophile brand name, but Rotel doesn't build junk. I doubt one is clear winner in terms of quality. The Rotel's features make it hard to pick though. Don't discount the role of a receiver in a home theater system. All those goofy features add up, maybe you'll need/want them? And if it's the Arcam avr 250 your comparing, I actually found the Rotel's amp to be stronger, less distortion at higher levels with the PMC speakers they were driving (which aren't typically demanding speakers). Both go pretty damn loud though. The 350 is different, its a beast. Moot point however, if the power difference is a concern for you, you should add an extra amp anyway. I'm guessing most people would be fine with either model..

These are 2 serious, high quality receivers for not a ridiculous amount of money. They're basically just separates in a box. They challenge the old notions about receivers compromising. I don't hear any of that in these. I don't think you can go wrong either way.
(but get the Arcam )

[srusmantijo]

Mr. Peabody & kexodusc,

Thank you very much for your replies. I did a side by side feature sets comparison, and read some more reviews on Arcam. I decided to go with AVR 300, instead of 250. I'll order it today and hopefully it's here next week. I'll update you with my finding! Can't wait.

Regarding CD/DVD player..
I guess it's hard for me to spend $1K or more on it, since I never experienced it before. I'll see if I can borrow the DVD player for a day from my dealer and see if it makes a difference. Then I'll be in trouble ;-)
How do you 'listen to the internal DAC sound'? Can you shed some lights?

Thanks again.

[basite]

How do you 'listen to the internal DAC sound'? Can you shed some lights?
Thanks again.

when you listen to the amp's dac, you use the digital connection between your cdp and your amp, instead of the analog one.
when you use the analog outputs on your cdp, the signal already is converted from digital to analog, but it's done in the cdp, which is in your case, a cheaper one then in your amp. when you use the digital output on your cdp, the digital signal will be converted in the amplifier (using the amps internal dac).

[Mr Peabody]

Yeah, what he said. Some don't even have a separate CD player,they just use the DVD as the transport and let the receivers DAC decode the signal. The receiver will have settings for 2 channel.