Overall sound, both in direct 2 channel mode and 5.1 home theatre playback. Nice appearance and build quality aside from the "hiss" issue and the fact that the unit would not sit level on my rack (possible warped shell?). All kinds of features and setup flexibility

"Hiss" feedback, possibly from processor. Sliding cover on remote is somewhat cheap

This was my second unit I demo'd in an attempt to replace my old Denon 2800 Receiver, which I began to find faults with after upgrading to Tributary cable and PS Audio Lab power cable off my Rotel 1070 cd player. Specifically, I found my old reliable Denon had become excessivly bright in 2 channel direct mode when listening to CD playback. My speaker setup is a fairly new (6 month old) pair of monitor audio silver 9's, along with the complimentary monitor audio silver center and sub. I say this is the second demo unit, as I first tried out a Denon 2805 to see what all the talk was about the new Denon units (the 3805 as well), and of course found no improvement over the 2800 when listening to the 2805. This led me to the 1056, which I picked up for $1170 from a local outfit (mind you the Denon @ $720 was a better deal dollar wise). Sound from this receiver was impressive in 2 channel direct mode playback, albeit still fairly bright for my system setup. Playback through the 2 channel stereo dsp setting was also fair, although not as detailed. I also ran this receiver through the home theatre paces and it handled the job fairly well, sounding decent all the way through, but it definitely didn't seem awe inspiring over my old Denon. Now for the major complaint. The inherent "hiss". It is present from any level above "min", and one turn of the knob and I heard an immediate pink noise hiss through all channels, at a constant level all the way up through the volume band until max, at which this noise was then accompanied by the obligatory high volume power hiss at the highest levels. Mind you that this unit was being ran through a Shunyata Research Hydra conditioner, so power to the unit should be considered clean. I returned to the dealer to discuss the problem, and checked their floor demo unit to see if the problem resided with it as well. Sure enough, that unit had the same issue, and at their location and not my residence. If one checks on-line outside this website, they'll find plenty of complaints regarding the problem. I called Rotel to see what might be done, and was told to reset the unit and check it again, with no improvement to the problem. When asked whether they were aware of the situation with the receiver, the technician told me "we have heard of similiar complaints and are looking into the situation". Safe to say that Rotel might fix this issue, but it will be another 6 months to a year until the public sees newer units devoid of this annoyance. In the end, I returned the unit for a refund as I couldn't live with dumping over a grand on a receiver that made noise when nothing was being played through it. In the end, I took a shot on the Outlaw 950/7100 pre-pro/amp combo after hearing about it on this website. All I can say is there's an amazing difference with the Outlaw, and I didn't even bother doing an A/B with my old unit. The improvement was immediate and obvious after only a day of burn-in, both in 2 channel direct and in 5.1 home theatre mode. Incredible rig for the price (only $400 more than the Rotel).

Similar Products Used:

Denon 2800 Denon 2805 Outlaw 950/7100

Nice looks Powerful

Background noise with Classic, Opera, Slow Jazz will be a distracting factor.

This receiver in my opinion is good for most types of movies/music; however, classic or slow jazz will allow the background noise to be very noticeable in both modes (stereo or digital). When I'm listening to opera or classic orchestra music and there is a quiet passage, you can hear the background - hiss - noise even if I'm at 9 feet away from the speakers. If I go over 65dB then the noise will start increasing. The background noise is not very strong so I do not hear it when I play pop, rock, etc. In my opinion there are some other receivers at this price range that are far quieter. I have to admit that in general the receiver sounds very good. The bass is tight; highs are very clear and smooth, etc. The killer for this receiver is the background noise, especially if you have very sensitive speakers. I tryed with lower sensitivity speakers that I have and the noise is reduced but not gone. I have to clarify that I use CDs without noise. At first I thought that the noise was coming from the CDs or the source but after selecting very quiet CDs - with regards to noise - and checking several sources, wires, etc. The noise is coming from the receiver, most likely the pre-amp section. Before buying I looked at Onkyo, Denon, Yamaha, Harman Kardon and Sony. I did not notice the background noise before buying because the level of noise in a store will never be as quiet as your own house at night when you're relaxed and watching a movie or listening to music. I have also tested it with several "people" as my wife didn't notice the noise until I asked her to pay attention to it. I found that there is people that won't hear it and some others that will hear it after you ask them to pay attention to it and also people that will hear it but don't care about it. I belong to the group of people that hate to hear something else that is not music on my system. Some friends tell me that I should spend more bucks to get to the level of quietness I want; but I think that for $1300 dlls this thing should be a lot quieter. My system: RCD-1072 CD player Sony DVD player Infinity (front speakers) Bose (back speakers)

Nice clean looking and sounding receiver. Using the receiver with BW601(front speakers) BW600(rear speakers) and BWASW600 sub woofer. This combination produces a great home theater combination.

Absence of phono outlet

After shopping for 3-4 months and checking out Denon 3805, I decided on the Rotel RSX1056. The 2-channel crispness and clear sounds really sold me. Using the Eagles CD and listening to Hotel California was a treat. As for the hissing, it may be in the recording as I could only hear it when I listened to the start of Desperado. The remote was not that difficult to use and I really like the appearance of the unit. Watching movies like Gladiator and Independence Day was better than going to the movies. Really happy and will get even better once it is broken in.

Similar Products Used:

Denon3805

Superior 2 channel sound, looks, backlit and fully programmable universal remote, no nonsense features.

A tad pricey for 75 watts, but still worth the dough, especially if you need exquisite 2 channel performance.

I purchased the Rotel to replace my wonderful Nakamichi AV8, which was an extremely competent AV receiver that really delivered in the 2 channel department. However, after the addition of a NAD C542 CD player which revealed more sound than I thought was possible, I suddenly became a little obsessed about hearing more and more details in CDs that I had been listening to for years. My initial receiver choice to replace the Nak was one of the new AV receivers from NAD, but after hours and hours of research on the web I decided to give Rotel a look. I have always been a fan of the 'less is more' school of audio, and the Rotel's apparent simplicity of design and lack of worthless bells and whistles really appealed to me. Plus, the price of the Rotel was comparable to the NAD, and I felt the Rotel was a slightly superior product. The Rotel did not disappoint. Although the amount of work needed to navigate and complete the set-up menus was a tad daunting, the results were well worth the effort. As good as the Nak was, the Rotel is clearly superior. With the aid of the NAD CD player, I heard details I never knew existed. I'm a big fan of Bryan Ferry and Roxy Music, and the Rotel revealed faint passages and very fine details that the Nak was unable to reveal. When I switched from the Nak to the Rotel I didn't make any other changes to the system, so I am confident that the sonic improvements were the Rotel's doing. Performance in 5 channel is fine, and while it sounds better than the Nak when playing DVDs, the difference is not as great as the 2 channel difference. Plus, the Rotel has DTS and Neo:6, which the Nak did not. If you don't mind 75 w/ch and don't need alot of useless (IMHO) options, don't hesitate to give the Rotel a listen. I can't speak to the other reviewer's complaints of hissing, as I have experienced none. My system is nothing special, but here's what I'm using in case you're wondering: Rotel RSX 1056 NAD C542 CD player Boston Acoustics VR3s (mains) Boston Acoustics VR910 (center) Boston Acoustics VRS dipole surrounds Mirage LF150 sub Straightwire digital coax cables Kimber and Monster speaker cable (I know, I need to get rid of the Monster cable...)

Similar Products Used:

Nakamichi AV8