by Jim Bray
In my last column I looked at Rotel’s fantastic RSP-1098 home theatre preamplifier/surround sound processor. This is a true piece of audiophile equipment that’s also equally at home in a video-heavy installation.
It did everything but order out for pizza. But, alas, it’s as wonderful as it is, it won’t do you a lot of good unless you add one more piece of equipment to it - not counting speakers, TV, DVD player, and the like.
The other half of the equation is the power amplifier, and Rotel has just the right solution there, too, in its RMB-1095. It’s a particularly juicy item and a wonderful companion to the RSP-1098 preamp/processor.
This handsome hunk of amplification pumps out 200 watts into each of the five normal home theatre channels (8 ohms, 20 Hz - 20 kHz, less than 0.03% Total Harmonic Distortion), and that’s puh-lenty.
It seems almost silly to talk about an amplifier being handsome, since most of them are basically boxes with heat sinks on them, but in the case of the RMB-1095 it's appropriate. This is, indeed a big black box with heat sinks (you can also get a version with a silver face plate), but Rotel has still managed to make it an attractive big black box with heat sinks.
Not that it really matters, but it's one of those little things that show Rotel’s attention to detail — and you can use it to impress your friends if you're into such superficialities.
Rotel says the amp’s power supply is built around two toroidal transformers; its publicity material also claims that eight British-made BHC slit foil capacitors (for "storage capacity") and 30 x 150 watt/15 amp "output devices" combine to give "uncompressed reproduction of the most dynamic source material."
Now, I don't really understand all that technical stuff as much as I should, but the bottom line for you and me is that it doesn’t really matter. I can attest to the amp’s performance. I have a favorite compact disc that I use to test a system’s mettle (the remastered "The Who — Live at Leeds" — an incredible audio tour de force that captures this loud band at its loud peak, and the remastered versions sounds as if it were recorded yesterday). With the RMB-1095 you could hear every nuance of the performance in all its dynamic glory.
It was heaven.
and with the superb audio on the newer DVD audio discs it's even better! and then there’s movies…
Now, there’s more to an amp than "genitalia," and the RMB-1095 also provides lovely and lively sound ranging anywhere from low volumes to "ear bleeding" — but if it's aural testosterone that interests you, the Rotel will eliminate the need for "virtual Viagra" for the foreseeable future.
The RMB-1095 has been tweaked since its introduction, to add 12 volt trigger connectors so you can turn it on remotely (I leave it on all the time, though, much to my power company’s delight, I’m sure), and they've changed the speaker connectors to clear WBT binding posts. Some invisible electronic tweaks have also been done inside to help make this lovely amp even lovelier.
Pressing the power button gives you a pretty display of red LED’s as the system checks itself over and fires itself up. Then the five extra LED’s go out and the only indicator that the amp’s working is a single LED — and a whole lot of sound!
an interesting aside is that, at least in my home (which seems to have been thrown up in about a day and a half) turning on the amp initially would cause the lights in the next room to dim. They'd come right back up again right away, but it was kind of cool to see the that current this baby draws is nothing if not substantial.
My cats also like the amp. They can sense the heat it's dissipating and lay down on the floor in front of it, basking almost as if they were next to the fireplace.
But I digress….
Besides speaker terminals, connection points to the RMB-1095 include the conventional "unbalanced" RCa jacks (which is where you plug in the preamp/processor), gold plated "balanced XLR" jacks and a DB25 digital input. The latter allows for direct digital connection from a preamp.
The DB25 terminal is really meant to provide quick "one point connection" for people who use the amp in a professional environment, such as DJ’s.
as another tribute to its high end heritage, and to Rotel’s thoughtful design, I must mention a couple of touches that really blew me away — and which I never would have noticed if they hadn't been there.
First, to help you unpack this 88 pound block, Rotel has the amp sitting on a cardboard sleeve inside the box. The sleeve has handles cut into it to help you lift the amp out of the box.
Once you've done that and wrestled it over to its stand, you notice another really thoughtful touch: a small set of casters recessed into the amp’s bottom panel that make sliding it into place on your stand incredibly easy — and which won't scratch your furniture!
Small points, indeed, but wonderful attention to detail and customer satisfaction.
Rather than prattle about specifications (which are impressive), suffice it to say that this amplifier really delivers, whether it be on the subtle nuances of a chamber quartet or the thundering overkill of an exploding spaceship.
a couple of specs particularly worth mentioning, however, are the 116 dB signal to noise ratio, the 0.03% Total Harmonic Distortion, and the 15 Hz - 100 kHz (1dB) frequency response range. These are outstanding.
Movie dialogue is never muddy, the high frequencies are silky smooth, and the bass is never boomy unless the source material so deems it to be — in which case you certainly can't blame the amp.
With the relatively high ($1999US) price tag of this amplifier compared with the more "mainstream" components you find in electronics, they're obviously not for everyone. and remember, you can spend a LOT more than these prices, too.
But if you have the budget, this fine Rotel amplifier should serve you faithfully for many happy years.