# Rotel or Emo



## deftone (Apr 3, 2010)

Hello all,i am a new member in here and need your help.Bought the B&w 803s,805s and the HTM3s for my HT system.Should i go with the Rotel or the EMO?I know that both can be consider as the low to mid range gears.Already audtions with the Rotel-RSP1570,RMB 1575,RB1572,RB1582 and the RC 1580.My main intention is to have 50/50 for HT and a dedicated 2 channel for stereo music listening and that`s the reason why i am looking at the RB1582 and the RC 1582 combinations.

As for the Emo,i only get all the good reviews from another forums and for me to have the auditions is totally impossible the reasons being there`s no Emo gear from where i come from not unless i have to shipped it in here.

Anyway will the rotel do justice for the B&W speakers.Thanks


----------



## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Hello,
Considering your Speakers, I would only consider the XPA-1 or XPA-2. These 2 Models have the most current. Especially the XPA-1. Perhaps using XPA-1's to drive your 803's and HTM3 and 1 XPA-2's for your 805's

Rotel wise, I would go with the RB-1090. 3 of them would make for an excellent Amplifier setup.
Cheers,
JJ


----------



## deftone (Apr 3, 2010)

JJ,i have different thoughts though.if i were to go the EMO way i thought of having 3 UPA-1 for the LCR and the XPA-2 for the rears.Like the XPA-1,but i don`t have a big room for that,its 20`x20`Been eyeing the UMC-1 and USP-1.

I know that it is very,very much cheaper then the Rotel even when i get it shipped to where i come from.The only problem that i am going to face is to shipped it back to EMO when the gears is defectives and it will be very expensivefor me to do so not unless EMO have a local distributor here and i think it will not happen though.


----------



## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Hello,
If doing that, I would actually reverse it and put the XPA-2 on the 803's. The XPA-2 is more powerful and the 803's are your most demanding Speakers.
Cheers,
JJ


----------



## deftone (Apr 3, 2010)

Yep,you`re right,should have thought of that.How will the EMO gears sound sonically with the B&W.Will it be warm and neutral?


----------



## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Hello,
Warm and neutral rarely fall into the same category. I will say that the Emotiva's are accurate and should be a good match. You might also want to look at what is available locally used. Singapore is such a cosmopolitan city that there should be some viable choices locally as well. High quality Amplifiers really will last for years so I would not be afraid to look at used Amplifiers as well.

You have some fantastic Speakers. Given the investment, I would give the Speakers the best amplification possible. I would at least look at what is available there as well. If you find any Models you are not familiar with, we will do our best to provide you with the best information possible.
Cheers,
JJ


----------



## Savjac (Apr 17, 2008)

One word of Advice. I also have B&W speakers and should note that B&W and Rotel are owned by the same company and work very well. Just sayin....


----------



## Jungle Jack (Jul 28, 2009)

Hello,
I agree that B&W and Rotel do play well together. Couple the fact that 99 times out of 100 that B&W Speakers will be on display with Rotel Amplification, and it will usually be the reference when comparing the sound of the Speakers at the Store and at Home.
Cheers,
JJ


----------



## erwinbel (Mar 23, 2010)

When I asked my local Hifi dealer about Rotel amps to go with the B&W CT700 I am implementing in the design of our new house, he directed me to Parasound instead. I searched the internet and found out that Emotiva delivers 99,9% of what the big amp names can, but for 1/3 or 1/10 of the price.

This was 6 months ago and have since then purchased a pair of XPA-1 (1000 Watt / 4 ohm) and have them shipped to EU. They do great work with the Jamo R909 (recommended 550 Watt / 4 ohm)

I noticed that the new 803D is recommended for 500W/ 8 ohm, where the older 803S is only 250W/ 8 ohm. Goes to show how you can take the power recommendations with a grain of salt. 

It's up to you to know how loud you can play, but more Watts is not for playing louder, but to make sure the speaker can draw great peaks for a very dynamic lifelike performance.

I see no point in using the powerfull XPA-2 for the surround if you have the UPA-1 for the LCR
I suggest these combo's from best to adequate
1/ 3 XPA-1 (LCR) & 1 XPA-2 Surround (not cheap, but worth it)
2/ 5 UPA-1 (very cheap for a full monobloc set-up!) 
3/ 3 UPA-1 LCR & 1 UPA-2 surround
4/ 1 XPA-5 (large enough general power supply that the speaker who needs it most can tap from)


----------



## recruit (May 9, 2009)

The Emotiva is excellent VFM but I do know of someone running there B&W 803D with the Rotel 1575 power and is very pleased with the results, can you not get a home demo of the Rotel kit?


----------



## Dunedain (Apr 12, 2010)

The Rotel RMB-1575 (combined with the RB-1572 if you needed 7 channels) would make for a very nice amplifier for a surround sound home theater setup. 

Naturally you can go higher-end with some of the U.S. and European stereo equipment makers and get better stuff, but they cost more, of course. So you have to decide what's your maximum you want to spend.

A smart idea is to buy a really excellent two channel amplifier at first that costs quite a bit, and for now just use your receiver's built-in amps for the surround speakers (which normally don't need nearly as much power as the main speakers). Then later on you can save up and add a good 3 or 5 channel amp to take over for all of the other speakers, if you want to. This will give you the best quality sound from your front main speakers, which are the most important to have the best amp connected to.


----------

