Receiver Upgrade - Denon vs. Rotel

Yes, you did say that. I'm just poking fun. You said it correctly

A few months ago I decided it was time to upgrade my Nakamichi
AV-10 receiver. Since the new stuff seemed so cheap in the Circut City etc. ads I went shopping. Two days later after several "auditions" of the mass-market stuff I compared $1500 Marantz to $2000 Rotel. I really wanted to like the Rotel as it looks neat/modern but really did not want to spend what, for me, is real money. The Marantz for me had a better musicality in 2 channel so I went for the Marantz. Long story shorter, I sold Marantz even though it did a good job on 5.1 stuff, was really no better on voice or music than my $1200 1998 Nakamichi......soooo.....If you feel it really-really needs to be upgraded (and your speakers deserve better amplification), I suggest by-passing Denon/Rotel etc. and look into better pre-pro, or my choice if I had it all over to do again, one of the High-end things from Sunfire or????--need some more help here from the guys on other Arcam avr300????I noted that Upscale Audio has some pretty good things on sale or used??good luck, mike.

I recently helped a friend put a system together based upon an HT receiver, and it came down to the Denon 3806 versus the Rotel 1056. The Rotel sounded significantly better to both of us, and I was very impressed with its performance on the whole. I have an RSP-1066 (predecessor to the 1068) in my own system, and it has been an excellent performer for me.

If it were me, I'd go Rotel, for sure, and the main decision would be receiver versus seperates.

Tom.

Cheapmike has it pretty close to correct there,regarding upgrade. However, upgrading to a pre/pro, the Rotel is a worty entry level competitor for dynamics and processing. Not as refined as some, but pleny strong and reliable.
As for receivers, I think most nothing out there is really worth a hoot for the money....my two cents. Receivers are just conveniently packaged bundles of "compromise" really. Personally, I keep going back to pre's every time I decide to give some receiver a shot in one of my systems. Just that much better separates are.

If you go with the Rotel be sure to buy a universal remote. That Rotel remote is the biggest P.O.S. and probably won't last a year.