Monitor Audio RX8: Primare or Rotel ?

[ripz]

What would be best and drive the RX8s, a Primare SPA22 HD or the Rotel RSX-1562 ?

 

[Frank Harvey]

Tricky one!

The Rotel might be a little better featured in some respects, although even the Rotel might seem a little bear in comparison to receivers from the big boys. Both use high efficiency amplification, but you might find that the Primare has a little more 'body' to its sound than the Rotel - a few people who have heard Primare's UFPD amplification here have commented that it doesn't sound how they expected it to sound knowing that it is a Class D type design.

I myself currently use a Rotel power amplifier using the same technology as the RSX1562, but I'll be changing to a UFPD based power amp sometime in the future! 🙂

 

[ripz]

Hello David! Thx for your insight.

When you say it doesn't sound how they expected it to sound, what should be expected ?

I m not interested in the latest features most commercial brands usually give us, like network or iphone connections. I need an AV very good with music that can handle the RX8 (4ohm speakers) and proficient with movies.

I have a SR7005 and it does not do the job. IMHO it does not have the power needed to drive the RX8s, however, it is very good with the movies.

The Rotel is a little bit cheaper than the Primare, 400 pounds cheaper. I will need to change the Video board of the Primare, to the latest version from the SPA23 due to some annoyances of the old version, specially the configuration menus, which are only available through the SVIDEO or Component conns and not from HDMI.

What kind of sound will i get from these amps with my speakers ? Will it be warm, balanced, bright like the Yamahas and Pioneers usually give ? I really really don t like at all harsh, bright, or "in your face" kinds, so those i will need to avoid. That´s where i will need your help 😀

P.S. I did some auditions with the RSX1550 (class A/B) CM8 and Primare SPA22 HD with MAs GX50. I liked the Primare/GX but i really loved the RSX1550/CM8.

 

[Ben K.]

I have a SR7005 and it does not do the job. IMHO it does not have the power needed to drive the RX8s, however, it is very good with the movies.

Have you considered adding an integrated amplifier to your system instead of changing the receiver?

I added an arcam A38 for the same reason and am now very happy with both movies and music.

 

[ripz]

Yes Ben, i did. Thx for your reply. A friend lent me a Primare I21, and the Primare really did the job, so to speak, however the main idea, the one i have, is to reduce to the lowest number of equipments as possible, so what i will have (hopefully) n a near future is one all rounder AV amplifier, one DAC (a good one) and the Media Center (or Centre as said in the UK, right ? 🙂 ), which i already have and that't it.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Yes Ben, i did. Thx for your reply. A friend lent me a Primare I21, and the Primare really did the job, so to speak, however the main idea, the one i have, is to reduce to the lowest number of equipments as possible, so what i will have (hopefully) n a near future is one all rounder AV amplifier, one DAC (a good one) and the Media Center (or Centre as said in the UK, right ? 🙂 ), which i already have and that't it.

A work colleague (on the website) has been trying loads of different amps out at home with his speakers (Dynaudio bookshelf speakers - I forget the model), and he says some have sounded good, but nothing has jumped out at him. That was, until he tried the Primare I22! With this, he said it had full grip over what the Dynaudios were doing, and from that point he has been a 'high efficiency' amplifier convert. A few other people have 'converted' too.

 

[Frank Harvey]

When you say it doesn't sound how they expected it to sound, what should be expected ?

All I meant was that many people tag Class D/high efficiency amplification as sounding bright. It did have bright tendencies in its early days, but I think this was just down to a lack of refinement and/or high distortion levels. Ten years or so on, things have improved greatly. It has been adopted for almost every subwoofer on the market, and by manufacturers like B&O, Pioneer, B&W, Primare, Rotel etc, as well as iPod docks, phones, and other small devices.

I have a SR7005 and it does not do the job. IMHO it does not have the power needed to drive the RX8s, however, it is very good with the movies.

As good as the SR7005 is, I'm not surprised that it had problems with the RX8s. They're not too hard to drive, but they do require a lot of bass control, something which many receivers just can't provide. This will stand out more so for music than movie soundtracks.

What kind of sound will i get from these amps with my speakers ? Will it be warm, balanced, bright like the Yamahas and Pioneers usually give ? I really really don t like at all harsh, bright, or "in your face" kinds, so those i will need to avoid. That´s where i will need your help 😀

From this description, I think you might be better looking at the SPA22 rather than the Rotel - as I say, Primare have developed it to not have what many class as typical traits of Class D amplification. Saying that, Ive been using a Class D Rotel power amp for a couple of years and have never found it bright. The Rotel does have a parametric EQ, so you could 'tailor' the Rotel to sound how you want it to sound, to some extent...

It's a shame you're not able to accommodate a pre-power - the Audiolab 8200AP and 8200x7 are quite a smooth combination.

 

[ripz]

David, thank you, again, for your valuable insight. I find it very useful and informative.

As you may be thinking, I'm fairly divided. There are many things that I like on the Rotel and many things that I like on the Primare .. will be a difficult choice without a doubt. Anyway, i ll be taking a peek on the parametric equalizer and see what could come from it.