Subwoofer or Amplifier?

[Joey_V]

Alright.... which would you guys do:

Would you go for a new sub?

or

Would you go and upgrade the (my) amplifier?

This may not be right away, but just something to think about for the future... but either way, I would like to hear how you would spend about $1000 +/- $200.

My thinking:
I like the Vantage sound with the Rotel and I dont really feel comfortable with an amp upgrade outside the Rotel line at the moment, so I suppose the only move would be to something like Twich's RB1090. However, I may have to wait for another amp to be available as I think money isnt on my side at the moment.

Now, I'm thinking about adding a sub to anchor the lowend of the Vantage. What would you suggest in the $1000/1200 used range? I was perusing the 'gon and I found some Sunfire True Signature subs (with eq) for that price. I could probably go with an SVS PB12+/2... but I would rather have quality over sheer brawn (this is for 2ch, not HT... if it were HT, I would have no problem going SVS). I see that the Velodyne DD or the ML Descent are a little out of my price range....

Help me!

 

[Jeff Zaret]

Joey-Dude
Chill a bit. Wait until your speakers arrive and see how they sound first!!!
I would take the $ 1K and trade in your Rotel preamp for a tube preamp. THis will be the biggest bang for the buck.
Then after living with that for a bit consider a sub.

Jeff

 

[Reverb2009]

Joey,

Life is long my friend, What for your speakers to come in, give them a month or so to brake in and go from there.

 

[Steve Daigneault]

yep, i'm with the other guys. wait. there will always be equipment to buy, there will always be upgrades, new amps, new speakers, etc. definitely listen to the vantages first. you'll be surprised at their bass. i was. in fact, it's convincing me that i actually need to treat my room. i never had that problem with the aerius, they never over powered my room, but the vantage is another beast. big powerful bass. especially after they break in.

i hear ya tho, it's fun to look.

 

[mondoribo]

My Rotel experiences

I had a similar setup as yours originally. Rotel RC-1070 preamp and RB-1080 amp. It was a good starting point, but it sounded a bit bright and tinny with my Aeons. My first change was replacing the RC-1070 with a TAD-150 tube preamp I found on Agon. Then I added a subwoofer, a ML Depth. Fills out the bottom nicely. Then, I swapped the RB-1080 for some TAD-100 monoblocks. And just last week, the Aeons were swapped out for some Ascent i's. With the Aeons, the biggest single improvement was the tube preamp. Don't get me wrong, the RC-1070 is a nice preamp (I still use it as a distribution box for the whole house system and the headphone amp matches better with my phono stage than the TAD's), but adding tubes early in the chain makes a huge difference. The tube amps add their own sonic character as well, but the Rotel amp sounded good too. It's a personal choice. I liked the tube sound better though. I am still fidgeting with triode vs. tetrode, etc., which is fun.
So I guess my long-winded conclusion is: I concur with the others. Listen to your speakers for awhile, then think about a tube preamp. The RB-1070 should be fine for a while. Then, try to demo some tube amps. Since these can set you back some $$, make sure you like the sound better before you commit.
PS I still love my Rotel CD changer. I recently tried a CI Audio VDA-2 DAC and really couldn't hear the difference. I sent VDA-2 back.

 

[MiTT]

I'm going to agree with most here but especially mondoribo and Jeff.

If you haven't had a chance to fully appreciate your new speakers in their new home you won't understand what benefit the addition of any new variable will be.

That being said, I believe that the addition of a tubed pre-amp to almost any system is a good thing. I went from a solid state McCormack to a sonic Frontiers SFL-1 Signature and it opened up a whole new world. I went from the SFL to a BAT VK-30SE, and recently upgraded the BAT to full VK31-SE status. Each change has been an incremental improvement that has yielded more and more of what is hiding in all of my albums and CD's.

Adding a sub or a few more watts of power will give you an increase in dynamics, slam or a foundation from which to build, but I believe that a tubed pre-amp will reveal layers of information you never thought was there. I'd advocate taking your time and finding a good dealer who can help guide you via home auditions as you think about how you want your ideal system to communicate to you. In the long run that will be much more satisfying.

 

[tsd2005]

Alright.... which would you guys do:

Would you go for a new sub?

or

Would you go and upgrade the (my) amplifier?

This may not be right away, but just something to think about for the future... but either way, I would like to hear how you would spend about $1000 +/- $200.

My thinking:
I like the Vantage sound with the Rotel and I dont really feel comfortable with an amp upgrade outside the Rotel line at the moment, so I suppose the only move would be to something like Twich's RB1090. However, I may have to wait for another amp to be available as I think money isnt on my side at the moment.

Now, I'm thinking about adding a sub to anchor the lowend of the Vantage. What would you suggest in the $1000/1200 used range? I was perusing the 'gon and I found some Sunfire True Signature subs (with eq) for that price. I could probably go with an SVS PB12+/2... but I would rather have quality over sheer brawn (this is for 2ch, not HT... if it were HT, I would have no problem going SVS). I see that the Velodyne DD or the ML Descent are a little out of my price range....

Help me!

If it was me, I'd get a new source.

A nice CD Player would do wonders for your system.

 

[Joey_V]

Ok ok... I'll calm down... a little.

I can now see that I'm heading for trouble because once I get a hold of some real cash, I'm afraid of what I'll end up doing with my audio system. I have a burning evil deep inside.

Must control self... .

 

[DTB300]

Joey-Dude
Chill a bit. Wait until your speakers arrive and see how they sound first!!!
I would take the $ 1K and trade in your Rotel preamp for a tube preamp.

Good Point

Wait for your speakers to come in, give them a month or so to brake in and go from there.

Another good point

yep, i'm with the other guys. wait. there will always be equipment to buy, there will always be upgrades, new amps, new speakers, etc. definitely listen to the vantages first.

The good points keep on coming....

Don't get me wrong, the RC-1070 is a nice preamp (I still use it as a distribution box for the whole house system and the headphone amp matches better with my phono stage than the TAD's), but adding tubes early in the chain makes a huge difference.

And yet another good point...

Joey....It seems like the general census here is to W-A-I-T and listen to your Vantages for a bit, enjoy them with the current setup you have, then make a move later on. The most talked about change would be the Preamp from the Rotel to a Tube Pre - you choose the model, later on, after auditioning some of them. After listening for awhile to your new Vantages you may find you want/need more bass. Then you can do the Sub thing if you want or even think you need to.

But you can see by what we are all saying here: W-A-I-T and listen to your Vantages for a bit!!!!!!!!!!

The Audiophile Addiction is great but we are all here to help you.....Breath in, breath out...breath in....breath out...

Dan

 

[twich54]

breath in.....breath out..... whats going on here ????somebody having a baby ?? Sounds like Lemas (sp) class !! ??