Surround Processor Reviews

Rotel RSP-1069 Processor

Analog frequency response in Bypass mode:
–0.17 dB at 10 Hz
–0.05 dB at 20 Hz
–0.08 dB at 20 kHz
–0.56 dB at 50 kHz

Analog frequency response with signal processing:
–0.38 dB at 10 Hz
–0.12 dB at 20 Hz
–0.15 dB at 20 kHz
–47.68 dB at 50 kHz

This chart shows the frequency response of the left (aqua), center (green), LFE (purple), and left surround (red) channels at the preamp outputs of the Dolby Digital decoder.

The left channel measures –0.03 decibels at 20 hertz and –0.22 dB at 20 kilohertz. The center channel measures –0.04 dB at 20 Hz and –0.18 dB at 20 kHz, and the left surround channel measures –0.04 dB at 20 Hz and –0.18 dB at 20 kHz. The LFE channel, normalized to the level at 40 Hz, is –0.00 dB at 20 Hz, reaches the upper –3-dB point at 117 Hz, and reaches the upper –6-dB point at 120 Hz.

Response from the multichannel input to the main output measures –0.15 dB at 10 Hz, –0.04 dB at 20 Hz, –0.09 dB at 20 kHz, and –0.57 dB at 50 kHz. The analog THD+N is less than 0.015 percent at 1 kHz with a 100-millivolt input and the volume control set to 85. Crosstalk with a 100-mV input was –81.54 dB left to right and –79.73 dB right to left. The signal-to-noise ratio with a 100-mV input from 10 Hz to 24 kHz with “A” weighting was –121.12 dBrA.—MJP

Video Test Bench
The RSP-1069’s Genesis/Faroudja chipset is geared more toward standard-definition video than HD. Thankfully, the processor offers a passthrough mode that defeats processing altogether. The SD video performance is fine for standard film material, but the Rotel does not have a video mode selection for the Faroudja processor. The chip does not deinterlace 1080i material properly regardless of the source, and I noticed obvious filtering in our resolution tests. Analog-to-digital conversion resulted in some interference patterns with fine detail, and even digital signals had some minor flicker at times. For the best performance, especially with HD signals, you should set the processor to Passthrough (which also defeats the clipping we saw with digital signals) and allow the source or display device to handle the video processing.

Rotel RMB-1085 Amplifier

All channels driven continuously into 8-ohm loads:
0.1% distortion at 80.9 watts
1% distortion at 114.8 watts

Frequency response:
–0.34 dB at 10 Hz
–0.11 dB at 20 Hz
–0.65 dB at 20 kHz
–2.47 dB at 50 kHz

This graph shows that the RMB-1085’s left amplifier channel, with two channels driving 8-ohm loads, reaches 0.1 percent distortion at 85.7 watts and 1 percent distortion at 114.8 watts. Into 4 ohms, the amplifier reaches 0.1 percent distortion at 146.1 watts and 1 percent distortion at 218.4 watts. An input level of 157.3 millivolts was required to produce an output of 2.83 volts into an 8-ohm load, indicating an overall gain of +25.14 decibels.

THD+N from the amplifier was less than 0.013 percent at 1 kHz when driving 2.83 volts into an 8-ohm load. Crosstalk at 1 kHz driving 2.83 volts into an 8-ohm load was –104.25 dB left to right and –101.92 dB right to left. The signal-to-noise ratio with 2.83 volts driving an 8-ohm load from 10 Hz to 24 kHz with “A” weighting was –103.82 dBrA.—MJP