Replacing my Rotel RSX 1055

Just a quick update. So I took the Rotel in for service and should be hearing back from them soon. In the meantime, I ordered and received an Onkyo TX-NR 727 for my brother. I've been using it for a few days and it's not too bad, but it sure does make me miss my Rotel...guess I didn't know how good I had it!!! Anyway, without using the Audyssey it didn't sound that great (I didn't do a full manual calibration of it either...I just set it up for 2.1). With the Audyssey it sounded much better, more balanced. However, it seemed to eliminate ALL of the bass from my sub, so I had to dial it back in a bit to my liking. Since my Rotel didn't have any HDMI ports, I had to go optical. With the Onkyo, I noticed a modest improvement while watching a blu-ray (Judas Priest: Epitaph). It brought out details I had never seen before. I did have to crank it up quite a bit to get the same level of loudness from my Rotel. With the Onkyo dial at about 85-90, it sounded like my Rotel at 60. I'm not sure if the Onkyo goes higher than 100 on the dial, I didn't want to blow it out before my brother got it. I'm sure he will be happy with it, as will most people. It didn't sound terrible, but it sure lacked the power and punch of my Rotel.

 

Yeah the Rotel has a really clean nice natural punch.