Rotel RB-1091 Mono's vs Parasound JC1 Mono's B&W


Has anybody had the chance to do a comparison between JC1's and RB-1091's? I have my 1091's now but when I make a speaker upgrade to B&W 803D/802D's I'm considering also making an AMP upgrade.

What are the characteristics of each on these speakers?

For HT surround I was looking at doing an A51/A52, would the A51 power a HTM1D effectively? Would I need a seperate mono for this? If so, is it worth using two A21/23's for surround instead of the A5X? Any advantages/disadvantages besides cost and weight?

Looking at purchasing the surround AMP in the next half a yearish so I can get a pre/pro processor. I'm wanting to know what I need for the center channel (If I use a mono I plan to match the front L/R channels), hence the 1091/JC1 compare etc.
mstang1988

Showing 3 responses by mstang1988

They sound like great amps, do you use yours as a monoblock or a stereo amp? My only issue with it is that it's a D-Class. Used the JC1's seem much much cheaper but I've only seen the one Musician III SE Mk2 on audiogon.

With the D-Class operation do you find any noise actually coming from the amp? My D-Class rotels both have a very high pitch trasformer squel just as the 1092 did the Home Theatre Store. While I was having my home built and living in an apartment I was very close to the amps and the squel drove me nuts at low levels! Have you heard this with your D-Class? It had to be close and it had to be a person with ears in good shape. The older home theatre store employee was def over the 8,000 hz range and couldn't here it but the young employee could.
I'm glad it doesn't exist in all D-Class Amps :-) Perhaps I'll find a place around Austin, TX to demo them before I decide on new amps. Thanks for the help!
Miner42

I contacted Rotel but no, I have not sent them in for repair. Once I found out the brand new units did it I didn't want to send in my equipment, have them tinker just to find out there is no difference. Mind if I ask your age? A good friend of mine could not hear them at the age of 40 so I'm definately thinking many people might miss it with age related hearing loss. The original owner could not hear the noise and was just going into retirement. I'm at 25 so that might help and have very good hearing. I've been able to hear every TV's high pitch noise too. I can always tell if they are on/off without even looking. Interestingly the brand new 1092 at Modia (Home Theatre Store at the Time) in Austin, TX made the same exact noise!

Now that I'm sitting a good distance away from them it doesn't bother me (I can't hear it that far away). The squeal only exists while they are powered on.

I'll let you know about my 1091's when the time comes but I may end up keeping them as I still love them! There is a pair of 1091's on ebay right now if you are interested in those at 1600/pr. That's almost a 50% discount over new. Not sure about the seller but I know he's close to Houston/Austin so he most likely bought them at Modia.

It's actually a similar noise to http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/12/technology/12ring.html so if you can hear that then you should be able to hear the amp noise. Noticed the chart on the left with hearing loss / age. I can still hear the 17K ringtone at 25 with no problem.