Rotel RB-1090 Common Ground?

Emlyn

Ken,
The Rotel RB-1090 amplifier is a dual mono design with separate power supplies for each channel, but sharing the same chassis and power cord. I asked Rotel customer service and they said the amplifier is a common ground amplifier. I'd like to verify that Polk's SDA speakers would work with this amplifier without the inline transformer.

Thanks.

madmax

There are no guarantees in life.
madmax

[Deleted User]

Hello,
I would believe that there shouldn't be any problems, Rotel has indicated that the left channel ground and the right channel ground are connected, or common. If you wanted to be on the safe side, you could use a Volt/Ohm meter (VOM) set to the lowest resistance setting and place one probe on the left channel's negative terminal and the other probe on the right channel's negative terminal and you should read 0 Ohms. If so, all's well with your SDAs, Rotel is a fine company and they should sound very good.
Regards, Ken

Emlyn

Hi Chuck,
I can guarantee that I'm happier you sold me one of your many pairs of SDAs than my neighbors are. :eek:

Thanks for the advice, Ken. I haven't bought an RB-1090 yet, but didn't want to go to the strain of hefting the 100lb box into the house to replace an 85 lb amp without checking twice first.

madmax

Good luck with the new amp! I keep looking at the bass/tweeter connectors I have sitting on the table here thinking "I know he doesn't need them but I could send those to Emlyn if only I would take the time to see if I have a freakin manual". I hope you are as happy with the 2.3's as I was. Ever do anything with that live room? Don't forget about tubes either. Tubes made my SDA's complete.
madmax

Emlyn

Originally posted by madmax
Good luck with the new amp! I keep looking at the bass/tweeter connectors I have sitting on the table here thinking "I know he doesn't need them but I could send those to Emlyn if only I would take the time to see if I have a freakin manual". I hope you are as happy with the 2.3's as I was. Ever do anything with that live room? Don't forget about tubes either. Tubes made my SDA's complete.
madmax

Not ready for tubes yet, but I was experimenting this morning and have decided not to get the RB-1090 having found something I'm very impressed with that I hadn't been making the best use of. I've had a Perreaux 200iP integrated amplifier (200 watts/channel to 8 ohms) and decided to try that out on the 2.3TLs. It turns out to sound better than the Rotel RC-1090 + B&K 7270 biamp combo I'd been using. There's plenty of power for the speakers in the smallish room. The B&K definitely could provide more headroom but doesn't seem to be as clear as the Perreaux and it is much more suited for its design purpose back in the home theater setup. Perreaux makes some remarkably strong but neutral MOSFET amps and the things seem to be bullet proof. The 200iP will drive the 2.3TLs cleanly to as loud a level as I can stand in the room.

Don't worry about the connectors because I wouldn't have used them, having fashioned some myself from spare things I had lying around. No problem about the manual as I have a couple of others (1C and 2B) which explain the SDA setup.

The echo-chamber room problem was cured the first week. As you recommended, I reoriented the whole room, putting the speakers on the wall with the door. I also added a rubber backed area rug to cover a lot of the wood laminate flooring and, because the couch is against the rear wall put up three 2 foot by 4 foot synthetic sheepskins to dampen the rear wall some.

Perreaux 200iP Integrated:

F1nut

Hey Emlyn, post a link or more info on that integrated. I haven't heard of them before.

Emlyn

Perreaux is a New Zealand based company that has been in business since the mid-1970s, having got their start producing pro-audio equipment. Audio Advisor sold a limited selection of their products for a short time but stopped a couple of years ago. Perreaux is establishing a dealer network in the U.S. again.

The company Web site is: Perreaux

They have a wide range of products. What I have heard of their products usually compares them to Plinius, but maybe just because the two companies are based in the same country.

I also have the Perreaux CD1/P balanced CD player. I'm not sure what retail pricing is on their gear, but I think it's slightly below what Plinius gear costs. Perreaux makes a 750 watt (8 ohms) monoblock in the same style as the integrated amp above! The amp and CD player I have are excellent condition demo units.

madmax

I too would think that amp will perform well. I looked at them when they were in Audio Adviser. Sounds like you are really likeing the SDA's, I thought you would. I really like the tubes with the SDA's because they let me hear a whole new group of sounds I never heard before. It's as if there is a layer of noise in the SS stuff which is louder than all the small sounds. For example I've been able to hear differences in interconnects, speaker wire, power cables, isolation devices etc. When I switch back to SS I realize I can no longer hear any of those differences. A great amp would be a Jolida 302A amp with the EL-34 tubes. After going with one of those I'll never go back to SS. No I'm not trying to sell mine again, I'm just blown away with their sound.

madmax