Upgrade opinions please

miner

I am contemplating upgrading my front end - Rotel RC1090 pre/Rotel RB1092 amp to Classe' products. Even thinking about getting the CAP-2100 integrated instead of separates. This will be a huge outlay of cash for me. Will keep my B&W speakers as is. Any expereinced Classe Delta series owners on board to give their opinions. Unfortunately my local dealer does not have the Rotel/Classe combos for me to A/B. I am happy with the Rotel set up but feel I am missing something by not have higher end gear. If I go with the CAP-2100 integrated I think my net cost after selling Rotel gear would be about $2800.

Early B.

miner wrote: »

I am happy with the Rotel set up but feel I am missing something by not have higher end gear.

You've got the wrong idea. You're not missing anything. Keep enjoying what you have.

steveinaz

Early B. wrote: »

You've got the wrong idea. You're not missing anything. Keep enjoying what you have.

I agree.

cfrizz

If you are really "happy" with your Rotel setup, then why upgrade? It sounds like you just want to do it for the ego trip it will give you when you point out to whomever that you have "Classe" gear.

I assume you already shelled out quite a bit of money to get the Rotel gear which isn't exactly cheap either!

Right now you have a system you like and enjoy & want to change it all out for an unknown sound that will cost a ton of money just because of the name on it & that you might not like the sound of.

Doesn't make a whole lot of sense to me.

tonyb

Spend the dough.You only live once,do it in style.Seriously,part of this hobby is experimenting with different gear.Yeah,there will always be something bigger,badder,better out there but the fun resides in the trying out new stuff side.I guess your wallet will dictate when enough is enough.Grab it damn it,and tell us how it sounds.

Cathy-very impressed with you today......nowhere have you mentioned 200 watts/channel.:D

Ricardo

I'm with the ones that say that you should keep what you have....unless you can return the Classe. If you can, buy it, try it, and if you actually hear a difference worth the difference then keep it.

venomclan

tonyb wrote: »

Cathy-very impressed with you today......nowhere have you mentioned 200 watts/channel.:D

His amp is already 500 watts, so it was not necessary this time. Otherwise the post would have read like this:

"You will need to upgrade your amp to at least 200 watts or more, do not worry about what brand it is, the type of amp it is, the cost of it or what type of speakers you have, as long as it is 200 watts"
Venom

dcarlson

If you're looking to upgrade something... Based on your signature... If you haven't already, you could look for a new source, maybe a DAC. Or a new phono stage or you could delve into cabling. I'd hit those before upgrading your Rotel stuff.

comet91

i have the classe cap-2100 it far better then what i had

comet

venomclan

What exactly are you looking to improve upon? All you gear is fine. I demoed the Classe Delta stuff 2 months ago on a pair of B&W Signiture Diamonds. It was very smooth and should be for the cost. The Signiture Diamonds were nice but way overpriced.

I demoed a pair of 804S right before I went with the Gallos. The "S" version is supposed to have a smooth tweeter than the "N" I believe. But not enough of a difference to upgrade from what I was told. Check out the B&W room on www.htguide.com. But enter with caution as they can be rough sometimes, and the owner of the site is a complete A$$. Enjoy
Venom

phipiper10

Enjoying music is always first and that's where my passion is. This hobby (the gear) is just an added dimension to the music I already love. Experimenting with new gear and sounds can be rewarding. Go for it! You can always change out for something else.

miner

Thanks for all of your coments and opinions. I have not done anything yet, may not either. To be quite honest, I am not sure what improvement I am looking for. I feel what I have now is very forgiving yet is full of detail. I would consider upgrading my 14/4 speaker wire but each run is 25' long and a higher quality speaker wire would run mucho pesos. Besides, I have never been a believer of speaker cable hype. My 14ga/4 conductor (I biwire) is just fine. MY ICs are better than average.

As far as htguide.com, I like the owner of the site (Doug). He makes a very fine cable for the money. Very informative also.

jm1

miner wrote: »

Thanks for all of your coments and opinions. I have not done anything yet, may not either. To be quite honest, I am not sure what improvement I am looking for. I feel what I have now is very forgiving yet is full of detail. I would consider upgrading my 14/4 speaker wire but each run is 25' long and a higher quality speaker wire would run mucho pesos. Besides, I have never been a believer of speaker cable hype. My 14ga/4 conductor (I biwire) is just fine. MY ICs are better than average.

As far as htguide.com, I like the owner of the site (Doug). He makes a very fine cable for the money. Very informative also.

Is it possible to relocate your system or possibly the amp closer to the speakers? This would allow you to reduce the length of the speaker cables. Maybe try an intermediate location for the amp resulting in longer ICs and shorter speaker cables.

I am somewhat surprised this amp does not have balanced inputs. If it did, you could have made or purchased longer balanced ICs for between the pre and amp amd moved the amp to the speakers.

The Classe components are a step above the Rotel in overall refinement. If I had not introduced Simaudio into my system, I would likely have purchased either Classe or Ayre.

tom t

as the old saying goes, there is always something better but are you happy with what you have. if you are,keep it

dave shepard

I also say if your happy then stay where you are, but you have speakers that will do better with every change you make. I have heard/compaired the 800 series on Rotel/ Mac/ Classe and I really liked the Mac amp over all the others Krell would also be one I would look at and consider over the Classe. The Classe gave better detail and seperation over the Rotel but the Mac smacked all them Krell is another hot performer that I feel would better Classe for seperation and detail.

Ferres

and with the 1092 you don't need to worry about hard to drive speakers.

At these 1092 levels it's more a matter of personal taste rather than quality and performance.

Try some Xindak's FA-1 IC's and Rega's FSC Quattro speaker cables. Way cheaper than my old stuff but surprisingly better.

dcarlson

I think with the speakers you have, any thing you change will make a difference.

1. I'd start with a used dac.

2. If you really want to upgrade components, I would then do that after the upgrading the source.

3. Then I would start tweaking with ICs, power cables, speaker cables.

If you want to stay with your Rotel gear, I'd skip step 2.

phuz

Yes you should upgrade... (and sell your Rotel gear to ME!)

zingo

I second the everything else upgrade, then work back to the amps if you are still interested.