Review: Rotel RB1090 vs Rotel RB1091 monoblocks

My opinion of the two Rotels....

Overall Sonic Presentation/Soundstage:
The Rotel 1090 was a little warmer while the 1091 monos felt somewhat leaner... but what drew my attention was the improved soundstage depth that the 1090 provided. The 1091 was deep and wide, but not to the same degree. The 1090 was so good at presenting the subtleties of the song that it was easier to discern where the singer was relative to the drums towards the back.
Score:
1090 - 90
1091 - 85

Vocal Presentation:
The Vocals on the 1090 was better defined to my ears - and more controlled. There wasnt as much sibilance (or artificial sibilance as I'd like to call it) as there was when the 1091 was playing through the BW 802D. The vocals came out nice and resolute. Right down the middle, floating at about a 5-6 ft height... just right there as if Dave Matthews was singing right in the room.
Score:
1090 - 95
1091 - 85

Highs:
Both were very resolute and transparent with regards to the top end. However, I felt that the 1090 had better control of the high's energy. Sibilance was down to a minimum while the 1091 monos presented a more "non-controlled" top end where sibilance ran a bit rampant - or atleast more than I would've liked. The 1091 may seem a little airier, but I think this is artificial. The 1090 was 98% of its way there but I felt that the last 2% is negligible considering the 1091 was a good 75% of the 1090 in terms of upper end control/sibilance control.
1090 - 90
1091 - 88

Midrange:
The midrange was almost the same, both amps pumped out with great dynamics. Both easily tackled transient loads and it was hard to discern which had better midrange with these ears. Both amps were able to present acoustic guitar in its rawest form, sharp plucks with a sense of clarity as each string was strum. It was a great experience.
1090 - 90
1091 - 90

Bass:
Astounding bass from both amps. It was hard for me to pick which did the bass better, although both had me checking the BW sub to make sure it was off. There was tremendous bass with a ton of delicacy. Very well done on the part of both amps.
1090 - 95
1091 - 95

Relative Rating:
RB1090 - 92 (relative average)
RB1091 - 88.6

I just put the scores up to show a more tangible difference between the two amps. It's not meant to scale up to anything else I've heard in comparison... I just picked arbitrary numbers to quantitatively represent what I heard.

Final Comments:
If nothing at all, this review should point to you that through my ears, the 1090 was definitely playing with greater synergy coupled with the BW802D than did the RB1091 monoblocks. Oh, and I must add, as much as I love my Summits, the BW802D are SERIOUS contenders! These speakers are very nice... very nice. Just a little pricey at $12K but I wouldnt mind getting a pair if I had the extra cash as a second reference system - maybe in a few years.

Next up, RB1090 vs Krell 400xi....