Use Marantz 6006 as pre amp to a Rotel 1095?


Have B&W N805 front left/right and the big ol HTM1 for center channel. The amp on the Marantz isn't doing to well with the speakers, really harsh and undefined highs. Wondering if the Rotel would put a little refinement in.
reddog68
As always, YMMV. Years back, I paired a Rotel 1066 amp (150 watts x 3 in bridged mode) with a Pioneer AVR. The improvement was not very big. Until I upgraded to a better pre-pro, I didn't realize that, in that Pioneer AVR (a 24TX from around 2000), the amp section sounded pretty good; it was the pre-pro section that was really bad. I ended up using that Pioneer for surround amplification only for a few more years.

FYI, newer Pioneer AVRs sound much, much better than they did 20 years ago. I now have a newer one which I use for surround processing and amplification of the surround channels in my combo HT/2-channel system.

So, my point is, by all means, try a new power amp. But if you're not impressed by the increase in sonic quality, consider a new pre-pro or AVR.
I used the Rotel 1095 in the same manner with a Pioneer receiver with good results. It clearly improved the sound into 4 ohm Thiel speakers.
definitely worth trying--the amp section is the achilles heel on most mass market avrs. i'd be surprised if you didn't see significant information with the rotel.