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Rotel RSP-1098 AV Receiver

Great processor!  Lots of setup tweaking available.

Secrets of Home Theater & High Fidelity says:

Rotel has always been known for delivering value associated with very high quality.

The RSP-1098 Surround Sound Processor (SSP) continues that trend and offers the latest concept in menu presentation, namely a 7″ color LCD panel on the front that can not only display the SSP’s status, but show the program material as well. This idea is being picked up by a number of companies, but Rotel has it at a price that everyone can afford. As you will see below, it is an addition that makes SSPs much easier to use than before.

The Design

The Rotel RSP-1098 is a 7.1 channel processor. Note that there really is no 7.1 program material. 7.1 means that the processor converts 5.1 material to 7.1 by synthesizing extra channels. Of course, it also means that you can watch movies with Dolby EX, DTS ES, and DTS ES Discrete, which adds the center rear channel to the side surrounds.

One thing that frustrates many consumers is the complicated nature of configuring and setting up the processor or receiver to work with all their sources. One source might be the coaxial analog stereo audio from the satellite box, a second one the Toslink optical 5.1 DD and DTS from the DVD player, and a third one the coaxial analog stereo from the VCR, etc. It can be a nightmare…more