ROTEL RSX-1067 7.1 Surround Sound Receiver

Up for sale I am offering this fine piece of equipment, 7.1 Surround Receiver Rotel RSX-1067 in 100% working order and in good physical condition, includes the original remote control also in 100% working order, power cord FM Antenna and the original double box and Styrofoam, had been used very little over the years, great sounding receiver.

Will only ship to the low 48 US Cont. No shipping, to Alaska, Hawaii or Puerto Rico, Please ask any and all questions prior to clicking the buy it now option, as all sales are final. Thanks.

"In the world of surround receivers, Rotel has been a long time player. Receivers from Rotel are usually highly regarded and considered to be of excellent value. I personally never owned or had an experience with a Rotel receiver before, so I welcomed the opportunity to review one.

The RSX-1067 reviewed here is the top of the line of the current crop of Rotel receivers. Although it is not inexpensive, at an MSRP of $2200, it is still much less expensive than the top of the line receivers from other major manufacturers. The reason for this is not that the Rotel has less quality or much fewer features. Rotel just likes to give a big bang for the buck.

The Design

I was immediately impressed by the look of the receiver once I opened its box. The combination of silver and black front panel in a unique design is very eye-catching. Your taste might vary, but to me the RSX-1067’s appearance is elegant. It possesses the kind of look that gives you an increased appreciation of your home theater, and also is a nice eyeful for your friends and guests.

The design of the 1067 front panel is relatively clean. Its LCD display, knobs, and buttons are neatly arranged and attractively laid out. The largest is the volume knob, which is flanked by a myriad of buttons for selecting various functions. Although most of the receiver's functions can be accessed using these front-panel buttons, I would imagine that most consumers will just use the supplied remote control to operate the receiver.

No front audio/video inputs are provided, not even a headphone jack. To me, the lack of front panel connectors is not a big deal, since I rarely find the need for them, but some users might be put off by such an omission.

All the input and output connectors of the RSX-1067 are located on the rear panel. For audio, this receiver can accommodate 7 analog stereo (1 tape-loop), 5 digital (2 optical, 3 coaxial), and 7.1 channel analog inputs with outputs for speakers (7 channels), preamp (10 channels including 2 centers and 2 subwoofers), analog stereo (4, includes one tape output), second zone, and digital (1 Toslink optical and 1 coaxial).

Video switching is provided for 5 composite, 5 S-Video, and 3 component video inputs. Video outputs consist of 5 composite (includes outputs for monitor and second zone), 4 S-Video (includes monitor output), and 1 component video. The component video switching has sufficient bandwidth to accommodate progressive scan and HDTV signals.

On the rear panel, one can also find AM/FM antenna connectors, three 12 V triggers, infrared outputs, RS-232 serial connector, and the main power switch. The power cord of this receiver is detachable. Although it may sound like a lot of connectors, the rear panel of the RSX-1067 doesn’t look too crowded. The reason is the receiver has a relatively wide area to house these connectors. The layout and spacing of the speaker terminals are especially nice.

If the outside features as I described above sound excellent, the inside features are even more impressive. First of all, it packs seven channels of 100 W/channel amplification. The power output is specified with all channels driven. If you don’t need to use all seven channels in your main setup, you can redirect the front left and right amplifier channels to power second zone speakers.

In terms of surround processing, the RSX-1067 is capable of decoding most 5.1, 6.1, and 7.1 surround formats available today (DD, DTS, DD-EX, DTS-ES, DTS 96/24, DPL II, DPL IIx, DTS Neo:6, MPEG), and also includes some additional surround logics. It also features Rotel XS (eXtra Surround) processing for extended surround performance in a 6.1 or 7.1 system. Rotel XS can work at all times with all multi-channel digital signals and its advantage is to add extended surround effects to rear-surround speaker(s).

The receiver is not THX certified, but it does have processing similar to THX equalization called Cinema EQ, which can be used to tame overly bright soundtracks. Completing the RSX-1067 list of extensive features is an AM/FM tuner with Radio Data System (RDS) and HDCD decoding capability.

The RSX-1067 comes with a full-function learning remote control, the RR-1050, which can operate the receiver plus nine other audio/video components. This remote does not look special, and it is not the most convenient to grab, but I found it to be quite pleasant to use. I like Rotel’s idea of hiding the buttons that are not used often underneath the sliding cover, because it makes the remote look simple.

The button layout is quite nice, but could use some improvements. For example, one-handed operation of the remote could be easier if the volume and channel rockers, which are used often in many situations, were placed lower in the button-layout, perhaps near the sliding cover. This is because of the tendency to use our thumbs to operate these rockers. With the current layout, an index finger often has to be used for changing volume or channel, which is less convenient.

The learning functions and the custom-labeling features of the remote worked fine. The remote is equipped with a light sensor to activate the backlighting automatically in a dark or dim room. A button is also provided to activate the backlighting manually, but this manual activation only works in a dim or dark room and is disabled in a bright room.

Setup and Operation

The RSX-1067 can be quite warm during operation, so putting it in well-ventilated location is recommended. There are two fans on the bottom of its chassis (see picture) to help with the cooling, and hence it is wise not to put this receiver on top of another heat-generating component. The fans run relatively quiet, and I did not notice it during normal operation.

The setup procedure is explained in the manual very well. As always, the key to get the most out of a surround receiver is to go through the setup parameters and adjust them appropriately. The RSX-1067 does have enough customizable setup features to play around with to arrive with the sound that will suit one’s taste. Usually with such flexibility comes complexity. But, I found that setting up and customizing the RSX-1067 was relatively easy and quite intuitive. This is mainly a result of the receiver’s on-screen display menu system, which is arranged quite logically and relatively easy to navigate around. I was able to perform most of the setup and customization without the help of the manual, except maybe to understand what some of the features actually do.

The bass management of this receiver is quite flexible. Crossover between the satellite speakers and the subwoofer is adjustable from 40 Hz to 200 Hz in seven increments (40, 60, 80, 100, 120, 150, and 200 Hz). The front, center, and surround speakers can be configured with different crossover settings. If that isn’t enough, the large or small speaker configuration can also be set up differently for Dolby, DTS, stereo/MPEG, and Music modes. Rotel also recognizes that different modes might require different subwoofer level setting, and hence, a subwoofer level setting is provided for each of those modes to fine tune your setup.

Several setup features found in some high-end receivers today that the RSX-1067 lacks are Auto Calibration and Channel Equalization. For me, the lack of Auto Calibration is not a big deal, as calibration using an SPL meter is not difficult to do and needs to be performed only rarely (you pretty much don’t need to do it again once you get it right unless there is a change in your system). Channel Equalization is not totally absent in the RSX-1067, but it is simpler than what you found in some other receivers. What’s available in the RSX-1067 is Contour Setup to adjust the bass and treble response of each group of speakers in the system.

I didn’t use the tuner a lot during my evaluation, but in my opinion the tuner in the RSX-1067 is slightly better than average in reception. It could pull down some of the weak stations that some other receivers failed in my system.

To my eyes, the video switching in the RSX-1067 worked as advertised, with no artifacts and no easily-noticeable picture degradation. The receiver can also convert composite and S-Video signals to component video signals, a feature that I found to be very useful.

Once I had the RSX-1067 up and running, its everyday operation was a breeze. I didn’t find any glitches in the operation of the unit during my evaluation. The auto detection of digital signals worked flawlessly.

This receiver has a good responsiveness to the commands from its remote control. And, I liked the fact that I could adjust how rapidly (three settings: slow, mid, fast) the volume control responded to the input command.

The front-panel display has enough information about the operation status of the receiver, such as the volume level, surround mode, and other settings. The main part of the display has good-size lettering that is easy to read from across a medium-sized room. This display is not dimmable, but it can be turned off if you desire.

The auto-format (DD, DTS, etc.) detection feature of the RSX-1067 worked perfectly during my evaluation, and it locked up to the right format relatively quickly. If you have a 7.1 setup, the receiver will automatically add the XS processing to the 5.1 formats like the standard DD or DTS. The front panel display will read ‘DD+XS’ or ‘DTS+XS’ when the XS processing is activated.

Performance

For my evaluation, I used the RSX-1067 receiver in 7.1 channel configuration, driving a combination of Onix Rocket RS series speakers (RS-750, RSC-200, and RS-250) and JM Labs Cache 200 in-walls. Although several crossover settings were tried, most of the evaluation was done with an 80 Hz crossover all around between the satellites and the subwoofer. In stereo applications, I also ran the receiver in bypass mode, so that it drove the front speakers full range.

I’ll say it upfront that the sound performance of the RSX-1067 was surprisingly good. It was satisfying at all levels, whether use for music listening or for home theater.

Often times, the weakness of a surround receiver is in its stereo music reproduction. But with the RSX-1067, you don’t need to worry about it. Its stereo performance was very respectable. If you have full-range front speakers, running it in bypass mode will give you the last bit of clarity that it is capable of delivering. But running stereo through its DSP network should not be a concern either. In fact, it might give you a better result if you run a combination of bookshelf speakers with a subwoofer, because you can control the bass redirection better.

If I could fault anything, the RSX-1067’s tonal balance tipped slightly towards brightness. It was not bright per se; there was only a slight sparkle to its overall sound. Such tonal balance might actually bring life to the music played, but in case it doesn’t suit your taste, the RSX-1067 has enough controls to adjust the results to your liking. Human vocals might not be as lush as with the playback through my dedicated stereo preamp and amplifier, but nevertheless, it was quite natural. In any case, no hard edges in the sound.

Image and soundstage presentation of this receiver were sufficiently realistic. Overall image presentation was neutral to slightly forward towards the listener. The bass was well defined and had sufficient impact. The RSX-1067 possessed a musical quality that was quite satisfying for stereo applications.

For home theater, the RSX-1067 was just superb. Its capability to deliver a sense of impact and immediacy convincingly with whatever program materials thrown at it was nothing short of excellent. The surround envelopment and ambience sound conveyed were full and realistic. Dialog was also delivered with great clarity and was full bodied. The RSX-1067 surround steering seemed to be smooth and accurate. The amplifier section also seemed to have enough reserve power to handle demanding program materials. During my evaluation I didn’t notice distortion due to lack of power, even when it played at relatively loud level in my 16' by 24' by 8' room.

When I put this receiver in my rack for this evaluation, I had to disassemble my separate component setup, and I thought I would miss it (the kind of feeling that I believe every reviewer has to endure while reviewing products). But boy, I was totally wrong! I enjoyed the RSX-1067 as much as my separate-component setup. Not only did the Rotel RSX-1067 fill in my system nicely, it also got me to rethink about my stance of not using a receiver in my setup. It was true that I got a slightly better sound with my separates, but the receiver was easier to handle because it only needed one rack space (instead of at least two with separates) and had fewer cables to connect. Throw in the potential cost savings, and with sound performance as good as the RSX-1067 delivered, basically I had almost nothing to sacrifice.

Conclusions

The top of the line RSX-1067 receiver is a solid performer that lives up to Rotel's reputation. Not only does this receiver deliver a high level of performance, but it is also an excellent value. It doesn’t pack all the bells and whistles that most high-end receivers are equipped with today, but for the thing that matters most, which is producing high-quality surround sound for music and movies, this receiver passes with flying colors. For those of you who are still considering whether to go with a high-end receiver or a separate-component system, let me tell you this: the Rotel RSX-1067 is a receiver that can make you forget about separates. That’s how good it is. Highly recommended!