http://www.rotel.com/support/pdfs/manuals/RSP966.pdfRotel RSP-966
The RSP-966 is Rotel's first digital product for the home cinema market. At £650, this processor is perfectly accessible to the enthusiast on a budget and provides a handy stepping-stone to Rotel's more recent (and, at £1,600, costlier) RSP-985 THX Ultra processor. It's also something of a statement against the 'toys for the boys' mentality behind feature-driven products. Instead, the RSP-966 represents quality engineering where it counts, while offering the minimum number of features likely to appeal to the serious video-cum-audiophile. And if you need greater integration, there's the RSX-965RDS receiver which, effectively, is the RSP-966 processor with amps and a tuner bolted on. All simple, hardworking gear that cuts to the chase.
Along with Dolby Digital, the Rotel boasts dts compatibility - a facility that is still relatively rare among budget AV processors. In addition, dynamic range compression provides two levels of 'squeeze' on the surround sound. By reducing the perceived range or volume between loud and quiet sounds, it's possible to enjoy a movie without disturbing your neighbours or waking the baby late at night.
Round the back there are 25-pin input/output sockets, which look rather like parallel com ports on a PC, but are actually a spaghetti-free way to hook up the RSP-966 to one of Rotel's matching multi-channel amplifiers, like the impressive RB-985.
The coaxial and optical digital inputs are linked to the four video inputs, while essential functions, like speaker size configuration, centre, rear and subwoofer volume, and bass/treble tone adjustment, are accessible via the front panel and its bright, fluorescent display. Dolby Digital and dts inputs are automatically detected by the processor, so it's difficult to get into a muddle there.
There is a menu-driven on-screen display for fine-tuning the speaker delay, input gain, bass management, and for invoking the test tone. Getting to grips with the infrared remote is a little trickier because it comes pre-loaded with button codes for hundreds of different AV and hi-fi separates. Each bit of kit has a three-digit identifier, which must be entered into the remote before it will 'talk' to your CD player or TV, for example. But for our money, it's the sheer simplicity of the 966 that ranks as its most useful 'feature'.
The RSP-966's technical performance in both Dolby Digital and dts modes is very good indeed and is largely dominated by Rotel's choice of Crystal-based processing. With a little extra 'colour' introduced by Rotel's circuits, this lends itself to a big and spacious sound with plenty of low-level detail to keep the listener's interest during relatively quiet passages in a movie. The chilling atmosphere of The Sixth Sense, which relies on a very subtle use of surround sound, is made especially realistic.
So, this is certainly not a processor that only comes alive when the special effects boys are called onto the set. Rather, the RSP-966 manages to sound composed regardless of the movie material - it refuses to be ruffled by Arnie's End of Days but still conveys the impact that such a film demands. The sound is robust and dynamic, but not hard.
Of course, experienced listeners know that it's possible to conceal a host of sonic sins in a processor if it is only ever used to replay movies. Multi-channel music software, auditioned without visual clues, is a great leveller of a processor's Dolby Digital and dts performance. In this instance, Whitney Houston's new Dolby Digital release sounds smooth and spacious, putting the listener in the centre of a compelling performance. The Rotel's ability to create a deep and multi-layered soundfield ensures Witney's voice is glued to the centre channel while harmonies explode into the room from left and right, creating a great sense of ambience and occasion. Bass notes sound strong but dry and exceptionally well defined.
Minimalism is hardly something you'd associate with modern, feature-packed gear, but the RSP-966 gets pretty close and is ideally placed to soothe nervous first-time buyers. It's a sophisticated processor - it doesn't particularly add colour or drama, but it works with the performance to create a very ambient and believable surround sound that complements, rather than competes with, the action on the screen. As a result, the sheer composure of the RSP-966 means that as well as being ideal for those just getting into home cinema, it's also suited to hard-bitten AV fans who place great sound quality ahead of gee-whizz effects.
Dolby Digital ¥ Dolby Pro-Logic, dts ¥ 4x DSP modes
¥ Programmable infrared remote
¥ Custom video input source labels ¥ On-screen menu.
Rival Buys Marantz DP-870 £600 Pioneer SP-D07 £8002x coaxial and 2x optical PCM/AC3 digital inputs ¥ Phono, 5x line and 3x tape inputs ¥ 5x composite and 5x S-Type video inputs ¥ L/R front, centre, L/R surround and LFE line outputs ¥ 3x tape outputs ¥ 2x composite and 2x S-Type video monitor outputs ¥ 25-pin custom interface
