Topic: B&K AV-5000 II or Rotel RB 985

[dagul27]

Been eyeing a used B&K AV-5000 II multi-channel power amplifier(125w X 5),selling for $499(baka may tawad pa)+ tax.pricewise i think it's a good deal,what about performance? Also there's this Rotel RB 985(100 X 5) for the same price.Ano mas ok sa dalawa? Thanks.

[Trauma]

Been eyeing a used B&K AV-5000 II multi-channel power amplifier(125w X 5),selling for $499(baka may tawad pa)+ tax.pricewise i think it's a good deal,what about performance? Also there's this Rotel RB 985(100 X 5) for the same price.Ano mas ok sa dalawa? Thanks.

i WOULD GO  FOR B&K FOR THE slim edge in power. I mean 25 watts per channel is still valuable headroom even if wont sound louder. Also B&K isn't as "masa" as the Rotel so you can just be a snob about it and go for something elitist. Hehe.

[dagul27]

thanks.All i need now is a Cheap AVR with pre outs,hehehe.Either Yamaha RXV-659 or the new Pioneer VSX 1016.

[aHobbit]

thanks.All i need now is a Cheap AVR with pre outs,hehehe.Either Yamaha RXV-659 or the new Pioneer VSX 1016.

Those pioneer are very good in direct mode (music) with wharf diamond ... sucks so much with the tone engaged ... so you know what to expect in those pre-outs 

[MAtZTER]

I have no idea on the B&K but I am using a Rotel RB985. The improvement in sound from my top mid level receiver was just astounding, and even more when I bi-amped my floorstanders. And the 100w of Rotel is conservatively rated, according to some sites its @ 110w- 130w when rated with other methods.

thanks.All i need now is a Cheap AVR with pre outs,hehehe.Either Yamaha RXV-659 or the new Pioneer VSX 1016.

Regarding the cheap AVR with preouts + power amp, also consider that the top mid level receivers have better processors to handle more demanding HT needs. I also planned to downgrade to the same path since I already had good power amps, but decided against it in the end, fearing I might regret the decision.

[av_phile1]

You may want a spec-to-spec comparison between the two.  I've checked the pdf manual of the av5000II and was a bit disappointed that its 125watt/ch spec is not FTC compliant.  It is measured at 1 khz.  Any amp power measured at 1khz will yield a higher number than if measured across the full 20hz - 20khz bandwidth which the Rotels do. .  So compared to the RB985's  100watts/ch,  I am of the opinion that both may just be of similar power rating under FTC standard. 

But the B&K is heavier at 45lbs compared with the Rotel at 38lbs.   I don't know if that's due to the chasis or the power transformers.   The B&K consumes 1.2KVA while the Rotel consumes 800VA.  Maybe the B&K has a more powerful transformer.  I would need to have a deeper look into this.

The rotel is quieter at 115db S/N ratio compared to the B&K's 95db.

B&K's THD at 1khz is 0.09%  while the THD of the Rotel is a respectable 0.03% across the full bandwidth.  THD at frequencies above 1khz is higher.  Again.  B&K is not being conservative here.

Frequency response is about the same, B&K has 5hz to 45khz while Rotel has 10hz to 80khz with a 0.5db variation.  B&K is silent on the variation.   A little unnecesary for me to see anything below 20hz considering I'd be using a subwoofer for both audio and HT anyway.  And anything above 20khz is for the bats. 

The rotel has a higher damping factor at 260 than the B&K's 150, though I don't see the difference material.

Both can handle 4 ohm loads without problem.

Overall, on these superficial comparison, and if it were my money, I 'd choose a Rotel.    ( Subject to verifying why the B&K consumes 400 watts more. )  You see, I place high value for the quietness of an amp and the least distortion, assuming power and freq response are almost equal and the other feature differences not that great.  But that's just me, ofcourse.

[Trauma]

av_phile is correct!

any respectable spec measurement should be done on the average of the full bandwidth 20hz - 20khz.
In this regard the Rotel is a hands down choice with .03% THD at 100w RMS across the full bandwidth.
It should measure somewhere around 140w RMS or more with even lesser than .03%THD at 1khz.

other kinds of measurement that deviate from the full bandwidth with a THD rating should be suspicious.
It is very disappointing that a "High End" product like B&K should resort to this trick.


remember PMPO.

[dagul27]

Thank you all for the replies.I will check with the store but right now i'm leaning towards the Rotel since most of you guys have experienced Rotel's unquestionable performance.Salamat uli

[MAtZTER]

I looked it up at a Sound & Vision 2004 buyer's guide last night.

B&K is class A/AB and Rotel is class AB. Parang blood type  .

Dunno much about the technical aspects, the explanations at the buyer's guide were quite brief, but maybe the A/AB is why the B&K consumes much more power.

[dagul27]

Thanks for the info sir Matz.
Sir Av_phile 1, what if i just buy 2 or  3 of those Behringer A500 and bridged them? Tama ba ang term? Pwede ba yun ikabit through the receiver's pre outs?

[av_phile1]

Ofcoure, puedeng puede.  You won't even need to bridge.  The Behringer a500 delivers 160watts RMS per channel in stereo into 8 ohms - definitely higher than either the B&K or the Rotel can deliver on a per channel basis.  It even measures a  better S/N ratio than the B&K.  So if you get three of these boxes at 13T each for a 6.1 set-up, you'd end up spending only 39T - a far cry from the Rotel option.  My only problem is the convection fan in each box which can get noisy over time. 

Bridging will yield 500watts per box (you bridge the two L and R channels in each box to effecitvely reduce the stereo amp into mono ) so you would need 5 of those boxes for a 5.1 set-up.  A truly powerfull one.     5 of those would only be 65T which is still cheaper that the Rotel.  But at 500watts per channel, you can expect your neigthbors to stage a rally to evict you.   

I am assuming you already like its sonic qualities to go into this. 

[dagul27]

I'll try to audition them first.Thanks av_phile1.

[MAtZTER]

ROTEL RB985 review

I just read this again now after a long time. And I fully agree to the reviewer's description of the amp.

I also heard from another source (sabi daw sa net) that Rotel used very good parts (in his words "hindi tinipid yung parts & quality") for this model or mkII as compared to the newer models.

[accastil]

ROTEL RB985 review

I just read this again now after a long time. And I fully agree to the reviewer's description of the amp.

I also heard from another source (sabi daw sa net) that Rotel used very good parts (in his words "hindi tinipid yung parts & quality") for this model or mkII as compared to the newer models.

rotel or BnK are both very good products. BnK however belongs to the category with MF, Classe, exposure, Creek...while rotel belongs to a level lower with nad, cam audio, i am very confident to say that rotels do sound just as good (or even better) than some high end SS gears. comparing to BnK, i would personally choose a rotel. i have BnK pre and a rotel power amp. to me, rotel makes audiophile quality products at a much lower price..and you know what, they are right after all...they have put a lot of high end brands to shame.