REPRISE: Competitor to the MR88 (with HD)?

[rnrmf1971]

I recently purchased a Rotel RT-1084 from the original owner. I don't have a spot in my rack for it, yet, so I put it on top of my Lumin to give it a listen, this morning. The original seller purchased it in 2008, at Listen Up, and kept the tuner in immaculate condition. The original box contained all the original accessories, remote, optional Sirius accessories, literature and receipt. Including shipping, I paid $325 for the tuner. The original price with the satellite radio accessories was a bit over $1000. The seller was asking a bit less than most sellers over the last few years because I've had a "saved search" on eBay to notify me every time there's a listing. As it turns out, this one was listed on Audiogon.

I listened via the analog outputs because I didn't have a digital cable at hand.

On HD broadcasts, analog broadcasts, and Sirius broadcasts, the sound was the best I've heard from a stand alone tuner. The original owner included the Sirius receiver and antenna so I decided to try it and it worked. I don't have a Sirius account but still received the programming. The tuner made Sirius listenable - I've never subscribed to it (I assume one still needs a subscription?) because I can't take how unnatural Sirius sounds in any car in which I've heard it.

While the Lumin sounds decent streaming stations via Tune In, the Rotel sounded incredibly better on the same stations. I didn't get to compare the Rotel to the built in HD tuner of my Marantz home theater pre-amp but I'll eventually do that when the Rotel finds a space in the rack. The Marantz sounds very nice and listenable (more listenable than other tuners I've owned) but my guess is the Rotel might be a higher quality tuner component.

Eventually, I'll try the digital output of the Rotel to see if an outboard DAC further improves performance. As it stands, the analog output was great and I would be entirely satisfied with using the analog outputs.

Highly recommended if someone is looking for a stand alone tuner with HD/Sirius capabilities and flexibility of connections.

[Maks]

Congrats on the new tuner! I wish I could remember details, but for some reason there are certain Sirius and/or XM "tuners" that are just now free for life.

[rnrmf1971]

Originally Posted by Maks

Congrats on the new tuner! I wish I could remember details, but for some reason there are certain Sirius and/or XM "tuners" that are just now free for life.

Wow, thanks. I had no idea that was the case.
If so, I'm happy I'll be able to continue to use it.


PS - there's another minty one on A-gon with the original box. It's very rare that these come up in nice condition; I've had my eyes open for one for a few years.

[Maks]

Yeah, IIRC it only applies to older XM units. Newer units require a new activation signal periodically. Older radios if they never received a deactivate signal while powered up will work forever. My guess would be the original owner had the unit powered off when XM sent the signal and it just never got it. Either way, enjoy! I still use my tuner on a regular basis, especially during the holiday season.

[rnrmf1971]

Originally Posted by Maks

Yeah, IIRC it only applies to older XM units. Newer units require a new activation signal periodically. Older radios if they never received a deactivate signal while powered up will work forever. My guess would be the original owner had the unit powered off when XM sent the signal and it just never got it. Either way, enjoy! I still use my tuner on a regular basis, especially during the holiday season.

The seller included a Sirius branded device that plugs into the tuner and an XM branded antenna that plugs into the Sirius unit. After a couple of minutes of being plugged in, the devices received a 10 minute update and then continued working for the time that I listened. Options are nice! I hope it keeps working!