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Rotel MICHI Series 2 - The flagship product line in a new generation

The new Rotel MICHI Series 2 is the latest generation of the high-end hi-fi product line from Rotel Co. Ltd. The products Rotel MICHI P5 Series 2 Stereo Pre-Amplifier, Rotel MICHI X3 Series 2 Stereo Integrated Amplifier and Rotel MICHI X5 Series 2 Stereo Integrated Amplifier offer a range of improvements, as the manufacturer promises.

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  • Rotel MICHI P5 Series 2 Stereo Pre-Amplifier, Rotel MICHI X3 Series 2 Stereo Integrated Amplifier as well as Rotel MICHI X5 Series 2 Stereo Integrated Amplifier, this is how the latest generation from Rotel Co Ltd. and thus the Rotel MICHI Series 2 presents itself.

Rotel MICHI P5 Series 2 Stereo Pre-Amplifier, Rotel MICHI X3 Series 2 Stereo Integrated Amplifier as well as Rotel MICHI X5 Series 2 Stereo Integrated Amplifier, this is how the hi-fi manufacturer Rotel Co. Ltd. presents the latest generation of its high-end hi-fi product family. Surprisingly, the company is launching the Rotel MICHI Series 2, the successor to a series that brought Rotel Co. Ltd. great attention.

The interest in what Rotel Co. Ltd. has in store for the new Rotel MICHI Series 2 is likely to be correspondingly great. For each of the new systems, the high-end hi-fi manufacturer promises close to or even more than 100 innovations compared to their respective predecessors.

Rotel MICHI Series 2 – More than 55 years of audiophile experience

Since its launch, the Rotel MICHI Series has been regarded as the flagship product line of Rotel Co Ltd, a company that, despite its aforementioned affiliation with Sound United LLC and now Masimo Consumer, still sees itself as a family business and is particularly proud of this fact.

Like the Rotel MICHI Series, the Rotel MICHI Series 2 is intended to reflect all the audiophile experience gained in over 55 years of audio system development, as well as a genuine passion for the best possible sound, the highest level of equipment and manufacturing, and optical perfection.

For the update to the latest generation, Rotel Co. Ltd. focused on those components that function as the central interface of a hi-fi chain, specifically the preamplifier of the product line and the two stereo integrated amplifiers.

The pure power amplifiers are still available in their familiar form, be it the Rotel MICHI S5 Stereo Amplifier or the Rotel MICHI M8 Mono Amplifier.

Rotel MICHI P5 Series 2 Pre-Amplifier

The latest generation of the Rotel MICHI Series pre-amplifier, the Rotel MICHI P5 Series 2 Pre-Amplifier, is intended to prove itself as a particularly flexible control centre, and it is indeed remarkable how many interfaces this pre-amplifier has at its disposal on the rear panel.

For analogue sources, there are four pairs of RCA sockets, as well as another pair of RCA sockets, which is a phono preamplifier that is equally suitable for drives equipped with MM cartridges or MC cartridges. There is also a line out, two pre outs and two connections for subwoofers, all of which are RCA sockets. But that’s not all, because there are also two balanced analogue inputs and two balanced outputs, all in the form of XLR sockets.

For digital sources, the Rotel MICHI P5 Series 2 Pre-Amplifier offers three optical and three coaxial S/PDIF interfaces, a USB-B port for direct connection to a PC or Mac, and a USB-A port for storage media.

12 V triggers and an RS232 interface are used to control other components and to control the system in conjunction with custom installation systems.

Via Bluetooth, mobile devices can be used directly as a source, whereby aptX and aptX HD are supported in addition to SBC and AAC.

The preamplifier is particularly flexible in the network, because here it functions as a versatile streaming client, which is even designated as Roon Ready.

For signal processing of digital data, a particularly high-quality D/A converter is used, a 32-bit ESS SABRE ES9028PRO 8-channel DAC, whereby this is operated in mono mode and thus one is used per channel. This allows signals to be processed in Linear PCM with up to 32 bits and 768 kHz as well as DSD up to DSD512, and content encoded in lossy MQA is also supported.

The Rotel MICHI P5 Series 2 pre-amplifier measures 485 x 150 x 452 mm and weighs 22.9 kg.

Rotel MICHI X3 Series 2 Integrated Amplifier

The Rotel MICHI X3 Series 2 Integrated Amplifier offers an unparalleled listening experience with exceptional precision, refinement and detail on a wide soundstage, thanks to 350 watts of robust Class AB output power and an 8-channel ESS SABRE ES9028PRO digital-to-analogue converter, the manufacturer promises.

The elegant industrial design of the Rotel MICHI X3 Series 2 Integrated Amplifier is said to blend easily into any living space, and its impressive power output makes it easy to pair with any speaker system.

Like the preamplifier just described, the new Rotel MICHI X3 Series 2 Integrated Amplifier is not stingy with analogue and digital interfaces. The analogue interfaces include not only unbalanced and balanced inputs, but vinyl lovers will also get their money’s worth thanks to the integrated phono preamplifier.

The digital interfaces include optical and coaxial S/PDIF interfaces, USB ports and Bluetooth, the latter of which supports SBC and AAC as well as aptX and aptX HD.

By integrating into the network, the new Rotel MICHI X3 Series 2 Integrated Amplifier also functions as a flexible streaming client, which is of course also designated as Roon Ready.

Here, too, digital data is processed by a 32-bit ESS SABRE ES9028PRO 8-channel DAC in mono mode, so that two of them are used – one per channel. This means that signals in Linear PCM with up to 32 bits and 382 kHz as well as DSD up to DSD512 can be processed, and content encoded in lossy MQA is also supported.

With dimensions of 485 x 150 x 452 mm, the new Rotel MICHI X3 Series 2 Integrated Amplifier weighs an impressive 28.9 kg.

Rotel MICHI X5 Series 2 Integrated Amplifier

The new flagship of the Rotel MICHI Series 2, the Rotel MICHI X5 Series 2 Integrated Amplifier, is almost identically equipped. Here, too, nothing is lacking in terms of analogue and digital interfaces, so that this stereo integrated amplifier can form the central interface of a high-end hi-fi chain.

In addition to streaming via Bluetooth and the network, record lovers will of course also get their money’s worth. Here, the new Rotel MICHI X5 Series 2 Integrated Amplifier shines – as described – with the same features as the new preamplifier and its little brother, the Rotel MICHI Series 2.

However, the Rotel MICHI X5 Series 2 Integrated Amplifier really comes into its own with its power output, which is an impressive 600 watts per channel in Class A/B for speaker systems with an impedance of 4 ohms, so that this new stereo integrated amplifier should not show any weakness even with complex speakers.

With dimensions of 485 x 195 x 452 mm, the new Rotel MICHI X5 Series 2 Integrated Amplifier weighs in at an impressive 43 kg.

Prices and availability

The new Rotel MICHI Series 2 systems are expected to hit the shelves these days. The Rotel MICHI P5 Series 2 pre-amplifier will cost € 5.500,-. The new Rotel MICHI X3 Series 2 Integrated Amplifier will be available at a recommended retail price of € 7.000,- and the new Rotel MICHI X5 Series 2 Integrated Amplifier at € 9.000,-. All three systems will be offered exclusively in black.

Getting to the point

At first glance, the components of the latest generation of the Rotel MICHI Series, the new Rotel MICHI Series 2, look quite familiar, and indeed the manufacturer does not speak of a revolution, but rather of an evolution. First and foremost, the new D/A converters stand out, but the bottom line is that the high-end hi-fi manufacturer Rotel Co. Ltd. has made a number of detailed improvements. The new Rotel MICHI P5 Series 2 Pre-Amplifier is said to have 125 changes compared to its predecessor, the new Rotel MICHI X3 Series 2 Integrated Amplifier still has 90, and the Rotel MICHI X5 Series 2 Integrated Amplifier also has around 90, as the manufacturer states.

PRODUCTROTEL MICHI SERIES 2
PriceRotel MICHI P5 Series 2 Pre-Amplifier € 5.500,-
Rotel MICHI X3 Series 2 Integrated Amplifier € 7.000.
Rotel MICHI X5 Series 2 Integrated Amplifier € 9.000.-
BrandROTEL
ManufacturerRotel Co. Ltd.
Distribution AustriaAudio Tuning Vertriebs GmbH
Distribution GermanyAudio-Trade Hi-Fi Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH
Distribution SwitzerlandAudio-Trade Hi-Fi Vertriebsgesellschaft mbH
More about this manufacturer at HIFI BLOG
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Michael Holzinger

Michael Holzinger, founder and editor-in-chief of HiFi BLOG and sempre-audio.at, has been working for years as a journalist in the fields of IT, photography, telecommunications and consumer electronics.

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