Rotel Michi S5 Stereo Power Amplifier

The Rotel Michi S5 Stereo Amplifier

The Rotel Michi S5 Stereo Amplifier - Sheer performance is what you'll be getting, the S5 is rated the best in its class, delivering 500 watts of Class AB power into 8ohms and over 800 watts into 4ohm loads. The dual monoblock architecture is equipped with twin, custom-engineered, oversized, in-house manufactured 2,200-volt amp toroidal transformers in individual epoxy-filled enclosers totalling 88,000uF delivering exceptional bass energy while maintaining precise detail and control to 32 high current output transistors ensuring effortless accuracy of the timing and rhythm under even the most difficult of load conditions.

Key Features

• 2 x 500 Watt Output
• Class A/B Amplifier Design
• Custom-engineered toroidal transformers
• Patented British bulk storage capacitors
• Balanced XLR inputs
• Matched with the P5 S2 Preamplifier
• 2 year warranty (register here)

Like all the other Michi products, three years went into experimenting and testing the S5, countless man-hours of fine engineering to bring you one of the top, industry-standard sounds. The S5 has been tuned to ensure that the listener will experience, clean, crisp and ever-so-detailed sound, the S5 has an elegant design, with a rather sweet-looking front panel colour display. The remote that comes with this will provide you with an easy setup and operation with the RS232 and Ethernet connections supporting all popular control systems.

Adding this to any higher-end system will automatically transform it for ridiculous results, although you can pair this with any pre/power system, we do highly recommend pairing this with the matching P5 preamplifier if you want to get the ultimate listening experience.

Instructions for the Michi S5 Stereo Power Amplifier can be found on the following link. Michi Instructions 

Hifi Gear thinks...

The Michi S5 power amplifier is a remarkable bit of kit. Although measuring in at a massive 485 x 238 x 465 mm and weighing over 59kg it is exquisite and beautifully finished. The highly polished front and curved sides wouldn't look out of place in a lot of rooms. The display is configurable with various options including a VU Meter, Spectrum 8, or Spectrum 12 display. The brightness can be adjusted to suit your needs or be turned off completely if you want no distractions to the music. 

When testing out the S5 I used Michi's matching preamplifier the P5 S2 and then the Naim NSS 333 high-resolution network streamer as the source. Although the Mich equipment is supplied with various connections, it doesn't come with a set of XLR cables which are my preference when wiring between preamplifiers and power amplifiers if possible. I used Chords Shawline range of cables to wire up the system, including XLR, Digital Coax, and ohmic-terminated speaker cables running to a pair of Monitor Audio Platinium 200 speakers. 

The sound produced can only be classified as effortless. Whatever we threw at the system track-wise, it handled it without compromise and without seeming to add anything extra to the music. It doesn't just lean into one aspect (highlighted bass or treble) but gives a remarkably balanced offering, with incredible imaging and placement with little noise. Although some will look at the S5 as just a monster 500-watt output power amp, it is so much more than that. With the matching preamplifier, the control of that power is jaw-dropping and it should be considered if you are in the market for a high-end system. 

Who is Rotel?

To see what Hifi Gear thinks about Rotel and what makes them special in the HiFi marketplace. please check out our below blog 

Rotel Is Back and Better than ever

Rotel is a Japanese, 50-year-old family business dedicated to designing and manufacturing the finest affordable HiFi and home cinema components available on the market. Note that Rotel manufactures core components and assembles them into complete products, and so has total control over quality and sound characteristics.