In an April 2020 press release, the McIntosh Group announced that its subsidiary brand Sumiko, which was co-founded by the late Dave Fletcher and distributes Sonus Faber and Pro-Ject among other high-performance brands, had secured distribution rights for Rotel Electronics in the US and Latin America. That press release prompted memories of a Rotel RP-3000 direct drive turntable I once owned, fitted with a Lustre GST arm. On that ’table, Rotel put a massive AC direct-drive motor—not quartz-locked—fitted with a lightweight, not-particularly-well-damped platter mounted to a rudimentary wood plinth and sold it for a very affordable price. It was an atypical Japanese product that could be heavily modified and improved, which many buyers did.
I filed away the Rotel news until recently when a press release announced the American rollout of the stylish, powerful Michi M8 monoblock amplifier. With the M8, Rotel resurrects the “upscale” Michi subbrand first introduced in the 1990s. According to Rotel, the design directive was to push the tech envelope with no budget or time restrictions.
Once I got the go-ahead from Editor Jim Austin, SumikoBdispatched a pair of what I expected to be modestly sized, modestly heavy amplifiers. As happens with online dating (not that I’ve used it, but I’ve heard stories), the amps that showed up at my door were considerably larger and heavier than expected.
The music bounced like a quarter does on a well-made bed with hospital corners.
Denne historien er fra July 2021-utgaven av Stereophile.
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Denne historien er fra July 2021-utgaven av Stereophile.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Louis in London
No jazz-centric visit to New York City is complete without a trek out to Queens. At 46th Street in Sunnyside stands the apartment building where famed cornetist Leon Bismark \"Bix\" Beiderbecke's alcoholism finally killed him in 1931.
Believing in bricks and mortar
North Carolina hi-fi dealer Audio Advice has been busy lately.
Musical Fidelity AI
In 1989, I bought my second pair of Rogers LS3/5a's from a guy on Staten Island who had them hooked up to a Musical Fidelity AI integrated amplifier.
Burmester 218
As much as I tinkered with a little crystal radio as a child and started reading stereo magazines in high school, it wasn't until my early 30s that I half-stumbled into the higher end of the hi-fi sphere.
Bowers & Wilkins 805 D4 Signature
The \"Bowers\" in the name of British manufacturer Bowers & Wilkins (B&W) refers to founder John Bowers, whom I got to know fairly well before he passed in 1987.
Hegel H400
STREAMING INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER
SVS Ultra Evolution Pinnacle
How many times have you been told by parents and teachers that everything successful must be built on a strong foundation?
RECOMMENDED RC2024 COMPONENTS
Every product listed here has been reviewed in Stereophile. Everything on the list, regardless of rating, is genuinely recommendable.
Paging Dr. Löfgren
It started one evening when I was killing time watching YouTube videos and stumbled across a 2017 talk given by Jonathan Carr, Lyra's brilliant cartridge designer.'
Music among the Fairchildren
Pull down the shades, find a comfortable seat, and come with me on an imaginary journey to the year 1956. The Eisenhower-Nixon ticket wins reelection, the United Methodist Church begins to ordain women, and a can of Campbell's tomato soup costs 10 cents.
