Rotel's X Appeal

The up-market Michi series makes a welcome return with two new integrated amplifiers overflowing with power, but can they match up to their EISA-award winning predecessors?

As years go, 1993 was a fairly inauspicious 12 months for the British music industry. With the nadir reached as Meat Loaf’s I’d Do Anything For Love (But I Won’t Do That) became the biggest-selling single, Take That scored their first number one with Pray and Mr Blobby breezed to the Christmas number one spot, it was perhaps a year to forget. However, over in the world of hi-fi a quiet revolution was occurring and Rotel was right at the heart of it.

Massive power, ruthless control, unfettered dynamics and crisp cleanliness

Up until this point the family-run Japanese company was known for producing a series of solid performing components with a reputation for wallet-friendly pricetags. However, in 1993 it decided to take a leap into the unknown and introduce a series of money-no-object components giving its engineers free reign and telling them to set aside the idea of hitting an affordable pricepoint in favour of producing the very best product that money could buy. The resulting Michi range grew to include an active preamp, tuner and CD player, but more importantly cast Rotel in a new light. Suddenly the hi-fi equivalent of Aldi or Lidl was mixing it in the rarified company of Waitrose and Fortnum and Mason.