Rotel at Cloney Audio
Rotel came into being in 1961 as part of the explosion of Japanese electronic manufacturing and quickly established itself as a maker of well engineered, solidly built and very good sounding amplifiers and receivers.
But where the Japanese electronics industry quickly became dominated by large conglomerates, Rotel stood out by its explicit focus on audio. And during the 1970’s when the main industry became obsessed with adding ever more bells and whistles to its product, Rotel went the other way and concentrated on the core engineering values that underpin good sound. It also internationalised its outlook, establishing a lab in England to fine tune its products based on listening, and not just on measurement. This was hugely significant, not least because the factors influencing sound are today far better understood than they were in the 1970s and today’s measurements are far more informative than they were back then.
In this way, Rotel could be said to have anticipated today’s high end products where excellent engineering and subjective performance based on listening tests go hand in hand.
During the 1980’s, Rotel established a strategic alliance with another of our great brands, Bowers and Wilkins loudspeakers. That relationship has blossomed over the years such that the two brands now share a dedicated manufacturing facility in Zhuhai, China.
Today Rotel makes a great range of amplifiers in both integrated and pre-power form, and are among the small number of companies continuing to include a CD player in their range. They also make superb home cinema electronics.
For more info on Rotel, visit their website rotel.com or visit us for a demo!
Michi at Cloney Audio
As a company that always placed a high emphasis on sound quality, it was no surprise that Rotel wanted to grow beyond its affordable product roots and aspire to something even greater. This it did from 1993 with the launch of its more exclusive Michi line.
Although something of a “sleeper” outside Japan, this has changed dramatically with the introduction of the latest line of Michi integrated and pre/power amplifiers.
Make no mistake, these are true high end amplifiers that compare to products at multiples of their price. What is particularly distinctive about Michi is that they continue to use Class AB electronics to achieve impressive power outputs of 500 watts per channel and above, backed up by the kinds of oversized power supplies and custom in house transformers required to achieve this. This endows the amplifiers with huge dynamic range and the scale that only a high powered full range system can achieve. The preamp and integrated are no afterthoughts either, but really well designed and featuring superb analogue and digital circuitry that does away with the need for a separate DAC. And even vinyl enthusiasts are catered for with the inclusion of a high quality phono stage that caters for moving coil and moving magnet pickups.
Since their introduction, the X and P series Michis have picked up rave reviews for their superb industrial design, engineering and stellar sound. Those reviews have been backed up by feedback from our own customers. We can only see Rotel going from strength in the years ahead.
For more info on Michi, visit their website rotel.com or visit us for a demo!
