Rotel RAS-5000 Review: A Killer Network Amp That Needs a Better App

Group amplifiers are arising in every single place as we speak, and why shouldn’t they be? A single machine that facilitates each half out of your favorite streaming suppliers to TV content material materials over HDMI ARC is fantastically helpful and shouldn’t be reserved for A/V receivers or powered audio system. For listeners after a versatile, high-quality stereo experience, it would most likely make numerous sense to get each half you need in a single refined machine.

With a big space of obtainable decisions, deciding on a heritage audio mannequin like Rotel moreover seems to make good sense in case you will have the cash, and Rotel’s newish RAS-5000 is correctly stocked for the responsibility. After testing the amplifier for quite a lot of weeks, I’m comfy to report the sound prime quality is as fantastic as you’d anticipate. Its Hulkish physique provides a equally Hulkish punch for clear and dynamic sound, muscular bass, and enough wattage to get most likely probably the most out of high-end speaker pairings.

The RAS-5000 is a succesful workhorse with a great deal of playback decisions, nevertheless among the many tech is clunkier than I’d anticipate at this worth. Decisions like Technics’ SU-GX70 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) current a larger shopper experience for a lot much less, with a quite a bit handier app. Nonetheless, the Rotel has all the devices, and its combination of tactful readability and brute-force power is formidable. For these with audio system that crave extreme power, this amp has quite a bit to spare.

A Enormous Ol’ Block

The RAS-5000 arrives in a extremely large area because of it’s a really large amplifier. Standing nearly 6 inches tall and 17 inches deep, it merely dwarfs my pint-sized Naim Uniti Atom (8/10, WIRED Recommends) reference amp, and its weight of nearly 35 kilos formally requires once more help for setup. The overall vibe leans industrial nevertheless its rounded edges and shimmering metallic finish add a contact of magnificence.

The aesthetic is very like predecessors similar to the Rotel RA-1572 MKII, save for the huge color show display screen on the block’s coronary heart, which offers numerous character. The show display screen lacks contact controls, a grievance I raised regarding the Naim Uniti Atom HE headphone amplifier (8/10, WIRED Recommends), however it’s a lot much less of an issue proper right here given that RAS-5000 sits on a console, not a desk, and there aren’t that many settings to control anyway (additional on that later).

I similar to the sample in the direction of flashy screens for previewing album artwork work, nevertheless the audio nerd in me is additional enamored with the Rotel’s fastened sampling and bitrate present for each half you play. It’s all the additional useful given that RAS-5000’s ESS DAC helps hi-res audio recordsdata as a lot as 384-kHz/24-bit when linked to a PC over USB-B with “any supported format by the PC Software program program.”

How extreme you fly depends upon completely on the provision—audio determination is restricted to 192-kHz/24-bit over optical/coaxial enter, whereas Airplay 2 tops out at 48 kHz/24 bit. The system moreover helps streaming over Chromecast, Spotify Be a part of, Tidal Be a part of, and Roon’s high-resolution music administration software program program for these searching for to assemble an accessible hi-res library.

The RAS-5000’s monstrous enclosure leaves room for a equally monstrous personalized toroidal transformer, which is ready to dramatically dim your lights everytime you fire it up. The hefty powerplant feeds an A/B amplification system that delivers as a lot as 140 watts per channel at 8 ohms and 220 watts per channel at 4 ohms. That should be enough to suitably power nearly any high-end speaker pairing you’ve purchased (inside goal).