Community amplifiers are arising in all places lately, and why shouldn’t they be? A single gadget that facilitates every thing out of your favourite streaming providers to TV content material over HDMI ARC is fantastically handy and shouldn’t be reserved for A/V receivers or powered audio system. For listeners after a flexible, high-quality stereo expertise, it may possibly make lots of sense to get every thing you want in a single refined gadget.
With a large area of accessible choices, selecting a heritage audio model like Rotel additionally appears to make good sense when you’ve got the money, and Rotel’s newish RAS-5000 is properly stocked for the duty. After testing the amplifier for a number of weeks, I’m completely happy to report the sound high quality is as glorious as you’d count on. Its Hulkish body supplies a equally Hulkish punch for clear and dynamic sound, muscular bass, and sufficient wattage to get essentially the most out of high-end speaker pairings.
The RAS-5000 is a succesful workhorse with loads of playback choices, however a number of the tech is clunkier than I’d count on at this value. Choices like Technics’ SU-GX70 (8/10, WIRED Recommends) present a greater person expertise for much less, with a a lot handier app. Nonetheless, the Rotel has all of the instruments, and its mixture of tactful readability and brute-force energy is formidable. For these with audio system that crave severe energy, this amp has loads to spare.
A Large Ol’ Block
The RAS-5000 arrives in a really giant field as a result of it’s a very giant amplifier. Standing almost 6 inches tall and 17 inches deep, it simply dwarfs my pint-sized Naim Uniti Atom (8/10, WIRED Recommends) reference amp, and its weight of just about 35 kilos formally requires again help for setup. The general vibe leans industrial however its rounded edges and shimmering metallic end add a contact of class.
The aesthetic is just like predecessors just like the Rotel RA-1572 MKII, save for the massive colour display screen on the block’s heart, which provides lots of character. The display screen lacks contact controls, a criticism I raised concerning the Naim Uniti Atom HE headphone amplifier (8/10, WIRED Recommends), nevertheless it’s much less of a difficulty right here because the RAS-5000 sits on a console, not a desk, and there aren’t that many settings to regulate anyway (extra on that later).
{Photograph}: Ryan Waniata
I just like the development towards flashy screens for previewing album art work, however the audio nerd in me is extra enamored with the Rotel’s fixed sampling and bitrate show for every thing you play. It is all of the extra useful because the RAS-5000’s ESS DAC helps hi-res audio recordsdata as much as 384-kHz/24-bit when related to a PC over USB-B with “any supported format by the PC Software program.”
How excessive you fly relies upon totally on the supply—audio decision is restricted to 192-kHz/24-bit over optical/coaxial enter, whereas Airplay 2 tops out at 48 kHz/24 bit. The system additionally helps streaming over Chromecast, Spotify Join, Tidal Join, and Roon’s high-resolution music administration software program for these trying to construct an accessible hi-res library.
The RAS-5000’s monstrous enclosure leaves room for a equally monstrous customized toroidal transformer, which can dramatically dim your lights once you hearth it up. The hefty powerplant feeds an A/B amplification system that delivers as much as 140 watts per channel at 8 ohms and 220 watts per channel at 4 ohms. That ought to be sufficient to suitably energy just about any high-end speaker pairing you’ve received (inside cause).
