Wow, that is surprising. I never owned or tried the Michi preamp, but it did get many rave reviews.
ozzy
MICHI 8 Amp(s)
Michi 8 Amp(s) Review
For reference, previous to the Michi 8 I owned Bob Carver M 350, Pass Labs X350.8.350.5, Atmosphere M60-3.3, Krell amps and several others.
I was interested in these amps after reading Michael Fremer’s review in which he compared these to his $ 170,000 darTZeel NHB-468 amps. Rotel Michi M8 monoblock power amplifier | Stereophile.com
Now, I know due to the extreme cost difference’s they cannot be a one-on-one exchange, but this review definitely got my attention. I mean these amps output almost 2000 watts per channel @ 4 ohms!
So, I ordered a pair, with a 60-day money back guarantee!
Once I received them, some of the things I noticed:
First off, man are these amps heavy! About 140 lbs. each! And the build quality, though not necessarily jewelry like were mighty fine looking (to this ole’ audiophile anyway).
So, I connected them up with my previous speaker cables and fired them up, they sounded pretty good, but I was wondering if they could sound better. So as any self-described audiophile would do I set out to experiment.
What I found was these amps need heavy gauge speaker cables, I mean after all they can produce 1800 watts per channel! So, I bought 2 pairs (bi-wire) of Goertz M-3 Divinity cables. These cables are 7 gauge each. And oh, ah, much better, so, no wimpy thin cables need apply.
And long breakin is required. Out of the box (s), they sounded ok, but they didn’t produce the sound or bass that I thought amps of this power rating should. After 200 hours they were better, but 400 hours were much better. I guess when you consider the massive power supplies used in the design, they needed time to develop. Today, after many hours on them, I am convinced these amps are awesome. Thus, my review.
The soundstage is very wide, deep, dynamic, and inviting. I am again enjoying my audio music collection. Beit cd’s, files or streaming, everything sounds so different and lively.
The Michi name is part of the Rotel family and that in its self made me first think of mi-fi quality. But boy have I been impressed.
These amps must be the best bang for the bucks this century.
ozzy
Showing 20 responses by ozzy
Yes, evidently one did. Visually you cannot detect anything amiss. The problem must be internal. When you look at these cables the positive (Red) is at one end and directly at the other end is the ground wire (black). So, these cables internally do a crisscross and perhaps they have been compromised. But I dunno. I contacted Bridgeport Magnetics Group Inc. who are the manufactures of these cables, and they will check them out (for a charge-whatever that means). ozzy |
First off, Happy New Year to all! It’s funny, about 10+ years ago I thought I should start downsizing the weight of my equipment for possible future age-related limitations. I started using tube amp(s) and monitor/sub speakers. Fast forward to today, I now own 250lb speakers, and 140lb amps! I guess these may be for my last hooray? The speaker flight cases could be used to bury me in. The Michi 8 amps are really unbelievable in the sound quality and for the cost of admission. ozzy
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Thanks! You know if the fans have come on, I have never heard them. The unit runs pretty cool to the touch. One of the front screen menus on the unit is a temperature reading. Once it warms up and has played for some time the temperature reaches about 100 degrees and pretty much stays at the reading. ozzy |
j-wall, I will do my best. Remember though, this is with my equipment, my room, my choice of music and my ears. The Pass Labs amps were ok but to me sounded a little too closed in, especially on the top end. The Atmasphere amps were ok but lacked the amp power for the dynamics I enjoy. I could have lived with the Bob Carver Ravens, but I thought the Michi 8 with its enormous power would work better with my new speakers. But the Michi 8 really opened everything up. However, they really required a lengthy break in to fully develop. ozzy |
Check out this review of the Michi 8. Rotel Michi M8 Mono Power Ampiifier | Hi-Fi News (hifinews.com) The lab tests show it can deliver over 2000 watts for 4-ohm speakers. ozzy |
My Michi Mono amps are very heavy (140lbs). I have them sitting on top of 4” solid Maple amp stand(s). Pictures are on my systems page. Underneath the stand I installed 2” Audio Points and underneath the Audio points I placed some Herbie’s spike feet gliders so I could move the stand if necessary. I also placed some Critical Mass Footers underneath the amp. Now that I am comfortable as to where the amps reside, I decided to experiment a bit. First off, I removed the Critical Mass Footers. At first listen the soundstage was not as wide, but wait a minute, the bass was deeper! I went back and forth and decided that the overall sound quality was better without the Critical Mass footers. Next, I removed the Herbie’s gliders. So now, the amps are just sitting on the 4” Maple stands with the 2” Audio Points going straight through the carpet and concrete floor. To my surprise, my sound quality took on a very deep and well-rounded sound. The bass notes are easily followed, quite impressive. So, I guess, the extra footers and gliders were holding back the sound quality of my systems potential. ozzy |