CD/SACD-проигрыватели и транспорты — Rotel Michi Q5

The Q5 is the CD player of Michi, the flagship range Rotel revived in 2019 after first using the name for its top amplifiers in the 1990s. Launched in late 2024, it combines a top-loading disc transport with a full DAC section, so it works both as a CD player and as the digital hub for streamers, computers and a TV. It sits beside the Michi P5 preamplifier and X-series integrated amplifiers in the same 485 mm chassis format.

Key specs that matter

The DAC is an ESS ES9028PRO eight-channel DAC (32-bit/768 kHz capable). Frequency response is 20 Hz to 20 kHz (+0/-0.1 dB) and 10 Hz to 70 kHz (-3 dB). THD is below 0.0006%, intermodulation distortion below 0.002%, A-weighted signal-to-noise above 115 dB and channel separation above 104 dB at 10 kHz. Analogue output is 2.3 V on RCA with 100 ohm output impedance and 4.9 V on XLR with 4 kohm output impedance. Digital inputs include USB up to 32-bit/384 kHz with MQA and DSD 4x, plus coaxial and optical up to 24-bit/192 kHz. The unit measures 485 x 150 x 452 mm, weighs 23.5 kg and draws 25 W in use, with standby consumption below 0.5 W. The 132 mm front panel height matches the other Michi components.

Engineering and use context

The ES9028PRO runs in dual-mono mode with four DAC channels summed for each side, which lowers the noise floor compared with a single channel per side, and the analogue stage is fully balanced through to the XLR outputs. Two toroidal transformers made in-house by Rotel feed separate digital and analogue supplies. The CD motor also has electrically isolated voltage and current supplies, keeping motor noise away from the audio circuits. The top-loading mechanism is machined from aluminium and floats on a spring suspension to decouple it from the chassis. A colour TFT display shows cover art, and RS232, Ethernet and 12 V triggers allow control from automation systems. A 16-bit/44.1 kHz digital output passes CD data to an external DAC.

Pairing

The RCA output behaves like a conventional source and suits any line input. The XLR output delivers a high level but from a high source impedance, so it should feed a balanced input of 20 kohm or higher, as found on the Michi P5 and X-series amplifiers, to avoid level loss. With its USB input, the Q5 can also take over DAC duties for a network streamer.

Alternatives

Rotel's CD14MKII offers a tray-loading CD player with DAC inputs in the brand's more compact Diamond Series chassis.