Rotel RA-6000 Diamond
Celebrating 60 years as a Japanese family-owned and operated audio business
Introducing the new Rotel Diamond series. Replacing the much respected Rotel designs wasn't easy. The Amplifiers sold in great numbers and have been one of the top selling products in America and Europe. Regarded as superb value for money, they bring a taste of hi-end to affordable price points.
How to improve on something that is already close to perfect, especially when it comes to price/performance and the materials used for production?
The Tachikawa family in Japan – founders and owners of Rotel, finally had the opportunity to work with Ken Ishiwata, a highly respected engineer behind much of the success of rival brand Marantz.
Ishiwata is known for elevating sound quality by a combination of changes - both mechanical and electronic, with the application of damping materials helping to deaden vibrations in both the top cover and main chassis. Nine capacitors in the PSU have also been switched for preferred alternatives. Furthermore, the electrical ground paths within have been re-routed
The objective was to create the best sounding units for those with critical ears and limited budgets, and a feature set demanded by Audiophiles in the 2020's:
- Liberal use of high-efficiency, low ESR (Equivalent Series Resistance) slit-foil reservoir capacitors – a Rotel staple for decades – helps optimise PSU performance
- 200 Watts per channel of analog Class AB amplification - perfect for your choice of speakers, even one's that are hard to drive
- Its Class AB amp stage is fed by a custom-built toroidal transformer that dominates the inner circuitry alongside those aforementioned heatsinks. The latter are really needed, too, as the RA-6000 can run warm when pushed. Adequate ventilation around the amp is essential, so don't hide it in a cupboard
- Analog and digital inputs, also wireless aptX HD music streamer, also Phono MM input
- Audio-grade resistors and metallised polyester capacitors also feature in the audio circuits of both products
- The PC-USB input supports up to 32-bit/384kHz including MQA (24-bit/384kHz) and DSD (4X). Optical and Coaxial inputs are also included supporting 24-bit/192kHz streams.
The Diamond Series matching CD Player is here
Reviews
HiFi News awards Rotel RA6000 an Outstanding Product
Rotel RA6000 wins Stereophile Recommended Components Award
"performances moved along and presented themselves in a bright, lively way that kept me listening contentedly." On the test bench, the Rotel offered low noise and distortion and high power" read the review
Specifications
- MAXIMUM POWER OUTPUT 350W/Ch (4Ω)
- CONTINUOUS POWER OUTPUT 200W/Ch (8Ω)
- TOTAL HARMONIC DISTORTION (THD) <0.0075%
- FREQUENCY RESPONSE
- Line Level Inputs: 10Hz - 100kHz, ±0.5dB
- Digital Inputs: 10Hz - 90kHz, ±2dB
- Phono Input: 20Hz - 20kHz, ±0.5dB
- S/N RATIO (IHF "A" Weighted)
- Line Level Inputs: 103dB
- Digital Inputs: 102dB
- Phono Input: 80dB
- INTERMODULATION DISTORTION (60Hz:7kHz, 4:1) <0.03%
- DAMPING FACTOR 600
- INPUT SENSITIVITY
- Line Level Inputs (RCA): 340mV
- Line Level Inputs (XLR): 540mV
- Digital Inputs: 0 dBfs
- Phono Input (MM): 5.2mV
- INPUT IMPEDANCE
- Line Level Inputs (RCA): 5.6kΩ
- Line Level Inputs (XLR): 100kΩ
- Digital Inputs: 75Ω
- Phono Input (MM): 47kΩ
- INPUT OVERLOAD
- Line Level Inputs (RCA): 3.5V
- Line Level Inputs (XLR): 4.5V
- Phono Input: 52mV
- PREOUT LEVEL 1.9V
- OUTPUT IMPEDANCE 100Ω
- COAX/OPTICAL DIGITAL INPUT SIGNALS LPCM (Up to 24-bit/192kHz)
- PC-USB USB Audio Class 2.0 (up to 32-bit/384kHz)* *Driver installation required
- MQA and MQA Studio (up to 24-bit/384kHz )
- Roon Tested
- DIMENSIONS (W × H × D) 431 × 144 × 425mm 17" × 5.7" × 16"
- FRONT PANEL HEIGHT 3U / 132.6mm (5.25")
- POWER REQUIREMENTS 120V, 60Hz
- POWER CONSUMPTION 500W
- STANDBY POWER CONSUMPTION<0.5W
- NET WEIGHT 18.81kg (41.47lbs.)
- Warranty 5 years