Rotel's Michi line has a new integrated, the Prestige X430, and the spec sheet reads like someone finally admitted that a lot of us run one system for both music and the telly. It is $4,999, Class AB, rated 220 watts per channel into 8 ohms and 340 into 4. Six digital inputs, three coax and three optical, all going through an ESS SABRE ES9039Q2M. Three pairs of RCA, a pair of XLR, an MM phono stage, PC-USB, aptX HD Bluetooth. Nearly 38 pounds of it.
The two connectors that matter to anyone reading this section are the HDMI input and the dual mono subwoofer outputs. That combination is the whole pitch: plug the TV in, run two subs properly rather than daisy-chaining one off a single output, and skip the AV receiver entirely. I have watched people try to build that system for years out of gear that was never designed for it, usually ending up with a stereo amp, an ugly Y-splitter and a soundbar they refuse to admit is doing most of the work.
Two things the preview does not answer. The HDMI is described as ARC, not eARC, so if you were hoping to feed it a lossless bitstream from an Apple TV or a disc player, look closely before you buy. And there is no mention of any room correction, which at five grand with two sub outputs feels like a genuine gap. Integrating two subs by ear in an untreated room is a weekend nobody enjoys.
For those of you running 2.2 with a TV rather than a proper multichannel rig, what did you actually give up going that way?
The two connectors that matter to anyone reading this section are the HDMI input and the dual mono subwoofer outputs. That combination is the whole pitch: plug the TV in, run two subs properly rather than daisy-chaining one off a single output, and skip the AV receiver entirely. I have watched people try to build that system for years out of gear that was never designed for it, usually ending up with a stereo amp, an ugly Y-splitter and a soundbar they refuse to admit is doing most of the work.
Two things the preview does not answer. The HDMI is described as ARC, not eARC, so if you were hoping to feed it a lossless bitstream from an Apple TV or a disc player, look closely before you buy. And there is no mention of any room correction, which at five grand with two sub outputs feels like a genuine gap. Integrating two subs by ear in an untreated room is a weekend nobody enjoys.
For those of you running 2.2 with a TV rather than a proper multichannel rig, what did you actually give up going that way?
