Rotel Michi P5 pre-amp

TonyB

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This pre-amp looks very interesting and is highly praised, also having just won the 2020-21 Eisa award for best product in the high end pre-amp/ power amp category.

Does anyone own one? I would want to use a sub with it, and although it has two sub outputs there's no mention in the manual of bass management or low pass filtering. I find that strange in a device so highly specced in all other areas. Hopefully someone can shed some light on this.
 
I would want to use a sub with it, and although it has two sub outputs there's no mention in the manual of bass management or low pass filtering.

At a similar price Anthem's STR Pre amp is also worth a look. A subwoofer is the most important component and the Anthem STR pre amp offers bass management for two subwoofers in mono or stereo, proprietary room correction (Anthem Room Correction - Genesis) with phase alignment of the subwoofer/s with the mains.
 
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TonyB

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Nov 21, 2020
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At a similar price Anthem's STR Pre amp is also worth a look. A subwoofer is the most important component and the Anthem STR pre amp offers bass management for two subwoofers in mono or stereo, proprietary room correction (Anthem Room Correction - Genesis) with phase alignment of the subwoofer/s with the mains.
Thanks, I'll certainly have a look at the Anthem STR. I agree that a sub is important and I would want to have it properly implemented at the £3k+ price level.

I suppose with the Michi P5, if it doesn't have any low/high filtering you could set up the low pass in the sub itself, but that means that the main speakers are still outputting full range, when ideally you would want the lower frequencies filtered out.
 
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Thanks, I'll certainly have a look at the Anthem STR. I agree that a sub is important and I would want to have it properly implemented at the £3k+ price level.

I suppose with the Michi P5, if it doesn't have any low/high filtering you could set up the low pass in the sub itself, but that means that the main speakers are still outputting full range, when ideally you would want the lower frequencies filtered out.

You're welcome.

What loudspeakers and subwoofer will you be using please?
 

TonyB

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I have Dynaudio Xeo 6 active speakers, which I'm very happy with for now. I bought them second hand as an experiment to see what they were like, as the idea of actives appealed to me. I haven't regretted it. I don't have a subwoofer yet so I'm open to what model, perhaps REL.

I've been driving the actives with a decent budget receiver, just using it as a preamp (Marantz NR1200) but I can tell that the Marantz falls short of getting the best out of them.

The Anthem STR looks good except for the lack of headphone facility. However, perhaps that's more than balanced by the excellent bass management and room correction feature, both lacking on the Michi.
 
I have Dynaudio Xeo 6 active speakers, which I'm very happy with for now. I bought them second hand as an experiment to see what they were like, as the idea of actives appealed to me. I haven't regretted it. I don't have a subwoofer yet

I've been driving the actives with a decent budget receiver, just using it as a preamp (Marantz NR1200) but I can tell that the Marantz falls short of getting the best out of them.

The Anthem STR looks good except for the lack of headphone facility. However, perhaps that's more than balanced by the excellent bass management and room correction feature,

Thanks for your reply.

I believe realism requires power and even if the mains go down to 20Hz a subwoofer should still be incorporated because in my experience a subwoofer can inject power into a system like no other component can. And based on this I would say that in the main it's preferable not to use LPF on subs as this limits and wastes the potential of a subwoofer.

The Anthem STR pre amp is a powerful instrument which should successfully help unburden the Xeo 6's of LF fq's up to 90Hz (I find this point to generally be the sweet spot btw), phase alignment of the subwoofer with the Xeo 6's, etc.

Sub bass is the foundation of sound and with all things being equal it's better to have subwoofer/s deal with sub bass fq's. The stronger the foundations are the better fq's above will be supported.

No power, no depth. No depth, no body. No body, no soul to the sound. Invest in the best possible subwoofer as you can as a subwoofer is the most important component and can make the most profound difference to the overall performance of the system.

Btw, as I write this in the background we have a system playing which comprises an Anthem STR pre amp, Kinki Studio EX-B7 mono's, ATC curved SCM40 passive monitors and a JL Audio Fathom f112 v2 subwoofer. Damn this system sounds good :)
 
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TonyB

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Thanks for your reply.

I believe realism requires power and even if the mains go down to 20Hz a subwoofer should still be incorporated because in my experience a subwoofer can inject power into a system like no other component can. And based on this I would say that in the main it's preferable not to use LPF on subs as this limits and wastes the potential of a subwoofer.

The Anthem STR pre amp is a powerful instrument which should successfully help unburden the Xeo 6's of LF fq's up to 90Hz (I find this point to generally be the sweet spot btw), phase alignment of the subwoofer with the Xeo 6's, etc.

Sub bass is the foundation of sound and with all things being equal it's better to have subwoofer/s deal with sub bass fq's. The stronger the foundations are the better fq's above will be supported.

No power, no depth. No depth, no body. No body, no soul to the sound. Invest in the best possible subwoofer as you can as a subwoofer is the most important component and can make the most profound difference to the overall performance of the system.

Btw, as I write this in the background we have a system playing which comprises an Anthem STR pre amp, Kinki Studio EX-B7 mono's, ATC curved SCM40 passive monitors and a JL Audio Fathom f112 v2 subwoofer. Damn this system sounds good :)
I bet it does!

Thanks for the advice on the use of subwoofers. The way you describe it is exactly what I'm looking for. I've struggled to find good bass management in pre-amps as it seems to be an afterthought at best in most of them. At the risk of derailing my own thread, perhaps the Anthem is more suited to my needs than the Michi from that perspective.

I see that you're in Derby. As I'm also in the East Midlands I'll keep an eye on your website.
 
I bet it does!

Thanks for the advice on the use of subwoofers. The way you describe it is exactly what I'm looking for. I've struggled to find good bass management in pre-amps as it seems to be an afterthought at best in most of them. At the risk of derailing my own thread, perhaps the Anthem is more suited to my needs

I see that you're in Derby. As I'm also in the East Midlands I'll keep an eye on your website.

You're welcome (y)

The goal is to effectively align/calibrate/dial in a subwoofer so that the subwoofer integrates seamlessly with the mains and disappears into the soundstage with a deep, sharp, tight fisted, fast and powerful punchy sub bass Get it right and a subwoofer can make the most profound difference to the overall performance of the system.

After having used an Anthem STR pre amp over the last two years, the STR pre amp with (amongst it's other qualities) bass management, phase alignment of the sub/s with the mains, room correction, etc. can certainly help achieve all of the above.

Btw, our site is new and we still have much to do. So, please bear with us.
 
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