Tokyo, Japan (August 15^th, 2024) - Rotel has consistently received the highest-level of professional recognition for outstanding product performance, quality and design. This industry acknowledgment now extends to a new product category for the company with the announcement that EISA’s expert judges have awarded the RAS-5000 the EISA Streaming Amplifier 2024 – 2025.

For the past 42 years, the EISA organization (Expert Imaging and Sound Association) has been appointing juries of tech experts and product testing guru’s from 60 of the most respected specialist technology publications. Representing over 30 countries across the globe EISA judges the very best of TV, imaging and sound products - leading to the EISA Awards becoming the ultimate recognition of the audio/video industry’s peers.

Commenting on the EISA Streaming Amplifier award, Peter Kao, managing director of Rotel said: ‘We are very proud that all of our intensive efforts in the development of the RAS-5000 have received the highest recognition from the expert judges at EISA. The RAS-5000 is a great example of how we can develop new produt categories that are both faithful to Rotel’s heritage and classic performance while offering the latest specification, features and connectivity. I’m delighted that the EISA judges have agreed we achieved the ideal balance.’

The Rotel RAS-5000 was designed as an ‘all-in-one’ solution offering the perfect fusion of exceptional audiophile performance with the latest connectivity options and intuitive operation. 

As a ‘classic’ Rotel product, the RAS-5000 has been engineered for high-end performance with a genuine, robust 220 watts of Class AB output power into 4 ohms and with an industrial design complementing any audio system or as a stand-alone dedicated full-media solution for entertainment.

The RAS-5000 also offers a wide choice of traditional, wired or wireless connectivity for the ultimate installation flexibility with legacy audio sources. 

Traditional music sources are supported using the RCA analog, Coaxial, Optical, aptX™ HD Bluetooth and PC-USB input connections. High resolution music files up to 32-bit / 384kHz are supported as well as both MQA and MQA Studio while the HDMI ARC (Audio Return Channel) connection ensures dynamic, high-resolution sound for your favorite live sports, TV shows, movies, and games directly from your TV. 

Streaming options include Spotify Connect, Tidal Connect, Qobuz, thousands of Internet Radio stations, or any audio available from your computer, tablet, or mobile device via Airplay 2 or Google Cast. The RAS-5000 is fully certified as a Roon Ready endpoint and also supports MP3, AAC (mp4), flac, wav and ogg from a hard drive or flash drive via the rear panel USB connection. Streaming album artwork is displayed on the front panel high-resolution colour display bringing you even closer to the music.

Awarding the best:

On awarding the RAS-5000 as EISA Streaming Amplifier 2024 -2025 the EISA judges noted:  By embracing modern streaming and usability features but not straying from its manufacturer’s ‘performance-first’ ethos, the RAS-5000 is a desirable addition to Rotel’s range – and the streaming amp market as a whole. A confident driver of loudspeakers courtesy of its 2x140W Class AB output, the RAS-5000 tackles all music genres with a sonic signature showcasing a powerful yet smooth, balanced approach. Versatile connectivity also impresses, with digital inputs including HDMI ARC, USB-B and Wi-Fi/Ethernet feeding its high-quality DAC stage. Playback is a breeze, either through Rotel’s own app, a DLNA player, or Roon, and icing the RAS-5000 cake is the amp’s meticulous build and informative colour display.