Rotel's bijou integrated amp is small but mighty — and it became my system's pint-sized powerhouse

31 Dec 2025, 13:30 · TechRadar

TechRadar Verdict

There’s so much to like about the Rotel DX-5, from the way it’s designed and built to the way it sounds, it’s actually possible to overlook the weird way its remote control operates and its miserly number of analogue inputs.

Pros

+Spacious, well-defined and detailed sound
+High-end components as part of (mostly) impressive specification
+Exemplary standard of build and finish

Cons

-Will require some thought where system-matching is concerned
-Weirdly picky remote control
-One more analogue input might be nice

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Rotel DX-5: Two-minute review

The Rotel DX-5 is a compact, beautifully constructed and very nicely designed stereo integrated amplifier with the emphasis firmly on digital sources of sound. It looks and feels good, it’s quite obviously built to last, and it’s specified to handle hi-res sources via its USB, coaxial and optical inputs as well as TV sound thanks to its HDMI ARC socket. A single line-level analog input deals with your properly legacy equipment (but not a turntable unless it’s pre-amplified).

Because it’s not a network device, it doesn’t have a control app. It has a remote control, though, which looks and feels just as swish as the device it’s controlling – but is more dependent on line-of-sight to the device it’s controlling than is the norm, and by quite a distance.

Sound quality is straightforwardly impressive. The DX-5 is an open, revealing and entertaining listen, one that has a real facility with dynamics and can express rhythms confidently. It retains and contextualise all the detail in a recording, has nicely even frequency response and is adept at unifying a recording even at the same time that it can pick it apart for your inspection. It demands you spend some time considering system-matching, because it’s quite assertive at the top of the frequency range – but other than that, its sound is no kind of chore to enjoy.

Rotel DX-5 review: Price and release date

(Image credit: Simon Lucas / Future)

Released in April 2025
Priced $1,499 / £1,399 / AU$2,199

The Rotel DX-5 is on sale now, and in the United Kingdom it sells for £1,399. In the United States the going rate is $1,499, while in Australia you’ll have to part with AU$2,199.

This is not hair-raising money for an integrated stereo amplifier from a renowned brand, but it’s quite stiff if you apply the ‘physical stuff/asking price’ ratio…

(Image credit: Simon Lucas / Future)

Rotel DX-5 review: Features

ESS Sabre ES9039Q2M DAC
Digital inputs outnumber analog inputs
25W per channel into 8 ohms

There’s not a huge amount of space inside the Rotel DX-5, but it seems fair to say it’s been utilised to something approaching ‘the maximum’.

Under the lid, the most space-hungry element is the high-current toroidal transformer – it’s wound in-house, and can churn out 25W of Class AB power per channel into an 8-ohm load (rising to 33 watts per channel into 4 ohms). The crucial business of digital-to-analog conversion is handled by the deeply fashionable ESS Sabre ES9039Q2M chipset – it supports 32bit/384kHz PCM and DSD512 via the amplifier’s USB-B input (some source devices will need a driver to be installed, but not all) and 24bit/192kHz PCM via its coaxial and optical inputs. The DX-5 is certified Roon Tested, and Rotel suggests the machine is capable of a considerable 10Hz - 80kHz frequency response. It’s also claiming vanishingly low intermodulation distortion and signal-to-noise ratio numbers at the same time.

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