Rotel DT-6000 DAC/CD Transport

The DT-6000 has several digital inputs. You get Toslink, Coax, and PC inputs. The PC input supports high-resolution PCM audio (32-bit/384kHz) streams, unfolds and renders MQA and MQA Studio, and can also do DSD 1X, 2X, and 4X audio files. That is pretty darn flexible. We asked Rotel why they did not include a streaming platform and they gave us a very reasonable and interesting answer. They wanted this unit to be something that would stay current for many years and felt including a streamer, with the way that tech is changing, might not enable it to be current for a decade or more. With almost all streaming units having a digital output you can easily send their digital stream into the DT-6000 for much improved audio quality. And if you are into Roon, the DT-6000 is fully Roon tested and will show up in your list of audio sources inside Roon.

The transport on the DT-6000 worked flawlessly for us, loading and playing a physical disc very fast. Since this started out as what was supposed to be their best CD player ever, Rotel put a lot of effort into the CD transport. The CD mechanism is spring-loaded with damping materials designed to reduce any vibration during playback. They use a precision motor-driven optical laser system made to pick up every detail from your CDs.

The rear panel includes IR jacks and an RS232 connection for control systems, but the part we really like is the addition of the balanced audio connectors. With the entire audio path being fully balanced, it's great they offered balanced outputs to complement it.

We love it when manufacturers tell us which DAC they are using and the DT-6000 uses an ESS Sabre ES9028PRO 8-Channel DAC. As we said earlier, this was then custom configured with 4 dedicated, redundant channels to the left and right outputs. The entire signal path from the DAC to the analog outputs is a fully balanced differential circuit design using some of the very expensive capacitors they had specially designed for the Michi series of gear.

If you know about audio design, you are fully aware that the best circuit and DACs in the world will not perform to their best if the power supply is not up to the job. Rotel has always been known for their robust power supplies and as you might expect, developed a custom one for the DT-6000. It uses a low noise toroidal transformer they even custom-make at Rotel. This feeds independent analog and digital voltage regulators.

Even the internal circuit boards have isolation and electronic decoupling designs that are filtered down from the top-end Michi products. These reduced noise and distortion in both the analog and digital sections.

There is a lot to like about the features and technology inside the DT-6000. It seemed like a really great value to us even before we got to hear it. There is really nothing else we wish it had.