Rotel Michi – behind the scenes of a “mad science project” and the rebirth of a hi-fi legend

Green Rotel sign on a wall outside its Chinese factory.

Back in 1993, Rotel gave its engineers a license to go wild and design a no-compromise range of hi-fi electronics that was above and beyond anything that the brand offered at the time.

This line became known as Michi. Japanese for “the path” or “ the way”, Michi was initially intended only for its home market of Japan, but beyond all expectations, it went global.