South Korea-based HiFi Rose is new to me, but their RS150b Reference Network Streamer looks like it sprung from mature minds.
The RS150b Reference Network Streamer sports, and I mean sports!, a 14.9-inch touchscreen display that I can’t wait to touch. The case is milled from a single block of high-purity aluminum and describing just the basic functionality offered by the RS150b would be a book-length endeavor.
Seeing I’m going to cover all of the ins, outs, apps and more in the review, here’s an overview to whet your appetite.
The RS150b is Roon Ready and supports Spotify Connect, Qobuz, Tidal, Internet Radio, Bluetooth, AirPlay, DLNA, MQA, and any and every PCM and DSD resolution you care to throw at it. What’s more, the RB150b supports Ultra HD 4K quality via its HDMI port so you can leash a big screen to it and tickle your eyes too. There’s a SSD slot, accessed from the RS150b’s underside, if you’d like to add internal storage (up to 4TB) or play music from a microSD card (up to 400GB) and/or USB storage (up to 512GB).
There are balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA outputs as well as a host of digital outputs if you want to roll your own (DAC) as well as digital inputs and a single line-level RCA input. You can also rip CDs to that optional internal storage using the included CD App and control music playback from NAS, Spotify, Qobuz, Tidal, YouTube, Internet Radio, and listen to Podcasts all from that touch panel screen. The RS150b can be remote controlled using Roon, the HiFi Rose Connect app for Android and iOS, and any DLNA app of your choosing.
Of course there’s a lot more to be said about the HiFi Rose RS150b which I’ll get to in the review proper. Stay tuned.
HiFi Rose RS150b Reference Network Streamer
Price: $4,995.00
Specifications
| OS | Rose OS Ver 1.22.4 (based on Customized Android 7.1) | |||
| Design | ||||
| Size | 430(W) x 316(D) x 123(H) mm | |||
| Weight | 13 kg | |||
| Body | Milled from Solid Block of High Purity Aluminum, Minimizing Vibrations and Noise. | |||
| Display | 14.9-inch-Wide HD IPS Touch Screen LCD | |||
| CPU | Hexa Core CPU Dual-core Cortex-A72 up to 1.8GHz Quad-core Cortex-A53 up to 1.4GHz |
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| GPU | Mali-T864 GPU, OpenGL ES 1.1/2.0/3.0/3.1, OenVG1.1, OpenCL, DX11 | |||
| MEMORY | LPDDR3 4GByte | |||
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| DAC Chip | ESS Technology, SABRE ES9038PRO | sahi Kasei VERITA AK4499EQ | ||
| Output level | 6.5Vrms (Balanced), 2.2Vrms (Unbalanced) |
9.0Vrms (Balanced), 4.5Vrms (Unbalanced) | ||
| THD | 0.0002%(Balanced,1KHz 6.5Vrms), 0.0003%(Unbalanced,1KHz 2.2Vrms) |
0.0002%(Balanced,1KHz 9.0Vrms), 0.0003%(Unbalanced,1KHz 4.5Vrms) |
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| THD + N | 0.0003%(Balanced, 1KHz 6.5Vrms), 0.0004%(Unbalanced,1KHz 2.2Vrms) |
0.0003%(Balanced, 1KHz 9.0Vrms), 0.0005%(Unbalanced,1KHz 4.5Vrms) |
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| IMD | -103dB (Balanced), -103dB (Unbalanced), SMPTE 4:1, 60Hz:7kHz |
-101dB (Balanced), -100dB (Unbalanced), SMPTE 4:1, 60Hz:7kHz |
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| Signal to Noise Ratio | 121dB (Balanced),118dB (Unbalanced), A-wt |
120dB (Balanced), 117dB (Unbalanced), A-wt |
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| Dynamic Range | Max 132 dB (CCITT filter) | Max 132dB (CCITT filter) | ||
| Stereo Crosstalk | Max -138dB, 20-20kHz | Max -138dB, 20-20kHz | ||
| Output Frequency Response | 20Hz to 20,000(+/-0.5dB) | 20Hz to 20,000 (+/-0.5dB) | ||
| Output Impedance | 50Ω | 100Ω | ||
| Network connection | ||||
| Network | Wired : Ethernet 10/100/1000 BASE-T Wireless : External USB type WiFi Dongle supported |
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| Bluetooth | BT : External USB type BT WiFi Dongle supported. ( A2DP Sink, AVRCP v1.3 ) * A few types of WiFi, BT dongle is not supported. |
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| Audio service | ||||
| Streaming | Airplay / DLNA / Roon Ready / MQA Full Decoder | |||
| Music service | TIDAL / Internet Radio / Podcast | |||
| Input, Output | ||||
| Audio input | Optical x 1, COAX x 1, Line-IN x 1, AES/EBU x 1, HDMI ARC x 1, USB DAC x 1 | |||
| Audio output | Optical x 1, COAX x 1, Pre-OUT (Balanced x 1, Unbalanced x 1), I2S-DVI x 1,I2S-RJ45 x 1, AES/EBU x 1 | |||
| Video output | HDMI 2.0x 1 ( up to 3840 x 2160 / 60Hz ) | |||
| Media connection | File system : SMBv1, SMBv2 /FTP / WebDav / NTFS / eXfat / FAT32 Storage interface : USB3.0 x 2, MicroSD x 1, SSD x 1 |
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| Supported codec | ||||
| Audio | WAV, FLAC, AIFF, WMA, MP3, OGG, APE, DFF, DSF, AAC, CDA, AMR, APE, EC3, E-EC3, MID, MPL, MP2, MPC, MPGA, M4A PCM : 8KHz~384KHz(8/16/24/32bit per Sample) Native DSD: DSD64(2.8MHz)/DSD128(5.6MHz)/DSD256(11.2MHz)/ DSD512(22.5792Mhz) |
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| Video | ASF, AVI, MKV, MP4, WMV, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4 H.263, H.264, H.265, VC-1, VP9, VP8, MVC H.264/AVC, Base/Main/High/High10 [email protected] up to 4Kx2K@30fps H.265/HEVC, Main/Main10 profile@ level 5.1 High-tier up to 4Kx2K@60fps |
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| Power | Input Voltage : AC100-230V 50/60Hz Input Power : 55W Fuse : T3.0AL/250V |
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| Update | SW update via internet, USB OTA, ROSE Store | |||
| Remote control | ||||
| Remote controller | Bluetooth Remote controller | |||
| Remote App | ROSE Connect (Android, iOS) / Google PlayStore, App Store | |||
| Accessory | Power cord x 1, Bluetooth Remote controller x 1 (AAA battery x 2), Simple Guide x 1, SSD screw x 4, Bluetooth/WiFi dongle x 1 (sold separately) |
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Company Website: HiFi Rose
US Distributor’s Website: MoFi Distribuution