Rose Hifi Network Streamer RS150

Have owned a 150B now for 5 months. It seemed too good to be true inside and out but ordered hoping for the best. Does not matter what I say here as it gets bit picked apart but this unit is real. App running Qobuz is great and clean. I will say for a 2 ch guy, there is a lot of Shiit I don't care about but it is simple to ignore. 

My system has slimmed down and running the 150 as pre amp and DAC much to my surprise. I have A B tested with a few preamps (AR6 and Mc) and cannot justify the added costs, Dec, and cabling expense. 

I have never heard my mono blocked system more quiet and dark. I am impressed yet dinosaur audio tweeker friends find it uncomfortably too simple,  but none question the sound coming from from the sopra 3's. Things are changing. 

The 150 sounds better than any DACI’ve ever owned. MEITNER M3,BRICASTI M1,BROOKLYN, LUMIN, MCINTOSH. It’s the most spatial it has the best separation out of any of the units that i have owned. 

@rj20five good to hear a your thoughts on the newer ESS version.

@raysmtb1  I believe you have the original model with the AK chipset.

Curious to know if there is a performance difference?

I had the RS250 for a short time. I sent it back to due to wifi issues.  Really tempted to give the 150 a try.

I’ve owned a 150 for 4 months now ( ESS Version). It’s without question a superb Dac Streamer, a huge “ bang for the buck”. The feature set, build quality and of course the SOUND, are at a very high level. This thing could easily pass for a 20 K MSRP audio product.

@musicmann1 ,

Do you also own the Bricasti M3 DAC? If yes, any comparison in the sound between the Rose and Bricasti?

@musicmann1  I hate to say it because the guys at Bricasti were awesome on a service issue I had but , I like the sound of the Rose AK chip better. It sounded more spatial and there was a greater separation between channels. That’s the simplest way I can describe it.

I'm sure If some asked me to take a bet and try to tell the difference between these two versions.....I would lose.

I continually try telling myself that I could.   Sorry for asking.   I'm sure Rose has implemented the ESS to sound as good as the AK.

milpai....

Never owned a Briscati Dac. My previous Dac/ Streamer was a Esoteric N 01 XD. The Esoteric is better  (sound wise )however the Rose 150 isn’t to far behind, and as far  as the feature set, ease of use, ( the Esoteric doesn’t even have a remote), the Rose is much better....

Cheers....

Was able to purchase a 150B. Should have it by the end of the week.

Nice video from the Tampa show...

Impressive and not glitzy! I like!

I just picked up the 150B.   I love it.  Built like a tank and sounds fantastic.   Love the large screen, VU meters, etc....

Roon/Qobuz for music.   Have it hooked up to the LG OLED (HDMI) and seem to notice even better sound/vocals from YouTube TV....

I'm currently using the Mini GaN 5 and will look to try some other GaN options.   Been in the Class D camp for the last 10 years (UcD, nCore, Purifi).

The display looks gorgeous. Built also, judging by pictures. For those who already have good DACs, I wish they offered a (cheaper) streamer only, no DAC built in

I have had my RS150B, for 9+ months at this point. I think it is absaolutely fantastic. The on board DAC is very good, ESS chip, and the software just keeps getting better every  update. It has been reliable, 1 reset over the 9+ months. I easily found and imported my flac rips from my PC(ripped by my Aurender ACS10), the PC client as well as the Android clients make it unbelievably easy to use, and the sound quality is IMO easily as good as as the Aurender A20 for 40% of the price. I use the device easily 10+ hours each day (work from home). My only complaint is that it does not have volume control for the USB input, whereas it does for all the others,  My next step with the 150B will be to send the signal out via AES to an Ayon Kronos Signature DAC once it arrives. It will be interesting to compare the sound from the onbaord DAC versus a tube/AKM dedicated DAC.

@mournbladeiv

Please let use know the results of your comparison.  Thx

I had it here.  It was a good sounding unit.  Not be-all, end-all in terms of quality but good.  The UI stands out as exceptional.  I was pleasantly surprised at how easy the unit was to use.  It is maybe a hair below the units in the $4K to $7K range in terms of sound quality.  Clarity was good but not elite in terms of staging.  As a total package it is worth the price but you can do better in terms of absolute sound quality at the same price with fewer features.  

Full disclosure, I am NOT a hi-fi rose dealer.  

I was not impressed with the price-SQ ratio and have 2 friends that have had warranty issues.

Also, it is Roon. I am of the opinion that Roon is total garbage. But that is my opinion.

Love my Innuos products, (Statement and Zenith). No lights, no screens I have the LED switched off.

The 150b impresses most as a streamer imho. When played through an outboard DAC the SQ increases substantially. But as a streamer it excels (spatial, nice full bodied sound, detailed). The problem I am having with it, is that it has a lot of functions that I do not use, which give the impression that a more focused device could give (even) better sound quality.

I purchased a HIFI Rose 150b and for the past two weeks my dealer and I have been trying to log in to their server, and it keeps telling us log in failed. We even contacted MOFI the distributer in US. Today, out of frustration the dealer took the unit to his office. Waiting to hear what he has found out. 

Update on HIFI ROSE issues. My dealer finally discovered our connection problems; somehow our ATT rotter/modem via its firewall blocked the HIFI & Qobuz connections. When we tapped into the ATT device we noticed the firewall setting were changed to full security (don't know how since the system was running fine for years). After resetting the Firewall we connected, and all is well. 

@farne230 I think you will really like the 150.   What amp/speakers are you using?

I have had mine for about a year and it's the best front end streamer/DAC that I've had to date.  Been through Evo 150, M33, Teac NT-505, NAD C658...it goes on

It is amazing how well Radio Paradise sounds running through RoseRadio.  I pretty much have this on all day.  Very enjoyable.

I am using McIntosh (mc611 monoblocks, 12000C preamp, men220 room equilizer) and Niagara 5000 power conditioner and sol-source HIFI Rose150b. 

2020matters:

I had a HiFi Rose 250A in house and compared it to my own Oppo 105-Darby.

The HFR DAC was clearly superior. It took only a minute to hear the difference. First thing to jump out at me was the 250A’s greater detail & transparency, amd a moderatlely more spacious soundstage. I didn’t hear the "crispness" that some people ascribe to the HFR DACs -- just increased detail without edginess.

I wouldn’t consider either DAC to be anything like SOTA, of course. But the 250A was clearly a step up/  The Oppo's internal DAC was pretty good in its day, especially in its price range, but it's now pretty old.

Hope this is still helpful.