My thoughts on the HiFi Rose 150B


Well, after the honeymoon wore off I ended sending the HiFiRose 150 back. It boiled down to how I’d use it and it just wasn’t 3k better than my Auralic Aries G1. The Rose is a great piece with tons of features and it sounded great. The video features (RoseTube, Tidal music videos) is certainly cool along with the display and all the other things it can do but streaming Qobuz and Tidal it did one thing noticeably better and that was MQA which I figured it would. My Anthem isn’t MQA certified so using my Auralic USB into it doesn’t give me the full MQA experience but listening to Tidal SD and Qobuz HD/SD it was pretty close. I could have added a TV to my music room to fully enjoy what the Rose does but I have a great movie/video system so it’s not something I was ultimately willing to do. So in the end, I don’t have anything bad to say about the 150, it’s built really well, sounds great and has tons of features but it doesn’t fit my needs.

128x128sunshdw

I have had my 150 for about 5 months and love everything about it.  Finally settled on the Rose after going through several streamer/DACs (M10, Evo 150, Teac NT-505, RS250, C658).  I actually also have a MiniDSP SHD that is being used in another room and really like that one too.

The 150 checks all the boxes and gives me the flexibility to try different amplification.  Primarily using Class D.  Going back and forth between Purifi and a GaN 400 as my reference paired with my Elysian 2s.

Built like a tank and have not had any network/connection issues which I can't claim for the other units that I have had.  

And the VU meters, brings me back to a good old days....

 

@willg1985 take a look at the RS250.  Same streamer capabilities as the 150, but at a lower price point.

We are going urban (from a house to a medium sized apartment) so significant downsize to my video system. Was looking at the Hifi Rose RS201E for a simple all-in-one in the living room. 

About to pull the trigger then realized no eARC on the HDMI. WTF??? Output only??

 

OK it is still a really cool little box with great WAF but going back to first choice N.A.D M10. Been using a C658 and T758 v3 for a couple of years in two of my three current systems but....really wanted to try the Hifi Rose!!

I have both the Rose rs150B and rs250 which I love. The only thing is that the 250 does the same as the 150B (as far as I can tell} and is half the price as well as half the size. Every morning I stream internet radio which sounds great through the 150B. I also use the Marantz NA7004 to play music elsewhere with great sound but annoying because it takes 4 minutes to load up.

It was the blue VU meters that made me want it.... you have to love them... the rs250 also has them.

I don’t understand why you need a touchscreen display or any for that matter on a music / video server? I use my iPhone or iPad to control all of the functions on my Innuos Zenith from the couch & never have to get up unless I want to rip a CD  which is fast & easy. It has no controls or displays at all other than a power on LED.  which you can turn off. I couldn’t see any display from my listening distance anyway.  It sounds consistently excellent & never malfunctions. Seems like a decent amount of $ would go into fancy displays & controls & not where it would really benefit the final sound quality. 

I currently have the Rose 150-b with an out board dac ,I’m going to keep it , my Innuos Statement has finally sold I’m liking my current dac and server as much for a lot less .