My thoughts on the HiFi Rose 150B

I demoed the 150 for about a week a couple of months back.  I think that some of the assertions that the sound quality is on a par with cheaper options (that don't have all the bells and whistles) is just not true.  I thought the 150 sounded a lot better than most of the cheaper options I heard and is actually a screaming bargain.  Lots of folks rave about the Matrix audio units, but I head for the HiFi Rose RS150 every day over those.  Sound quality+fit and finish+feature set is really hard to beat.  If those features are not important to you, then try other things but this is a really nice unit.

In-Shore.  Thanks for that info.  We enjoy streaming movies of concerts and then watching on TV and listening.  Glad to hear the Rose can do that as well.  Right now we use a computer and it may not be ideal.  There are some great older content and concerts out there.  Led Z, Fleetwood, some of the early england stuff and punk scene - Fun to go back and watch it  and hear it now.  

Just for some detailed comments , I wrote this up on the Audio Enthusiasts FB Page. 

My System

Anthem STR Preamp

Anthem STR Amp

Aurum Cantus V7F

SVS 3000Micro (pr in stereo)

Transparent Audio Ultra Cabling

Dedicated 11.5 x 14 treated room

iPad control

Auralic Aries G1 vs HiFi Rose 150B

Aries USB to STR Preamp

Rose XLR to STR Preamp

Testing using Tidal/Qobuz

 

GUI/APP: Auralic

This is more of a personal preference but the Aries app is, by default, simpler and easier to navigate. In fairness I have to spend time to figure out the 150s app more but the G1 was easy from the start.

Features: 150B all day

There are so many cool things the 150 does with music and video it's not even a contest. I have an old computer monitor hooked up which makes that experience better and I may wall mount a TV in the front of the room instead of looking off my right to see the video.

Aesthetics: 150B

Again, this is a personal preference. The display of the 150 is superior but if you are a simplistic type of person the G1 will work too. The Aries has a nice display which gives you the now playing and album artwork.

Sound quality in SD (CD Quality): Tie

More on this below but I was surprised as well. There was many songs I played in SD and nothing stood out as better using the 150B

Sound quality in HD/MQA: 150B

Regarding MQA this was a little unfair because my Anthem isn't MQA compliant and the 150 is so I wasn't surprised. However, using Qobuz, it was close. On both formats my first observation I thought to myself was the sound stage is so much clearer, defined and more clear. Sonically, the midrange is a bit more clear (both male and female vocal), high frequencies are a bit softer (shockingly with my experience with ESS DACs) and there no change in the low range.

STR vs 150B (as a preamp): STR by a lot

ARC is a great tool when used properly, even then the 150 isn't close.

 

Thanks everyone for your thoughts on this unit.  A salesman mentioned to me that this thing can take a song playing from a streaming service and find a corresponding video from YouTube to view along with it - i.e. not just watching a youtube video with its own sound, but rather embellishing the lossless stream with some related eye candy.

Is this true?

jji666 yes it can I have my 150-B connected to my TV I’ve been treated to a number of fabulous concerts thoroughly enjoyed using both speakers and headphones, it’s a treat apposed to the usual of just sitting there staring off into space while listening to music.

However Roses operating software is still improving it was and still is at times been frustrating , hopefully Rose will solve some of these issues soon and they will .