HiFi Rose RD160 Digital To Analog Converter (DAC) - FULL Product Overview!

[@VinylLatte]

Gorgeous device. Saw it at Audio Advice Live, it’s truly stunning.

[@AudioAdvice]

Thanks for sharing, it is really cool!

[@stevelucey7719]

Very cool unit! I heard this at Audio Advice Live and was impressed!

[@AudioAdvice]

Thank you!

[@BobbyBass-x6i]

Beautiful looking unit. Rose makes great stuff but it’s out of my price range. I just bought a boat and it came with a stereo. I’ve ordered the Holo Audio Cyan2 DAC and the Red steamer, combined about 2K, so about 20% of the price of the Rose pair. Can’t wait to hear it in my system. Rock on!

[@AudioAdvice]

Thanks for sharing, we hope you enjoy your new gear.

[@KainSwiss]

i literally just bought the RS130 today, and was thinking what DAC to get. What a dream come true in the RD160!

[@AudioAdvice]

Awesome! A great pairing!

[@brentcollins9727]

That was a great review. I love my HiFi Rose 250

[@AudioAdvice]

Thanks very much, glad you are enjoying it!

[@net_news]

kudos to Rose they are a really innovative company!!! I'd love to see a review of the black version of this DAC!

[@yellow_noise3]

Some youbtube reviewers, promote this brand, which is completely unknown china made. Maybe, it is reproducing sound quite good, I dont have zilion $ to try on my own. This company is trying to punch faaaar above it's weight, but prices are ridiculous for the value given. For this money you can buy well known DAC from Lampizator, with tube buffer and perfect sound. What you need fancy display for? Nothing. This device is maybe for nuveau rich russian who buys by eyes, not ears. This dac is shouting, screaming for attention, not my style at all....

[@AudioAdvice]

Thanks for sharing!

[@YorkshireAV]

@@yellow_noise3- they’re not made in China!

[@ARyan-nf5my]

It’s sexy, but why is the lighting in particular out of kilter with their other gear’s warm yellow theme with lighting / writing then offset it with this sterile white. Unless they’re planning a new direction?

[@AudioAdvice]

Thanks, yes this one has a different look than the rest of the line up.

[@fabian2970]

Now I need a RD260 which costs 40% less, with less features but with hdmi-earc to complement the RA280 :)

[@AudioAdvice]

Nice idea! Thanks for watching

[@mabehall7667]

Seems like identical dac chipset and specs as the Eversolo A8 but at more than 21/2 times the price.

[@AudioAdvice]

Yes, it will be interesting to compare them, we only had this for a short while and had to send it back. Thanks for watching

[@Novilicious]

Just as much as a terminator DAC from Denafrips. I’m torn! This is just so elegant

[@AudioAdvice]

Thanks!

[@MrBonger88]

Pardon my ignorance. What is pod? You specifically mentioned pod 128. Thanks

[@AudioAdvice]

That was DoP128 referring to the DSD spec. Thanks for watching

[@MrBonger88]

@@AudioAdviceah okay thx. That part at 3:47 had me confused. In hindsight I should have known that it was DoP reversed 😊

[@AudioAdvice]

@@MrBonger88 No worries.

[@taylorrasmus1905]

I saw this at Audio Advice Live! Great video.

[@AudioAdvice]

Thanks very much!

[@ianorigbo7617]

This looks very good, but how much ? 🤔

[@idontnkow]

you can't afford it.

[@AudioAdvice]

$5295. Thanks for watching

[@TheLkdude]

No HDMI eARC ? :( for 5K ???

[@AudioAdvice]

No HDMI, correct. This is aimed at a high end two channel system, most DAC's in that category do not have HDMI. Even the 50K DCS does not. Thanks for watching

[@tchan551]

What is capable of POD128 ?

[@AudioAdvice]

Its DoP128 and is a DSD spec. Thanks for watching

[@artvandelay837]

headphone jack?

[@AudioAdvice]

Nope, not on this one.

[@CarlVanDoren61]

Discrete class A output stages? 😮

[@beefbottom]

Certainly a gussied up product. HiFi Rose the Rolex of HiFi.

[@AudioAdvice]

Haha, thanks for sharing

[@서정범박사]

❤❤❤❤❤

[@AudioAdvice]

Thanks!

[@myu4039]

ROON Ready?

[@AudioAdvice]

Nothing out on it yet, but almost every other product from them is.

[@greghandy4746]

The DAC does not need to be Roon Ready, just the Network Player, which some call a streamer. The HiFi Rose RS130 Network Player is Roon Ready, and it works flawlessly (Some companies use the term Streamer in different ways, making it confusing for consumers. HiFi Rose uses the term Streamer to mean Network Player and DAC combination)

[@adrian.parker]

My initial thoughts for a piece of equipment that is meant to be future proof. Pros: Build, in fact Everything, reminds me of Esoteric - especially ext clock. Happy to see direct SFP. Cons: No sub out. No HDMI out for AV processor. That volume control is a tad odd. USB In is not USB C (I can perhaps see why - given legacy investment - but not futuristic), does USB have/need power? Anyhow I am pleased that decent kit is being made again. Now we have a dilemma those opamps v tubes on the analogue stage. They look like they are not intended to be rolled, being specially made etc. Also where does EQ fit in, it at all? Final moan (Sorry) why make components that are odd shapes and sizes? Again, what do I know. Perhaps that is a legacy of the '80s. Did I miss: Can it be set to DAC only mode (without volume), so that I can still control volume via AV processor? Thanks for the thorough product presentation and the effort in creating. This will no doubt make customers very happy. Just wish I could test on my main system without the flashing screen... :) (If I did not already have a Leema Libra, I could be tempted)

[@AudioAdvice]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[@martybrazill7935]

In a world of plain looking high end DACs, that Rose 160 looks really interesting. I can't wait to give it a listen in the Raleigh showroom sometime soon.

[@AudioAdvice]

We should have one in later this fall, hope you get a chance.

[@youclement8124]

Same OCXO clock than the RS130. I don’t Understand. The goal is not to upgrade the streamer with this dac ?!! 🤨

[@kvrhifi]

Need these features sub out with crossover management Hdmi eARC with Dolby digital 2.1 downmix Room correction Output voltage selector .

[@stevenmcneely1466]

Those features should be on your preamp

[@AudioAdvice]

This is meant to pair with their streamer in most use cases, then go into a high end preamp. But yes, those would be cool too!

[@jonthompson8807]

Wooo

[@AudioAdvice]

Thanks!

[@roberts3889]

POD128?...I think you mean DoP128.

[@AudioAdvice]

Thanks for letting us know!

[@peterlundskow4061]

What does 'Oven controled' mean? Thanks for a good overview, between me starting to watch the video & the end I see the listing on your site went from out of stock to the purchase price👍

[@AudioAdvice]

That refers to the OCXO which is an "Oven Controlled Crystal Oscillator", it is a type of crystal oscillator that has higher frequency stability. We were not sure about the oven part either, but is makes sense if you read how they are made. Here is a good link blog.bliley.com/what-the-heck-is-an-ocxo-crystal-oscillator-facts-functionality Yes, that is funny! We expect these will be available later this fall for shipping. Thanks for watching

[@slip6699]

I think its a bit of overselling the QA process during manufacture. Crystal oscillators aren't new

[@eugenewoo7702]

Such a great product, but not inexpensive.

[@AudioAdvice]

That sums it up nicely! Thanks for sharing

[@dpcoffey]

$5300!? 🤣🤣🤣

[@AudioAdvice]

yes, that is right

[@stevenmcneely1466]

$5300? No thanks

[@AudioAdvice]

It is at the top of their range. Thanks for watching

[@Mullster]

User friendly? WOOF i sold my RS250 SOLELY because of the opposite was my experience with the utterly cluttered app.

[@AudioAdvice]

And what did you wind up with? Just curious.

[@Mullster]

@@AudioAdvice Still playing around, but right now I have a Node connected to an SMSL DAC. It does the job, but the DAC doesn’t pair that well with the amp, which is parasound. Becomes way tooo digitallly and “etchy” up top! I LOVED the display and DAC/preamp sections of the RS250, because I do a lot music discovery and one glance gets me there, with a slick visual treat. Still looking for a streamer DAC that has large legible display from 10ft seating distance. CXN100, Bluesound Icon (when released) are in consideration… Im also looking for preamp with good low punch, so any recommendations are welcome! Loving my TT that I got from you guys!

[@AudioAdvice]

@@Mullster Thanks for sharing. Have you ever tried Roon? It is not inexpensive, but it is a fantastic music discovery system. That is what everyone on our team uses. Not sure how the ICON will stack up to the RS250, we will know more in the fall. Thanks for your support, glad you are enjoying your turntable.

[@GuileZ_]

Bla Bla Bla Bla....In the end we don't see the product in action

[@AudioAdvice]

We only had the pre-production model for a very limited time before it had to go back.

[@chrisw1462]

@4:00 "Fiber optic USB...all of the noise and distortions from the source device are lost..." You DO understand that USB is DIGITAL, right? The only noise or distortion would be in the DIGITAL signal, and since USB has error correction, it would never affect the resulting audio. It literally CAN'T - something would have to CHANGE BITS in the bitstream to do that. This wins the award for the most idiotic audiophile quote of the month. And 𝙩𝙝𝙖𝙩'𝙨 saying something! Next you'll be telling me that the human ear can tell the difference between 768 kHz 32 bit and 192 kHz 24 bit.

[@slip6699]

Even then, it would just translate everything to optical, "noise" and all. Unless they are filtering noise during the digital to optical conversion. I think they are really going for preventing noise/interference by going to optical.

[@chrisw1462]

@@slip6699 We're not talking conversion here. The data is encoded directly by the RD-160 into an Optical SFP module like you'd find in a high end Ethernet switch. Still, data is data, and with error detection any bad data will be thrown away. There is no Optical USB standard, afaik, that uses SFP modules or even optical connectors, though there are many USB to SFP converter dongles out there. I suspect "HiFi Rose USA" just built the dongle into the RD-160.

[@realleescoggins]

No, that’s not correct. Mhz and Ghz noise rides on the cable and we can hear that.

[@chrisw1462]

@@realleescoggins Wow.. you CAN??? Maybe that tin foil hat is conducting the RF into your brain.

[@juliancrun]

The software on Hifi Rose products is a disaster. Tidal connect... with worse integration than Wiim. I have the Hifi Rose rs250a.

[@szymonkogut9509]

I own Rose RS130 and have no problems integrating with Tidal or Qobuz.

[@carminedesanto6746]

GM…I’m a fan of their streamer …as for the DAC chase …I’m done . This does look interesting tho.

[@AudioAdvice]

Thanks for sharing!

[@carminedesanto6746]

@@AudioAdvice It’s a gorgeous product ..but the DAC field at either end of the price spectrum has just ballooned in the past 6 months….hopefully I’ll get to hear this set up(Their streamer and DAC ) at Toronto Audiofest. Have a great weekend

[@AudioAdvice]

@@carminedesanto6746 Yes, there have been more new DACs come out in the last year than we can remember. We hope you get to hear it, thanks!

[@hblog]

Stop scamming! What is the production cost?

[@AudioAdvice]

Geez. What do you have against well made small batch audio gear?