HiFi Rose RS150B

Innovative high-performance streamer

I never thought that a touchscreen would have any place in my stereo system. After spending some time with HiFi Rose's RS150B streamer, I wonder why more streaming components don't have them.

HiFi Rose's onboard customized Android™ OS gives the premium streamer/DAC/preamplifier a user-friendliness that will feel intuitive to mobile users in general. Audiophiles will appreciate its authoritative but smooth sound. I also love the cool touchscreen features, like the functional virtual back panel for switching inputs and outputs and the virtual VU meters.

Easy control

I grew up playing vinyl, and then CDs. Streaming was a hard sell, but at this point I see it as an amazing — sometimes overwhelming — and necessary asset. App control across the different platforms isn't always intuitive — it's still the main reason my wife rarely opts for streaming music when she's picking out something to play.

The RS150B feels different. It connects to your internet via Ethernet or the included Wi-Fi dongle. Whether you're using its front-panel touchscreen apps or the free RoseConnect Premium app for Apple® and Android devices, the interface is user-friendly. The way it organizes your different sources — from streaming services including TIDAL, Qobuz, and Spotify, to music files stored in one of its onboard options or your NAS server — feels almost Roon-like. (By the way, this player is also a Roon endpoint.)

You can also use Apple AirPlay® to control the streamer, or the included Bluetooth remote. Free automatic updates make sure it keeps pace with evolving tech and its expanding capabilities.

Articulate detail against a black background

What I really love about the RS150B is that it stays out of your way. It's true of the interface, and especially true in how it treats audio signals, which it delivers in crystal clear-detail with a near-silent noise floor and very low distortion.

It runs on a snappy hexa-core CPU with a high-performance ESS SABRE DAC capable of 32-bit/768kHz resolution. Also key to its impressive sound is its digital clock, which drastically reduces the distorted edges inherent in digital music transmission by aligning the spaces between the data. The RS150B's femto clock measures time down to the femtosecond — one quadrillionth of a second — for exceptionally smooth, precise audio.

4K video rabbit hole

Endless video digressions await you, thanks to the RS150B's 4K video decoding via its HDMI 2.0 output. The RoseTube app lets you peruse and play YouTube videos that you can watch on the unit's full color screen or — even better — on your TV. And its HDMI ARC connection means you can get beautiful soundtrack audio from whatever you might be watching.

Exceptional build quality and bountiful connections

You'll notice the heft and attention to detail when you handle the RS150B. From the milled aluminum chassis to the understated style of its beautiful one-piece glass touchscreen display, you can feel that it's built to dampen vibration — and to last. Under the hood, its massive toroidal transformer and isolated circuitry work to minimize unwanted noise.

On the back panel you have ample digital connections, balanced and unbalanced analog outputs for connection your amplifier, and an RCA stereo analog input. You could connect a USB drive, HiFi Rose RSA780E CD drive, or another CD player — even a turntable with a phono preamp.

Flexible local storage options

The RS150B has dual USB 3.0 inputs and a microSD card slot for local access to digital music files. And all HiFi Rose models include an internal bay on the bottom panel for adding optional SSD storage. The player will recognize drives up to 4TB, which is much more than you'll probably ever use.