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The RS151's solid build, exceptional sound and video quality, and sleek touchscreen interface set it apart.
HiFi Rose's RS151 music and 4K video streamer succeeds their popular RS150B, with upgraded audio performance, connectivity, and touchscreen. After spending some time with it, you might wonder why more streaming components don't work this way.
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.
The RS151 connects to your internet via Ethernet or the included Wi-Fi dongle. Once connected, its large touchscreen interface makes it super easy to find and play music. You can also use the free RoseConnect Premium phone app — either way, the interface is user-friendly. You can play music from streaming services including TIDAL, Qobuz, and Spotify, as well as music files stored in one of its onboard options or your NAS server. It also works with Roon.
You can also use Apple AirPlay® to control the streamer, or the included IR remote. Free automatic updates make sure it keeps pace with evolving tech and its expanding capabilities.
This streamer features several under-the-hood upgrades over its predecessor, the successful RS150B. They allow it to deliver audio signals with crystal clear-detail, a near-silent noise floor, and very low distortion. The RS151 runs on a new, lightning-fast eight-core CPU that boosts data processing speeds by 4x and delivers improved video quality over the previous version. And its built-in high-performance ESS SABRE DAC with 4th generation Hyperstream technology can render high-res music files at up to 32-bit/768kHz resolution.
Also key to this streamer's 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 RS151's femto clock measures time down to the femtosecond — one quadrillionth of a second. And new in the RS151's digital stage is the ROSE DPC™ module, the same found in HiFi Rose's flagship RD160 DAC. The module precisely synchronizes digital input signals with the clock for smooth yet detailed sound that is immediate and lifelike.
Endless 4K music video options await you, thanks to the RS151's HDMI 2.0 output. The RoseTube app lets you peruse and play YouTube videos that you can watch on the unit's large full color screen or — even better — on your TV. And its HDMI eARC connection means you can get beautiful soundtrack audio from whatever you might be watching.
You'll notice the heft and attention to detail when you handle the RS151. 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. And the circuit for the front-panel graphical user interface (GUI) — a fancy name for the awesome touchscreen — is completely isolated from the digital audio signal path, nipping distortion and interference in the bud.
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.
The RS151 has dual USB 3.0 inputs for local access to digital music files. And there's an internal bay on the bottom panel for adding optional SSD storage.
