HiFi Rose RS250 streamer preamplifier: ESS9038 DAC and front-facing full-face touchscreen
Korean firm HiFi Rose continues to adhere to the concept of “representative identity” inherent in its name – it is embodied in the RS250 network streamer. The most striking element of the novelty is the 8.8-inch wide-angle touch panel, which occupies almost the entire front side. The Mali-T864 graphics processor is responsible for its work, the entire system under the Rose OS is controlled by a 6-core Cortex processor.
When it comes to audio conversion, the ESS9038 DAC with a high-precision femtosecond clock and linear power supply operates at resolutions up to 32-bit / 768 kHz (PCM) and native DSD512. HiFi Rose RS250 perfectly copes with the role of an audio library – an SSD drive is provided, and through the USB 3.0 port the device is ready to communicate with media with a capacity of up to 10 TB.
But not by local storage a single lively modern audio – the RS250 owner can stream data over Wi-Fi, Ethernet and Bluetooth 4.0 with support for AD2DP SINK, AVRCP v1.3. The RS250 is, in HiFi Rose’s words, “a digital hub and preamplifier”. The list of related features includes Airplay streaming, Roon Ready status, Spotify Connect support, pre-installed Qobuz and Tidal apps, plus full MQA decoding.
As for the capabilities of the pre-amplifier, the rear panel of the novelty contains linear, optical, coaxial and USB audio inputs. All this is switched and, if necessary, with volume control is output to analog RCA, optical, coaxial, USB-audio, as well as a headphone jack. HiFi Rose RS250 can be controlled via mobile app or Roon. The complete remote control works via Bluetooth.
Video from the RS250 can be displayed on the big screen via HDMI 2.0 at resolutions up to 3840 x 2160/60 Hz. Videos up to 4K The RS250 can play from the Video, Rose Tube and Tidal applications.
The device is housed in a half-width housing. The design of the HiFi Rose RS250 is defined by the picture on the screen. Alternatively, it can be a pair of old-school arrow indicators, if the screen of the software player is somehow bored.
In the UK, the HiFi Rose RS250 streamer-preamplifier costs £2,000.
