Hifi Rose 130B streamer only

#1

After studying the specs compared to the 150b here are two major differences beyond the obvious.

The screen on the 130 is TFT vs IPS on the 150b. A definite downgrade. The clock chip appears to be OXOC which is oven controlled on the 130 vs voltage controlled on the 150b. The 130 wins on that one.

The use of fiber connections on the 130 is novel but can be equally achieved with the 150 for less than $75.

Take out all the DAC / PreAmp components of the 150b with the exceptions noted above and you have the 130.

Two additional changes was the change from DVI i2s of the 150b to the standard HDMI on the 130 but sadly there are still only two profiles (PS Audio or Javs) so if your external DAC can not accept either of those two profiles you will be out of luck on connecting the 130 to the DAC via i2s. All other connections should work without issue but you won’t get the i2s clock synchronization

Additionally the ability to add an external word clock to the 130. Not sure why you would do this vs adding it to your DAC like DCS, Gustard and many others do but the option is there on the 130 if needed.

If I had to guess they are going. to price this at $2999 but it really should be $2499. Just my 2cents but it looks like a great product.

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#2

I look forward to more information on this unit being available in English.
I suppose this will happen soon. A US dealer mentioned the MSRP is around US $10,000.

John

#3

In Korea, the RS130 costs about 5 million won - that’s the equivalent of about 3.500,- € :wink:

#4

Interesting, at current exchange rates, that’s under $3800 USD.
Out of curiosity, do you know the price of a 150B in South Korea? Current MSRP is US $ 4995.
Discounts are most likely available if one is to shop a bit.

#5

While I agree that this is an amazing product but if Hifi Rose prices this above $3k USD it will be a tough sale. That would mean the delta from this to the rs150b would be $2k USD which denotes the value of the internal DAC and preamp of the 150b. If they price the 130 greater than $3k that will cheapen the value of the additional tech in the 150b that is not in the 130. Just my opinion. Thoughts?

#6

The RS 130 is being shown at Hi End Munich with introduction/final specs/pricing slated for this summer. Until then, much of what we summarize here is speculation. The 130 appears to have more attention paid to circuit isolation and power supply (size/capacitors) compared to the 150b. It does seem that the around 10k US price in another chat room is also speculative.

All this said, folks I have spoken with that own and/or have spent time with the 150b are quite pleased. Great one box solution and although an external DAC can potentially improve the sound, many apparently feel it’s close to a hair splitter. Perhaps the extra beef of the 130 with the right DAC will widen this gap. As with much of this hobby however, there are always diminishing returns. For sure, have to wait for a listen in a few months before making any final decisions.
John

#7

Here is an overview of all Rose devices from a Korean retailer. The prices are of course higher here in Europe and also in the USA… We will find out more details in the summer when the RS130 will be sold outside of Korea :wink:

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#8

Good info Phil.
Thank you.

#9

Couldn’t possibly be any worse than the low res display on the 150b.

#10

Would you put a better one for such a price?

#11

We are still awaiting the retail price of the RS130 but the rumor is that it will be more expensive than the 150b so you think the screen would be better. But TFT is not better than IPS regardless if the screen is slightly bigger than the 150b and we are talking slightly. That being said I am not sure why they would go with cheaper technology (screen) for one of the most important elements of the device. Time will tell and this is speculation at this point but Rose’s very own specs state the 130 is made with a TFT screen at this time.

#12

Who stated 130 would be better than 150?
They are not the same product nor have the same features.
130 is a basic transport and you need a dac but they don’t have a separate ‘dac only’ gear on the market.
Why would I go with 130 while I can use a full product like 150?
Is it better from technical perspective? This doesn’t justify nor show any sonic improvements as you need to get some other brand dac device to get the music out and the sonic wise will anyway sound different.
Instead you can get, again, dCS or similar all-in-one gear and be happy for what you get cost wise.
Until they have any serious dac where you can connect 130 into, 130 is an orphan on the market from my perspective.
Even if you get 130 you need a serious dac that costs 10+k to reach and justify 130 potential thus whole setup goes more into other brand plate like badic dCS, Audiorenderer, Metronome, etc. where Rose has no sonic potential against them

#13

@mkii I 100% agree. See attached screenshot from Henly Audio in the UK. One of the first resellers of the HiFi Rose products. They have the 130 listed at £4299.00 vs £3899.00 for the 150b. I am not sure I understand the reasoning behind this pricing method.

Screenshot 2023-06-27 at 12.20.50 PM
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#14

HiFi Rose RS130 , Audio Destination in the UK for £3,582.50 Ex Vat or $4,477.

#15

The HiFi Rose RS130 uses a high-precision OCXO clock to block digital noise. It has no DAC built into it. A high-precision OCXO clock with low phase noise is very expensive, so that’s why the price is so high.

#16

Then I can keep my RS150B because I use an external DAC which also has an ocxo clock

#17

Good point but I am confused on the value add here with the Oven Baked Clock also known as OCXO.

Since the 130 NEEDS to be used with the external DAC will the external DAC take priority over the 130’s internal clock?

I do know there are some really good external OCXO that users rave about for under $1000 USD but I am not educated enough on the subject to best understand the value.

With all that being said I do feel pricing on this one should still be under that of the 150b. Since the 150b includes a decent DAC and PreAmp combo, an all in one if you will. So that clock would really have to be a strong value add to justify the cost which it maybe I just don’t know.

I also believe the 150 uses a very high quality Femto clock which is not oven backed but electronically regulated for temperature by the mother board and voltage control. OCXO is the top tier way to temperature control crystal oscillator but the Femto crystal oscillator (VCXO) in the 150 is also expensive and is a close 2nd to a OCXO clock (again I could be totally wrong here)

Here is more info on clocks specific to the HiFi Rose:

This is the clock that is in the HiFi Rose 150b:
https://www.crystek.com/home/oscillator/vcxodetail.aspx?pn=CVHD-950

And here is a great website that compares the OCXO type of chip in the RS130 type VCXO chip in the 150b.

VCXO: Voltage Controlled Crystal Oscillator. The output frequency of a VCXO can change with a change of control voltage. The amount of frequency shift with a given voltage change is highly dependent on the oscillator circuit. VCXOs are widely used in telecommunications, phase locked loops, instrumentation, and other electronic equipment when a stable but electrically tunable oscillator is required. The VCXO typically employs a varactor diode to vary the frequency of oscillation by applying control voltage.

OCXO: Oven Controlled Crystal Oscillator. An OCXO offers higher stability and better phase noise specification than other crystal oscillators do. The crystal and other temperature-sensitive components are in a stable oven, which is adjusted to the temperature at which the crystal’s frequency change is the smallest over the temperature range of the oven. Additional circuitry is required to control the oven temperature.

#18

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Screenshot 2023-06-28 at 11.24.31 AM2812×1888 352 KB

#19

I think you are trying to look at it from the standpoint of a normal person trying to optimize the price/performance ratio, whereas the product is aimed at audiophiles, where higher price automatically means better performance. Most likely (viz. Veblen goods) it would sell much worse if the price were lower.

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#20

I am going to replace RS150B with RS130 precisely because I want to use the potential of an external DAC. And on the market there is a top R2R under 10 thousand, for example Denafrips Terminator II …