Yeah, the audio is quite good (I have B&O in my S4) but I rented a Q7 recently, and those fake buttons on a touch screen… no. Just no. I’ll either get an RS3, which still has real controls, or wait until the next year for something with real knobs. 
Not even going into the Luxman vs. Accuphase discussion. Both are good brands, but personally I’d just have something with Purify’s inside. If anything, when it is well over +30C most of the year, Class A is the last thing I want inside the house 
The beautiful thing about audio is that everyone chooses what they like within their budget. 
And let’s stick to that.
BorisM
There are many different manufacturers who make good equipment, but you can’t write such nonsense that you could have read. It doesn’t matter that I own Accuphase, because I have a very good perspective on what I own. So, the fact that I own one doesn’t mean there’s nothing better than Accuphase and Sonus Faber speakers. Just as I wrote earlier, owning a Mercedes GLC doesn’t make me think that, for example, BMW is a better manufacturer. My wife had a BMW 3ę, recently sold it, and bought the latest Xtrail E-power in the top-of-the-line version. Despite my attempts to trade her in for the latest BMW 3ę sedan, she bought a Nissan.
You’re lucky that living in the US means you can get some things cheaper, because both electronics and cars cost less than in Europe, so you can afford more. Moreover, some manufacturers offer better starting prices for the US than in Europe. We can’t forget about the US manufacturer Macinthos. I tested the MA 12000 amplifier, a truly excellent machine, and I can tell you that your electronics sell well in Europe and are well-liked. And the prices are really well-tailored for today’s market. I only consider the CD players to be underwhelming, but the amplifiers are certainly appealing. I liked Accuphase the most, but that doesn’t mean it’s the only or best choice. It certainly sells well, and many people buy it in Europe and the US. Although I think Macinthos sells the most in your country. After all, you have to support your own economy.
Regarding class A heating, it’s really not a big deal. Let me give you an example: after listening to the E 800 for 8 hours, it’s back to room temperature 40 minutes after turning it off.
The least, or most, heated amplifiers were those from Pass, Gryphon, and T+A.
Tube amplifiers, especially the larger ones, get much hotter, but people buy them because they enjoy the magic of listening to tube music. Class A also has its charm, as it sounds slightly different than class A+B, but everyone has their own sound.
True, to a degree, as far as personal enjoyment of whatever you have goes. But as we can see even in this very forum, some people chose the most expensive thing that might fit their budget without any regard to whether it is actually any good or not.
I am not too sure about that. They sell well, for a high-end brand, and they are (or at least used to be; let’s see what new owners make of them) very well built, have great support, and keep a recognizable corporate look, unlike, ahem, some manufacturers that can’t decide if they want to be a high-tech big screen device maker, or sell poor man’s Nagra imitations… But more value-oriented brands move more boxes, for obvious reasons.
Oh, it cools down quickly enough, of course, but I do know that my Class A/AB (it’s still running in Class A for probably 95% of the time when I use it) gets hot to the touch right away, while a Class D box I have in the office (and end up listening to most of the time) is barely warm after several hours of listening.
Tubes are a different story, of course, but I’ve lugged on my back big boxes from many brands (Thresholds, Boulders, Macintoshes, Electrocompaniets, ATIs, top of the line Denons and Yamahas, Passes, and God knows what else, and with a few intentionally colored exceptions, once it is set up right, differences are far smaller than one would think. And any relationship between sound quality and price was nonexistent. I’d much rather mess with speakers and DRC than worry about minute (if that) differences in what is supposed to be a “straight wire with gain” anyway.
Regarding cooling down, the Gryphon (of the amplifiers I’ve owned) is the worst in this regard. I remember the day a store employee came to my house to pick up the unit. After playing the Diablo 300 for two hours and then turning it off after an hour, we still couldn’t put it back in the case because it was still too hot. I opened the balcony door to the terrace in the living room to let the cool air (it was about minus two degrees Celsius outside) vent it. It also gets very hot; it’s hard to put your hand on the top of the case. For example, the E800, after eight hours of listening, you can put your hand on the top of the case. The same thing happens with the E700, which a friend of mine bought. The Pass had a similar problem with heating, and their top-of-the-line integrated amp—you could fry an egg on the case itself.
It takes a lot of time to cool down 38Kg of metal
Dear HiFi Rose Team,
I am writing to follow up on the official statement released in November regarding the changes to Spotify Connect HD and Tidal Connect support.
In your announcement, it was stated that an External Connect Module was being developed to ensure continued high-quality streaming for existing HiFi Rose devices, with a planned release for "early next year."
As we are now in March, the community of HiFi Rose users is eagerly awaiting the “detailed specifications and features” that were promised to be announced soon. Given the significant investment we have made in your hardware, the current lack of a native solution for Spotify and Tidal Connect HD is a pressing concern.
Could you please provide an update on the following:
HiFi Rose is known for its commitment to the highest audio standards and a superior user experience. I look forward to hearing how you plan to bridge this gap and maintain the premium value of our current setups.
Thank you for your time and for your dedication to finding a solution.
Best regards,
Göran
Uhm Gorsti ,
If you’re waiting for an external device to get spotify lossless, you don’t have to wait.
You can use any device that can do spotify lossless and has a digital out.
I’ve tested this w my iBasso DX180 and its coax out option.
Thanks Smegel, I will try with my sonos connect 
BR
Göran
Hi Mike,
I don’t think Göran is concerned with using it with another device, like you do with your iBasso DX180 (portable hi-res music player).
He’s probably more concerned that such expensive devices from Rose don’t “yet” support what devices costing a tenth of the price can do.
Furthermore, I think it’s really a poor reflection on Rose that they haven’t implemented these services.
I would also be extremely annoyed to buy a device costing between $3,000 and $6,000 that can’t do the simplest things.
But, as always, I would do my research (at a time when it cannot be implemented).
I’m not going to carry wood into the forest.
In other words:
I buy an expensive device and have to buy a second device to be able to stream Spotify and Tidal properly.
No normal person would do that; they would look for other devices in this price range.
The exception is if they don’t want to do without the display, which is still the main reason why many people choose Rose.
And as I said, a nice display doesn’t make music, and that’s the main reason, isn’t it!?!
@Bonte
His question was about the new promised Rose device.
My response is based on the idea that any new device would have to conenct thru an existing digital port.
So you already have that capability if you have a digital out on a device that can already do spotify lossless.
Hi Smegel and Bonte,
I totally agree with you on those points. My preference for Spotify isn’t about peak audio quality—I’m well aware there are other platforms that sound better. For me, it’s simply about the interface and over 15 years of ecosystem integration.
My frustration is really just the gap between the marketing and the reality. Spotify has been talking about their ‘HiFi’ solution for several years now, so it’s surprising that HiFi Rose hasn’t stayed ahead of that curve.
When you invest $5,900 / €5,300 in a device marketed as the ‘Ultimate Network Transport’ designed to ‘provide the ultimate sound experience,’ you expect it to handle the world’s most popular service seamlessly. At that price point, the hardware should be able to deliver on its premium promises. I’m just looking for the performance to finally match the marketing.
Yep, Mike…
I know what you mean and I’m sure I interpreted your post correctly.
There are many roads that lead to Rome!
I also took detours with my 520 when Rose wasn’t as far along with the software as it is now.
You weren’t even on the forum back then!
In other words:
If you have even a little interest in computers, and of course the time and money, you can do a lot of things.
But that’s not what every buyer (user) wants!
People buy an expensive device and want to listen to music. They download the app and then want to stream to their device or listen to their own music. Of course, there are always suggestions for changes or improvements.
But I take the view, no, I expect that a device like this can do that for a price like that and that I don’t have to buy a magic box to be able to stream Spotify Connect.
Many people here only use the Rose app for their device settings and stream via Roon, for example, or want to use the Qobuz, Spotify, or Tidal Connect app because they are better curated than Rose’s!
But they can’t because the device doesn’t support Connect.
Just look at Qobuz Connect at the beginning:
What problems there were!
I don’t know if everything is running smoothly today. Has the problem with gapless playback in Qbuz and Apple Music been nicely solved?
You know, I stream via Roon and am therefore not up to date.
That’s why my post was in the right direction!
Even Göran wrote it!
I don’t mean to offend Rose, and I take my hat off to him.
But the streamers could all certainly work perfectly if Rose would free herself from all the ballast that’s on the streamer boxes that has nothing to do with music.
Yes, sure, they’re all great gadgets, but wouldn’t it be better to focus on more important things, like software stability and integration with the most popular streaming services?
Besides, there’s no room correction (which is relevant to music), and it’s more important than ever these days.
Then you don’t need a magic box for Spotify and possibly another box later for room calibration (okay, that’s probably how it will be…see mini DSP).
Oh, Mike!
Here’s just another example of how other companies do it, companies that have a decent software team and really want to be at the top of the HiFi industry, keep their customers and attract many new ones.
You don’t need a full-screen display for that!
Last update still current!!!
Qobuz Connect arrived in May 2025 and it’s working and hasn’t even been updated since, so everything was done right from the start!
PS:
This post is in no way intended to offend
HiFi Rose
Citech Co., Ltd.
11F, 932 Yangjae-daero, Songpa-gu
Seoul, South Korea
My sole aim with this post is to encourage the company to attract more potential customers and to motivate them to explore current technologies.
To remain competitive, they should focus on room calibration and the integration of the most popular streaming providers in the Connect version, without the need for additional modules.
That’s exactly what it should be. To just listen to lossless Spotify, Tidal Connect etc. one could use any nu,ber of external devices, from an old smartphone to some fancy streamer costing more than an entire Rose stack. But those will not provide the seamless integrated experience one expects when paying thousands of dollars for an integrated streamer with a fancy touchscreen. Now, it is possible that Rose’s alleged device will utilize custom USB drivers to actually integrate properly with Rose’s screen control. But they haven’t been exactly forthcoming with the details so far.
Meanwhile, something like PowerNode, released about 5 years ago, not only supported all of the above since the day either it, or the service, were released (and far more services to begin with) but as of this week even has Dirac working. All in a box that costs 1/5th of a Rose. That’s what one expects from a brand that positions itself as a premium offering. And Bluesound’s service is significantly better, too…
Boris,I agree completely. You’ve really hit on the core of the frustration here. When a brand markets itself as a premium offering, the expectation for a seamless software experience is naturally very high, and there is clearly a gap between the vision in the ads and the current reality.
You’re absolutely right that systems like BluOS have set a massive benchmark for stability that is hard to ignore. For me, it’s Rose’s visual ambition that stands out, but I agree that true premium value requires actually delivering on those promises. It’s a very valid critique, and I really hope they listen to us users to bridge this gap.
'Xactly.
I think Rose still is the only vendor with a full-face touch screen. Which is neat but hardly revolutionary. Streamers with a smaller but big enough full color touch screens existed long before Rose (although Novatron never had any decent distribution here) and today you can get a any number of devices with vastly superior software and in practice better audio hardware, with a usable albeit smaller screen, from a little Wiim to some fancy M66 or Lyngdorf. I’m not sure whether a bigger screen, with everything else being well behind the competition, will take Rose very far.
And don’t get me started about things like multi-room playback (Rose: what’s multi-room playback?), common library management between devices, or DRC…
I agree, and you’re raising some very tough but fair points. A big screen alone won’t carry a brand in the long run if the ecosystem behind it stays behind the curve compared to competiton. At this price point, the ‘brain’ of the device really should be as premium as the display.
For my part, it fits my current setup quite well. I’ve actually perceived a nice lift in sound quality compared to my Bluesound N130—especially after switching to the SFP ethernet connection over WiFi—but then again, as we know, these things can be very subjective and setup-dependent
It’s a very valid critique though, and I really hope they start prioritizing these software and integration gaps to truly stay competitive.
Not going to get into the whole WiFi vs. copper vs. fiber thing. There are no physical reasons either would sound different, assuming minimally competent design.
Indeed. Everything else (we’re talking about mid-market devices like Rose or Lumin or EverSolo here, not some fancy outfit like dCS that builds their own DACs) is generic off-the-shelf stuff. Looks, features, and user experience are the only things that differentiate them.
I don’t think that Node had a very good DAC in it, so it’s a possibility. On the other hand, a NAD with BluOS card that I replaced with RS-520 sounded, when set up properly, sounded a bit better – better amp and proper bass management do wonders. It looked like a NAD though
For the Powernode N330 on the other hand, I don’t really feel like dragging it around and trying out with different speakers in different rooms, but even that sounds really good with properly designed convolution filters in a small room. Now that it has Dirac it even sounds good from any source, something I simply can not achieve with Rose where I can only apply DRC from Roon…
“I won’t get into a discussion about Wi-Fi, copper, and fiber. There’s no physical reason why the two should sound any 
different, assuming minimally competent design.”
There’s a fundamental difference. A 5G Wi-Fi system isolates the streamer from any interference from a wired IT network. Even a fiber-optic network has switches that cause ground-level interference.
A very simple solution: sell your Rose. Buy a Wii M or EverSolo. You’ll have Spotify and Tidal connectivity. Multi-band equalization, and you can watch YouTube videos on your TV, and you’ll have $4,000 left in the bank. 
