I’d bet a donut against a dollar that you wouldn’t be able to tell a single FIR filter apart in a blind test – most people can’t. If something sounds off, the cause is usually not the filter but the system itself. Very often it comes down to poorly matched components, while people prefer to blame specs or obscure technicalities. In the end, the weakest link is rarely the gear – it’s usually the listener’s assumptions.
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I can’t tell you which filter is which, but I absolutely can tell a difference between them.
I used to be convinced as well – until I went through a proper professional blind test. Turned out I couldn’t tell a single filter apart. And the funniest part? Neither could a couple of very confident audiophiles with systems costing well over €100k.
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Also I confirmed via the settings between the 151 and the app that the 151 lists 7 filters(all of which are renamed post 5.9 with a new one) while the app lists the original 6 filters. When changing a filter in one, it seems to select a filter that’s off from the other by 1.
Here I’m with you. If they had done the same thing with my 150B, I’d definitely feel a bit uncomfortable too – that’s the kind of confusion nobody really needs.
Well, it’s possible that it’s genre dependent. Listening to Zack Williams or Leanna Crawford, they are quite noticeable. Crawford is a very interesting case because her album is one that becomes utter trash if you have the output on the streamer beyond 2v on a Rose integrated. If you’re unaware, both the RA180 and RA280 are known to gain a lot of distortion if you use anything beyond 2v. This album specifically is wild to hear because it gains a noticeable “static” sound. The first track is sufficient for testing the output. I thought I blew a speaker when I first heard it.
These two artists are also easier to tell the FIR apart.
Also, not everyone has the exact same hearing. I also have APD, so I’m VERY sensitive to sounds.
Everyone wants to believe they have some kind of “special hearing” that sets them apart from others. In reality, you don’t hear a damn thing – and on top of that, you come across as a complete idiot. We’re talking about FIR filters here, and you start rambling about output voltage on a low-grade amp, claiming you can hear filter differences on some trash album. Unbelievable… yet another example of audiophilia combined with a extra low IQ.
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Steve_H
Dude, I’m sorry to say I’m also suffering from the latest fucking shitty update on my RS151, I agree with absolutely everything you say.
JMBARG,
I know I have asked this once before, but have you tried other sources on your system, such as a phono or CD player, bypassing the 151? If so, how is the sound?
Also, have you tried taking the digital out of the RS151 into another DAC? Or plugged your CD player’s digital output into the digital in of your RS151? Might help isolate the problem.
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Smarter than you though.
Tell a high-rate MP3 from a lossless recording in a blind test then.
Funny how it had only “changed” for people who also put audiophile fuses into their gear, and not for anyone else.
So… junk.
The company is somewhat questionable but for entirely different reasons.
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Nothing has changed, and the sound hasn’t changed either. Only the names and positions of the FIR filters were altered, and that alone was enough to throw you pseudo-audiophiles into confusion, because now your “golden ear” can’t put things in order since it actually hears no difference. The great debate of crap versus piss – that’s the true essence of your ignorance. If ROSE changes the font size and the color tone of the letters to something warmer in the next update, people like you will suddenly start “hearing” more silence between the notes and even claim they can better recognize when the sound engineer farts.
In terms of gear, you might have HIGH-END, but the real junk is your rotten brain.
Dude, my RS150 has been running day in, day out for 3 years and is practically never turned off. Once you rack up the same mileage as I have, you’ll understand that ROSE builds their hardware as reliable as a tank. As for the software, sure, there are some issues, but they’re always solved with a reset to factory settings.
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VIK
Could you tell me how to check how many hours the player has played? I have an RS 151, but maybe it’s similar. Thank you.
If you could hear 100% differences when using a given filter in a blind test, you would be able to name these filters without knowing which one was being used at the time. What you can say is that now the music is playing, say, in tone X, and then in tone Y, and then the next change in tone U—these are your impressions, which cannot be measured or logically explained.
To answer your question, this is my setup and playback chain. I don’t have anything else: HiFi Rose RS151 → PrimaLuna Evo 300 Hybrid → Wharfedale Elysian 4.
I don’t connect the RS151 to the internet. I play music from an external USB hard drive with: 16-, 24-, and 32-bit WAVs; SACD ISO; DSD 256 and 128-bit files. I try to avoid FLAC files whenever possible.
I’ve said it many times and I’ll say it again: for me, the RS250A, and now the RS151, function as a DAC with a display for navigating my hard drive.
Why?!
Might explain why you perceive difference in sound though.
Thank you, I am sorry that you had to repeat it for me. The relative simplicity of your system will make it a simple matter to attach an old CD player directly to the integrated amp and have a listen. Also if the CD player has a digital out you can attach it to the digital in of the 151 to see if you can rule out your HDD as the problem. You can switch the analog inputs you are using from the 151 to the amp to see if that changes anything. And finally you can take the digital out of the 151 to an external DAC and plug that into the amp. This way you can isolate the problem.
I once had a bad trigger cable running between my two monoblocks which would intermittently affect SQ. Once I swapped that those problems disappeared. No my RS130 is a whole other problem, but its SQ is not one of them. But it does not have the complication of a DAC like your 151. Good luck.
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Hi, go to SETTINGS – USER ACCOUNT = PROFIT
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