After a more than scary start, where I wondered if I had the right choice in buying this DAC. Indeed, the sound when unpacking was rather thin, without punch, without depth or width, in short without flavor. It took a week of running in for the RD160 to be at its full potential.
Now I will not change this incredible DAC so soon, the sound is great, everything is full, soft, a striking 3D effect, each instrument is perceptible, the voices are clear.
This device has gone beyond my expectations.
To the next owners of this excellent DAC, plug it in, let it run 24/7 for a week and then enjoy…
I big Bravo to Hifi Rose for this excellent engineering work. Too bad the same rigor is not transposed into your software dev…
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Amazing, it’s so beautiful!!
You describe the sound of the RS150B exactly!
Exactly !!! That’s totally what I have with the Rs150b
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There haven’t been many reviews of the RD160, but the few have been exceptional so far! I currently have the Chord Hugo TT2 DAC, and I’m still waiting for more reviews and comparisons to decide whether to add the M Scaler to my system or let go of the TT2 and upgrade to RD160! I have the RS130 which is an absolute masterpiece! I feel the RD160 and given how it’s built to go with the RS130 might match or surpass the Hugo TT2, but I’m quite skeptical whether it will outmatch the TT2+ The M Scaler combo!
Aesthetically, it kills anything on the market! just incredible!
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I was thinking about the very same 2 combinations of which to choose from. For now I have only a RS250A but I am waiting to compare the TT2 (+ M scaler) with the RD160 and then complete this choice with the RS130.
So i also am really curious to what peoples experiences are
I borrowed it for this weekend and I will compare it to the Dac of the rs150 b
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I have the RS250A in my living room system along with the following setup :
- Klipsch RP-8000F (Floor Standing Speakers)
- Klipsch RP-404c ( Central Speakers)
- Klipsch RP-500SA II (Dolby Atmos Surround Speakers)
- Klipsch RP - 1000 SW (Subwoofer)
- Denon AVRX6800H (AVR)
Although this setup is amazing I invested in building another dedicated stereo setup in my music/office room, I intended to have 2nd system a few steps ahead of my living room :
- HIFI ROSE RS130
- Chord Hugo TT2
- Audio Research i50 Tube
- Klipsch Heritage Forte IV
I can’t recommend the RS130 enough, the built is impeccable and its a true masterpiece (a few steps ahead from the 150B and 250A, both are excellent though) , along the with the TT2, the sound is incredible, a very wide sound stage with a lot of resolution and micro details, the timbre and naturalness in sound is very analog like, and the Audio research tube amp really rounds off the whole sound to a very engaging warm and musical sound! Also the optic SFP on the RS130 really helps in cleaning the sound with a darker black drop allowing more details and spaciousness to pop from the music. Im extremely happy with my setup but its either Im going to add the M Scaler or trade the TT2 and add the RD160 to the setup.
With the Rs150b I can reverse the polarity of the Xlr outputs to tune with my Accuphase amp. This is not planned on the Rd160. Too bad!!
Why you should have reverse polarity switch? You can make a crossover cable or change polarity on loudspeakers if the change of polarity is important to you. And what you get exactly with polarity reversed?
On Accuphase the hot and cold points are reversed
Not possible to act otherwise, the Accuphase sources are wired correctly. The only solution is to connect in Rca or make a cross Rca
I seem to remember that some Accuphase amps have a phase inversion function.
Yes but suddenly it’s reversed for all the sources connected to the amplifier, I only need it for the Rd160
You can also find cables with the phase reversed…
For example, Audioquest does this on demand.
You Can also swap the speaker’s câbles…
Have you tried connecting the rd160 to the computer via usb?
The asio driver provided by rose does not work and cannot recognize my rd160 at all.
Of course it does… Try it !
If you read what I put: I have other Accuphase sources!! If I reverse the speaker terminals, what will happen? I’m going to be out of phase for some sources!!
The purpose is to indicate that the Rs160 does not offer this option which is available on other devices of the brand