HiFi Rose RS130 Ultimate Network Transport - Streaming in Perfection
The company Citech Co. Ltd. is now announcing the HiFi Rose RS130 Ultimate Network Transport as the latest solution of the HiFi Rose brand. Even the product name makes it clear that a particularly exclusive solution is to be expected here.
- Not just a streaming transport, no, the Ultimate Network Transport is to be launched with the new HiFi Rose RS130.
With the new HiFi Rose RS130, every effort has been made to realise a solution that offers hi-res audio streaming at the very highest level, says the company Citech Co Ltd about the latest product of the HiFi Rose brand, which was presented for the first time at the High End 2023 in Munich.
It should be emphasised that the new HiFi Rose RS130 is not a streaming client, but rather a so-called streaming transport, a solution that is solely dedicated to the processing of data from the network and does not have a D/A converter itself, leaving the signal conversion from digital to analogue level to other specialists.
HiFi Rose RS130 – The Ultimate Network Transport
By the way, the manufacturer himself does not speak of a streaming transport, but rather of a network transport. Not at all modestly, they even go so far as to speak of the Ultimate Network Transport.
The new HiFi Rose RS130 is the first Network Transporter designed to complete a user-friendly product line based on the unique design know-how and platform of Citech Co. Ltd. built up over many years, the manufacturer promises.
Pure luxury
The new HiFi Rose RS130 is a very special product, which the manufacturer wants to emphasise through its design and the choice of materials. Although the company has chosen the tried-and-tested simple design concept already familiar from other HiFi Rose solutions, with a very, very large display at the centre of the front, the details of the HiFi Rose RS130 are crucial.
For example, the buttons on the top of the product are made of crystal to create a luxurious design, as the manufacturer points out, and the ventilation holes on the brushed aluminium plate on the top are intended to give the logo, which is also attached here, a particularly elegant shape.
From a purely technical point of view, the specially developed aluminium housing ensures that vibrations are prevented and heat development is minimised.
Free of any sound-damaging noise
Citech Co. Ltd. promises that the integration into the network can be done either by means of a USB dongle via WiFi according to IEEE 802.11ac or an SFP Ethernet 10/100/1000 BASE-T, the latter being the ideal interface to prevent noise caused by possible interferences of other components in the network.
This also applies to the USB interfaces of the HiFi Rose RS130, because there as well – USB 3.0 fibre – an optical conversion is used to eliminate any noise caused by external systems. The HiFi Rose RS130 does not transmit any interference to the downstream D/A converter.
In addition to the USB audio port for connecting an external D/A converter, there are two USB 3.0 ports for directly connecting the corresponding storage media, which can then be used as a source for audio data. You can also connect a CD drive here to rip audio CDs directly.
Other digital interfaces include an optical and coaxial S/PDIF, an AES/EBU and an HDMI port that functions as an I2S. Another HDMI out is actually used to connect a TV to play back videos in 4K directly from YouTube, for example.
High-precision signal processing
The HiFI Rose RS130 is capable of playing back really any data imaginable, with audio up to 32-bit and 768 kHz in Linear PCM, as well as DSD including DSD512 and also content encoded in MQA.
In addition, as already mentioned, there are videos, whereby the spectrum here extends to content in 4K and all relevant formats are supported.
A special feature of the new HiFi Rose RS130 is that it relies on a buffer for the playback of audio data, which is realised by means of a caching manager and SSD. In addition, and this is not insignificant, a high-precision clock is used, whereby an external clock can also be included if desired.
Streaming via UPnP, Apple AirPlay and Bluetooth
The HiFi Rose RS130 is designed as a streaming transport that primarily relies on UPnP, and is dlna-certified here. In addition, it understands Apple AirPlay, supports Spotify Connect and is designated as Roon Ready. It is also possible to access various streaming services directly, be it Apple Music, Qobuz, TIDAL or Internet Radio, which is once again ensured by the already mentioned Rose OS.
It should also be mentioned that Bluetooth is also offered, even if it is only Bluetooth 4.2.
The basis for this flexibility in use is provided by Rose OS, the operating system of the streaming transport, which is ultimately based on Google Android, and which is supposed to have a dual-core Cortex-A72 as well as a quad-core Cortex-A53 with a separate NEON coprocessor and an ARM Mali T860 MP3 quad-core GPU, 4 GBytes of DDR4 memory and an SSD with 256 GBytes as its high-performance foundation.
Sophisticated power supply
Even though it is only a streaming transport, the manufacturer places the highest value on a particularly sophisticated power supply, according to the manufacturer, who in the case of the new HiFi Rose RS130 speaks of a linear power supply based on a toroidal transformer and special high-capacity capacitors, which reduces noise to an absolute minimum and thus contributes significantly to a clean, natural sound quality.
Operation directly on the unit or via app
As we already mentioned, the new HiFi Rose RS130 Streaming Transport also has a very generous touchscreen display on the front. It offers a screen diagonal of 15.4 inches and a resolution of 1,920 x 382 pixels. It is obvious that this is the best way to display cover artwork, but it should also be possible to play videos directly.
Of course, with the Rose Connect App, a particularly intuitive control system is available for Apple iOS and Google Android, for both smartphone and tablet.
Prices and availability
As already mentioned, Citech Co. Ltd. presented the new HiFi Rose RS130 for the first time at the High End 2023 in Munich. It is not yet clear when it will actually be launched on the market. What is certain, however, is that it will be a very, very exclusive solution, as the HiFi Rose RS130 will cost no less than € 4.799,-.
Getting to the point
Citech Co. Ltd. promises to deliver nothing less than the perfect basis for streaming in the very best quality for the latest solution of the HiFi Rose brand. The HiFi Rose RS130 is supposed to distinguish itself first and foremost by passing on audio data bit-perfectly and free of any sound-damaging noise to an external DAC. Yes, the signal conversion is left to others, the HiFi Rose RS130 is indeed a pure streaming transport, but the manufacturer calls it the HiFi Rose RS130 Ultimate Network Transport. And this claim comes at a very ambitious price…
| PRODUCT | HIFI ROSE RS130 ULTIMATE NETWORK TRANSPORT |
|---|---|
| Price | € 4.799,- |
| Brand | HIFI ROSE |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Citech Co. Ltd. |
| Distribution Austria | Audio Tuning Vertriebs GmbH |
| Distribution Germany | audioNEXT GmbH |
| More about this manufacturer at HIFI BLOG |
