You cannot make a good speaker system without an amplifier, a subwoofer, a streamer, and a DAC, it is these side products that bring out the best in your speakers. The HiFi Rose RD160 is a reference-level DAC (Digital To Analog Convertor) and preamplifier, and it has so many features not found on other DACs. In this article we will review the Rose RD160 and see if it can take your system to the next level and if it is worth its high price point of $5295.
Review
All HiFi products have good design, but the Rose RD160’s design is something else. It has an aluminum case that comes in two finishes, Silver and Black. The side panels are formed into a heatsink to help cool the DAC. When off, the front panel looks like a normal panel with some buttons and a knob, but a hidden screen turns on when you plug the DAC in. This screen shows you information like flowcharts, settings, and sound waves. There are separate buttons for input, sampling, filtering, clock input, display modes, and a button for muting.
On the back, you have an AES/EBU input, a Coaxial input, an Optical input, a USB-B port, an I2S input, and a pair of balanced and unbalanced inputs. To sum it up, whatever digital connections you have, the HiFi Rose RD160 will support them. It is also future-proofed with the USB and I2S connections being 32-bit / 768 kHz, and the coaxial and AES/EBU inputs being 32-bit / 384 kHz.
You don’t see a fiber optic USB port in many DACs, and it is a big feature in the RD160. It takes the voltage from USB and transfers it into a fiber optic light signal. During this transfer, all of the noise and distortion is lost, making the signal clean of unwanted sound. In audio systems, timing is key to delivering the best performance, if the timing is perfect, then all the jitter from the connections is eliminated, the RD160 has a master clock dedicated to this.
The HiFi Rose RD160 also has AKM chips inside, more specifically, the AK4499EX, and the AK4191EQ. These are the best chips AKM has produced to date, and they handle digital filtering and the actual digital-to-analog conversion. This DAC has both of these chips per channel, so channel separation is kept at a maximum. Cortex A9 processors control all of the inputs and signal routing, and there are two power supplies, one for the digital input stage and one for each of the analog input stages.
The RD160 has a NRA filter that was specially designed for this product. It allows the RD160 to have a completely flat frequency response, even at very low frequencies. It also has a NOS function for people who want their bitrate untouched by sampling, and digital filters with six different types of impulse responses.
I tested the HiFi Rose RD160 with the Bowers & Wilkins 801 D4 Signatures, with them I used the SVS PB17 subwoofer, and my amplifier choice was the Eversolo AMP-F10. The RD160 has good bass extension and the soundstage was deep with every instrument and vocal perfectly placed. The DAC came to life when I played high-res music, and I can confidently say that there is no better DAC out there at this price point.
Verdict
The HiFi Rose RD160 has more connections and features than any other DAC out there in this range. It is future-proofed with its connections, and if you already have a HiFi Rose amplifier or streamer then they will work great with this DAC. If you are looking for a reference DAC, then you should keep the RD160 in your list.