Streamers — HiFi Rose RS201E

The RS201E is a compact network streamer, DAC and integrated amplifier from South Korean company HiFi Rose, designed to make a complete system with a pair of speakers. It succeeds the original RS201, adding a femto clock among other upgrades, and puts audio and video playback, a 2 x 50 W amplifier and an 8.8-inch touchscreen into a small aluminium chassis running Rose's customised Android-based operating system.

Key specs that matter

The DAC is an ESS SABRE ES9018K2M 32-bit chip with HyperStream II architecture, supporting PCM up to 32-bit/384kHz and native DSD256, with MQA decoding. The amplifier delivers 2 x 50 W (100 W total) into loads from 4 to 16 ohms, with THD of 0.004% at the speaker terminals and 0.0018% at the preamplifier output. Inputs are analogue line, S/PDIF digital and HDMI eARC. Outputs are speaker terminals, a pre-out, optical digital, a 3.5 mm headphone socket and HDMI 2.0 for 4K video. Gigabit Ethernet, 2.4/5GHz Wi-Fi and Bluetooth cover connectivity, and storage uses microSD, an internal SSD and USB drives. The chassis measures 278 x 231 x 85 mm and weighs 2.3 kg.

Engineering and use context

The ES9018K2M is a two-channel version of the ESS SABRE architecture. HiFi Rose designed the DAC and amplifier together, paying attention to grounding, internal wiring and mechanical vibration to improve channel separation and lower noise and distortion. Amplification is a Pure Path Ultra HD Class D stage, which keeps the unit compact and cool, and the femto clock drives the DAC to reduce timing jitter. Playback, conversion and amplification each have their own output, so the RS201E can act as a transport for an external DAC, as a streaming DAC and preamplifier for a separate power amplifier, or as a complete integrated amplifier. The analogue section can be switched off entirely when it is used purely as a digital source. Rigid aluminium panels damp micro-vibration and help dissipate heat. The screen displays album artwork, customisable VU meters and video at 60 frames per second. Streaming covers TIDAL, Spotify, Qobuz, internet radio, AirPlay and DLNA, with Roon Ready certification on top.

Pairing

Its moderate power suits stand-mount speakers and efficient floorstanders in compact rooms. When more power is needed, the pre-out hands the job to a larger external amplifier, valve or solid-state, and HDMI eARC makes the RS201E the audio hub for a TV.

Alternatives

HiFi Rose's RS520 is a larger streaming integrated amplifier with a touchscreen and more output power.