Стримеры — HiFi Rose RS201E

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

Key specs that matter

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

Engineering and use context

The ES9018K2M is a two-channel version of ESS's SABRE architecture, and HiFi Rose built the surrounding design around the DAC and amplifier together, with attention to grounding, internal wiring and mechanical vibration to improve channel separation and lower noise and distortion. The amplifier uses a Pure Path Ultra HD Class D stage, which keeps the unit compact and cool, and a high-precision femto clock drives the DAC to reduce timing jitter. Each stage - playback, conversion and amplification - has its own output, so the RS201E can serve as a transport feeding an external DAC, as a streaming DAC/preamplifier driving a separate power amplifier, or as a complete integrated amplifier, and its analogue section can be disabled entirely when used purely as a digital source. Rigid aluminium panels damp micro-vibration and help dissipate heat. The touchscreen shows album artwork, customisable VU meters and video at 60 frames per second. Streaming covers TIDAL, Spotify, Qobuz, internet radio, AirPlay and DLNA, and the RS201E is Roon Ready. HDMI eARC makes it the audio hub for a TV.

Pairing

With its moderate power, the RS201E drives most stand-mount speakers and efficient floorstanders in compact spaces. Its pre-out lets a bigger external amplifier, tube or solid-state, take over when more power is needed.

Alternatives

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