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Recommended Component 2025 – Stereophile
Outstanding Product Award – Hi-Fi News Magazine
Featured on the Cover of Stereophile
Stunning Streaming Integrated Amp with Flagship DAC and 12.6"-Wide Hi-Res Touchscreen
HiFi Rose's RS520 is the perfect centerpiece for hi-res music listening, incorporating a built-in network player, DAC, and powerful, 250 watt per channel integrated amplifier. It's a do-it-all product that consolidates the main functions of existing all-in-one streamers into a premium component based on ROSE’s unique design expertise accumulated over many years.
For its DAC module, the RS520 is equipped with ES9038PRO DAC, the flagship DAC chip of ESS technology. The amp section is just as impressive, relying on HiFi Rose's innovative GaNFET amplifier.
If you're looking to upgrade your amp and streamer, the RS520 is the perfect purchase. You'll get top quality performance and end up saving enough money to treat yourself to a better pair of speakers, too.
"Recommended Component" Honors
Stereophile honored the RS520 by awarding it the magazine's coveted Recommend Component status for 2025.
According to Stereophile, "It offers a plethora of audio and video streaming functionality, as well as offering optical and coaxial S/PDIF inputs, USB ports for attaching local storage, and WiFi and Bluetooth connectivity. RvB [Rogier van Bakel] controlled the RS520 with the HiFi Rose smartphone app and with all the speakers with this he used the amplifier found that there was weight, control, authority, clarity, and palpability. 'I heard sweet detail up top that didn't become brittle even on borderline sibilant recordings,' he wrote, concluding that the HiFi Rose is 'a fast, impressively appointed sports car for the price of a Volkswagen Golf. Fahrvergnügen indeed!'"
"Highly Accomplished All-In-One Unit"
England's Hi-Fi News handed the RS520 the magazine's Outstanding Product Award. According to reviewer Andrew Everard, "Combining the network streaming capability of the RS150 flagship with the GAN-FET Class D amplification of the RS180, the RS520 aims to be the 'all-in-one' for everyone."
"Having delivered fine-sounding network players and an amplifier, HiFi Rose brings it all together in this highly accomplished all-in-one unit. There's plenty to play with, or you can just connect your favourite speakers and get on with enjoying the music. Highly flexible, and packed with features you'll use – plus some you probably won't – this a superb contender in what is a fast-growing sector of the market."
"Fast… Delectable," Raves Stereophile
The RS520 was featured on the cover of the July 2023 issue of Stereophile magazine. According to reviewer Rogier Van Bakel, "I loved my time with the RS520; this Rose is blessedly free of thorns. It's a serious piece of cutting-edge technology, uniquely outfitted with a user interface that's infused with playfulness.
"The Rose is free of glare, grain, and tizziness, unlike most class-D amplifiers of 10-12 years ago. Audiophiles of a certain vintage tend to swear by class-A or class-AB amps, but their knees may be jerking. D may have once stood for 'Don't'; now, perhaps we can settle on 'Delectable.'"
Van Bakel sums up: "The HiFi Rose is a fast, impressively appointed sports car for the price of a Volkswagen Golf."
"Utterly Captivating"
Hi-Fi Choice magazine's Ed Selley listened to a piece of music on the RS520 and calls it "a head-nodding, grin-inducing, utterly captivating experience." Selley goes on to say, "It’s worth celebrating that setting it up is an object lesson in how to make the process user-friendly. It displays clear prompts as to what it’s up to, lays menus out in a way that generally makes sense and demonstrates unconditional stability."
New-Concept Class AD Amplifier
A power output of 250 watts-per-channel with Hi-Fi Rose's breakthrough GaNFET amplifier maximizes operating speed and accuracy to achieve stunning, powerful amplifier performance in a compact chassis.
Class AB amplifiers were developed to improve the high heat generation and low efficiency of Class A. Class D has higher efficiency and higher output than AB, with significantly improved S/N and THD characteristics compared to Class A and Class AB. However, in the past the sound quality has often been regarded as inferior to Class A/AB due to the limitations of the digital circuit.
The GaNFET amplifier developed by HiFi Rose has dramatically improved the performance vs. the existing silicon-FET based Class D amp design by applying innovative new materials and technology. These Gallium Nitride FETs switch on and off at faster speeds than the MOSFETs, resulting in what HiFi Rose calls a "high-speed, perfectly accurate amplification stage" with an analog sound quality.
"Firmly Well Worth Its Price"
"It didn’t take long for me to see why this 'all-in-one network streamer' was worth its price. Realistically. if HiFi Rose was to sell this unit as only an amplifier, it would be worth close the price they are charging," notes Andrew Dewhirst, futureaudiophile.com, April 24, 2024.
"But you add in a fantastic-sounding DAC, HDMI eARC support, a 12.6-inch LED screen, along with the streaming capabilities you get through ROSEOS on top of that. And you have a unit that is firmly well worth its price, and I would argue much more."
According to Jim Milton, Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity, March 20, 2024, "If I were looking for a single component to showcase my full range speakers, the RS520 checked off almost all the boxes I have… and some boxes I didn’t know I had! All other amplifier streamers I review in the future will be measured against the benchmark of the HiFi Rose RS520."
Flagship ES9038PRO DAC
The RS520 is equipped with the SABRE ES9038PRO, the flagship DAC chip of ESS technology. This AC module is one of the highest performance 32-bit solutions on the market today designed for audiophile and studio equipment applications.
Using the critically acclaimed ESS’ patented HyperStream® II architecture and Time Domain Jitter Eliminator, the ES9038PRO delivers an unprecedented dynamic range (DNR) of up to 140dB and THD+N of –122dB, the industry’s highest performance level that will satisfy the needs of the most demanding audio applications. The maximum sampling frequency and bit rate are PCM 768 kHz, 32 bit, and DSD512 is supported.
The ES9038PRO significantly reduces software implementation time compared to previous products, and it minimizes gain error between devices by automatically adjusting gain. In addition, it is equipped with ESS technology's exclusive jitter canceller to provide exceptional audio clarity. Seven low-delay filters allow you to sculpt your music to meet your tastes and suit your ears.
Solid Aluminum Casework
The casework of the RS520 is made with generous use of high-durability 6000 class aluminum, manufactured by an all-in-one process from a single chunk of aluminum, in which four sides are produced as one part. The resulting housing blocks vibrations that may occur between separated parts, significantly reducing vibration that could otherwise affect sound quality.
12.6"-Wide Touch Screen and ROSE Connect
Advanced control of the RS520 is provided by the integrated 12.6"-wide touch screen. It provides an intuitive and convenient interface through the high-resolution wide viewing angle and IPS multi-touch functionality. The front display shows high-definition album information and can also play back video at 60 FPS.
Additionally the dedicated Rose Connect Application allows you to play all music and videos from local and network sources. It is available for Apple and Android devices through Apple and Google Play stores. Yet another control option is provided by the included Bluetooth remote, which lets you interface with the RS520 with ease.
MQA Certified with Built-in TIDAL
The RS520 supports MQA full decoder technology. MQA (Master Quality Authenticated) is an award-winning British technology that delivers the sound of the original master recording. The master MQA file is fully authenticated and is small enough to stream or download. A built-in TIDAL App is integrated for high-performance streaming.
Your Favorite Streaming Services: Apple Music, Spotify Connect, Qobuz, and More
Streaming is easy and fun with HiFi Rose, especially with the recent addition of Apple Music. Spotify Connect allows you to play and wirelessly control Spotify music on your ROSE OS over a network. With the Spotify Connect function, you can enjoy a variety of music with hi-fi sound quality on your ROSE device. Built-in Qobuz means you can also access music streaming with Qobuz's various functions. Support for hi-res audio (24 bit/192 kHz) lets you play high-resolution music.
Roon Ready
Roon is an incredibly rich and engaging way to browse and organize your music. It runs on most Mac, Windows, and Linux PCs, or on other products that include Roon Core. Being Roon Ready means that HiFi Rose network players transparently discover and connect to Roon without any configuration, and bit-perfect audio is delivered from Roon to your network player. Together, Roon and HiFi Rose deliver the power, flexibility, and performance of networked audio with the easiest setup and highest reliability available.
Ultra HD 4K Video Support
Watch local or RoseTube video files (a proprietary implementation of YouTube) in Ultra HD 4K quality on your large display via the RS520's HDMI connection. You’ll love seeing and hearing your favorite YouTube videos with no commercial interruptions, and no monthly fee, at the highest resolution possible. Feel the full magnificent and vivid touch of the opera house, theater, or rock stadium at home now.
Newly Updated Rose OS
For easily harnessing the full potential of the RS250, the newly HiFi Rose OS system provides a fast, smooth, highly response control experience. Stream and play ultra-high-quality music (now including Apple TV), 4K high-definition video, ad-free YouTube, podcasts, various radio stations from around the world, CD playback, CD ripping, and more. Intuitive and agile, the Rose OS is a pleasure to use.
Play music and video files on a local storage device, too (USB / MicroSD / SSD). Also, you can build your home network library with an NAS connection. It is possible to categorize your music in numerous ways for quick and easy access to exactly what you want to hear.
By connecting an external CD-ROM Drive via USB, you can enjoy CD playback. You can also extract music files stored on CD and save them to an attached SSD or USB drive.
