Interesting experiment yesterday

Michaels HiFi

Michaels HiFi

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So I compared yesterday the sound from different sources using the same songs:

- Streamed through Tidal MQA on Rose 150B;
- Ripped from the CD using an Apple CD ripper onto HD of Rose 150B;
- Ripped using the Rose branded CD ripper/player;
- Played the CD through the Rose using the Rose attached CD ripper/stramer

In order of best to worst SQ (It never actually sounded 'bad' per se):

- CD played through the Rose CD player / Rose 150B;
- HD ripped using Rose ripper;
- Tied: Tidal/Apple CD ripper

The difference was slight for sure, but noticeable on Jazz type music where it would have more body, air and better fleshed out tones. The lower on the rankings it would sound a bit more lean with less body. With rock and other kinds of music it was less noticeable.

I was most surprised there was a difference between the brand of rippers, less so that the CD sounded better than the HD.

Just thought it was an interesting outcome.
 
Thank you for posting your experiences and thoughts. I’ve always felt there were differences. Obviously I try and focus on the music and can almost accept any source as long as it’s not horrible. Yes, better sources bring more enjoyment but sometimes you just have to listen to a little lower quality depending on where and when. I appreciate your input!
 
joeinid said:
Thank you for posting your experiences and thoughts. I’ve always felt there were differences. Obviously I try and focus on the music and can almost accept any source as long as it’s not horrible. Yes, better sources bring more enjoyment but sometimes you just have to listen to a little lower quality depending on where and when. I appreciate your input!
Click to expand...

Totally agree.

For sure the differences were not major and would not keep from listening to the music due to SQ from any of those methods.

There will definitely be times I won't want to get up and deal with a CD, and instead will play from the HD or stream using the remote control app on my iPad.

But once you do hear it, it is tough to un-hear it! LOL
 
Thanks for that mini-review. Particularly interesting to me as I visited a dealer last week to look at the RS150. They had the RSA780 too but it wasn't rigged up and I was more concerned with the 150 - its sound and its control app. I couldn't really judge its sound with the totally different speakers, amp and room, but I'm encouraged enough to arrange a demo loan when they get their 150B in. Their present demo unit has the earlier AK4499 DAC, so best to wait till their ES9038PRO one arrives.

However what I didn't like much was the control app. We were using an iPad and Tidal. It would need a week at Rose School to master it and the notion of being able to pass the iPad to a visitor and say "choose some music you like" is unrealistic. Why do these apps need to be so complex? OK, lots needs to be done, but mostly it's a one-off setting up exercise such as cancelling unwanted inputs, renaming wanted ones, setting max volume limits, etc, etc. For day to day music selection, I'd like an "app within an app" that offers nothing more than the ability to find music and to control such things as input, volume, next track, etc. The Search was unhelpful as spelling mistakes or extra word (if copied and pasted from other documents) was rejected, whereas BluOS invariably finds what is being looked for.

BluOS is pretty intuitive and visitors can usually find music and add it to the playlist, but Rose is a different matter. Hopefully, if I have the unit at home for a week, I’ll be able to reassess the app, that will be looking for music from Qobuz or my own ripped CD library via AES/EBU, or radio - broadcast and Paradise.

Incidentally, the dealer also had the Auralic Altair G2.1 connected and, although this is of less interest to me, the dealer emphatically believed it sounded better than the Rose - but it's appreciably costlier. Has anyone else made a direct comparison of these similarly spec’d units? Thanks. Peter
 
Hear Here said:
Thanks for that mini-review. Particularly interesting to me as I visited a dealer last week to look at the RS150. They had the RSA780 too but it wasn't rigged up and I was more concerned with the 150 - its sound and its control app. I couldn't really judge its sound with the totally different speakers, amp and room, but I'm encouraged enough to arrange a demo loan when they get their 150B in. Their present demo unit has the earlier AK4499 DAC, so best to wait till their ES9038PRO one arrives.

However what I didn't like much was the control app. We were using an iPad and Tidal. It would need a week at Rose School to master it and the notion of being able to pass the iPad to a visitor and say "choose some music you like" is unrealistic. Why do these apps need to be so complex? OK, lots needs to be done, but mostly it's a one-off setting up exercise such as cancelling unwanted inputs, renaming wanted ones, setting max volume limits, etc, etc. For day to day music selection, I'd like an "app within an app" that offers nothing more than the ability to find music and to control such things as input, volume, next track, etc. The Search was unhelpful as spelling mistakes or extra word (if copied and pasted from other documents) was rejected, whereas BluOS invariably finds what is being looked for.

BluOS is pretty intuitive and visitors can usually find music and add it to the playlist, but Rose is a different matter. Hopefully, if I have the unit at home for a week, I’ll be able to reassess the app, that will be looking for music from Qobuz or my own ripped CD library via AES/EBU, or radio - broadcast and Paradise.

Incidentally, the dealer also had the Auralic Altair G2.1 connected and, although this is of less interest to me, the dealer emphatically believed it sounded better than the Rose - but it's appreciably costlier. Has anyone else made a direct comparison of these similarly spec’d units? Thanks. Peter
Click to expand...

I run the HiFi Rose 150B with Roon via my iPad and you could certainly hand anyone the iPad and say "choose some music."
 
mep said:
I run the HiFi Rose 150B with Roon via my iPad and you could certainly hand anyone the iPad and say "choose some music."
Click to expand...

Yes, Roon is certainly one option, but do you not need to also buy a Nucleus (or clone) and take out a Roon subscription? Seems a costly alternative to a good app.

If one goes the Roon route, you don't even need the Rose, just any Roon Ready device - do you? I don't know, I'm asking.

I did take a month Roon trial but found no advantage over the BluOS apart from its excellent "radio" feature that adds tracks it thinks you may enjoy. Apart from that feature BluOS is equally or more intuitive and comprehensive.
 
Hear Here said:
Thanks for that mini-review. Particularly interesting to me as I visited a dealer last week to look at the RS150. They had the RSA780 too but it wasn't rigged up and I was more concerned with the 150 - its sound and its control app. I couldn't really judge its sound with the totally different speakers, amp and room, but I'm encouraged enough to arrange a demo loan when they get their 150B in. Their present demo unit has the earlier AK4499 DAC, so best to wait till their ES9038PRO one arrives.

However what I didn't like much was the control app. We were using an iPad and Tidal. It would need a week at Rose School to master it and the notion of being able to pass the iPad to a visitor and say "choose some music you like" is unrealistic. Why do these apps need to be so complex? OK, lots needs to be done, but mostly it's a one-off setting up exercise such as cancelling unwanted inputs, renaming wanted ones, setting max volume limits, etc, etc. For day to day music selection, I'd like an "app within an app" that offers nothing more than the ability to find music and to control such things as input, volume, next track, etc. The Search was unhelpful as spelling mistakes or extra word (if copied and pasted from other documents) was rejected, whereas BluOS invariably finds what is being looked for.

BluOS is pretty intuitive and visitors can usually find music and add it to the playlist, but Rose is a different matter. Hopefully, if I have the unit at home for a week, I’ll be able to reassess the app, that will be looking for music from Qobuz or my own ripped CD library via AES/EBU, or radio - broadcast and Paradise.

Incidentally, the dealer also had the Auralic Altair G2.1 connected and, although this is of less interest to me, the dealer emphatically believed it sounded better than the Rose - but it's appreciably costlier. Has anyone else made a direct comparison of these similarly spec’d units? Thanks. Peter
Click to expand...

Hi Peter -

Technology is very personal. What one person may find "easy" another may find not so easy.

I did look at Auralic and Lumin prior to buying the Rose and previously owned Naim. To me in my OPINION I found the Rose to have the best integration with all the music sources. The Rose can seem very overwhelming, but when you sit in front of it, you'll find it's actually very logical to figure out.

My Naim app ALWAYS had issues with Tidal integration. My Rose app (FYI although it works on a laptop it is much easier to use on an iPad) always works great and integrates well with Tidal. It's also very easy to switch to TV, hard drive, radio, etc - all the sources for music going through the Rose.

I have not used BluOS but heard very good things about it. I really think if you are able to home test the Rose, you'll be please with it.

The other thing that I like about the Rose is how polished every action with the app is. Everything just works. I know that sounds like a basic statement, but I've found that is not always the case with apps.

I'm going to be doing a full review on it. Let me know if there are any areas you want me to cover specifically.

Let me know if that helps as I'm happy to answer any other questions you may have.
 
> Let me know if that helps as I'm happy to answer any other questions you may have.

Very helpful thanks. I'll hopefully get a Rose in the house in a week or two and may well have a queation or three! Even finding the volume control seemed awkward at times as it's not obvious how to get the slider screen up from some other screens, but as you say - it's a matter of getting used to it.

The Rose CD player / ripper plus hard drive seems a no-brainer addition and adds to the Rose's attractions, as it would mean I could sell my NAD M50.2 streamer / CD player / CD ripper / hard drive music store. Peter
 
Hear Here said:
> Let me know if that helps as I'm happy to answer any other questions you may have.

Very helpful thanks. I'll hopefully get a Rose in the house in a week or two and may well have a queation or three! Even finding the volume control seemed awkward at limes as it's not obvious how to get the slider screen up from some other screens, but as you say - it's a matter of getting used to it. Peter
Click to expand...

Feel free to PM me with any questions.

I ended up setting the output on fixed and simply use the volume control on my integrated. I found that easier to stay constant when switching between TV audio and music audio to keep volume constant and such.

I also liked being able to adjust the output voltage so I was able to tweak what output worked best with the volume dial on my gear.
 
Hear Here said:
Yes, Roon is certainly one option, but do you not need to also buy a Nucleus (or clone) and take out a Roon subscription? Seems a costly alternative to a good app.

If one goes the Roon route, you don't even need the Rose, just any Roon Ready device - do you? I don't know, I'm asking.

I did take a month Roon trial but found no advantage over the BluOS apart from its excellent "radio" feature that adds tracks it thinks you may enjoy. Apart from that feature BluOS is equally or more intuitive and comprehensive.
Click to expand...

If you are running a Roon core, you can choose any DAC that is a Roon certified. I chose the HiFi Rose 150B for a multitude of reasons, one of which it is a certified Roon DAC. The HiFi Rose 150B is the digital equivalent of a Swiss Army Knife-it seemingly does everything.

And yes, if you go the Roon route you will need the equivalent of the Roon Nucleus+ and a Roon subscription. IMO the cost of a Roon subscription is chump change in this hobby and worth every penny. The interface is peerless and so is the 4K display on the HiFi Rose 150B and this is just scratching the surface of the capabilities of this beautiful piece of gear.
 
Thanks mep. I appreciate what you say, but if you take a look at something like the NAD M33 with its BluOS app, you'd see that you don't need Roon Nucleus and you don't need a Roon subscription. The supplied app (available on 5 platforms) does all that Roon does minus a couple of features - the only one I'd find useful is its "radio" feature that’s missing from BluOS.

Room correction I don't want because I've found it degrades the top end (even if only the bass frequencies are adjusted) and I have Dirac Live (not used) in the M33 and Avantgarde's XD bass equalisation DSP that adjusts the bass amp's response, while the top end goes unmolested to the horn drivers.

Although the M33's touch screen panel is half the width of the one in the 150, the album artwork image and text are the same size and resolution. I'd like to think that Roon is equally unnecessary for Rose owners as it is for NAD owners, but I was struggling to get to grips with the seemingly unnecessarily complex app that comes with Rose - and on a limited number of platforms too. But I'll certainly try again when I get a demo 150 at home. I'm looking forward to giving it a proper evaluation.
 
Hear Here said:
Thanks mep. I appreciate what you say, but if you take a look at something like the NAD M33 with its BluOS app, you'd see that you don't need Roon Nucleus and you don't need a Roon subscription. The supplied app (available on 5 platforms) does all that Roon does minus a couple of features - the only one I'd find useful is its "radio" feature that’s missing from BluOS.

Room correction I don't want because I've found it degrades the top end (even if only the bass frequencies are adjusted) and I have Dirac Live (not used) in the M33 and Avantgarde's XD bass equalisation DSP that adjusts the bass amp's response, while the top end goes unmolested to the horn drivers.

Although the M33's touch screen panel is half the width of the one in the 150, the album artwork image and text are the same size and resolution. I'd like to think that Roon is equally unnecessary for Rose owners as it is for NAD owners, but I was struggling to get to grips with the seemingly unnecessarily complex app that comes with Rose - and on a limited number of platforms too. But I'll certainly try again when I get a demo 150 at home. I'm looking forward to giving it a proper evaluation.
Click to expand...

When you get the demo unit, unless the dealer knows for sure how much time is on that unit you may want to just put it on play for a couple of days straight to make sure it is fully burned in.

I do that with all my gear - I don't do the "it takes weeks to burn in" game - I simply play it straight 24 hours a days for X number of days to burn gear in before any critical listening.
 
> I'm going to be doing a full review on it. Let me know if there are any areas you want me to cover specifically.

Perhaps you could look at the Rose as an almost complete all-in-one unit that just needs a power amd and speakers. In other words, review it without relying on Roon and without the preamp feature within your integrated. How is it as a fully developed streamer / DAC / pre with its own control app? Although I may well end up with an integrated (they often now seem similarly priced to same-brand power amps), I'd not like to have to have its remote control at hand to adjust the volume. If I got a power amp, I wouldn't have that option anyway!

Also perhaps how its RoseTube feature performs. I like the idea of the Rose searching for YouTube videos and sending the video to a TV or monitor while playing the audio direct to the speakers without TV involvement.

> When you get the demo unit, unless the dealer knows for sure how much time is on that unit you may want to just put it on play for a couple of days straight to make sure it is fully burned in.

Certainly will. The dealer has just sold his demo unit (the one I listened to with earlier DAC) and is hoping to get from the distributor one new unit and a demo unit that should be already be burned in.

I'm looking forward to your review as an owner and to getting my hands on a demo unit.

Thanks. Peter
 
nicoff said:
Did you mean to say "CD ripped using Rose ripper"?
Click to expand...

Yeah - that wasn't very clear on my behalf. I should have fully typed it was playing back on the internal HD that had music on it ripped from the Rose CD player/ripper onto the internal HD.

I was really surprised that music ripped onto the internal HD sounded different between the Apple CD ripper and the Rose CD ripper. I really went into it expecting there to be no difference and I was mistaken.
 
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