HiFi Rose RS150b in the house

[Darrel]

All systems need a upgrade or change from time to time. I've been using a silent computer with the Lumin T2 to my Gryphon Diablo with its DAC for a few years now. But, I've also been thinking of looking at a upgrade or change for few reasons. One is that my Samsung one box and the Diablo didn't play well together with a toslink from the one box. I'm pretty sure its because of the Samsung because other toslink connections I switched to worked just fine. So, I added by trial and error a iFI Neo iDSD HD DAC as a work around for my tv and HTPC computer for Youtube and web browsing. For music I stream with Roon/Tidal/Qubuz with my iPad. I love the ease of use and flexibility. I also have been interested in changing or trying a new DAC/streamer in my system. This started during the pandemic. Bored I guess. I've seen a few Youtube videos on the HiFi Rose RS150 some months back but never gave a Korean product a lot of thought. It looked interesting but maybe just a useful toy that shows up from time to time. Then Mike posted on YouTube his unboxing and impressions on a few videos and also here. Now it has my attention. So, I started to look a little more at the company. I did a local search to see if there were any dealers locally to look at and demo one. Turns out the store I bought the Magico A3s in Portland was a dealer and had three of the black units on hand. I sent Mike a question about the sound quality of the Rose compared to my Diablo 300s internal DAC. He thought it may equal or just be a bit better. And that the flexibility was of the Rose was really interesting and useful. That kind of sold me. So, off to Portland I went.

I've been playing with it for a few days now. And I have to say this is a really unique option for streaming and managing my system and interest. Its menu system is quick and with the app on my phone or iPad I can change inputs or display as easy as I wish. This is IMO a pretty special piece and I think will make other companies rethink their approach to streaming and product integration for audio and video users.

As far as the sound quality. I'm not sure if this has the usual breakin as so many DAC and components have. But, out of the box it is very open with a lot of detail and very musical. The soundstage is as deep as the internal DAC of the Diablo but instruments seem to be a little more local to the speakers compared to the Diablo DAC. With the internal DAC from the Gryphon the instruments fall behind and away from the speakers much more noticeably. But, that also depends on the recording. So, time will tell if the Rose compares in that area. With the display turned off music is much more focused and clear. I haven't used most of the apps yet from the Rose. My interest is more about using what I've done in the past. But, that may change.

Now, I have two pieces of equipment to move on. The Lunin T2 and iFI Neo iDSD. They are really good at what they do. But, change is inevitable.

 

[jadedavid]

So you asked Mike for information and impressions on the 150 and then bought from someone else????

 

[Mike]

So you asked Mike for information and impressions on the 150 and then bought from someone else????

Yes. Welcome to my world. So glad I make the videos and do write ups so lazy dealers can benefit.

Sigh…


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[Darrel]

Yes. Welcome to my world. So glad I make the videos and do write ups so lazy dealers can benefit.

Sigh…


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I'm sure that dealers trying to survive in todays world and market are not lazy.

I do appreciate your effort by providing a forum for serious audiophile and music lovers to share ideas and experiences within the audio world of today.

As I stated I have been looking into a change in my streaming for sometime. And this streamer caught my eye. My reaching out to you was due to your experience and knowledge with a whole host of high end equipment. And your selling Gryphon equipment makes you a valuable source of information to be sure. Your follow up message said that you were expecting some units in soon if I was interested in purchasing one. Which meant you didn't have any at this time. According to my google map you are 2,545 miles from my home. And a local dealer just 2 hours away had three units available and a demo to see first hand. I'm alway interested in buying from you if the purchase makes sense. In this case it didn't. But, thanks for all that you do here and for your customers.

 

[mep]

I'm sure that dealers trying to survive in todays world and market are not lazy.

I do appreciate your effort by providing a forum for serious audiophile and music lovers to share ideas and experiences within the audio world of today.

As I stated I have been looking into a change in my streaming for sometime. And this streamer caught my eye. My reaching out to you was due to your experience and knowledge with a whole host of high end equipment. And your selling Gryphon equipment makes you a valuable source of information to be sure. Your follow up message said that you were expecting some units in soon if I was interested in purchasing one. Which meant you didn't have any at this time. According to my google map you are 2,545 miles from my home. And a local dealer just 2 hours away had three units available and a demo to see first hand. I'm alway interested in buying from you if the purchase makes sense. In this case it didn't. But, thanks for all that you do here and for your customers.

How come you didn't reach out to your local dealer for the help you sought from Mike?

 

[Darrel]

How come you didn't reach out to your local dealer for the help you sought from Mike?

I bought my Magico A3 speakers from Pearl Audio in Portland Oregon. The salesman John was a lot of help when I purchase those. He drove the A3s up from Portland and set them up in my house at that time.Great guy.I talked to him when I saw that Pearl Audio also sold HiFi Rose products. We talked for about an hour about many things including his impressions on the RS150

There has never been Gryphon dealers in the NW. The closest dealer I'm familiar with were in Arizona and California when Gryphon was offered to dealers in the US. So, since Mike was the only dealer who sold any Gryphon and HiFi Rose products that I have communicated and bought audio products in the past. It seemed to me to be a logical option to inquired to Mike.

Maybe after I asked my question about the Gryphon and HiFi Rose I should have bought a 2 meter AudioQuest Dragon power cable to compensate him for his time and advise.

 

[Mike]

It’s all water under the bridge and not a big deal. I think the point I was trying to make is this:

You have some dealers who really work hard and go beyond turning on the lights and waiting for someone to walk in the store. These dealers like Kevin Deal, Scott Walker are doing write ups on products (our dealer friend on Audioshark from Canada is great), help folks out online, participate in Facebook audio groups to help folks (I’m in about 50) and spend a lot of time to do videos to bring folks closer to the products. It pisses us off when we do all that and some other dealer, who does none of these things, benefits from our efforts, especially for products where the story needs to be told. There are some products like McIntosh that need no introduction. There are other products which are not as well known which benefit from active dealer marketing and education.

Does that dealer even have a YouTube channel? No. Are they using time and resources to bring knowledge of these products into the marketplace? We are giving up our time to do these things. And another is compensated.


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