Having owned the HiFi Rose RS201E Network Amplifier for the past few years, I’ve learned to appreciate its strengths and show some patience in regard to its shortcomings; it took more than 5 firmware updates to fix the rather clunky interface and I gave up on the oddly designed volume control which always felt like it was going to break off if I pushed too hard.
All of those firmware updates also improved its operation as a Roon endpoint and integration of Qobuz and TIDAL.
The RS201E does offer a lot of flexibility as a streamer, pre-amplifier, and network amplifier; I was always curious how it would perform for less money if they stripped away everything but the streaming aspect.
It would appear that they had the same idea but went the other way for a lot more money.
The $2,500 to $5,000 range has a lot of competition with some excellent products offered by Innuos and Aurender and there was definitely an opportunity for HiFi Rose to offer a high performance product between $1,500 and $2,500.
The new HiFi ROSE RS130 Ultimate Network Transport has arrived. It’s the first stand alone network transport device from Korean manufacturer.
The RS130 leverages Fiber Optic Ethernet to isolate network digital noise, effectively blocking physical noise sources caused by various network equipment. Similarly, the Fiber Optic USB employs optical conversion to separate pure data from driving noise, ensuring only flawless sound reaches your DAC.
To take full advantage of these connections a SFP Ethernet to Fiber Optic module and receiver, and SFP USB to Fibre Optic modules are needed; both of these need to be purchased separately.
The RS130 features a linear power supply that uses high capacity supercapacitors; and an all-aluminum chassis to virtually eliminate all vibrations. Furthering these advancements, the RS130 uses an ultra-high-precision OCXO (Oven Controlled Crystal Oscillators) clock with performance that is said to be immune to temperature changes. Ultimately that means exceptionally precise digital audio signals across all digital output connections, resulting in an accurate musical signal that was previously considered unachievable.
Meanwhile, an internal NVMe (Non-Volatile Memory Express protocol) SSD memory caching system should provide stable playback while eliminating issues associated with network instabilities such as brief signal dropouts.
Finally, there is support for external master clock inputs – both 50Ω and 70Ω – to ensure maximum compatibility between devices operating in different environments, as well as to achieve maximum sound quality.
Specifications:
Supported sampling rates
- PCM : 8kHz~768kHz (8/16/24/32-bit per Sample)
- DSD : DSD64 (2.8MHz) / DSD128 (5.6MHz) / DSD256 (11.2MHz) / DSD512 (22.5792MHz)
Inputs:
- USB Type-A 2.0(Isolated)
- HDMI 2.0 x 1 (up to 3840×2160 / 60Hz)
- USB 3.0 x 2, USB 3.0 SFP x 1, USB 2.0 x 1
- SATA 3.0, SSD x 1
Network Connectivity:
- Bluetooth: V4.2 (USB Dongle)
- wifi: 802.11ac Dualband USB Wireless LAN Card (Dongle)
- Ethernet: 10/100/1000 BASE-T x 1 (SFP COPPER Type)
- Digital outputs: OPT x 1, COAX x 1, AES/EBU x 1, I2S-HDMI x 1
- Storage Limitations: SSD = 4TB / USB = 10TB (file formats NTFS / exFAT / FAT32)
Hardware:
- CPU: Dual-core Cortex-A72 up to 1.8GHz and Quad-core Cortex-A53 up to 1.4GHz with separate NEON coprocessor
- Cache: 8GB High-Speed eMMC, Cache Memory: M.2 NVMe 256GB SSD
- GPU: ARM Mali-T860 MP4 Quad-Core GPU
- Memory: LPDDR4 4GB
Finish: Black or Silver
Dimensions: 430 (W) x 317 (D) x 125 (H) mm
Weight: 11.7kg
Price & Availability
The HiFi ROSE RS130 Ultimate Network Transport is now available with an MSRP of $5,195.00 USD at musicdirect.com and hifiroseusa.com.
Related reading: Best Digital Music Streamers
ORT
August 4, 2023 at 11:38 pm
A “Network Transport”…An “Ultimate Network Transport”? Hmmmmmm…I could be wronger but this is fAd Copy of the silliest mindset.
A lamegloriously flaccid attempt by the fAcopyers of HiFi ROSE to appeal to frAudiophiles by calling this internet tuner a “transport”.
A CD Player becomes a “transport” when you delete the self-contained DAC or bypass it by using the digital outputs many are equipped with. And this “rose”, This HiFi Rose which by any other name would smell as incomplete is somehow deemed a “transport” because either HiFi Rose was too cheap to put one in or they are taking a tip from Harley-Davidson who is famous for charging more for giving its customers LESS.
Bits are bits. They are either decoded and turned into sound or not. There is no magic to this and to reference this as an Ultimate Network Transport is nothing but using the Dark Side of The FARCE®.
I loathe this type of marketing and think, not feeeeeeeeeel it should be called out for what it is.
STOOOOPID.
What pray tell, is next? Special cabling that prevents data losses by being made of two rare elements combined to create one hell of a canard? Craptonium® and Craptonite® from the planetoid Crapton®. Twogether® Binary languagizationalizifactioning results in the material from which special digital cables are created exclusively for HiFi ROSE, called “FAAQUE Cabels”.
“Ultimate Network Tansport”. Ridiculous.
It is an internet tuner that cannot decode on its own. The shortest path betwixt doesn’t exist if manufacturers can convince maroons that totally separating an internet tuner from its DAC is bestest.
Do you really think this is nessa?
There’s a frAudiophile born every 33.33333 seconds. And yes, it’s pretty to look at but it’s also pretty stupid in practice. “Ultimate Network Tansport”. FTN.
P.T. bORTnum
Ian White
August 4, 2023 at 11:55 pm
ORT,
Notice the price. It’s more than double than the HiFi Rose RS201e that I reviewed and own. None of the extra “stuff” is making this worth $5K.
Buy a Cambridge MXN10 or Bluesound NODE for under $600.
IW
ORT
August 5, 2023 at 7:05 pm
Hail Sir Will of McCormick! Hail and well met indeed.
Do not be ridiculous…No…Wait! Go ahead with that Plan 9 From Outer Space, LOL! Nay…Wait! I shall not prey upon a fish in a barrel. Especially son one of its own construct!
Take whatever solace you may find in the comfort of frAudiophilian Rote and know that I gladly suffer in mine own ignorance of the truth that bits be bits. You sire are but a Saduwan in that you would have others suffer the pain of a shared illusion. You strain at the truth and swallow the bits of a lie.
You’re a nice enough fellow elsewhere so let us leave it at that. If perchance you see a handicapable fellow with Lofstrand crutches at a HiFi Show, feel free to go and push him over to let your frustration and hatred flow from the FARCE.
And pray ’twas me thou didst push. 😉
D’ORTagnan
Ian White
August 5, 2023 at 7:27 pm
ORT,
“And pray ’twas me thou didst push.”
I’m going to just leave that there and open a beer or bottle of scotch and pretend I didn’t wake up this morning. 😉
Will McCormick
August 5, 2023 at 2:00 pm
A Bluesound Node?!!!?? Well, you’ve managed to invalidate an entire website. That’s fine when comparing other ~$600 products, but to compare it to a purpose built $5K streamer is ridiculous and shows that you’ve never actually used higher end components.
ORT – congrats, you have fully justified the reason why you only buy stuff that’s 20 years old and dirt cheap.
Ian White
August 5, 2023 at 3:37 pm
Will,
It proves that I’ve used hundreds more high-end components than you and know the some $$$$ products are not worth the money. Get a life.
Ian White
ORT
August 5, 2023 at 10:49 pm
I realize that it is but a pittance to such as thee but verily I am now one of the premier class of court jesters that takes itself all too deliriously…
…I have a Sumiko Moonstone installed in my favorite ‘table, my Pro-Ject X2 or is it 2X Pro-Ject with the SB and humongous acrylic platter?!!
Hah! Take that, Will McCormick! 🙂 I am one of the cool kids now so you can take an airborne intercourse back to the House at Poop Corner and hang out with Piglet.
O, that thy too too sordid ego would melt
Thaw and resolve itself into a pooh…bear.
“Oh, bother!”
One more time!
You remind me of a man.
What man?
The man with the power.
What power?
The power of hoodoo.
Hoodoo?
You do!
Do what?
Remind me of a man.
Give up?
If you do not understand that last bit, go watch “The Bachelor & the Bobby Soxer”. Or not. 😉
ORT
Ian White
August 6, 2023 at 1:16 pm
ORT,
When did you add the 4th Pro-Ject?
IW
ORT
August 14, 2023 at 12:30 pm
Hi Ian,
I believe it was late May for the ‘table and early June when the new cartridge arrived.
ORT
Bill H
August 16, 2023 at 1:50 am
Yeah. No. I’d consider a streamer that can do EVERYTHING. To date there are none.
What is everything?
All streaming services and all formats.
If there’s a recording in particular format. If there’s a service I prefer. I don’t think it’s the streamer technology designers job to choose limits. But if they do choose to limit me, I choose to keep my cash.