HiFi Rose RS 520 Music Streamer Amplifier

HiFi Rose's RS520 is an integrated amp, streamer, DAC, and preamp, all rolled into one compact and luxurious component. It's got bountiful clean power, flexible connections for your sources, and HiFi Rose's user-friendly onboard customized touchscreen Android™ OS. All you need to get started is this unit and your favorite set of speakers.

Audiophiles will appreciate its authoritative but smooth sound. I also love the cool touchscreen features, like the functional virtual back panel for switching inputs and outputs and the virtual VU meters. And it's got top-notch build quality: four sides of its sturdy aluminum chassis are constructed as a single piece to resist vibrations and protect the first-rate internal circuitry.

Easy control

The RS520 connects to your internet via Ethernet or built-in Wi-Fi. The interface is intuitive whether via its front-panel touchscreen or the free RoseConnect Premium app for Apple® and Android devices.

It organizes your different streaming sources — from music services including TIDAL, Qobuz, and Spotify, to music files stored in one of its onboard options or your NAS server. You can also use Apple AirPlay® or Roon to control the streamer, or the included Bluetooth remote. 

Advanced hybrid amplification

The RS520 uses an innovative amplifier circuit design that HiFi Rose calls "Class AD." Like more typical Class D amps, it uses a "switching" design. But the RS520's GaN (Gallium nitride) FET topology sweetens the sound by speeding up the timing between switches — up to 10 times faster than typical silicon FET switching devices.

This amplifier can deliver 250 watts of clean power to your speakers, and it's stable down to 4 ohms. That means you can hook up demanding, tougher-to-drive speakers and get great results.

High-res DAC

The RS520 runs on a snappy six-core CPU with a high-performance ESS SABRE DAC capable of 32-bit/768kHz resolution with PCM sources or DSD up to 22.4 MHz (DSD512). That means you'll get rich, detailed sound with a quiet noise floor and low distortion.

4K video on board

The RS520 can decode 4K video via its HDMI 2.0 output. The RoseTube app lets you peruse and play YouTube videos that you can watch on the unit's full color screen or — even better — on your TV. And its digital audio inputs let you get beautiful soundtrack audio from whatever you might be watching.

Flexible connections

On the back panel you have ample connections, including an unbalanced analog preamp output for connection to an outboard amplifier, and an RCA stereo analog input. You could connect a USB drive, HiFi Rose RSA780E CD drive, or another CD player —  even a turntable with a phono preamp.

Features 

• Integrated amp with high-res network audio and 4K video streaming
• 250 watts x 2 into 8 ohms or 4 ohms
• Solid aluminum chassis with four-sides/all-in-one construction to reduce vibrational noise
• 12.6-inch-wide, high-def touchscreen LCD on front panel
• Built-in dual-band Wi-Fi 5 (802.11ac)
• Customized Android operating system
• Control with the built-in touchscreen, the RoseConnect Premium app for Apple® and Android devices, or the supplied Bluetooth remote
• Four top-mounted buttons: mute, volume up/down, and power
• Dual-core Cortex A-72 processor, up to 1.8GHz; quad-core Cortex A-53 up to 1.4GHz
• ESS Sabre ES9038PRO DAC - maximum resolution: 32-bit/768kHz for PCM-based files (DSD up to 22.4 MHz)
• Supports Apple AirPlay, DLNA, and MQA
• Supports TIDAL, Spotify, Qobuz, RoseTube (YouTube), internet radio stations, and RosePodcast
• Works as a Roon player (requires Roon subscription and Roon Core running on your network)
• Supported audio formats include MQA, WAV, FLAC, AIFF, WMA, MP3, OGG, M4A, and more
• Supported video formats include ASF, AVI, MKV, MP4, WMV, MPEG-1, MPEG-2, MPEG-4, and more up to 4K resolution