HiFi Rose RD160 DAC


Was starting to look for a new DAC to replace the Oppo UDP 205 that I have been using as a DAC, when I came across the HiFi Rose RD160. I am really interested because it uses a AKM chip rather than the same old ESS. Yeah, I know chip does not matter and implementation matters and yada yada....

But this along with the T+A DAC 200 and Bricasti M3 are interesting to me. Let’s keep this thread as a placeholder and report back when some folks demo it somewhere.

128x128milpai

Thank you for the generous compliment! I read the suggested reviews on futureaudiophile which were well done - I really like the structure and formatting of their reviews over there. I’ve also been following that audiophilestyle sub on the DAC200 for a while which dives pretty deep into HQ Player and the various filters, which at times is a little over my head. It’s been a great thread to follow.

Steve Huff gets a lot of flack, and his other YT channel is rather “interesting.” Nonetheless, I always appreciated how he articulates characteristics of SQ and differences he hears within his system. I think he does a really good job in this department.

I suspect at this juncture I probably can’t go wrong with either of these DACs. It’s going to come down to subtle characteristics of system synergy, preferences, aesthetics, and feature set. Never know until I make a decision and I try, which will hopefully be sooner rather than later!

Congrats, @milpai  on your T+A 200 dac. 

Does it sound better direct or through your separate pre-amp?

Thanks in advance.

Jon

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