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HiFi Rose RA180 integrated amplifier

Sometimes it's good to step outside your comfort zone. In fact, I relish new and novel experiences. It's a major reason I enjoy attending hi-fi shows and events: for the chance to see and hear new things—new hi-fi equipment, especially equipment that's groundbreaking or unusual.

Sometimes a component speaks to you visually first. It reminds me of an expression about food presentation that loosely translates to "You eat with your eyes first" (footnote 1). Sometimes, you listen with your eyes first, too.

Love at first sight is too strong, but the first time I laid eyes on the HiFi…

HiFi Rose RA180 integrated amplifier Page 2

I tried to employ the app but ran into problems. It's incompatible with Google network extenders, which don't allow you to manually choose between 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands; the RA180 manual makes it clear that it doesn't support dual-band or 5GHz connections. I was able to connect my iPhone 13 Pro and the amplifier to the same network, but only sometimes and only briefly. Even after I installed a new router, which allowed separate connection of the 2.4GHz and 5GHz bands, I continued to experience such issues. Finally, after reinstalling the app, I was able to make the connection, but the only…

HiFi Rose RA180 integrated amplifier Specifications

Sidebar 1: Specifications

Description: Solid state integrated amplifier with four stereo channels of GaN FET–based class-D amplification, built-in phono preamplification (MM and MC), variable phono-EQ, and a variety of other features. Amplifier output: 4 × 200Wpc into 8 ohms (23dBW) or 4 ohms (20dBW) or 2 × 400Wpc into 8 ohms (26dBW) bridged. Input sensitivity: 2V (balanced), 1V (unbalanced) for maximum output. Phono input: 5mV (MM), 0.5mV (MC). Input impedance: 44k ohms (balanced), 47k ohms (unbalanced and phono, MM and MC). Frequency response: 10Hz– 90kHz ±1dB. THD (balanced and…

HiFi Rose RA180 integrated amplifier Associated Equipment

Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment

Analog sources: Clearaudio Performance DC Wood turntable with Tracer tonearm and Talisman V2 MC cartridge; MoFi Electronics UltraDeck turntable with tonearm and UltraTracker MM cartridge and weight.
Digital sources: MBL N31 DAC/CD player, MacBook Air (M1, 2020) as Roon Core.
Loudspeakers: MBL 120, Triangle Antal 40th Anniversary.
Cables: Power: AudioQuest Monsoon and NRG-Z3, Ansuz Acoustics. Ethernet: AudioQuest Vodka. Interconnect: Morrow Audio MA-3 and MA-6, Ansuz Acoustics. Loudspeaker: Ansuz Acoustics, Morrow Audio SP-6.
Accessories:…

HiFi Rose RA180 integrated amplifier Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements

For logistical reasons, I measured a different sample of the HiFi Rose RA180—serial number ESL203AB000182—from the one auditioned by Julie Mullins. I performed the measurements with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system, examining the amplifier's performance in both normal mode and in bridged ("BTL") mode, following the instructions in the excellent manual. As Julie Mullins found, the RA180 doesn't recognize 5G Wi-Fi networks, but I was able to connect it to my Netgear NightHawk router's 2.4GHz network. I could control the RA180 with the RoseAMPConnect app on my…

Hymns of the Republic

Summer 1959. The concert under the stars in the Wellfleet, Massachusetts, town parking lot was over. Pete Seeger was packing up his banjo as I approached him gingerly—I was 6 years old. I stuck out the notepad I'd been careful to bring. "Can I have your autograph?"

Towering over me, six-three to my three-eight, Seeger said in exasperation, if not outright coldness, "I don't give autographs. I'm not some goddamned star."

Terrified, I stood my ground.

"Oh, all right," he said. Pete Seeger was a talented draftsman. In seconds, he dashed off a perfect cartoon of a banjo, his…

Good Grief, That's a lot of Vince Guaraldi!

Guaraldi Photo Courtesy of Concord

The year 1965 was turbulent, pivotal, and consequential. LBJ sent soldiers to the Dominican Republic, stepped into Vietnam with both feet, and signed laws expanding voting rights and creating Medicare and Medicaid. Antiwar protests gathered steam, Bob Dylan went electric, the Beatles played Shea Stadium, Sandy Koufax pitched a perfect game, and pioneering DJ Alan Freed died (footnote 1).

The cover of the April 9, 1965, edition of Time featured Charles M. Schulz's Peanuts comic strip characters; inside was a lengthy article about the…

Re-Tales #27: Ch-ch-ch-ch-changes in the hi-fi industry

I spoke with people working in hi-fi to get a sense for how the industry is evolving. Here's one way: Some companies at the market's higher end are eschewing the traditional distribution model, in which a domestic company serves as middleman for products from overseas, buying and reselling inventory to dealers and then providing support. In the newer model, distribution services are provided by the overseas manufacturing company itself, either directly or via a US subsidiary. Brinkmann, dCS, Estelon, Gryphon, and T+A employ variations on the model. Some of these companies outsource public…

Rogue Audio Pharaoh II integrated amplifier

This morning, I received an email from John, my DIY friend in Europe, saying how happy he was. He had just finished building a new power amplifier using two UcD250LP class-D amplifier modules. He described the results as "quiet, clear, clean, effortless class-D power," adding, "What more could I ask for?"

I am slow on the uptake, so I thought my friend's question was sincere, not rhetorical. Moments later it hit me: This is a question I should try to answer in this review of the Rogue Audio Pharaoh II amplifier. Beyond the virtues John described, what more, indeed, could we ask for?…

Rogue Audio Pharaoh II integrated amplifier Page 2

Monday morning, I put on an RTI promo-copy test pressing of Promises, a composition by Sam Shepherd (known as Floating Points), performed by Shepherd on keyboards, Pharoah Sanders on saxophone, and the string section of the London Symphony Orchestra (LP, Luaka Bop LB97LP180). I was impressed by how warm, clear, supple, and flowing this recording sounded. Promises is a finely wrought sound collage: Sanders, Shepherd, and the LSO strings were each recorded in a different city and mixed later by Shepherd. The sound was elegant and pristine, with exquisite fine detailing set against silent…