HiFi Rose RS451 Master Fidelity Network Streamer / DAC

HiFi ROSE RS451 Master Fidelity Streaming DAC Dual Sabre DACs with 8.8" touchscreen, preamp outputs, high-power balanced headphone stage, HDMI 2.0 video out, eARC input, and AirPlay/DLNA/Roon Ready/Spotify Connect Sitting just above the RS250A and below the RS151, the RS451 brings dual DAC technology, a touchscreen, and dedicated headphone section to this desktop designed but fully hi-fi shelf capable streaming DAC. The Upscale View We love HiFi Rose for its ability to combine intuitive and fun features and usability with high-fidelity sound reproduction. If you are building a reference system and after the very lowest noise and highest detail, Aurender or Lumin might be better for you. But if you want a hugely capable system that's also fun to use and becomes the center of your living room, then HiFi Rose streamers and streaming DACs are a natural choice. Manufacturer's Information HiFi Rose has included some serious technology from higher level streamers, while saving money by having a smaller screen and non-reference-grade power supply. Even so, you get a toroidal linear PSU and a high-precision femto clock, as well as balanced outs and dedicated headphone out.  The RS451 applies two ES9027PRO DACs on completely separated analog paths—one dedicated to the pre-out section and one to the headphone section—with independent power supplies and grounding to suppress interference and crosstalk. Each DAC uses a 4-channel parallel configuration per stereo output to push noise lower and dynamic range higher, locked to a highly precise femto clock. The analog stage incorporates the ROSE NRA™ (Noise Reduction Analog) filter for a flat response down into the very low frequencies, preserving original signal information from high-resolution sources. The headphone architecture uses four high-output amplifier ICs in a parallel configuration, delivering strong, stable drive into a wide range of loads, including high-impedance headphones exceeding 600 Ω. Front-panel XLR, 4.4 mm balanced, and 6.35 mm unbalanced jacks are provided, alongside rear balanced and unbalanced preamp outputs for system integration. Processing is handled by the next-generation 8-core RK3588 (quad Cortex-A76 + quad Cortex-A55) paired with 8 GB LPDDR4X and 32 GB onboard eMMC, yielding roughly 4× general compute and 8× graphics performance over the previous platform. This enables smooth browsing of very large libraries (on the order of 1 million tracks), bit-perfect playback up to PCM 32-bit/768 kHz and DSD512, and 4K/60 Hz HDR video via HDMI, while the 8.8" IPS capacitive touchscreen provides fast, direct control. Features Dual ES9027PRO DACs — one for pre-out, one for headphones 4.4mm balanced, 6.35mm unbalanced, and XLR balanced headphone outputs Drives headphones up to 600Ω with low noise and precise impedance matching 8.8-inch LCD touchscreen (1920×480) with “Visible Audio” interface Compact aluminum chassis with engraved ROSE emblem Specifications Preamp Outputs Type: Balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA Output Level: 10 Vrms (XLR), 5 Vrms (RCA) Output Impedance: 1.5 Ω (XLR), 1.3 Ω (RCA) Headphone Amplifier Jacks: XLR (balanced), 4.4 mm (balanced), 6.35 mm (unbalanced) Power Output (XLR, 4.4 mm, 6.35 mm) 16 Ω: 2,700 mW, 2,700 mW, 1,300 mW 32 Ω: 2,600 mW, 2,600 mW, 1,000 mW 300 Ω: 650 mW,  650 mW, 175 mW 600 Ω: 350 mW, 350 mW, 90 mW Digital Inputs USB-B (PC Audio): PCM 32-bit/768 kHz, DSD512 (22.6 MHz) Coaxial In: PCM 32-bit/384 kHz, DSD128 (5.6 MHz, DoP) Optical In: PCM 32-bit/192 kHz, DSD64 (2.8 MHz, DoP) HDMI eARC In: PCM 24-bit/192 kHz Digital Outputs USB-A Audio Out: PCM 32-bit/768 kHz, DSD512 (22.6 MHz) Coaxial Out: PCM 32-bit/384 kHz, DSD128 (5.6 MHz, DoP) Optical Out: PCM 32-bit/192 kHz, DSD64 (2.8 MHz, DoP) Analog I/O Preamp Outputs: Balanced XLR, unbalanced RCA Line Input: 1 × analog line in Trigger: In (DC 3.3 V–12 V), Out (DC 12 V) Ground: GND terminal Processing CPU: Rockchip RK3588 (Quad-core Cortex-A76 + Quad-core Cortex-A55) RAM: 8 GB LPDDR4X GPU: ARM Mali-G610 MC4 (OpenGL, Vulkan, OpenCL) DAC (Preamp): ESS ES9027PRO DAC (Headphone): ESS ES9027PRO Master Clock: Highly precise femto clock Networking & Wireless Ethernet: 10/100/1000 BASE-T (1 port) Wi-Fi: Via USB dongle Bluetooth: 5.4 aptX (A2DP 1.4, Sink; AVRCP v1.6.2) Streaming & Protocols Protocols: Bluetooth, AirPlay, DLNA/UPnP, Roon Ready, Spotify Connect Storage External: 3 × USB 3.0 Type-A Internal: 1 × 2.5" SSD bay (SATA 3.0; NTFS, exFAT) Network File Services: SMB, FTP, WebDAV CD Ripping: Supported via external USB CD drive Service Port: USB 3.0 Type-C Video & Display HDMI Output: HDMI 2.0, 4K UHD / 60 Hz Front Display: 8.8" IPS LCD & capacitive touchscreen (MIPI) Power Power Supply: Toroidal linear power supply; 3 A thermal circuit breaker AC Input Voltage: 110–120 V, 220–240 V, 50/60 Hz Power Consumption: Standby 0.5 W; Idle 5 W; Playback 20 W Physical Dimensions (WHD): 16.93" x 3.62" x 13.27" (430 x 92 x 337 mm) Weight: 15.43 lb. (7 kg) Materials: Aluminum, rust-proof steel, ABS Finish: Silver, Black IR Receiver: 38 kHz