HiFi Rose RW800 music streamer?

[FredBloggs]

Good morning all. Having been all set to buy a Wiim Pro music streamer, I have come across a new option and I'm considering it. The Rose RW800 at a similar price might be worth a look. I intend to use it as a streaming transport, using the optical digital output to feed my amplifier.

Anyone have any experience of the RW800? Thanks.

 

[staticV3]

Hi @FredBloggs! Welcome to ASR.

The RW800's lack of DSP is a massive downgrade compared to the WiiM and will make for a less performant system overall.

 

[FredBloggs]

Hi @FredBloggs! Welcome to ASR.

The RW800's lack of DSP is a massive downgrade compared to the WiiM and will make for a less performant system overall.

Thanks. Please educate me. DSP?

And is that relevant if I don't use the on board DAC of any streamer I buy?

 

[Matt_Holland]

I don’t know that the UI is like on the Hifi Rose, but Wiim’s is one of, if not the, best in the business.

As you are going digital out, this is just a question of looks, features and price.

 

[Matt_Holland]

Thanks. Please educate me. DSP?

And is that relevant if I don't use the on board DAC of any streamer I buy?

The DSP on the Wiim affects all outputs including its digital ones. This means you can use the Wiim for EQ, room correction, volume control, etc. Although of course these things will only work for the Wiim and not for any other sources you have connected to your amp.

 

[FredBloggs]

The DSP on the Wiim affects all outputs including its digital ones. This means you can use the Wiim for EQ, room correction, volume control, etc. Although of course these things will only work for the Wiim and not for any other sources you have connected to your amp.

Thanks. I have an aversion to anything that smells of tone controls, graphic equaliser etc...... My intention would be to set a streamer to fixed digital output and use amplifier volume control.

I'll look at the DSP aspect though.

 

[staticV3]

Thanks. Please educate me. DSP?

Digital Signal Processing. Specifically, the WiiM's Parametric Equalizer.

Used well, it will transform a Stereo system's sound:


(Green: Stock response, Blue: with WiiM PEQ)

If I used an RW800 instead, then I'd be stuck with the awful bass response caused by my room's acoustics.

With the WiiM though, I get tight and well controlled bass.

And is that relevant if I don't use the on board DAC of any streamer I buy?

It is relevant, unless you're already using DSP for room correction inside your Amplifier.

That you connect the Amp via Optical doesn't matter, as the WiiM will happily apply DSP to the Optical output.

 

[FredBloggs]

Digital Signal Processing. Specifically, the WiiM's Parametric Equalizer.

Used well, it will transform a Stereo system's sound:

View attachment 556400
(Green: Stock response, Blue: with WiiM PEQ)

If I used an RW800 instead, then I'd be stuck with the awful bass response caused by my room's acoustics.

With the WiiM though, I get tight and well controlled bass.


It is relevant, unless you're already using DSP for room correction inside your Amplifier.

That you connect the Amp via Optical doesn't matter, as the WiiM will happily apply DSP to the Optical output.

Thanks for the explanation, that's helpful.

 

[Morla]

no spotify lossless unless usb to a bigger rose is used?

 

[FredBloggs]

no spotify lossless unless usb to a bigger rose is used?

Thanks. Perhaps I should have said, the chosen device will be used solely to listen to Apple Music via Android and iPhone.

I'm having a hard time deciding between the Rose and a Wiim Pro. Hence the thread. Thanks again.

 

[Purité Audio]

Which amplifier are you using?
Keith

 

[FredBloggs]

Which amplifier are you using?
Keith

Audiolab 6000a Mark 2.

 

[Matt_Holland]

Thanks. I have an aversion to anything that smells of tone controls, graphic equaliser etc...... My intention would be to set a streamer to fixed digital output and use amplifier volume control.

I'll look at the DSP aspect though.

You don’t have to use the DSP. The high quality user interface and other features should be enough to convince you of the Wiim.

There is no need to have an aversion to EQ. Graphic EQ is quite limited but the Wiim products have parametric, shelving, high-pass and low-pass filters which give you a huge amount of tuning potential. The digital is path 32bit so there is no loss of fidelity when using the EQ or variable volume control.

Unless you need Airplay I would also highly recommend you go for the Wiim Pro Plus or Wiim Ultra as these have excellent digital outputs. The standard Wiim Pro’s is fairly average.

 

[FredBloggs]

You don’t have to use the DSP. The high quality user interface and other features should be enough to convince you of the Wiim.

There is no need to have an aversion to EQ. Graphic EQ is quite limited but the Wiim products have parametric, shelving, high-pass and low-pass filters which give you a huge amount of tuning potential. The digital is path 32bit so there is no loss of fidelity when using the EQ or variable volume control.

Unless you need Airplay I would also highly recommend you go for the Wiim Pro Plus or Wiim Ultra as these have excellent digital outputs. The standard Wiim Pro’s is fairly average.

Thanks for the comments. Yes, I've looked into the DSP and it's definitely something I'm not interested in, but as you say, I don't have to use it.

I must have Google cast and Air Play as we have family using both systems.

I'm a bit unclear about your recommendations though. I thought both the Pro and Pro Plus support Chrome cast and Air Play. I was looking at Wiim's website only a short while ago this evening and that looks to be the case.

I also understand that the main differences between Wiim Pro and Pro Plus are the DACs. I have no intention of using the Wiim DAC. It seems to me the Pro offers a useful cash saving over the Pro Plus and in my usage case, no downside? I could be persuaded otherwise though.

I'm tending to think the Wiim Pro is the better buy for me. But I still think the Rose RW800 at the same price point is also viable, it's also a much more recent design if that means anything. I'm discounting any possible different sound quality between Rose and Wiim since I'm only interested in a digital output to send to my amplifier.

 

[Svend P]

Yes, I've looked into the DSP and it's definitely something I'm not interested in,

You could be missing out massively. I hope your aversion is not because your were led to believe a "pure" path sounds better.
I would ditch the Audiolab and just get a Wiim Amp Ultra.

Should we correct to Schroder, or full range?

I would like to gather opinions from ASR members as to whether we should apply room correction to the Schroder frequency, or whether we should do full range correction from 20Hz - 20kHz. There appear to be two schools of thought: - Correction to Schroder: aims to only correct bass peaks and...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[FredBloggs]

You could be missing out massively. I hope your aversion is not because your were led to believe a "pure" path sounds better.
I would ditch the Audiolab and just get a Wiim Amp Ultra.

Should we correct to Schroder, or full range?

I would like to gather opinions from ASR members as to whether we should apply room correction to the Schroder frequency, or whether we should do full range correction from 20Hz - 20kHz. There appear to be two schools of thought: - Correction to Schroder: aims to only correct bass peaks and...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Thanks for your thoughts but that's not happening.

I'm presently only interested in others thoughts regarding Wiim Pro v Rose RW800 music streamers.

Seems to me that if I'm using the digital output from of either device, there's effectively no difference. The bits output to the Audiolab's DAC will identical.

 

[Mnyb]

Air Play limits your choices within the WiiM product range , that’s a pity .

The normal WiiM Pro with it’s digital out ? Is there a DAC inside your amp ? Otherwise quality analog outs is needed ?

When using digital out there really is no sound quality difference.

It’s all about features and UI and serviceability and support then ?

Any other contenders there are more streamers than WiiM or Hifi rose ?

 

[FredBloggs]

Air Play limits your choices within the WiiM product range , that’s a pity .

The normal WiiM Pro with it’s digital out ? Is there a DAC inside your amp ? Otherwise quality analog outs is needed ?

When using digital out there really is no sound quality difference.

It’s all about features and UI and serviceability and support then ?

Any other contenders there are more streamers than WiiM or Hifi rose ?

Thanks for the comments. Yes the Audiolab 6000a mark 2 has a decent DAC built in.

Personally I use Android, the family uses Apple. It's not an issue at all other than a streamer needs to support both platforms.

Presently I am casting to the amplifier with Bluetooth aptx. The objective of this change is to remove Bluetooth from the data stream. At least on using the Android hardware.

I have considered the Wiim Pro Plus, Primare NP5 mark 2. It seems from what I can find out that using any of the options available as a digital transport means I just buy one on features, build quality and gut feel. An output of digital bits doesn't have a sound? So I narrowed the choice down to Wiim Pro versus Rose RW800. They're both the same price, both have digital out, both support Android and Apple. I don't think it's really going to matter much which one I choose to be honest.

 

[Svend P]

Power is the most important number for an amplifier. It sounds the worst when it starts to distort. The Audiolab is quite anemic with 2x75 W in 4 ohm, whereas a Wiim Ultra Amp is 2x200 W in 4 ohm.

 

[FredBloggs]

Power is the most important number for an amplifier. It sounds the worst when it starts to distort. The Audiolab is quite anemic with 2x75 W in 4 ohm, whereas a Wiim Ultra Amp is 2x200 W in 4 ohm.

Thanks, with respect, I already said that isn't an option. Next possibility after the front end change is using a Audiolab 9000p with the 6000a in pre amp mode. More than enough watts for all eventuality.