This luxury Hi-Fi streamer also doubles as a DAC

The best streaming DACs have a new rival for audiophiles' ears: the new RS151 from Korean audio brand HiFi Rose.

It's the successor to its highly rated RS150, which launched in 2021, and promises to be the "ideal streamer for your music". It even includes a high-quality DAC to boost other digital sources.

Like the previous model, the design is dominated by a mighty 15.4-inch touchscreen with a straightforward and attractive interface, the company's own Rose OS. But, it's what lives behind that screen that really matters. It's a very powerful device for both audio and video.

HiFi Rose RS151: key features and pricing

The RS151 has Rose's own DPC (Digital Processing Core) module, first used in the RD160 DAC. According to the firm it delivers exceptionally accurate processing, a natural and clear sonic performance and very low signal distortion and interference.

The DAC design uses the ES9039PRO DAC chip with the fourth generation of Hyperstream technology. It separates the digital and analogue signal path completely to reduce interference, and the result is claimed to be "a more precise soundstage with excellent channel separation and beautiful imaging".

The RS151 also has a new noise reduction filter, and it has the ROSE Audio Engine to deliver all digital audio to the DAC without loss. According to Rose, the upgraded CPU is an 8-core model with four times the data processing power and eight times the graphic performance of any previous model, enabling it to support much larger music libraries, Hi-Res Audio and video files.

Connectivity includes HDMI eARC, Hi-Res Coax, AES/EBU and USB inputs and outputs, Optical inputs and outputs, I2S output and an analogue line input, and there's Bluetooth 5.4. You can control the RS151 with the touchscreen, via the included remote or via the ROSE Connect app.

In the UK, the HiFi Rose RS151 is exclusive to Henley Audio and has a price of £4,299. In the US it's $4,995, and in Australia it's AU$8,154.