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