Today, Louis reviews the Rose Technics RT-5000, which is a new ES9038PRO integrated desktop DAC and headphone amplifier rated at 1.6 watts. It is priced at $599, although HiFiGo currently has it for $539 in their summer sale.
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Rose Technics RT-5000 Review
Summary
The Rose Technics is what I would call a 'Rolls Royce' mid-fidelity headphone amplifier and integrated DAC. It's not the most powerful or the fastest out there, but it will provide the listener with audio suitable for today's audiophiles and it does so in elegant style.
Advantages
Clean and well presented sound signature.
Attractive cabinet design and materials
Many connectivity options
Cons
Front panel might confuse some users
Some peculiarities of the initial manufacturing
Until recently, Rose Technics had not entered what I call the mid-level audiophile gear category, although they have had their doors open since 2012.
Sure, they've produced a couple of noteworthy rigs, like the QT-X and the Martini, but they've never ventured beyond the $500+ price category. The RT-5000 integrated DAC/headphone amplifier changes all that.
The Rose Technics RT-5000 is a combination DAC, a balanced topology headphone amplifier, and a Bluetooth receiver in a nice case. It can be purchased in two color combinations, one with a green leather cover and the other with a black leather cover.
The $500 DAC amp combo category is packed with competition like the HIFIMAN EF400and iFi Audio NEO iDSD, just to name a few. Within that group, the RT-5000 seems to hold its own. We'll compare it to those two models in this review.
Characteristics
CAD
The Rose Technics RT500 uses a pair of ESS' flagship ES9038PRO DACs. ESS calls this DAC the highest performing 32-bit DAC model out there and seems pretty proud of the 140 dB DNR rating in mono they achieved.
The RT-5000's internal DAC section can be accessed by using the rear-mounted output ports. The RT-5000 can also act as a control center, but the preamplifier functions of this model can only supply a fixed output and not a variable type.
The DAC section within the Rose Technics RT-5000 brings to the table decoding capabilities including PCM and DSD, as well as MQA file formats as published in the Rose Technics manual.
The Rose Technics instruction manual lists 32-bit 384kHz PCM capability and also lists DSD up to DSD256. Not much is said about the MQA capability except a little blurb.
I was able to successfully play with all three formats on this model and they all ran smoothly and stably. To be honest, during listening tests, I never heard any breakage, static or hiss of any kind.
Amplification
There are a couple of sets of OPAMPS inside the RT-5000 for power and amplification. There are ten OPA1612 OPAMPS at one end. Eight of them handle the current-to-voltage conversion and two are in the unit's LPF circuit.
Rose Technics also incorporated a pair of Muse's iconic JRC MUSEES01-FETs in a unique copper frame. I assume the copper frame has been implemented to improve heat dissipation.
This combination of components produces up to 1600 mW at 32 Ω on the balanced side and 800 mW on the single-ended side. Those ratings are maximum output ratings, but I was able to handle some demanding cans very well and the maximum rating seems conservative.
It's safe to say that the RT-5000 uses a mix of old and new components and that's fine if the final product works well. This is what we have here along with a novel cabinet design.
Bluetooth
Rose Technics only provided the RT-5000 Bluetooth 5.1 capability, which is enough for me. BT's main component is the Qualcomm QCC5125, which is not a low-end part but it is not a cutting-edge 5.4 chip either.
That's fine by me because it handles LDAC very well along with SBC, AAC and all the usual aptX variants, except the latest aptX Lossless codec which hasn't completely taken off and isn't as widely available as, say, LDAC.
Bluetooth reception is very good on this unit and, to my surprise, even when the included antenna is just a stub. I expected to receive a common type of stick. When I first saw this antenna, I didn't know what it was until I saw that it had the common SMA type thread.
Sound quality is good in LDAC. It is noted that there is a small loss in the dynamic response. However, the midrange performs well as do both ends of the frequency spectrum, with an interesting amount of soundstage and only a small reduction in high frequency presence, I'd say 2dB max compared to a USB powered.
Design
The Rose Technics RT-5000 is a Rolls Royce. It's not the most powerful or the fastest on the track, but it gives you exotic real wood trim, leather-wrapped exterior components, vented anodized metal, and a gold trim package that together scream luxury.
The engraving on the volume knob alone is praiseworthy. You have to get closer to see it. The detail work continues with angled knurled cutouts that didn't need to be angled. There is a lot of commitment to details here. They even gold-plated the screws.
Any disadvantages of this design? Some may not like the countersunk headphone output section, but I never had insertion problems, even when using cables with thick connectors. Maybe some rubber feet on the bottom to protect the leather covered bottom.
But what I didn't like the most is the lack of information displayed on the front panel display, which consists of four LEDs. Not much information is provided while using the unit. The LEDs are mainly there to guide you in getting the settings right.
The other issue is the visibility of the letters because they are simply etched into the gold decorative strip and have little contrast. The total package gives off strong craftsmanship characteristics overall.
IS
During early manufacturing testing, the RT-5000 installed the incorrect XLR connectors, but Rose Technics quickly corrected this and installed the proper 3-pin male XLR connectors to give the user access to the DAC output.
There's also a set of RCA analog outputs found next to the SMA Bluetooth antenna connector and a switch marked USB/Bluetooth and SPDIF. In my opinion this switch is in an awkward position to operate and is too close and below the BT antenna. A second switch controls on and off.
The switches are common rocker type switches and perhaps Rose Technics could have found a better solution as the overall unit screams luxury and these are simple looking switches. At least they seem durable.
The rear input section consists of an SPDIF, optical and USB Type B connection alongside the SMA connector. The front panel houses the three headphone jacks consisting of a single-ended 6.35mm jack and a 3.5mm balanced jack along with a 4.4mm jack.
Control S
There are three different buttons on the front panel. The first button is where you set the gain. The RT-5000 has 4 gain settings. The second button is a mute function.
The third button is where you activate the Bluetooth pairing feature. I was able to pair two devices with the RT-5000 without problems. Just remember, you must press the rear toggle switch to listen to a Bluetooth stream.
Next to the 3 gold-plated buttons are four LEDs and the one on the right side is simply a power indicator. The second LED is a digital format indicator. The third LED is used for the Bluetooth pairing sequence.
The fourth LED will help you choose between the built-in digital filters. This LED emits a white tone. The LED is labeled EQ but the changes are subtle.
The EQ curves are selected by pressing and holding the gain button and each time it is run the system cycles through a total of what I believe are seven selections.
The manual doesn't mention what the curves are called, but they seem to be quite effective. More than typical digital filters.
Packaging and Accessories
Rose Technics requires a 15 volt DC power input, so it includes a 3 amp AC to DC adapter inside the box. But I can already see the mod team taking this opportunity to run a power source with a higher amount of amperage to see if performance improves. Do not bother yourself.
The Wall Wart is generic, to say the least, but includes a nice set of fabric-wrapped cables with metal connectors for connectivity.
There is one 7-foot cable terminated with a USB-C and a USB Type B, and the other terminates in a USB Type A and a Type B connector on the other end.
Sound impressions
Fight fire with fire, I say, so I broke up with some of my wooden friends. A list consisting of my HIFIMAN Arya Organic headphones and the Meze Audio 99 Classics to see how a bass-heavy player might react to the RT-5000's clean presentation.
I also used IEMs like the FiiO. FD7 and HIFIMAN svanar to get an idea of the RT-5000's single controller handling capabilities. In contrast, I used FiiO FX15 to see how the RT-5000 performs with a multi-driver hybrid IEM.
Summary
The Rose Technics RT500 gives the listener an immediate feeling of cleanliness and sterility, but it also has a musical side. It's a soft and pleasant sound, surprisingly.
There are many micro details along with dynamics that reinforce the emotional aspects of what you are hearing. And, although the dynamic response is high, there are no harshness or abnormal frequency deviations to disturb listening enjoyment.
The RT500 has a focused presentation that produces items in an orderly manner with a minimal amount of aura smearing occurring around the items. It presents the music broadly but remains controlled and well directed.
The amplification sounds very clean but is not accessible on its own. However, the DAC is the highlight of this product and contributes greatly to the overall presentation.
Staging and dynamics
The Rose Technics RT-5000 sounds energetic and punchy, but it also has a delicate side, as it works well with sensitive IEMs that are prone to producing or revealing their own. But the RT-5000 seems to have a very dark background that lets the music through.
Again, the RT-5000 is capable of delivering a wide soundstage, but unlike some inferior gear that can blur focus points within the soundstage, pinpoint accuracy is for the most part preserved.
Click on page 2 below to see my recommended combinations and selected comparisons.
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