HiFi Rose RA180 Integrated amplifier

Bold amplifier design and impeccable performance

The RA180 has a unique design and four channels of exquisite amplification (shown with the RS150B network streamer and iPad®, both sold separately)

Just one look at HiFi Rose's RA180 shows you it's not an ordinary integrated amplifier. Closer inspection reveals a relatively old-school approach, though. It's not a streamer or a DAC — its only Wi-Fi feature is connection to its user-friendly control app.

It's got four bridgeable channels of impeccable power for your speakers and balanced and unbalanced analog inputs, including a phono input. And it's got powerful features that let you tailor your sound with precision.

Beautiful form and function

The RA180's look is a little bit "steampunk," and 100% audiophile. Its illuminated analog level meters have partially open faces beneath the crystal that let you see the electromagnets that control the needle. The distinctive volume knob turns five aluminum gears when you adjust the level.

You can make virtually any adjustment using the tactile front-panel controls — switch between sources, adjust bass, treble, and balance, and plenty more. When you control the amp with the included remote or the RoseConnect app for Apple® and Android™ devices, the physical dials on the amp actually move. That just looks and feels cool.

And you can bypass front-panel controls in discrete sections using the dedicated switches, or all at once using the pure direct switch.

Flexible analog connections

This amp has unbalanced and balanced analog inputs, including a home-theater bypass and a highly tweakable phono input. You can use either a moving coil or moving magnet cartridge and dial it with the front-panel phono preamp controls in to get the best sound.

The RA180's connections are all analog, but you can get amazing sound from digital sources that have a built-in DAC — like its perfect match, the HiFi Rose RS150B network streamer.

Advanced hybrid amplification

The RA180 features four separate amplifier channels, all using an innovative circuit design that HiFi Rose calls "Class AD." Like more typical Class D amps, it uses a "switching" design. But the RA180's GaN (Gallium nitride) FET topology sweetens the sometimes clinical sound of Class D amplification by speeding up the timing between switches — up to 10 times faster than typical silicon FET switching devices.

The super-versatile RA180's back panel features balanced and unbalanced inputs and bi-amp outputs for A and B speaker pairs.

Versatile bi-amp outputs for two pairs of speakers

You'll notice that the RA180 has eight pairs of speaker terminals on its back panel. Its unique configuration lets you bi-amp compatible speakers, powering the tweeters and low-frequency drivers with dedicated built-in amp channels. You can even experiment with the front-panel crossover controls if you're bypassing your speakers' internal crossovers.

You can hook up two pairs of speakers and select between them using the front-panel control. Or you can throw the back-panel switch to run the amp in stereo bridged (BTL) mode and get 400 watts per channel into a single pair of speakers.