Real power - warm and crisp
Raul from Reston, VA on 2/11/2025
Simple classic design, easy to install and to use. This baby delivers 200 plus watts per channel - amazing !! I needed to power my McIntosh XR1000 speakers and wow !!! Crisp, warm sound and plenty of power to bring down the house. I was looking for a simple integrated amplifier with clean and effortless performance, nothing fancy or complicated. Sometimes simple is better. This Rose RA280 delivers you will not regret buying it. I also like the illuminated panel and the bypass feature !!!
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8 of 8 found this helpful
HiFi Rose RA280
Ruel from Hayward, CA on 1/21/2025
The product is excellent, shipping is bad, it took more than 1 week for shipment, granted it's weather delayed, but still took 2 day when the shipment is already in location 30 mins away, Crutchfield cust service did nothing, BTW the ship method is UPS 2 days
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2 of 47 found this helpful
HiFi Rose RA280
Jesse from Union, OH on 12/10/2024
3 of 14 found this helpful
Do not buy.
Tom from BOULDER, CO on 11/12/2024
This is a beautiful amp. Extremely well made. Warm, natural sound, with a ridiculous amount of power. Unfortunately, the LED light on the treble knob went out in the first week. I would have returned to Crutchfield, but it came back on the following week and I figured the board reset somehow. Anyway its out permanently now and I am past the two month return window. This is not just one LED light out of many that one might not notice. It is a key feature of the base and treble knobs, beautifully illuminating the indicator notches that encircle each knob. It is now impossible to see the treble setting. This is a real bummer considering the price of the amp.
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44 of 60 found this helpful
Beyond my expectations!
Scott from Severn, MD on 10/12/2024
Break-in.. HiFi Rose RA 280 requires 24 to 36 hours of run-in to sound incredible. It will sound lean and harsh at first, but will transform into incredible, beautiful sound! Beyond my expectations!
Pros: Sound quality, sondstage, depth, width, imaging, black background, power, fantastic tone controls!
Cons: 24 to 36 hours to run-in. The reward is well worth it.
20 of 21 found this helpful
Even better in person. Solid, powerful, work of art
Jonathan from PRESCOTT, AZ on 9/20/2024
Angels sing. Earthquakes shake the ground. Meat makes full. I don't know how much of that is true, but I'm keeping this thing. It's GORGEOUS. The lights are warm and to my surprise invite me to turn them up to the max because of the beautiful, not overpowering ambiance. I've owned, built, and handled electronics for decades and never encountered a device anywhere near this size that feels this solid. Second place might be a small, metal film camera from the 1990's. The case has no flex. So solid, you might need a friend for the unboxing. The knobs and switches feel solid but not stiff. One video made it look like the bass and treble wobbled as they turn. They don't. Resetting both to 0 is easy with a physical and felt detent only at that number. I run Micca RB42 speakers with 83dB sensitivity in a room 10x11 ft. I can't turn the volume knob past 30% without fear of hearing damage. This amp never heats up even after playing for hours. The price is a stretch on my comfort level, but I suspect my kid will inherit this thing in a couple decades. I'm a practitioner of buy once, cry once. In the future I'll upgrade my speakers. The longer it sits on my desk, the more I like it. I struggled to justify this price tag. As someone accused of being cheap, WORTH IT. I listen to Emo, Pop, Rock, Classical, Instrumental, Hip Hop, some Rap, Dance, and love all of it. It passed the WAF with flying colors. 2 months of listening joy. No regrets.
Pros: appearance, feel, sound quality, power, construction
Cons: possibly size and weight
28 of 29 found this helpful
Nice look and build
Christopher from Charlottesville, VA on 8/28/2024
Good build quality and looks cool in person (black version). The sound was not my kind of thing, which favors detail over body unless you are pushing the amp into louder listening levels 80-90db. Compared it to Arcam A25 and a Music Fidelity A1 an preferred the A1 with the Arcam coming in second with the smoothest presentation. Not sure why, but the Rose's sub out was the weakest of the three amps. Rose had the largest sound stage and detail, but I felt the A1 sounded the most holistic and musical. I think the Rose would pair well with warmer harder to drive speakers, but for my Klipsch Fortes it was fatiguing.
Pros: Detail sound stage looks
Cons: Requires the right speaker pairing
19 of 22 found this helpful
Beauty and a Beast!
Brandon from Newport News, VA on 6/20/2024
I wouldn't consider myself an 'audiophile' but I do like quality in sound and products in general, and the Hifi Rose RA280 hits on both levels. I was really skeptical of Class-D and was half expecting to return this and go with the Audiolab 9000A, but I was immediately blown away by the power and sound quality of the RA280. The marketing says "Class A/D" and to me it fits. This thing sounds great. It sounds amazing with my SVS Ultra Towers. Also the design is fantastic which is what pulled me to it in the first place. Love it 10/10 would recommend.
Pros: Runs only slightly warm while running at high levels. Amazing power, design and sound quality.
Cons: If I HAD to nitpick, I would have loved to see an HDMI Arc input. That being said, I just ARC into my Bluesound Node and that works well.
21 of 21 found this helpful
Hi fi Rose RA 280
Adrian from Pound Ridge, NY on 5/10/2024
What a beautiful piece of equipment, and what a sound. It effortlessly drives my Klipsch RF 7 II speakers and vinyl sounds amazing. No regrets.
Pros: Solid, powerful and beautiful
Cons: None
26 of 26 found this helpful
