[New Product Launch] RW800 - ROSE AIR Lite Launch & Special Promo

I should have added that there are no doubt some good use cases for a device like this - just not so much for RS130/RD160 owners. And you’re right that as I get older, I forget that the new generation grew up without physical media.

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WOW! HiFi Rose release a plastic streamer with wired ethernet to connect to you expensive all metal SFP enabled high-end streamer. It supports 384KHz and DSD128 at most. Still no NAA (but what would be the point?).

Is this a joke?

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I don’t see a problem with the RW-800.
For me it’s a cheap optional add (or you can use it without a Rose device), primarily for Google Casting.
There isn’t a need for higher bitrates or NAA on this device (also RAAT I would not use with the RW-800), but other services (Tidal connect, Spotify, Apple Music,…), which couldn’t added to the current Rose devices.
Nobody must buy a RW-800, but anyone can…

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Yeah…
I think this was a stop gap thing…

It would be interesting to see if Rose would bite the bullet and migrate to either a different OS or upgrade to a later release of Android. Both would be relatively painful … but maybe AI could help w the coding issues.

I’m testing various LLM models using Cline (AI agent) thru LMStudio on my Mac and another server to host the LLMs (Rust and Python code)

@moderators

There are currently no U.S.-based retailers offering the RW800, so it appears that customers in the United States cannot take advantage of the launch promotion.

Could @moderators please clarify the following?

  1. When the RW800 is used with an RS130 and an external DAC, is the RW800’s internal DAC completely bypassed?
  2. What exactly does the launch promotion include, and how can U.S.-based customers participate?
  3. When used with the HiFi Rose RS130, does the RW800 require its own internet connection? If so, would this undermine the benefit of using the RS130’s SFP network connection?

Here is a good description of the unit’s capabilities along with connection diagrams.

Yes, I have read that but the questions I have asked are not clearly addressed in the PDF. Imagine if you have a higher end DAC and the signal chain gets processed by the onboard DAC of the RW800 and your DAC, that is a big issue not to mention if you are adding additional noise via wifi or copper ethernet vs SFP ethernet.

Question 1: Yes.
Question 2: IDK
Question 3: Yes, No. Refer to “Flawless Stability (Wired Ethernet Method)” graphic under Simple Network Setup.

The RW800 is a bridge device for owners of the 130, 150, 151 who want to listen to Spotify Lossless, Tidal Connect and Qobuz connect. Eventually both units will be replaced with a next generation Rose unit.

So if I understand this correctly per your response my external DAC will be the only DAC to process the signal. Great to know.

But disappointed that HiFi Rose RS130 users have to forgo the benefits of the SFP ethernet using the RW800 with the RS130. That is a big trade off.

Thank you for the response @Eleven

If you use the RW800 as a standalone streamer / DAC and output the analog signal through the RCAs, yes you are using its internal DAC. If you output thru USB or optical to your DAC, or even the RS130, you bypass the DAC in the RW800.

Re the SFP, my advice would be to use the network connection to the RS130 whenever possible, but if you need the features of the RW800, eg Spotify Lossless, you will need to utilize its the ethernet port.

Clean sheet of paper, Rose won’t build the next gen streamers the same. But for those of us who have a legacy product, this is not a bad solution until the next upgrade.

@Eleven; is there an alternative use of the RW800 if you are not using Spotify connect, Tidal Connect and / or Qobuz connect and don’t want to use the onboard ethernet or Wifi of the RW800. What other use would there be for an owner of the RS130; I can see the value in the standalone use case. Too bad there is no way to piggy back off the ethernet connection off the RS130 internet connection via the USB of the RW800.

I’m so tired of the chaffing rub and tug these folks are putting us through for common functionality throughout the industry, I don’t care how they try to rationalize this S.S… I called my retailer and they called Rose and they aren’t selling nor allowing preorders. I emailed Mofi Distributers and they said “We are currently awaiting information reguarding this unit as it was just announced.
Your best bet for updates on availability would be to subscribe to the HiFi Rose newsletter”. They post of these forums yet have conflicting information up and down the ladder. I, like many, are ready to scrap them as option in the future.

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@duffer5
You could contact MoFi / Hifi Rose USA about the product.
They (MoFi) is the US Distributor and I think you can buy some items directly from them.
While they are based in Chicago, their warehouse is in Vegas.

It would be interesting to see what RoseUSA (MoFi) has to say.

EDIT: I checked their website and the product isn’t showing…
This happened when the RS451 was launched it took a while for it to get updated.

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Dear HiFi Rose users

As of July 31 , MoFi is no longer the official HiFi ROSE distributor in the United States.

Starting August 1 , HiFi ROSE USA will be established and will handle sales and operations directly in the U.S.

We recommend contacting HiFi ROSE USA on or after August 1 to inquire about the RW800 and request to purchase the product.

Hallelujah :smiley:
I have advocated for this change for years My first post on this September 2023 “How has your experience been? I’m curious to learn whether HiFi Rose is having success in its sales. Do you have any idea? I haven’t been impressed with their US Distributor. They could do a lot more.
.”

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Why are the big distributors running away? The reasons are obvious:

  1. The software dilemma (Rose OS):

The hardware is visually and haptically an eye-catcher. But a display doesn’t make music. The software has been lagging behind the premium claim for years. Constant app crashes, network dropouts, faulty Roon/Tidal connections, and VU meter skins that don’t run in sync with music are unacceptable for devices in this price range.

  1. The overload of classic sales support:

A classic hi-fi distribution is designed to serve top-class mechanical (turntables, speakers, amplifiers). However, a HiFi Rose device (like the RS150 or RS520) is essentially a complex computer. If the software is wrong, the local sales can’t fix anything. They sat between the frustrated customers/dealers and the developers in South Korea who delivered updates only slowly or with new bugs. The support costs and the amount of returns have simply eaten up the sales economically.

  1. Technological dead ends (example RW800):

The new RW800 (ROSE AIR Lite) shows the problem very clearly. Because the Android architecture listed in the older devices can hardly be fundamentally changed on the software side, external hardware (which is based on cheap OEM technology, as you know it from budget manufacturers like WiiM) must now be pushed in order to realize even more contemporary functions such as Tidal Connect.

  1. The server and registration obligation:

The fact that these devices cannot be operated at all without a forced registration and permanent connection to the servers in South Korea, is angering more and more data-conscious high-end customers.

The establishment of in-house distributors (such as HiFi ROSE USA) is the desperate attempt of the parent company Citech to pull the line because the disssatisfied dealers are running away from them. They now have to take over the IT support themselves, because the established sales do not want to hold their heads for the immature software products anymore.

I myself still have my RS520 as a Roon endpoint but it’s not everything and I switched to a pure, extremely stable system (Lyngdorf) - and I didn’t regret it for a second. If you want to keep your devices, you will unfortunately have to continue to endure the “beta tester” life in the forum with a lot of pain and patience. In any case, the sales department has understood that in the streaming age, the software is half the battle.

How do you see the current development?

And for the people who like to raise the flag :de:…likes to do it, but that’s Tacheles and unfortunately doesn’t like to be heard here!

Its a mixes blessing.

MoFi is a huge distributor.

I agree that they haven’t been giving a lot of love to Rose and very little marketing or promotion.
The downside is that a new distributor would have to make inroads into the dealers. If they don’t already have them.

Saw this w Vienna Acoustics.
They were pretty much out of the US market for a while. But w the new distributor… they’ve started to make a comeback… but it took some time.

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Bonte,

So negative.
Would you consider Eversolo to be ‘high end’?