New RS130 and new RD150 **failure to connect

Support
#1

@ROSEHAN
Brand new RS130, brand new RD160 and brand new Rose fiber kit for SFP

For this connection to work the first time: I had to FACTORY RESET
It worked for 12 hours and now it DOES NOT WORK.
Tried again with FACTORY RESET. DOES NOT WORK.
Also: I2S (HDMI) does not work between them either.

RS130: RoseID 0D8559
System version 5.9 (official)
Audio Firmware: XMOS 3152

RD160: I would provide system information for the RD150, but your manual does not help with that.

I am perfectly happy returning these both unless you can resolve this to my satisfaction.

#2

My advice is:

Try connecting the two with an inexpensive Toslink cable; be sure to select the optical output on the 130.

If that doesn’t work, return them both while you can for store credit.

#3

Toslink is not hires, so no.
I2S also does not connect between them. I’m pretty sure that the RD160 is the problem, but the RS130 has some world-crap software from at minimum the user interface …that I can tell you as a career software developer and CTO. It is absurdly antiquated and is NOT user-centric.

I’m awaiting a call from the store that sold them to me, as good as they sounded when they worked for 12 hours – I do not trust Hifi Rose the company at this point. It is a shame because they have a real flair for the hardware and case design.

In 2025, when you send $12,000+ on a streamer and a DAC – they really really need to WORK RELIABLY.

#4

I am proposing this as a way for you to troubleshoot the pairing of the 130 and 160 without spending a fortune. If you do not want your ears to be offended by 24/96 or 24/192 for the few minutes that it takes to troubleshoot, you are free to ignore my advice.

#5

Thank you – I can actually get them to talk via SFP fiber (my preferred) BUT it is completely unstable and requires repeated factory resets of the DAC… I know the DAC takes coax input from another streamer I have (a reliable connection) but if I use coax output from the RS130 to the RD160 it does not reliably work.

Switching inputs between RS130 and RD160 is BRITTLE and causes lasting regret until the DAC is factory reset. That is insane, I can’t imaging not firing a software team that does that. I have NEVER had to input so many email addresses and passwords to get into any audio device – its moronic for home use.

I’ve updated the code on the RS130, but it looks like the RD160 requires some unknown process (really? in 2025?) via the service port. So, I believe I am at the mercy of a slow response from Hifi Rose. (UPDATE:) After another hour (can you believe how frustrating these two devices are?) I found (not in any manual, by the way) I should say, “I stumbled across” a means to upgrade the DAC.