Return the Rose RS130?

ROSE Products RS130
#41

See [Official] SW Ver 5.9 (Rose OS 5.9.07) Software Release - #275 by Stefan ← he solved the poor audio problem.

If you still have the problem: Just an idea. Contact your retailer and ask for a Zoom meeting. That way, he can walk you thru various tests & checks. The retailer can see how the device is working and reacting. With Zoom, you may succeed.

BTW, you said than you do downsampling/upscaling. Turn all the fancy stuff off. Then test will the most basic “all default” settings - play NAS first (not the internal disk) ← if you don’t have NAS, connect a mobile disk on one of the RS130 USB connection. Use your computer to format the test disk to say NTFS format. Transfer only a few audio files (either stereo mp3 or flac files) on the test disk. Test these files. If it works, from your computer, reformat the disk to exFAT. Test again. If it works. Format the disk from RS130. Continue the process, one step at a time till you find the culprit.

But first do the Zoom meeting with your retailer. Your retailer may decide to replace the RS130. Problem solved!

Note: If your retailer is simply a sales person, ask to have the Zoom meeting with a technical person who has detail RS130 knowledge.

#42

If the rs130 was purchased within 90 days, you can return the unit for free to the US distribution center. You have to get an RMA. Use the contact details on the rose website for the support email address. My ethernet input failed and they were great at replacing the unit for free. Since then the rs130 has been great. Rose connect is mediocre but it’s worked fine.

1 Like
#43

Good advice! I’ll didn’t know you could do that.

#44

Apologies for repeating old information. I had my RS130 for 6 months and never had any issues with hardware. My complaint was the quirky software. After doing A/B comparisons to several other streamer only transports, I decided to sell it. Three months after I sold it, the buyer asked for confirmation if it was under 2 years old as the unit would no longe power on. I never delete anything and was able to provide him with the paid receipt since it wasn’t even a year old. Fortunately the HiFi Rose warranty is transferable to the next owner.

#45

Hello, and thank you for your interventions.

As far as the troubleshooting steps are concerned, I have carried out everything that could reasonably be done. Come on, gentlemen, you must understand that buyers of a streamer at this price point are not novices in Hi-Fi. Whether the unit I received is defective or not, there are four main points I must emphasize:

  1. I received no meaningful assistance from the representatives of Rose on this forum (merely a generic message on a thread). To me, this reveals a certain attitude toward their customers.

  2. Setting aside any potential hardware issues, the software is utterly inadequate—something that should never occur with any product, and certainly not with a flagship. This, in my opinion, is equally revealing of the company’s seriousness.

  3. The sound quality is indeed good, but that alone is not sufficient. A streamer is also defined by its convenience; otherwise, one might just as well optimize sound from a dedicated computer, using DDCs, upgraded power supplies, USB signal reclockers, and control the music through Roon or Audirvāna (I own licenses for both). But when one purchases a streamer, it is also with the expectation of listening to music without complications—and that is precisely what differentiates high-end solutions from one another.

  4. Furthermore, I see a great many users experiencing serious issues with their streamers. One could argue that people who complain on forums are always more numerous than those who are satisfied and remain silent. Yet the truth is that, compared with forums for other brands, the proportion of users encountering problems here is markedly higher. The overwhelming majority of this forum is devoted to such issues, whereas in others one finds discussions of optimizations, expressions of satisfaction, and—above all—music.

There is, therefore, a genuine problem with this brand. Sound quality alone does not excuse everything, particularly when the bugs affect something as fundamental as streaming. For my part, I will not purchase another product from Rose.

3 Likes
#46

@ROSEHAN @moderators

It would be reasonable to expect a public reply to @Lector most recent post. The lack of customer support is more self evident now than ever all the while Rose hardware is failing at what appears to be a concerning rate and still no acknowledgment or update from the company. We are waiting Hifi Rose for support but the lack of transparency is accelerating concern and distrust.

3 Likes
#47

I think too much is expected of the moderators here. The problems with the software run deep and can only be addressed so fast. I think the moderators do a pretty good job under the circumstances. Also the complaints and issues I read of here are wide-ranging, from laughably trivial to serious.

I honestly think the software needs to be rewritten from the beginning. My attraction to the RS130 was that it supposedly did everything I wanted and I was willing to pay up for what is essentially a component that is easily replaced by a MacBook or Mac Mini. The problem is that the marketing of the devices is far better than the software and user experience and that needs to change.

There are a ton of coders in the US looking for work. Hire them Rose along with a team that is able to manage them. In the interim I will wait for updates and perhaps even buy that Eversolo T8 as a temporary patch.

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#48

The Eversolo T8 streamer is a real bargain compared to HiFi Rose streamers. The T8 appears to have even better noise specifications than my RS 130 at about one quarter the price.

StandardModel

#49

The RS130 is superior in terms of HW. Circuit breaker vs fuse, OCXO clock, better physical isolation inside the chassis, bigger screen…etc.

Obviously the differences between streamers are not so big, but if Rose would finally focus on fixing the software bugs and enhancing it with new features (es. using the screen as a Roon display)…

1 Like
#50

Eversolo is definitely raising the bar on the lower end.
There are definitely differences in terms of quality of hardware.

The UX is slightly better on the Eversolo, yet marginally better.