Boris,
Absolutely true…BUT it really would be nice.
Unfortunately, not going to happen unless Eversolo does it.
StandardModel
I like this idea as well but from my understanding those companies that have built in “roon cores,” suffer from two major issues, excessive heat and reduced audio quality."
In my humble opinion keeping the RS130 pure and having the ROON core separate makes for an optimal audio experience. Roon core does not require a lot of processing power but I would rather have the RS130’s processing power dedicated to the stream itself vs the stream and the roon core.
I could be totally off base here but I thought I would just offer my 2 cents.
Roon Core is the server. It does require some reasonable processing power (more than a phone CPU has), memory, and storage. And yes, it does emit much more heat, although sound quality with any semi-competent design would be exactly the same.
But we’re not talking about running the Roon Core on the Rose, just the Roon Remote, which is just a simple app that does run fine on phones (Android or iOS). Wouldn’t be much different from Tidal or Qobuz apps on the Rose presently. The only problem is that Roon would need to make it (or release enough code and info to a third party, which, especially after the acquisition, isn’t too likely).
Oh I see, my mistake. I can see the value in that as well. I use an iPad as well as the pictured setup as my Roon Remote. So I guess I didn’t experience any shortcomings.
Yeah, that’s pretty much how Roon expects you to use it. But if you’re by the Rose messing with VU meters or something, being able to select something to play would have been nice…
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Question regarding RS130 and Roon.
I own a RS150, and use a dedicated external DAC with it.
Is the RS130 only better sounding when you use the internal SSD (local) or will it sound better even with Roon?
As I would stay on the external DAC anyway, I’m curious if the RS130 is still superior when I just use it as a Streamer within my Roon Setup?
Many Thanks
Hello,
RS130 is better than RS150 in every way, especially sound wise ,it is in a different league.
I tested both , actually all of them.
Hope it helps.
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As you can see, people will tell you that a streamer can produce (different league, night and day, wife heard it from the kitchen) difference in the sound of an external DAC. The more they paid for a streamer, the more “difference” will be claimed.
In reality and based on all the principles used to actually develop digital music, DACs, and streamers, with a USB connection to DAC (so source clock differences are irrelevant) and assuming that both devices are operating within spec (not just passingwwhatever analogue noise is on the connection straight to analogue output) there will be absolutely no difference in sound from thr same DAC no matter what you are using to feed it, be it RS130, RS150, RS250, or an old laptop with USB out.
RS130 is a purely digital device, it can not and does not have any “sound” unless you are applying some changes to the digital data.
When using S/PDIF or I2S leftover connections from 1980s, where the clock is controlled at the source and jitter could be an issue, albeit most likely inaudible, there theoretically could be some difference in the output. Probably not anything a human could hear, but at least some.
Whether the data is coming from Roon, some streaming service, or an SSD is quite irrelevant (spinning disk could have theoretically produce some analogue noise picked up by the analogue output, but this would not be the case in a well-designed product, and Rose hardware is well-designed, and RS130 does not have any analogue subsystems anyway).
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In realtime listening environment- I have the rs 130 feeding into a chord scaler to hugo tt- using Roon as the source vs streaming directly from the 130, the Roon feed we were waiting for sounds infinitely better and was worth the wait of verification to open up the feed.
People love to throw the numbers around, and that’s great, but sound is sound and it just flat out sounds better, to me.
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When compared RS150 vs RS130 i wasn’t expecting to be a big difference,BUT it is.
I compared RS130 also with Aurender N200 and RS130 was better again.
I don’t know what Rose did with RS130 but i am sure the internal parts are the best they have regarding Network Transport.
All our tests was sending signal to Mola Mola Tambaqui,as a reference DAC .
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Was it a level-matched blind test? If not, results are absolutely meaningless.
Mola Mola is one of the best-made DACs you can get, it just can not be affected by anything upstream as long as it is not terribly broken, and neither Rose nor Aurender should be broken. It’s pretty much the same as saying that if you plug RS130 into your network and then visit your bank, your balance will be twice as large 
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“Sound” is a psychoacoustic phenomenon, it’s all in the head. One can “hear” the difference even from putting magic crystals on top of loudspeakers. The actual signal to loudspeakers (and sound waves produced) is a physical phenomenon that can be measured far more precisely than anything a human can hear. Those are not affected in any way by a digital streamer. If they were, Nobel committee would go broke awarding multiple prizes a year to audiophile manufacturers.
Something like Chord can make a difference in sound (more likely than not toward less accuracy, but it could be pleasant, like tube distortion). A streamer – not.
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Right, it still sounds better to me.
At the test was me and few friends of mine ,all had same conclusion.
How you can level match when u use only one DAC ?the output from Mola Mola is the same no matter streamer I use.
If u are able to compare RS150 vs RS130 I am sure your findings will be the same.
By the way , RS130 is tested also online by professionals with same results…check out Steve Huff test also in his top 10 products of 2023.
So, a sighted test with mutual reinforcement. You can “hear” absolutely anything in those.
Since you are claiming the analogue signal is different (and noticeably so)m why would levels be identical?
Yes, that the sound is the same. As well as 250 and 520. If it were different, it would mean that people who design DACs and digital audio systems have no idea what they are doing,
There are clowns on the internet who will rate any product as the “best in the world” if they get a free sample (until the next freebie comes in, of course).
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Thanks for your writing. I thought for a long time whether I should answer.
The only way is to test yourself - if you don’t hear anything “better” - then its maybe not the right product.
Each one of us has a different hearing, which has an influence to the things you call psycho acoustics.
I understand the meaning of psycho acoustics, and often things like this happen to anyone of us (like when you do a test, and its already clear that you want it so much).
But you cannot say, that everything is psycho acoustics. It depends how well you are trained with the ability to hear details within your setup, your room etc.
When I finish a test listening (which takes several days, as my hearing is not same every day) I have to decide, if the tested product elevates my Setup a step up or not.
If there are no differences at all - it is not worth the money - if the differences are subtle or little, then I have to choose, is it worth the amount of money for just a little bit. Sometimes, a blind test can help.
If you can’t hear any difference, then its your hearing that counts, and that’s fine for me - but anyone has a different room, different Setup with different Speakers, Amps etc, - and some of us can hear differences, small and big ones (like Laptop to DAC, vs Rose RS150), and for those people, your arguments simply are not true, as we proved it for ourselves.
Comparing measurements was never part of my hobby - I trust my ears.
I use my setup to listen music - not music to listen to my setup.
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When my local dealer has a RS130 on stock, I will lend it to test in my room.
I could re-use my RS150 in my 2nd listening room, so I would keep both.
I use already an external DAC Board (within my Soulution 330 INT) and found it a little bit better than the AKM DAC in my 150. The RS150 adds a bit too much Bass compared to the Soulution Board - but this is only in my room with my setup.
So I’ll give the RS130 a try. Thanks
RS 130 was #2 product of the year for Steve Huff.
For me, it was #1.
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I haven’t seen all his Videos, but for some products, I came to similar conclusion as he did.
But as I wrote - all that helps is test it for yourself.
Ah, yes, the good old “your system isn’t resolving enough and you don’t have muh golden ears” song and dance.
Despite having “psycho” in the name, psychoacoustics is an actual science. And it does not work the way you think it works.
When you listen to a setup for several days it only shows whether you like (perception) whatever you paid big money for. In a week you can convince yourself, unconsciously, that you like or do not like something based on an number of factors none of which have anything to do with the physical phenomenon of sound waves emanating from your speakers. Subjective stuff. If it makes you happy, enjoy your system, but it says absolutely nothing about there being any real difference between two components.
The only way to determine if there is an actual difference between two components is to perform rather extensive measurements. To determine if there is any audible difference is to do a proper (level-matched etc.) blind test. Which needs to be done within minutes. No one can remember subtle details of a sound even over tens of minutes, let alone days. If you reliably hear a difference in an ABX test, it exists. If you don’t, it does not. All that you have “proven” to yourself is that you want to believe that you did not waste your money.
Incidentally, speakers, room acoustics etc. have no bearing on anything that happens from your source component all the way to DAC’s output. Connected to the same source, same DAC in my room will output exactly the same signal as it does in yours.
Besides, saying that, assuming at least an asynchronous USB connection (so we don’t have to deal with source vs. DAC clocking and jitter in crap legacy interfaces like S/PDIF and I2S), using a different source to the same DAC would produce materially different output goes against all the science used to actually develop those DACs. It’s an extraodrinary claim requiring extraordinary evidence. Should we believe people who invented digital audio or people who want to either sell you something, or to convince themselves that they did not waste good money on buying something useless through a completely meaningless experiment that demonstrates nothing?
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