Severe system bugs & analogue input failures on Hi-Fi Rose RS151 after firmware update

[stevensplace]

Dear Hi-Fi Rose Support Team,

Following the latest firmware update, my Hi-Fi Rose RS151 is suffering from critical, highly reproducible defects that render the unit virtually unusable. It is extremely disappointing that software with such obvious flaws was released to customers.

Below is a detailed list of the issues introduced by this update:

1. Severe VU Meter Pegging & Clipping Display:

On digital sources or even low input signals, the VU meters instantly peg to maximum level and permanently clip. The visual metering is entirely broken.

2. Complete Mute on Analogue Line In / AUX In & Dead VU Meters:

The analogue line input (connected to my turntable) remains completely silent upon selection.

Audio output can only be restored by performing a full system reboot of the unit.

Paradoxical behavior: Once audio is restored after a restart, the VU meters do not show any movement at all and remain completely dead.

3. Reproducible Signal Loss Upon Source Switching:

Switching away from AUX In and back to it results in total loss of audio again.

The analogue input becomes muted once more, requiring yet another full reboot to get sound back.

This sequence of critical bugs indicates a severe lack of quality control for this firmware release. I expect a prompt response addressing the following:

1. Immediate Fix: When will a hotfix firmware update be released to address these critical issues?

2. Rollback Option: Please provide immediate instructions and access to roll back the device to the previous, stable firmware version.

I look forward to your urgent assistance in resolving this matter.

Best regards,

[Rose_love]

@stevensplace
Hello,

First, we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience you have experienced while using our product. We would like to provide you with an update regarding the issue you reported and our upcoming improvements.

• Analog Input Improvements We have identified the issue related to the analog input and are currently conducting tests. The testing phase is in its final stages, and we plan to release the updated version as soon as testing is complete.
• VU Meter Improvements We are continuously working on overall enhancements for the VU meter feature. However, due to some areas that require additional improvement, the release schedule has been slightly delayed. We are doing our absolute best to provide a stable and improved version as soon as possible.

Thank you for your continued support and valuable feedback. If you have any further questions, please contact us at any time.

Thank you.

[Rose_love]

@stevensplace
If you would like to check the functionality before the release of the updated F/W addressing the analog input issue, please reply with your email address to the address below, and we will send you an guide.
shim1691@citech.kr

[Cougar2025]

Róża_miłość

When will you finally start listening to people? I’ve written several times that before you release software for your devices, you should test it yourselves to ensure nothing breaks—because, unfortunately, you often end up breaking things.
And as I’ve said many times, your apologies won’t help if you fail to grasp a simple fact: you don’t have IT specialists who truly master both the system software and the applications. The longer you refuse to admit this to yourselves, the sooner people will turn their backs on

[Bonte]

HiFi Rose Updates:
A sleek display, but the software platform is falling apart—a recurring issue for years

Hi everyone,

I just have to vent my frustration here again. Anyone who follows my posts here on the forum knows that I’ve brought this topic up many times before. But what HiFi Rose / Citek has been doing on the software side for years is simply no longer acceptable for devices in this price range.

It’s always the same old story:
A new update comes out, one issue is supposedly fixed, and three other issues blow up in our faces. This can’t and mustn’t go on like this!

Many people are still dazzled by the huge, beautiful touchscreens. But under the hood, things look bleak. The software is completely overloaded and artificially gimmicked up. And that generally applies to the entire product line, no matter which model you have in your rack.

I myself still use the RS520 all-in-one amplifier at home.
But let’s be honest:
The only thing the device is really good for anymore—without having to spend hours fiddling around or dealing with the buggy Rose software—is as a pure Roon endpoint. I use Roon with a lifetime license, and that’s the only way you can still use this thing with any degree of ease, because it lets you bypass the Rose interface altogether. But I don’t need such an expensive all-in-one amplifier just to serve as a pure Roon endpoint!

The fact that they’re now also rushing the little RW800 onto the market just highlights the whole mess and confirms what’s going wrong behind the scenes: On the old, tweaked Android platform of the main devices, modern security updates and interfaces from streaming services like Amazon Music or Tidal Connect apparently can no longer be installed natively or processed properly. Customers are constantly promised “coming soon,” but technically, the old platform is hitting a wall.

That’s why they had to rush the RW800 to market so that people could still get the new streaming certificates at all. So anyone who owns an expensive device like the RS130 streaming transport now has to—absurdly—route the signal from the RW 800 through the digital output to the input to RS 130 just to use the latest protocols. And the irony of it all: The new RW800 doesn’t even have an SFP module (fiber optic) built in—something so many HiFi Rose users absolutely want precisely because of the galvanic isolation! So you end up setting up a total makeshift setup in your rack.

In reality, we HiFi Rose buyers are really just one thing now: Unpaid beta testers!
Quality control in South Korea simply seems nonexistent when it comes to software.
If they can’t get a handle on this over there, they need to finally hire a damn decent, competent
team of IT specialists or hand over software development entirely to external providers who know their craft! You won’t get an honest answer from the company itself anyway.

I know that many in the community are downright afraid to sell their devices right now, because, of course, you won’t get back what you originally paid for them on the used market. Everyone is trying to hold onto their devices somehow and hoping for the next “miracle update”. But if Rose simply won’t learn or isn’t willing to invest in competent IT professionals, nothing will change here.

Even if it sounds harsh and hurts: Maybe you really should start looking for real alternatives in good time—whether as a replacement for your main system or for a stable second system. As you know, I’ve written this many times before: I got the Lyngdorf TDAI-3400 for my main system, and that was the best decision of my hi-fi life. Sonically, it’s a whole new world thanks to RoomPerfect, and the software runs absolutely smoothly. Anyone looking for a good replacement or a robust secondary system should definitely check out other manufacturers—whether it’s a high-end NAD (like the M33 V2) or completely different, stable streaming amplifiers that simply work flawlessly.

How about you guys? Are you also using your Rose devices solely as Roon endpoints to avoid the software headaches? Has anyone tried the RW800 as a “stopgap” for the streaming certificates? Or have you also slowly lost faith in the brand?

[Cougar2025]

Personally, I wouldn’t buy anything else from Rose—except for their streamers; back when I owned the RS250, I really didn’t have any software issues (barring one incident over four years), and I managed to sell the unit very quickly after listing it, with minimal depreciation.
However, looking at the big picture, I think the player is cluttered with unnecessary features—like the weather display, multiple types of internet radio, and an excess of VU meter skins (some of which aren’t even usable). Plus, the way the VU meter actually functions is a disaster; I’ve written about this many times, and company reps stated here that they would improve it within three months. That deadline is up in October, and I’m convinced they won’t keep their promise.
Many of us have been saying they need to change their software development team or outsource the software and app development to a third-party company that actually knows what it’s doing.
If Rose’s IT staff worked for a European company, they would have all been fired by now given the sheer number of bugs in both the system firmware and the app. I simply cannot understand why Rose isn’t doing anything about it.
If things continue this way, Rose will be forgotten in a few years; people—myself included—will simply switch to devices from other manufacturers. It shouldn’t be the case that you have to read forum posts to see how devices behave after a firmware update; a user should be able to download and install the latest software the moment the notification appears on their device’s display. Right now, though, I have to wait for the next update—because I certainly won’t be downloading the current one, and neither will many others. Rose, start taking action—mere apologies achieve nothing. Otherwise, people will forget about you, and you will simply go bankrupt, because in a few years, no one will buy your devices. The truth is painful, but the patient (the devices) can still be cured; you just need to change the doctors (the IT team).

[Wolf]

What are you waiting for, seeing as it’s never going to happen? I bought the DMP-A10 a year ago and haven’t had a worry since. Everything works, and updates don’t break anything—they actually improve performance. Or just buy a new-generation CD player, turn off streaming, and your problems with Rose will disappear.