I’m going to get a lot of flack for this but I’ve been pondering how to best address the lack of frequent, advanced software updates by HiFi Rose. I understand it to be as a result of two constraints 1) lack of sales volume to support the necessary software upgrades and 2) outsourcing the software development to a third party.
My suggestion is that HiFi Rose consider one or two years updates in a new hardware purchase and after that charge a reasonable annual fee. In exchange, HiFi Rose would have to bring the software development in house and commit to keep at the forefront of development.
I don’t know what the software maintenance number would be but it should be enough to support keeping the HiFi Rose devices at the absolute best level of performance.
I really appreciate the way you’re thinking about this — you’re tackling a real problem and trying to find a realistic path forward. And honestly, I understand why the idea of a subscription or annual fee comes to mind when the update cadence feels stagnant.
That said, I think this approach would unintentionally make things much worse for the entire user base.
Customers shouldn’t be asked to pay additional fees to fix issues, maintain basic functionality, or receive updates that competitors already include as standard. HiFi Rose positioned these products as premium, fully-featured systems with long-term support baked into the price. Introducing a paywall for updates would shift responsibility away from the company and place it back on customers — essentially asking people to fund solutions to problems they didn’t create.
And even if users agreed to pay, there’s no guarantee that HiFi Rose would suddenly bring software development fully in-house, increase transparency, or deliver the consistent updates we’ve been asking for. We’d simply be adding cost without any assurance of improvement.
Your post hits on the real core issue: software is the weak link, and the current model isn’t sustainable. But the solution shouldn’t be customers subsidizing the company’s operational gaps — it should be HiFi Rose committing to the level of software support that aligns with the premium price of its hardware.
I fully agree with everything you wrote. The problem is that without something being done, Hifi Rose runs the very real risk of being put out of business by Eversolo or another ChFi company. How can HiFi Rose continue to exist after one or two more upgrades by Eversolo when their equivalent (or better) product is sold at one third the price?
You’re absolutely right to be concerned about HiFi Rose’s long-term viability. The competitive pressure from Eversolo and similar ChiFi brands is real, and it’s accelerating. When a company can release hardware that performs at or above the level of a HiFi Rose unit at a third of the price—and pair it with software that’s actually improving—HiFi Rose can’t afford to stand still.
But this is exactly why the answer can’t be putting additional financial burden on existing owners. Charging for updates won’t save the brand—it would erode customer trust even faster and accelerate the shift toward competitors.
The real risk isn’t just Eversolo’s innovation. It’s that HiFi Rose is creating a widening perception gap between “premium price” and “premium experience.”
Here are the key dynamics at play:
1. HiFi Rose built its reputation on the software experience.
People don’t pay $4,000–$6,000 for a streamer because the hardware is exotic. They pay for the UI, the ecosystem, the all-in-one feeling.
If the software falls behind, the entire value proposition collapses.
2. Competitors are improving faster, cheaper, and with clearer roadmaps.
Eversolo is pushing updates rapidly. Minidsp, Lumin, Aurender, and others are all tightening their ecosystems.
If HiFi Rose maintains sporadic or vague software development, they lose their differentiator.
3. Charging for updates would damage the brand even further.
It would feel like “premium hardware, DIY support,” which is exactly what drives people toward lower-cost alternatives.
4. Customers shouldn’t be asked to subsidize organizational shortcomings.
If software development is under-resourced or poorly structured, that’s a business decision, not a user responsibility.
The onus is on HiFi Rose to fix its internal model—hire, restructure, or change vendors—not on customers to fund fixes.
5. The path forward is transparency, not monetization.
HiFi Rose would regain significant goodwill by:
Acknowledging the gaps openly
Publishing clear development roadmaps
Explaining technical challenges honestly
Communicating frequent, incremental updates
Reassuring owners that the company stands behind its products
This costs HiFi Rose nothing, and it restores trust immediately.
Bottom line:
You’re absolutely right—HiFi Rose is at a crossroads. But shifting the cost onto loyal customers won’t solve the underlying threat. What will solve it is HiFi Rose taking accountability, strengthening its software strategy, and showing the community that the premium price comes with a premium level of long-term support.
If they don’t, then yes—another two product cycles from Eversolo and others could push HiFi Rose into irrelevance. The solution starts with the company, not the users.
If they don’t get their act together, they will have the same destination as Auralic. They will not survive. Indeed, the RS130 is a very nice piece of kit, but the software experience totally kills it. Had I done a little more due diligence before my purchase, I would not have gone through with the purchase.
I almost bought an Auralic Aries G2.2 and hesitated based on a conversation with an online dealer shortly before their demise. The dealer would only recommend a Rose unit to Roon users as they are aware of the UI issues of a Rose unit.
The top-of-the-line Ever Solo streaming player is 20% cheaper than the top-of-the-line Rose, so we’re not talking about a 1/3 difference, but a 1/5 difference. That’s because the Chinese government subsidizes everything they make domestically, making them cheaper, but not always better. The Ever Solo is mostly sold as a lower-end model precisely because of its price.
I don’t use Roon or Connect, except for Spotify very rarely. I’ve been using the system’s Tidal and Qobuzia for quite a few years, first on the RS 250, and now on the RS 151. I’ve had problems with the former twice, even after using the RS 250 for four years.
Other manufacturers, like Lumin, also rarely update anything. Their app has been practically unchanged for xxx years. I know this because I was interested in buying a P1 mini, but after listening, I chose Rose.
Rose has a lot of features that others don’t, like YouTube, clocks, a multitude of internet radio stations, etc. Perhaps if there were fewer of these features, it would be easier for them to manage.
this isn’t true (owned from Lumin an U mini and a T2) and Lumin is one brand, which supports also their oldest devices in rolling out new firmwares.
They (Peter the chief firmware developer) reacts very quickly in problems and new features, like Qobuz connect or losless spotify.
Their firmwares are much better tested than the ones from Rose and also their support is in a complete other level.
The app build from Lumin is used by a lot of other brands looks not so nice, but works also very stable (as a Roon user, I’ve very rarely used it).
Lumin streamer are strictly stereo. Only the first streamer A1 had a hdmi out with an own driver for DSD (Lumin was the first brand, which supported DSD in streamers), but also here: Only stereo.
I’ve never tested the USB out in multichannel with Lumin (I’ve an exaSound e68 DAC, which supports DSD256 with 8 channels and DSD512 in stereo), but I’m shure, that also here only stereo is supported.
Thank you. If you look at Lumin’s website Both the P1 and P1 Mini have HDMI inputs and an output that claim Dolby Atmos and DTS passthrough. Perhaps a new feature?
EverSolo is sold for less money because other than warm and fuzzies, there’s nothing that expensive about it. Or Rose either. Some people might pay more for a Rose (or an Aurender, or dCS…) because those cost more, but that has nothing to do with the actual performance of off the shelf parts in a reference design.
I don’t particularly care for Lumin, but they do keep updating their stuff, make working firmware, and provide real support.
These are Rose’s only selling points. Although if you want to see how internet radio stations (or streaming in general) should work, check out BluOS. It’ totally different level. And somehow Lenbrook manages to come out with regular updates, and they even work most of the time.
Yes, you’re right, but then everything has to work reliably!
For example:
Turn off Qobuz Connect and daylight saving time!
Will Qobuz Connect be absolutely stable in November 2025 (even with gapless playback) on all Rose products???
I see it differently and agree with @BorisM again, and other forum members have also posted this.
I would focus on the stability of the software (sorry Rose, I’m sure you’re doing that) and not integrate any visual gimmicks (clock, VU meter, etc.).
Of course, they’re all eye-catchers, no question, and look fantastic when they work reliably.
But when I’m listening to music, my eyes are in the Roon app. I find some nice music, enjoy it in my sweet spot, and close my eyes. I only use Roon Desktop on a 32-inch QLED 1080p TV, which is perfectly adequate for album art and text and is larger than the largest display in the HiFi Rose devices. Sure, it’s great for those who really enjoy using Rose Tube. I’m not a big fan of it, because I want to focus on the music and not watch TV at the same time.
I don’t need a clock (which I also have hanging on the wall in the traditional way), weather information, or any other such bells and whistles. I have clocks on my MacBook where the Roon app is, or on my wrist.
Even the weather on my MacBook shows my location and is more accurate than on the Rose, which only showed the nearest town, 20 miles away…
…and yes, I asked for my location here in the forum, but it couldn’t be added.
Numerous internet radio stations!!!
Take a look at Roon, or directly at my device (I’m not allowed to advertise here) without Roon, using Airable and previously vTuner.
It was fun adding my own streaming stations to Rose, but everything I added in Rose is already included in Airable, giving me more free time to listen to music and eliminating the need to create streams.
Well, since I mostly stream music via Roon (Qobuz) anyway, radio streams aren’t that important to me. That doesn’t mean I don’t have radio streams saved and listen to them occasionally, though.
But I understand all of this and still like Rose devices!
Everything Rose has created looks fantastic, and it’s a great selling point.
I always said that what really attracted us all was the large display.
But a display isn’t music functionality. For that, I also need room calibration, proper subwoofer outputs, etc.
Please, HiFi-Rose, add great features, but then everything needs to work reliably.
Thanks again, but might I trouble you for a bit of I clarification? As I understand it (or misunderstand it) I could stream Atmos music from Tidal into the Lumin and have the multichannel signal passthrough unchanged via the HDMI out to my Trinnov signal processor. The Trinnov would decode the Atmos. Yes this assumes the signal would bypass the DAC of the P1, but that is what I want. I would use the DAC of the P1 for two channel streams sending the analog output to my other preamp.
Am I thinking about this incorrectly? My Blu-ray player does this but I don’t know of any streamers that can do it. I thought the DAC-less RS130 could perform this but I was mistaken, or misled by the manual.
What I’ve meant:
The P1 is a streamer and additional a preamp with analogue and digital inputs.
Passthrough (you can read it in the online manual) for Dolby Atmos works only for HDMI in to HDMI out. Here the P1 acts as a simple switch and the internal player is not used.
If you’re using the internal player from the Lumin for Tidal, then your output will only stereo.
If you need a player for Dolby Atmos take a look into video streamer, e.g. from Zidoo or Dune.
I don’t know any audio streamer, which can do this…
