Would You recommend the RS130?

The RS130 works well enough but more importantly sounds wonderful in my system (after using multiple streamers over the course of years). I don’t use the display. To me it’s meaningless fluff. :slightly_smiling_face:

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Thanks for your feed back!
In my understanding, things are always about system integration. Unfortunately, this didn’t work out right for you with the RS130, but luckily you found an alternative that’s working well for you now!
Perhaps you could have gotten things right with different cables, or other equipment, but that’s another story.
I wish you luck in your hobby and lots of enjoyment listening to music!

So, I decided to treat myself and bought three RS130s. What a fantastic decision that was! The first one turned into a $6,000 paperweight in just 2 hours. Impressive, right? They kindly replaced it with another unit that lasted a whole 2 weeks before it too became a $6,000 brick. The second machine? It stopped working after 2 weeks as well. What are the odds?

Apparently, the issue is with the power board, a well-known problem. But hey, they can’t figure out which serial numbers are affected. Brilliant! So, be prepared to say goodbye to your machine for up to 2 months while waiting for replacement parts. And let’s not forget the hit to the machine’s resale value thanks to this stellar service.

So, if you’re in the market for a great machine with a side of reliability issues (according to my experience), look no further! Decide for yourself if this is the kind of adventure you want to embark on.

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@moderators You must promptly and publicly address this and other hardware concerns to acknowledge ongoing quality issues and provide assurance that existing and future RS130 owners will receive appropriate support in the event of similar hardware failures. A continued pattern of ignoring, deflecting, or denying these issues may raise serious legal and consumer protection concerns.

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My RS130 didn’t work out of the box. The output could not be selected and every few seconds a error message popped up stating that the audio device was not ready. Upon investigation I found out that it was caused by a bad main board. The Swiss distributer replaced the main board and now, three months later, the same issue came up again. Currently it is being repaired but to be honest I have little hope that the issues have been definitely sorted out. A friend bought a RS130 at the same time from the same dealer. His worked straight out of the box, but after 2 weeks his display quit and needed to be replaced. At least he hasn’t observed any other technical issues since the unit was repaired…

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Got my RS130 back from repair yesterday. The mainboard was replaced for the second time, according to the service center this time with one out of the latest (improved) production batches. Time will tell…

I’m about to sell mine.
I will keep my Auralic Aries G2.2 instead.
I prefer the Auralic SQ.

Dan31,

Interesting. I’ve always felt that my RS 130 had superior sound but there is general agreement that the software is less than perfect.
What exactly do you hear that makes the Auralic Aries G2.2 sound better?

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First, I prefer the bass on the Auralic. (More details, more precision)
I find the voices are too ahead on the Rose.
It’s flattering, but it’s more homogeneous on the Auralic.
I like to use Apple Music (in Lossless) in addition to Tidal and Qobuz, it’s not possible with the Rose.
Same thing for Amazon Music.
I’ll miss the Rose screen, but SQ first.
I use the G2.2 with wifi.
I use the RS130 with SFP and a fiber converter.
Btw, please excuse my english, I’m french…

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Dan31,

Thank you for the comprehensive response.
You make good points.
Vous avez un excellent anglais.
My wife was until retirement, an ESL teacher and we have spent many happy times in Belle France.

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Any comment by @moderators / @ROSEHAN

No. To many software problems

Beem,

I thought so too. But then I bought a FiiO S15 streamer just to see what it was like.
Their software is really, really bad. It makes HiFi Rose software look perfect. So why did I buy it? It has the same AKM “Velvet Sound” dual chipset as the RD160 and it sounds great with an 85% price discount.

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Wow, it sounds like you hit the jackpot with your RS130! Meanwhile, my RS130s decided to audition for the role of expensive paperweights. One lasted a whole 2 hours before it gave up on life, and the other two managed to survive for 2 weeks each before joining the brick club…

Kudos to your dealer for the open box price. Mine just gave me a front-row seat to the ‘Guess Which Serial Number Will Fail Next’ game.

That’s deeply concerning, @Gandalf. I’ve reached out to @ROSEHAN and @moderators to request clarity on the situation with the RS130, specifically regarding the scope of the issue and how many units may be affected. Unfortunately, they have declined to engage or provide any meaningful communication to the community.

If there are, in fact, widespread failures or if RS130 owners face a known risk of future device failure due to a manufacturing defect, it is only reasonable that this be disclosed. Transparency is essential, and owners—particularly those who may be out of warranty—should not be left unsupported if failures are tied to a known design or production flaw.

At a minimum, Hifi Rose should proactively communicate with the community and put appropriate provisions in place to support affected users. As of now, however, Hifi Rose has refused to acknowledge or address these concerns.

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Ignoring your customer base is not good PR.
I would urge Rosehan to address this with upper management.
There are so many good things with HiFi Rose.
Why spoil them with bad customer service?

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Anyone thinking that RS-130 “sounds,” really nice or otherwise, really deserves all the problems they get…

I finally got my RS130 optically connected through the RSA720 USB hub to my Dac, after several software updates to the usb hub, and the 130 bricked today. I am waiting to hear back from MoFi about returning it for repairs. I don’t have high hopes about speedy resolution given the nightmare in dealing with the RSA720 update issues.

Hoping for the best hear because there are few transports that allow full optical isolation.

Hi,
may I ask which dac you use (that you managed to connect optically to the RSA720)?

T+A Dac200. So optically connected RSA720 to RS130. DAC 200 is connected to RSA720 with a standard USB connection.