Greetings from Finland
I have been dicking around with my new Holo Red for a few days now and loving it! This thing is really build like a tank! Really substantial piece of gear
For me it was just plug and play, about 7 minutes from opening the box to updating the software.
Coming from Zen Stream this was great news, I had some problems. Now it (ZS) seems to be working fine, thanks goes to
@Mr BubbaHyde for not giving up with me.
There has been need of comparison with the Red and Zen Stream on this thread and I can kind of ansver to those questions; there has been over a half of year period that I haven´t used the Zen Stream in my main system so take this with a grain of salt:
Build: There is no question, the Red wins hands down! This is really put together like a full metal block. Gets nice and warm but not hot by any means.
Connectivity: Red wins again, at least in my case it was just putting the SD -card in and plugging the network cable in. No wifi, if that is a thing some can have problems with it.
Sound guality: This is a difficult one, the unit (Red) is a new one so not much burning in has happened but my experience so far is cleaner representation with details compared to ZS. This of course adds to soundfield and to the depth of it, at least in my modest system. And this is from memory because I haven´t used the ZS in my main system for a while because of "issues". Is the Red worth of over double price? YES!
Things that I would like to know:
Using another software, for example moOde, is it possible to use the USB in (USB B) to connect a SSD drive directly to the Red? So it still functions as a streamer and I can access the flacs from the app?
With stock Red OS, what software people use to play music from UPnP? I have only tried BubbleUPnP free version for few days.
If I shut the Red down via tablet/software, is there another way to turn it on other that using the power switch from the back?
I know these are "beginners questions" but that is just what I am with the Red. Would like to hear Your input.
EDIT: My chain is: Holo Red--->USB out--->Audio-Gd DI20HE--->I²S--->Audio-Gd R27 2021.
EDIT2: I haven´t even tried the I²S output from the Red, just enjoying the tunes right now, I´ll get back to you with comparison with DI20HE and without.
Thank You