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Holo Red Streamer

I placed my order and paid for it on February 22, 2023; it finally arrived today in my building in NYC. Apparently they are backlogged in a major way.

Their manual is not user friendly to walk through starting it up. Greek to me on their TFT card and finding the IP address and whether I have to do that first. I can connect my Ethernet cable from my router to the Holo Red and then to run an AES/EBU cable from the Holo Red to my PS Audio Mk I DAC, but what else must I do to get going? I now use MConnect for Tidal and use the streamer card I installed in the DAC.

If anyone has experience with the Holo Red  streamer, I could use the advice to start up operating it so I don't grind my teeth and pull out my remaining hair. Thank you. Neal

nglazer
jackd
1,067 posts
 

Before you plug in the Red or turn it on put the supplied Micro SC card with Red OS on it in the unit connect all the cables and turn it on.  It will take a few minutes to boot up so be patient.  Next find the IP address given to it by your router and then type the IP address in your browser which will bring up the Red OS setup screen.  Do the setup and hit save in every section you change.  After the setup MConnect should find it as the Play To device. If you are only going to be using MConnect for Tidal then only have checked UPnP and Airplay.  Leave the other stuff like Roon, Tidal Connect, Spotify Connect, etc. unchecked. 

nglazer OP
846 posts
 

Jackd,

Thank you for the step-by-step directions. I will give it a go and report back. Cheers. Neal

nymarty
107 posts
 

I literally just finished hooking up the Red a couple of hours ago.  I ordered mine around the same time and it arrived today (NJ just outside of NYC).  Yes, it’s not clear at all how to set it up.  The manual is terrible. I’m upgrading from an iFi Zen Stream and I thought their manual was the worst until this one.  @jackd advice above should get you started.  My use case is a little different because I’m just using it as a Roon endpoint.  The silver lining to the confusing setup is that it is a remarkably good streamer.  I thought my Zen Stream was dialed in with an external LPS and really liked the sound. Then tonight I listened with the Red and everything was better.  I was never a big believer in the importance of the streamer/transport in a digital system. I thought the DAC was 80% of it.  I think I was wrong.  Let us know what you think once you have it connected.

oczed
40 posts
 

There is a long Holo Red thread on the PS Audio forums under the network section, including some users with the PS Audio MK I DAC.  That might be really helpful for your setup.

nglazer OP
846 posts
 

Thank you to nymarty and oczed. This is why I ask clear instructions in advance of a digital or computer-related component with weak instructions so I do not bang my head against the wall. It would not have taken much more effort from Holo/Kitsune to make clear instructions, rather than "computerese."  Neal

 

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