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    The Computer Audiophile

    Sonore opticalRendu & Signature Rendu SE Optical Review | Part 1

    I've used products from Sonore for many years. These guys are always on the cutting edge and have the ability to turn on a dime, releasing a product most of the industry will copy in due time. With respect to product support I'd put Sonore right up there with the best, if not the best at resolving customer issues quickly and completely. Not only do these guys get it, in many respects they are it. 

     

    Over the last couple years more hardware manufacturers have implemented Ethernet interfaces in their products. To the layman this may seem like the best solution and a way to exclude or stop using a product like the opticalRendu. If the DAC accepts Ethernet directly, why use a "middle man" that converts Ethernet to USB for input into the DAC? At first blush, and using the old ideal of straight wire with gain, it seems logical to bypass as many links in the audio chain as possible. However, there is a reason products like integrated amplifiers and all-in-ones are still relegated to second class citizens. It's because separate components can often provide the best performance, flexibility, and cutting edge features. 

     

     

     

     


    The Sonore opticalRendu and its sister the Signature Rendu SE optical are the current apex products in the digital to digital converter category. Both products accept network traffic through an optical interface and output digital audio via USB to the DAC of one's choice. Much more information about the optical input, how it works, and how to implement it can be seen in the Sonore opticalRendu in 5 minutes video above. One item not covered in the video is the new Sonore bi-directional opticalModule that converts copper (Ethernet) to optical and vice versa. This enables one to take full advantage of the opticalRendu without the need for a fiber capable network switch.

     

    This review is divided into two parts. In this first part I'll cover some great aspects of the opticalRendu and give a brief opinion on its use in my system. I've had the unit since January and spent hundreds of hours with it in every configuration possible. In the second part of this review I will go much more in-depth about sound quality and focus heavily on the hidden gem in the Sonore lineup, the Signature Rendu SE optical. Why the split into two parts? As I write this, my new speakers are being manufactured and should be delivered to me around July 5, 2019. I have a temporary system that's quite capable of high end performance, but it's a major step down from that which I'm used to listening. Thus, everything sounds less than stellar right now. I want to get the new speakers in my listening room before I finish part two of this review. I think this method will serve everybody best. 

     

    By now most HiFi consumers know the Rendu series and its multi-facets. Roon Ready, UPnP/DLNA, AirPlay, SonoreUPnP Bridge, Spotify Connect, and a few others. Many consumers who've tried multiple UPnP/DLNA products also realize not all are created equal. I rank the Rendu UPnP/DLNA renderer as possibly the best in the business because of the Sonore team's ability to make it work incredibly well given that UPnP is the most non-standard standard. Has anyone ever had UPnP issues with a HiFi product? Rhetorical question that should have elicited painful chuckles in many readers. 

     

    Recently the Sonore team sent me an early release of its Sonicorbiter operating system (now available to everyone) that contained a new feature. In a way this feature is a throwback but also a response to several demands. Some consumers are tired of monthly or yearly subscription costs, some consumers are tired of network audio problems, and many consumers really don't have multi-terabyte libraries of local storage for which NAS solutions used. I was also happy to see this new feature because it's so damn simple. I get tired of fooling with technology now and then and understand how frustrating it can be to "guess what's wrong today" when one just wants to listen to music. 

     

    Enter the Sonic orbiter Local Storage option. Yes, local storage within the Rendu on its microSD card. This seems so 2010 but it's actually so 2019. The industry push for the longest time was more and more massive storage even though this was for the 1% of consumers with massive libraries. Massive storage requirements can introduce a host of compromises depending on what the consumer demands such as solid state storage, RAID, direct attached vs network attached storage, etc... I know, I've designed tons of systems of the years and run into all the issues possible. Want USB 3.0 (not 3.1) attached storage for 12TB, all SSD, RAID5 and an easy backup solution? Have fun on that adventure of compromises. 

     

    Anyway, I have an opticalRendu and Signature Rendu SE optical with the new local storage feature enabled. The microSD card inside is 400GB! A 512Gb card upgrade is only $299 now and a 1TB card upgrade will be available this fall for $550 from Sonore. These cards are from SanDisk as well, not some fly-by-night supplier on AliExpress. That said, Sonore doesn't have plans for user upgradable microSD cards. Upgrades will be handled through them very soon. I've been told an introductory upgrade price will also be offered for a limited time and this goes for all Rendu units, not just the opticalRendu and Signature Rendu SE optical.

     

    The 400GB card in my Rendus is a touch small for what I'd like to store on it. Given that we can "all" stream lossless high resolution from Qobuz (sorry Canada), the need for local storage may be decreased for many. I'd love to store only my Mobile Fidelity, DSD rips, and other non-streamable gems locally on the Rendu and stream everything else via Qobuz. I completely understand that some consumers aren't satisfied with sound quality unless their music can be stored on local SSDs powered by linear supplies resting on butterfly feet floating on unicorn tears, so relying more on streaming isn't the end game solution for them (note: if we can't make fun of ourselves we are in bigger trouble than we think). However, most people really don't have large local storage needs. 400Gb may be a little light, but 500GB and 1TB could be the cat's pajamas (you know that phrase has more to do with Jazz music than felines right?). 

     


    The opticalRendu and Signature Rendu SE optical In My System

     

    Between January and June I had the two Rendus in my system and connected to various DACs from dCS, EMM Labs, APL HiFi, ELAC / Audio Alchemy and more. My complete Ubiquiti UniFi network has optical ports that enable me to connect these devices as easy as a copper Ethernet device. In these early days I used the opticalRendu as a Roon Ready endpoint in my Constellation / TAD system. The sound was fantastic to say the least. I've noted in the past that the opticalRendu is the best Rendu every created by the team at Sonore and for the most part this still stands. Wait, what's up with "for the most part" you ask? OK, the optical series is what you want for sure, but I may now have a preference for the Signature Rendu SE optical. I can't say that I'd easily pick out the sonic differences in a blind test but it's the complete package with linear power supply built just for the Rendu inside. I can't wait to get my new speakers and listen to the Signature Rendu SE optical for hours upon hours. That sounds like so much fun said my wife at the dinner table last night. Just joking. Only us HiFi nuts would look forward to that like a kid at Christmas time. Believe me, I am so looking forward to it!

     

    In early June the local storage option enabled microSD card was shipped overnight via UPS and I've been using it ever since. I actually shutdown my Roon ROCK for two reasons. The first is that it isn't needed in this configuration. The second is that it can interfere with the configuration I'm about to detail below. 

     

    Using the local storage option on an opticalRendu raises the question, how does one control and manage music? There are options and I tried most of them. I found all but one unsatisfactory. First let's go over the opticalRendu configuration I used, followed by how I controlled music playback. On the opticalRendu I only have two apps installed, Squeezebox Server and Squeezelite. The server is required for configuration of items such as DSD playback, library scanning, and streaming service setup. Squeezelite is the app that enables playback to the opticalRendu or even iOS device. All other apps such as HQPlayer NAA, Roon Ready, MPD / DLNA Renderer, etc... can be uninstalled. 

     

    At first I cringed at the thought of using anything with the prefix "Squeeze" in its name. Talk about going back in time 15 years! However, once the Rendu is setup the hideous Squeezebox Server interface can be ignored. For this to work I need a user interface on my iOS device that enabled music selection of both the locally stored content and Qobuz for streaming. This had to be a single interface and not one that required AirPlaying / Casting audio from the iOS device. The iOS app that met my requirements is iPeng. Yes, another blast from the past for many of us. Over the years iPeng's developer has continually improved the app, so much so that I highly recommend it rather than just recommend it because it's the lesser of the evils. iPeng is really good. 

     

    Recapping my opticalRendu setup: Squeezebox Server and Squeezelite installed on the Rendu and iPeng installed on my iPad Pro. I pointed Squeezebox Server to the local folder on the microSD card and added my Qobuz credentials for streaming. All was right in the Audiophile Style world. As an additional step it's possible to setup a QNAP or Synology NAS to automatically reach out to the opticalRendu to backup its local storage to the NAS. Nothing needs to be configured on the opticalRendu for this to work.

     

    During the last few weeks I've been streaming my favorite podcasts, streaming lossless Radio Paradise, streaming lossless Qobuz, and playing a selection of locally stored content on the opticalRendu, all to my great satisfaction. This setup really checks a lot of boxes and surprised my cynical self quite a bit. There probably are other platforms that can do all this, I just don't know of another one that does it all at this high of level. 

     

     

    Part One Wrap-up

     

    Just when some are doubting the need or capability of D to D converters, Sonore releases the opticalRendu, Signature Rendu SE optical, and enables local storage on the platform. There isn't a single box solution available with the same level of performance, flexibility, and cutting edge features as the Rendus. In addition, there isn't a yearly, monthly, or lifetime fee associated with all this greatness from Sonore. As soon as my new speakers are installed I'll be listening through the noiseless optical network connection of the Signature Rendu SE optical and publishing an extensive review of its sound quality in a reference system. Stay tuned.

     

     

    PART 2

     

     

     

     

    Product Info:

    Product: Sonore opticalRendu and Signature Rendu SE optical

    Price: $1,295 and $3,445

    Product Pages - LINK

     

     

     

    Associated Equipment:

     

     

     




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    37 minutes ago, jabbr said:

    I know its counter-intuitive but there is no speed advantage in storing music files locally.

     

    There is the disadvantage that locally stored files cause increased processing due to SD card access, as opposed to fiberoptic ethernet which completely isolates the music server processing (including disc access) from the DAC.

    I'll disagree all day long with this. 

     

    Do some real world testing of pressing play on a track stored locally and a track stored on a NAS. The NAS will never be faster to start playing. It's really angles on the head of a pin because the difference is minuscule most of the time.

     

    I believe you are excluding any processing that needs to happen when a file comes over the network in your comparison. Easy access of local disk requires less than receiving the file over a network and dealing with SMB protocol file transfers. 

     

    If you want to bring in music server processing then all bets are off because that's a different game all together. 

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    32 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

    I'll disagree all day long with this. 

     

    Do some real world testing of pressing play on a track stored locally and a track stored on a NAS. The NAS will never be faster to start playing. It's really angles on the head of a pin because the difference is minuscule most of the time.

     

    I believe you are excluding any processing that needs to happen when a file comes over the network in your comparison. Easy access of local disk requires less than receiving the file over a network and dealing with SMB protocol file transfers. 

     

    If you want to bring in music server processing then all bets are off because that's a different game all together. 

    I have to agree with Chris on this one. I know people will try to decide what sounds better and that is fine with me. From my perspective this is about giving people options. Chris focused on LMS / SqueezeLite because he wanted to integrate other streaming services. I have been using MPD for the ultimate through back experience:) IMO MPD is the king of local playback. Also, we have an option to mount remote drives if you prefer that. 

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    2 hours ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

    I'll disagree all day long with this. 

     

    Do some real world testing of pressing play on a track stored locally and a track stored on a NAS. The NAS will never be faster to start playing. It's really angles on the head of a pin because the difference is minuscule most of the time.

     

    Well actually ...

     

    Where do we press "play"? What do you consider local? In my case I'm increasingly using Roon on my iPhone to determine what gets send to HQPlayer embedded and then to my current NAA. The biggest "latency" for me is deciding and finding what to play next! ;) So user experience is key -- totally agree.

     

    Regarding disc vs network access latency: I've looked into (and personally tested) these issues extensively not for audio but for video storage and processing. That's what I installed my 10Gbe system for. I've also compared Infiniband to Ethernet ... a lot of this has to do with network latency. I can assure you that the time between when you start to press "play" and when the button makes contact is several infinities longer than the actual disc drive or network latency, but for the sake of discussion ...

     

    1) if you are using Wi-Fi to control the oR, then the latency has much more to do with the WiFi latency than disc vs network latency.

    2) I can't comment on your own experience with the oR, rather on this issue in general, and my personal experience has all to do with my own network.

    3) latency is a huge issue in NAS, and the most modern NAS are starting to use NVME over Fabrics (including Ethernet): https://blog.netapp.com/nvme-over-fabric/

    4) modern networks can saturate a PCIe connection

     

    which leads to ...

    5) Where the file is located is not necessarily the limiting factor for latency and access, rather the medium on which the file is stored

    6) my own NAS is much faster than any single disc drive, ssd or sd card that I own (Its just an Ubuntu server with 64Gb RAM, a SAS3 array and a 10Gbe NIC)

     

    Quote

     

    I believe you are excluding any processing that needs to happen when a file comes over the network in your comparison. Easy access of local disk requires less than receiving the file over a network and dealing with SMB protocol file transfers. 

     

    SMB has been made crazy efficient

     

    Quote

     

    If you want to bring in music server processing then all bets are off because that's a different game all together. 

     

    Absolutely because lets use the server to upsample/convert everything ... also

     

    Lets not worry where files are located, lets not worry about searching through stacks of LPs or CDs ... make your house into a private cloud :) 

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    1 hour ago, vortecjr said:

    I have to agree with Chris on this one. I know people will try to decide what sounds better and that is fine with me. From my perspective this is about giving people options. Chris focused on LMS / SqueezeLite because he wanted to integrate other streaming services. I have been using MPD for the ultimate through back experience:) IMO MPD is the king of local playback. Also, we have an option to mount remote drives if you prefer that. 

     

    Options are great. My statement was in regard to local vs network music storage ... streaming is the ultimate network, my library is terabytes, I don't want to search through directories, so again how does storing music on a SD help me?

     

    It does occur that you or anyone with an oR could test this by, as you note, mounting a 1 Tb network drive with the same contents as a 1Tb SD card and then comparing user experience. In the process of optimizing my network (for video processing) I compared local vs network file access speeds. This can be easily done for the oR!

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    1 hour ago, jabbr said:

    The biggest "latency" for me is deciding and finding what to play next!

     

    That is very much my dilemma.!  I recently switched to Roon (>HQ Embedded on Linux systems) from just drag and drop (from iTunes) into HQ Player Desktop. Despite the much more visual interface I still have trouble deciding which of my 1,200+ albums to play. 9_9

    Serious first-world problem I know...

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    4 minutes ago, Superdad said:

     

    That is very much my dilemma.!  I recently switched to Roon (>HQ Embedded on Linux systems) from just drag and drop (from iTunes) into HQ Player Desktop. Despite the much more visual interface I still have trouble deciding which of my 1,200+ albums to play. 9_9

    Serious first-world problem I know...

     

    Yep! I've got my laptop open doing something, and use my iPhone to control Roon. Possibly if iTunes both used FLAC and DSF (DSD) then I'd have no reason for Roon. But I like the Roon GUI better ...

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    1 hour ago, jabbr said:

    my library is terabytes, I don't want to search through directories, so again how does storing music on a SD help me?

    There’s no help for you. 😁

     

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    2 hours ago, jabbr said:

    Regarding disc vs network access latency: I've looked into (and personally tested) these issues extensively not for audio but for video storage and processing. That's what I installed my 10Gbe system for. I've also compared Infiniband to Ethernet ... a lot of this has to do with network latency. I can assure you that the time between when you start to press "play" and when the button makes contact is several infinities longer than the actual disc drive or network latency, but for the sake of discussion ...

    Think about it though, network playback also requires disk access plus network latencies. Your point about latency proves my point. I said network was slower and you said not really but it’s slower because of latency. Not really following you but there’s no getting around the fact that network includes a file read and latencies whereas local on the sd card just requires the file read. 

     

     

     

    2 hours ago, jabbr said:

    1) if you are using Wi-Fi to control the oR, then the latency has much more to do with the WiFi latency than disc vs network latency.

     

    We still have network latency. 

     

     

     

    2 hours ago, jabbr said:

    3) latency is a huge issue in NAS, and the most modern NAS are starting to use NVME over Fabrics (including Ethernet): https://blog.netapp.com/nvme-over-fabric/

     

    Agree. Which is why SD cards are really cool for small libraries. 

     

     

     

     

     

    2 hours ago, jabbr said:

    4) modern networks can saturate a PCIe connection

     

    which leads to ...

    5) Where the file is located is not necessarily the limiting factor for latency and access, rather the medium on which the file is stored

    6) my own NAS is much faster than any single disc drive, ssd or sd card that I own (Its just an Ubuntu server with 64Gb RAM, a SAS3 array and a 10Gbe NIC)

     

    I think you are you are off in the weeds. Cool 10GbE weeds but pulling an 80 MB music file for playback none of this really matters. Any Roon end point or DLNA renderer that can benefit from 10 GbE will really surprise me. 

     

     

     

     

    2 hours ago, jabbr said:

    SMB has been made crazy efficient

     

    Sure but it’s like being the tallest dwarf. 

     

     

    PS - Do you get to RMAF? Would love to meet up. 

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    11 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

    Think about it though, network playback also requires disk access plus network latencies. Your point about latency proves my point. I said network was slower and you said not really but it’s slower because of latency. Not really following you but there’s no getting around the fact that network includes a file read and latencies whereas local on the sd card just requires the file read. 

     

    Great point except ...

     

    My NAS has 64Gb of RAM which ZFS uses as cache ... most disc reads never hit the iron (or plastic as the case may be). 

     

    I'm essentially doing memory to memory (see https://www.samba.org/~metze/presentations/2018/SDC/StefanMetzmacher_SDC2018-SMB-Direct-Status-rev1-presentation.pdf)

     

    This is all built into Ubuntu and hence FREE ... don't worry and just use the network, really :)

     

     

    11 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

    I think you are you are off in the weeds.

     

    11 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

    Cool 10GbE weeds but pulling an 80 MB music file for playback none of this really matters. Any Roon end point or DLNA renderer that can benefit from 10 GbE will really surprise me. 

     

    This stuff has become dirt cheap (at least on eBay where I get all my home networking equipment). The 10 Gbe switches all have great clocks (per specification). I see folks worrying about all sorts of details like special power supplies for disc drives and special Ethernet cables and hacking Ethernet switches to "upgrade" clocks etc...

     

    I was off in the weeds five years ago when started to use optical Ethernet, so ha ha ... I'm thrilled to see reasonably affordable products come to market. I'm glad folks like the sound ... 

     

    stop worrying and learn to love the network 😂😂😂😎

     

    11 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

    Sure but it’s like being the tallest dwarf. 

     

    SMB Direct is really good stuff.

    11 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

     

    PS - Do you get to RMAF? Would love to meet up. 

    I haven't but that would be great, love Denver and doing a bit more traveling this year for a new project so I might be able to arrange a convenient stop

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    2 hours ago, jabbr said:

     

    Options are great. My statement was in regard to local vs network music storage ... streaming is the ultimate network, my library is terabytes, I don't want to search through directories, so again how does storing music on a SD help me?

     

    It does occur that you or anyone with an oR could test this by, as you note, mounting a 1 Tb network drive with the same contents as a 1Tb SD card and then comparing user experience. In the process of optimizing my network (for video processing) I compared local vs network file access speeds. This can be easily done for the oR!

    Maybe it doesn’t help you but that is not a requirement for others. If I have a customer that needs or wants local storage this is a great solution for that. Not a lot of people mount a drive because it a pain for them. If you turn on the unit with local storage you know where the content is each time. With remote file sharing the IP address can change and require one to reconfigure things. 

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    13 minutes ago, jabbr said:

     

    Great point except ...

     

    My NAS has 64Gb of RAM which ZFS uses as cache ... most disc reads never hit the iron (or plastic as the case may be). 

     

    I'm essentially doing memory to memory (see https://www.samba.org/~metze/presentations/2018/SDC/StefanMetzmacher_SDC2018-SMB-Direct-Status-rev1-presentation.pdf)

     

    This is all built into Ubuntu and hence FREE ... don't worry and just use the network, really :)

     

     

     

     

    This stuff has become dirt cheap (at least on eBay where I get all my home networking equipment). The 10 Gbe switches all have great clocks (per specification). I see folks worrying about all sorts of details like special power supplies for disc drives and special Ethernet cables and hacking Ethernet switches to "upgrade" clocks etc...

     

    I was off in the weeds five years ago when started to use optical Ethernet, so ha ha ... I'm thrilled to see reasonably affordable products come to market. I'm glad folks like the sound ... 

     

    stop worrying and learn to love the network 😂😂😂😎

     

     

    SMB Direct is really good stuff.

    I haven't but that would be great, love Denver and doing a bit more traveling this year for a new project so I might be able to arrange a convenient stop

    If you want to discuss this then open a new thread. This thread should be about Chris’ review of the Sonore opticalRendu. 

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    2 minutes ago, vortecjr said:

    Maybe it doesn’t help you but that is not a requirement for others. If I have a customer that needs or wants local storage this is a great solution for that. Not a lot of people mount a drive because it a pain for them. If you turn on the unit with local storage you know where the content is each time. With remote file sharing the IP address can change and require one to reconfigure things. 

     

    I am all for providing options. Your product should allow the device to be used in as many ways as possible.

     

    The only thing I am promoting (at no personal gain) is an overall vision of networked home audio/video.

     

    I would discuss the best way to configure which involves the DHCP server assigning known IP addresses to known MAC addresses. The Zeroconf approach came from Appletalk originally, and I gave up Appletalk for SMB/netbios some years ago. So yes, you want to be able to turn on a device and just use it. No doubt having an SD card is useful when the network is down or unavailable ... I certainly keep a cache of music on my iPhone when traveling.

     

    That said, for the reasons I outlined above having music on an SD card does not reduce latency that's all ... I remember a few years ago when folks thought that network switches introduced noise and have gone on to set up direct connections between a PC and something like the Rendu (in various flavors). This, IMHO, has created a whole host of problems and is simply bad networking practice. So lets move beyond that and do things the right way. Since I don't have to worry about pissing off customers, I'm free to give my unvarnished opinions  -- nice work :) 

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    14 minutes ago, vortecjr said:

    If you want to discuss this then open a new thread. This thread should be about Chris’ review of the Sonore opticalRendu. 

     

    I was responding directly to Chris regarding the latency of SD vs NAS. He suggested that I "do some real world testing" and I have. I explained the exact conditions under which my real world testing occured. I am not sure of Chris' intentions here but the article wasn't posted on the Sonore sub-forum. In any case I have nothing more to add.

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    11 minutes ago, jabbr said:

     

    I am all for providing options. Your product should allow the device to be used in as many ways as possible.

     

    The only thing I am promoting (at no personal gain) is an overall vision of networked home audio/video.

     

    I would discuss the best way to configure which involves the DHCP server assigning known IP addresses to known MAC addresses. The Zeroconf approach came from Appletalk originally, and I gave up Appletalk for SMB/netbios some years ago. So yes, you want to be able to turn on a device and just use it. No doubt having an SD card is useful when the network is down or unavailable ... I certainly keep a cache of music on my iPhone when traveling.

     

    That said, for the reasons I outlined above having music on an SD card does not reduce latency that's all ... I remember a few years ago when folks thought that network switches introduced noise and have gone on to set up direct connections between a PC and something like the Rendu (in various flavors). This, IMHO, has created a whole host of problems and is simply bad networking practice. So lets move beyond that and do things the right way. Since I don't have to worry about pissing off customers, I'm free to give my unvarnished opinions  -- nice work :) 

    Most people will not understand what you proposed...they just want things to work. I also thought connecting a Rendu to a computer was a stupid idea. I have no issue giving my unvarnished opinion:) 

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    20 minutes ago, jabbr said:

     

    I was responding directly to Chris regarding the latency of SD vs NAS. He suggested that I "do some real world testing" and I have. I explained the exact conditions under which my real world testing occured. I am not sure of Chris' intentions here but the article wasn't posted on the Sonore sub-forum. In any case I have nothing more to add.

    Reviews are not generally posted in subsections.

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    20 minutes ago, vortecjr said:

    If you want to discuss this then open a new thread. This thread should be about Chris’ review of the Sonore opticalRendu....Reviews are not generally posted in subsections.

     

    Seems to me like it is Chris’ thread and he will tell us if posts don’t belong. 

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    3 minutes ago, firedog said:

     

    Seems to me like it is Chris’ thread and he will tell us if posts don’t belong. 

    I don’t need Chris to tell me that RAM on a NAS and eBay purchase is of topic. Anyway, carry on as you see fit.

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    3 hours ago, vortecjr said:

    I don’t need Chris to tell me that RAM on a NAS and eBay purchase is of topic. Anyway, carry on as you see fit.

     

    Chris would respond except that he’s currently bidding on eBay for more RAM for his NAS :) 

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    56 minutes ago, jabbr said:

     

    Chris would respond except that he’s currently bidding on eBay for more RAM for his NAS :) 

    Ha. Used to use free NAS which used RAM like a monster. But I still couldn’t get enough GBs for my library 😁

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    Chris,

     

    Welcome to OLD is NEW again.  Sort of like clothing styles!

     

     

    I really like the idea of new new local storage option for the Rendu lineup.  It will be interesting to see if we can hear a difference between the local storage and a NAS.  I have not tried that yet with my current setup! But it is spinning disk locally vs NAS not SD card.

     

    I am slowly looking at my library and finding where I cross over between streaming and local.  I want to do some listening tests between the two. I am thinking about archiving the parts of my library that are available on streaming to reduce library size, etc...


     

    Have you tried using the new modern UI addon for LMS?  It is pretty nice.  Nothing wrong with ipeng.

     

     

    It will be interesting to get your insights on changing your speakers and your digital playback system.  Going to be a busy summer in the new listening room!  Have fun.

     

     

     

     

     

     

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    @The Computer Audiophile,

     

    I have been reading your article over again and I was wondering if you could elaborate a bit more on running LMS on the the Rendu please?  I see it from a simplicity point, which is what the article seems to be targeted towards.

     

    I was thinking about running LMS on my NAS but that adds complexity.  Right now my library is too big so I am using the NAS for storage.  

     

    bob

     

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    On 6/28/2019 at 12:29 PM, vortecjr said:

    You already knew the answer when you posted here so don’t expect any humor. If you don’t want to buy the upgrade card for what it is don’t buy it. If you want Chromecast contact them and ask them to open source it. 

    lol you do have a sense of humour after all

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