What does this mean?

[57gold]

"an audiophile PCM, DSD/DoP and native DSD capable music renderer with Ethernet input and SotM USB or SPDIF/analog output."

 

I have a 2010 Mini w/8GB RAM and 128GB SSD FW to a Mytek DSD192.

 

Music renderer???

 

Is this something that replaces the Mini or PC, or does it do something else?

 

And whilst I'm asking, what does the Aries do (it's staring me in the face)? Not a DAC, can stream on my Mini and send files to my DAC, though I have never done it. So what does it do that I can't do with my Mini?

 

And the NAA and other boxes like the Regen...seems like we are going backwards with add on as opposed to making better DACs or servers...

[Musicophile]

"an audiophile PCM, DSD/DoP and native DSD capable music renderer with Ethernet input and SotM USB or SPDIF/analog output."

 

I have a 2010 Mini w/8GB RAM and 128GB SSD FW to a Mytek DSD192.

 

Music renderer???

 

Is this something that replaces the Mini or PC, or does it do something else?

 

And whilst I'm asking, what does the Aries do (it's staring me in the face)? Not a DAC, can stream on my Mini and send files to my DAC, though I have never done it. So what does it do that I can't do with my Mini?

 

And the NAA and other boxes like the Regen...seems like we are going backwards with add on as opposed to making better DACs or servers...

Basically, it does what the Mini does, but in a dedicated box, i.e. allowing you to chose music that is stored somewhere on a drive (usually a NAS), and plays it to your DAC (some of them have an integrated DAC). In a nutshell, it is a computer that doesn't look like one.

 

Some people prefer not having a computer in their chain, some people don't like fuzzing with regular software updates and all the things that could potentially go wrong on a computer (and let's face it, they do go wrong occasionally). And finally some people say a 100% dedicated solution like a streamer / renderer (is there a difference by the way?) can sound better than a noisy computer.

 

In the end it comes down to personal choice. I like the flexibility a computer offers, regularly testing several audio players in parallel, always enjoying upgrades, etc., and I think with the dedicated USB/SPDIF interface I'm using (BelCanto M-link) I've sufficiently reduced the noise level coming from the computer. Others may have other priorities. And by the way, I just saw the Aries for the first time in real life when I went purchase my headphone amp, and must say it looks much cuter in real life than on the internet.

[rodrigaj]

I have a Sonore Rendu. It is a music renderer - it renders the music playable by the DAC. That is all it does. It gets the music files from my NAS or from the Tidal Server in the sky. The Aries does the same thing except the Aries can do it with ethernet or with WiFi.

 

What the music renderer does not allow is music software or DSP. For that you would need to connect a computer such as a mini or Caps between the music renderer and the DAC. But that seems to me to make the renderer a somewhat redundant box.

 

I opted for the Rendu approach because it satisfies my need to keep things simple. I suppose I could I have gone the route of some devices that have taken an all in one approach and made it even simpler. However, I believe all of those devices are way overpriced.

 

Anyway, that summarizes my less than one year understanding of this.

[57gold]

So, these boxes are dedicated computers, like my Mini (which is used only for music, but it has other Apple software pre-installed) or the PC based CAPs server, that manage music files on HD or incoming internet streams. No need for A+ or HDPlayer because they have their own software to "play" files?

 

Seems to me, one would still need a computer to rip CDs, if one wanted to have access to new music, in CD resolution?

[Paul R]

So, these boxes are dedicated computers, like my Mini (which is used only for music, but it has other Apple software pre-installed) or the PC based CAPs server, that manage music files on HD or incoming internet streams. No need for A+ or HDPlayer because they have their own software to "play" files?

 

Seems to me, one would still need a computer to rip CDs, if one wanted to have access to new music, in CD resolution?

 

Yep. A lot of them are just Linux based computers customized to do one thing or another. The value comes from tgat customization. The Bryston Player us a goid example of that. Much like today's luray players or Televisions are just computers optimized to do pkay or display video. And steam tons of content off the net. My TV in fact, has an app store dedicated o t, while my Sony BRP seems to have a Sony Movie store. Both of course can also stream NetFlix, Amazon, Hulu, Vudu, and dozens of other services.

 

It is early days yet with audio streamers, and technologies are still shifting. A good general purpose computer can do pretty much all of it with about the same sound quality, and allows you more freedom to choose. At the cost (in my case at least) of a bit of occasional cursing at the stubborn thing. Once setup and left alone, they are generally as reliable though.

[rodrigaj]

So, these boxes are dedicated computers, like my Mini (which is used only for music, but it has other Apple software pre-installed) or the PC based CAPs server, that manage music files on HD or incoming internet streams. No need for A+ or HDPlayer because they have their own software to "play" files?

 

Seems to me, one would still need a computer to rip CDs, if one wanted to have access to new music, in CD resolution?

 

Yes you do need a general purpose computer. I have an iMac with jRiver & dBPoweramp (and a ton of other software) in my office. That does the ripping and tagging.

 

But the neat thing is that it does not even need to be turned on for my music room to sing.