Sonore microRendu

[Jud]

I'll tell you something about development costs. I've had a Cubox with Volumio 1.55 for almost one year, and it has had constant problems with playing albums straight through via UPnP/DLNA, with track skips and repeats being the most frequent issues, but random reboots being not unusual. I had been hoping that Volumio 2 might correct these problems, but it is not ready for prime time yet. In contrast, the SOtM sMS-100 I've had for a longer time never had any problems with UPnP/DLNA. The time I spent managing/debugging Volumio is worth a whole lot more than the difference in cost between the Cubox and the sMS-100. So, when the Sonicorbiter SE was announced, I got one right away to replace the Cubox+Volumio, and it has been working like a charm. No skips, to repeats, trivial configuration (in contrast to Volumio) just sits there moving bits reliably without interfering with my music listening. The critical difference is that Sonore's business depends on their reputation for putting out a reliable product, so they need to do a lot more integration testing between hardware and software -- and factor those costs into their pricing -- than what is practical the open-source world, where most integration testing is the work of gifted but unpaid amateurs.

 

Just Works is invaluable, but of course tends to be devalued by its very nature.

[Jud]

$400

 

Does the closest guess without going over win?

 

 

$399.95!

[Jud]

Let's put an end to the price speculation....$640 USD without the power supply.

 

Jesus R

 

$639.95 was my next guess!

 

Seriously, though, I look forward to your bringing what I am guessing will be a high level of performance to this price point.

[Jud]

I'd be hesitant to listen to much conjecture about the microRendu (including my own to follow). It's a very different animal compared to a server. I wouldn't be surprised to hear people say the microRendu is better than any server at any price because of how it works and how it was designed. It could be a new paradigm for computer audiophiles.

 

O_o

 

Hmm, so you started out trying to douse the blaze, then followed up with a shot of gasoline!

[Jud]

@cormorant and @sbank: thanks for the clarification and warnings... I will drop the Home Adapter Plug idea.

 

@ericuco: Thanks as well, this is very helpful and I do have a wireless network running in the house. I will use your suggested chain.

 

So it seems then all I need is the Airport Extreme Express and two Ethernet cables to add to my current setup. Comparing the Airport Extreme with the Eero, do you see any advantage to one vesus the other? I'm thinking Airport Extreme may be cheaper.

 

I've had an Airport Express, though not an Extreme. I have 3 Eeros now, and really like them for an application such as the one you're talking about.

 

- They work well.

 

- Setup is unbelievably quick and simple.

 

- They are made to work with each other out of the box.

 

I'm currently using my upstairs desktop HDD as the music library for my main system downstairs. The HDD is connected to the desktop, which is connected to an Eero by Ethernet; downstairs in the main system another Eero is connected to my laptop, again via Ethernet cable.

 

I think you can see this could be converted to a system using HQPlayer, Roon, and a uRendu in about 5 minutes.

[Jud]

John, can you please explain what is a long term transient?

 

Not John, but assuming it's where the situation of rapid changes in load persists for a relatively prolonged period.

[Jud]

 

Remember my rule of thumb, if you cannot hold a finger on the case is it too hot.

 

John S.

 

That would be a rule of finger, unless it was your thumb you were trying to hold on the case.

 

[My sincere apologies, I could not help myself.]

[Jud]

HQP playback sounds better than Roon etc., with the mR because of HQP's filtering and modulators. - even if you aren't up sampling. Nothing to do with the mR itself. That shouldn't be a surprise to anyone that has used HQP before.

 

If HQP isn't doing any conversion, where do the filtering and modulators come in?

[Jud]

Right, and it also converts DSD into PCM. IMO maybe not the best choice for the review.

 

It doesn't convert PCM to DSD. It passes the exact audio signal it is sent.

 

DSD -> PCM != PCM -> DSD

 

What Doak is thinking of, I believe, is that the Berkeley DAC won't accept DSD input. You have to use software to convert from DSD to PCM if you want to hear any of your DSD files through it.

[Jud]

... if you are running a sigma-delta DAC with native DSD. If you are using a native PCM DAC that converts DSD to PCM first, I doubt the DSD conversion helps, and it might hurt.

 

Which DACs internally convert DSD to PCM, then convert it back with sigma-delta modulation?

[Jud]

He was referring to DACs that convert DSD to PCM because they are R2R ladder DACs.

 

Right, though I was under the impression the conversion to PCM in that case had to be done by external software prior to input to the DAC.

[Jud]

17 minutes ago, barrows said:

I found with the microRendu a really good USB cable outperformed the short adapters.

 

Understand you need a cable rather than an adapter, but just wanted to mention:

 

I found the same as you earlier on (preferred cable to adapters), but none of the adapters was the USPCB.  I think UpTone put some thought into the design.  I prefer the USPCB to my longtime favorite, the Mapleshade Clearlink Plus.

[Jud]

23 minutes ago, Melvin said:

 

I purchased one on Christmas Eve (gift to self ?). I look forward to getting it up and running. I've read quite a bit regarding set up, etc. but I'm wondering if this seems ok .. I have a Google WiFi mesh system and the server is an old Mac mini (2010, High Sierra, music on hard drive) connected to one of the WiFi points. Another WiFi point will connect to the mR. I'm using Asset UPnP right now but can change that if necessary (works great with Chromecast Audio and Hi-Fi Cast app). Any tips or comments would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

 

Looks similar to my system, and mine works fine, if that's any indication.

[Jud]

1 hour ago, bobflood said:

2.7 requires a new SD card from Sonore. It is $20 USD if memory serves.

 

Is it because the upgrade is from 2.3?  I can't remember what version of the software I had to start (may have been 2.4 or 2.5 or even 2.3), but step by step I've brought it to 2.7.

[Jud]

Just wanted to mention that after owning the microRendu for quite a while, I've just now discovered Shairport. A kind neighbor who's into audio gave me access to the music on his NAS through a phone app, and when thinking of how to play it through my system, I remembered seeing an Airplay-related app available on the mR.

 

It was nice having access to his collection, but then it struck me that basically anything I could share from my iPhone or MacBook should also work.

 

Well, there's really no limit. Favorite radio stations from around the US and the world, apps from music sites like Bandcamp, services like Qobuz.... I listened to news and music programming from my home town radio station 2000 miles away a few nights ago - great to have a touch of home.

 

Thanks for including this among the apps/capabilities available on the microRendu, Jesus.

[Jud]

1 hour ago, rodrigaj said:

You can also find the Airplay icon in the control panel (swipe down in the right hand upper corner) of your iPad, but I find the app approach more intuitive

 

And for me it's easier to access the Airplay icon on my iPhone (swipe down from the top and there it is at the upper right of the control panel), so it's just up to whatever your preference is.

 

It's fun to do things like compare the same track, for example in mp3 streaming from Amazon Prime; then Redbook or hi res from the Qobuz app; then Redbook or hi res with software upsampling with Audirvana  All easily done from my phone.

[Jud]

14 hours ago, Melvin said:

Speaking of frustrations .. I needed to power down my mR for a short time today (don't ask) and, when everything was back up and operational, I got nothing. No sound. I went through all the requisite steps to ensure sound would indeed be happening only to hear more silence. Went through it all again and while everything appeared OK, silence. As a kind of last resort I decided to connect the mR directly to the USB port on my DAC and voilá .. glorious sound! Apparently my USB-SPDIF converter shit the bed. Fortunately, I'm liking the direct connection as much as, if not more, than the converter.

 

The only thing missing is that it didn't happen when you were trying to play music for guests. That's when my A/V always chooses to go haywire. 🙂  (Though I must say since I got my current DAC, those instances mercifully seem to've stopped, at least on the audio side.)

[Jud]

27 minutes ago, vortecjr said:

I haven't heard of this before. What version of Sonic Orbiter do you have?

 

I think he's using the 45 version when he should be using the 33 1/3.

 

[Sorry, I'll go away now....  😉]