Sonore microRendu

[hifial]

Hi Superdad,

 

If you don't mind me asking, what kind of CAPS did you compare with ? Could you give us more details on your CAPs build ? Just the normal off the shelf mobo/ram/cpu/smps or something more like some of the PPA clock upgraded mobo, Ram, SSD, linear atx psu, USB card. I have heard from other forums these make a significant different in the sound quality. There are also couple of threads on CA on these builds.

 

Alex did say "tricked out" when it came to the CAPS type builds and that he would not answer any of those type of questions. He might at a later date, we can all hope.

[pipis2010]

As expected, John Swenson came up to my place in the mountains yesterday for about 4 hours. He brought with him a variety of goodies, and while much of the time was spent fiddling with prototypes of a project we are working on, the highlight of his visit was hooking up and listening to a pre-production unit of the microRendu.

 

I am a lousy reviewer, and Jesus has asked me not to steal the thunder of the planned professional reviews. Plus it was a pre-production piece and John was still tweaking some of the code--turning off PLLs for unused sub-systems, and also loading the code for a totally startling trick which I am not at liberty to reveal.

 

So this is NOT a review. It is a warning.

 

Warning to everyone who has spent lots of time and money building a tricked-out CAPS or other player/streamer:

 

The microRendu is about to change the game! It is that good. And it is SO EASY to use! This was my first exposure to SonicOrbiter OS, and I was blown away by how easy Jesus and Andrew have made activating the device for different modes of operation. And the microRendu just shows up perfectly and automatically. We mostly played it as a NAA for HQ Player, but also tried it as a SqueezeLite endpoint for Logitech Media Server.

 

Please don't ask me questions about power supplies, etc. I won't answer.

 

You have been warned. microRendu is going to be a BIG hit. I am hoping I can get in on the first run.

 

In my mind, if the USB implementation on the microRendu didn't work, then that would have been very bad news for USB as a whole. Luckily though, that doesn't seem to be the case!!! There's still hope for USB!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile mobile app

[jjraffin]

Time to open up for preorders Jesus! Considering I've waited 2 years for LH Labs products I can be very patient. [emoji6]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Distinctive]

As expected, John Swenson came up to my place in the mountains yesterday for about 4 hours. He brought with him a variety of goodies, and while much of the time was spent fiddling with prototypes of a project we are working on, the highlight of his visit was hooking up and listening to a pre-production unit of the microRendu.

 

I am a lousy reviewer, and Jesus has asked me not to steal the thunder of the planned professional reviews. Plus it was a pre-production piece and John was still tweaking some of the code--turning off PLLs for unused sub-systems, and also loading the code for a totally startling trick which I am not at liberty to reveal.

 

So this is NOT a review. It is a warning.

 

Warning to everyone who has spent lots of time and money building a tricked-out CAPS or other player/streamer:

 

The microRendu is about to change the game! It is that good. And it is SO EASY to use! This was my first exposure to SonicOrbiter OS, and I was blown away by how easy Jesus and Andrew have made activating the device for different modes of operation. And the microRendu just shows up perfectly and automatically. We mostly played it as a NAA for HQ Player, but also tried it as a SqueezeLite endpoint for Logitech Media Server.

 

Please don't ask me questions about power supplies, etc. I won't answer.

 

You have been warned. microRendu is going to be a BIG hit. I am hoping I can get in on the first run.

Clever marketing stunt leaking this

Even Paul McGowan at PS Audio couldn't time it better nor top this teaser.

But I am still in the queue for one.

[Cornan]

Hi Jesus and/or John S!

I wonder how the microRendu alone would compare to the Sonicorbiter SE with a USB Regen Amber (powered by 100% isolated Kingrex uPower 7,5V DC/2600 mA battery psu)? Do you think it would be a big difference in SQ between these two options?

 

Also, would my Kingrex uPower be a good power supply for the microRendu?

 

Just trying to figure out my options here!

[zorntel]

Robert,

is there a sound quality difference in DSD256 playback between the

Mode RoonReady with HQPlayer integration

and the

Mode HQPlayer NAA(without Roon) ?

 

Thanks

 

Matt

 

Let me start with a disclaimer. The comments I'm about to make are with a sonicorbiter SE. I feel like I should say that given the thread that we're in.

 

In my systems I don't experience any decrement in sound from using roon to supply files to hqplayer vs putting the files directly into the HQ player interface. I do experience sonic benefits of using roon to HQ player, vs using roon directly. This is likely the consequence of the ability of hqplayer to upsample in my case to DSD256, and also of Jussi's superior filtering. This is why we asked roon to develop an interface to hqplayer. It took nine months or so to get it but Jussi at HQ player and Brian at Roon delivered big time. It's a fantastic Media Interface / sound engine. I don't think it's done in terms of features but the sound quality is great, and it is certainly useable the way it is. I

 

t is not particularly difficult to put Jussi's NBA HQ player build on a normal cubox-i. However, the benefit of the sonicorbiter SE, is incredible flexibility , someone watching for the ability to update native DSD drivers, and first-rate technical support. As was mentioned in a later post with regards to microRendu, Jesus' GUI is really phenomenal. Well worth the additional money for a sonicorbiter VS a regular cubox-i, unlessyou are a Linux power user enjoy messing around in linux. Based on my sonicorbiter Se experience I can't wait to give the micro Renault a try.

 

Robert

[JohnSwenson]

Hi Jesus and/or John S!

I wonder how the microRendu alone would compare to the Sonicorbiter SE with a USB Regen Amber (powered by 100% isolated Kingrex uPower 7,5V DC/2600 mA battery psu)? Do you think it would be a big difference in SQ between these two options?

 

Also, would my Kingrex uPower be a good power supply for the microRendu?

 

Just trying to figure out my options here!

 

I have done this test, but with a different high quality power supply, the microRendu is WAY better than a SOSE -> amber REGEN. Until you have heard it you cannot fathom how big an improvement it really is.

 

John S.

[Cornan]

I have done this test, but with a different high quality power supply, the microRendu is WAY better than a SOSE -> amber REGEN. Until you have heard it you cannot fathom how big an improvement it really is.

 

John S.

 

Thanks! How about the KingRex uPower (7,5V DC/2600 mA)? Will it be a good choise for the microRendu?

 

/Micael

[hifial]

Thanks! How about the KingRex uPower (7,5V DC/2600 mA)? Will it be a good choise for the microRendu?

 

/Micael

 

I believe the microRendu needs at least 1amp so your KingRex looks to not be able to be used.

[skatbelt]

Looking at the signatures of people interested in the microRendu, there seems to be quite a number of Mac users, of which many are using Audirvana.

I might have missed something, but I have not seen any reference to the compatibility of Sonore microRendu with Audirvana. Is there a way to keep using Audirvana when choosing the microRendu ?

 

I am one of those people. I am not bound to Audirvana but cannot live without the Fabfilter pro-Q 2 plugin I use within Audirvana. It is available for OS X and Windows (not Linux) in VST, VST3, Audio Units, AAX Native and AudioSuite formats as well as RTAS. Would I be able to use the plugin somehow in a microRendu setup?

[T-bar]

2600 mA = 2.6 A

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile mobile app

[Cornan]

I believe the microRendu needs at least 1amp so your KingRex looks to not be able to be used.

 

Well 2600 mA= 2,6 A...so I guess it should. But it is a battery psu and I am interested to know if I would be better off with a LPS or not?

[simonhiggs]

I believe the microRendu needs at least 1amp so your KingRex looks to not be able to be used.

 

2600mA = 2.6A? The KingRex looks ideal...

[Freann]

Well, you will have about 2h playtime with 7h changing...

[matthias]

Let me start with a disclaimer. The comments I'm about to make are with a sonicorbiter SE. I feel like I should say that given the thread that we're in.

 

In my systems I don't experience any decrement in sound from using roon to supply files to hqplayer vs putting the files directly into the HQ player interface. I do experience sonic benefits of using roon to HQ player, vs using roon directly. This is likely the consequence of the ability of hqplayer to upsample in my case to DSD256, and also of Jussi's superior filtering. This is why we asked roon to develop an interface to hqplayer. It took nine months or so to get it but Jussi at HQ player and Brian at Roon delivered big time. It's a fantastic Media Interface / sound engine. I don't think it's done in terms of features but the sound quality is great, and it is certainly useable the way it is. I

 

t is not particularly difficult to put Jussi's NBA HQ player build on a normal cubox-i. However, the benefit of the sonicorbiter SE, is incredible flexibility , someone watching for the ability to update native DSD drivers, and first-rate technical support. As was mentioned in a later post with regards to microRendu, Jesus' GUI is really phenomenal. Well worth the additional money for a sonicorbiter VS a regular cubox-i, unlessyou are a Linux power user enjoy messing around in linux. Based on my sonicorbiter Se experience I can't wait to give the micro Renault a try.

 

Robert

 

Thank you, Robert.

 

Matt

[Cornan]

Well, you will have about 2h playtime with 7h changing...

 

But I am not using any USB power (since my DAC does'nt need it) and guess that the microRendu will draw less power that way, right? I am figuring I would be able to double the playtime?

My assumption is that the microRendu will need 500 mA without the need to supply the Bus power. It will then give me roughly 4,5h playtime.

[Freann]

The microRendu is based on a Cubox-i (https://www.solid-run.com/freescale-imx6-family/cubox-i/cubox-i-specifications/)

Depending on the model it needs 5V *max* 2-3A.

 

The microRendu needs minimum 1A according the the specs. At 2.5 AH that gives you 2-2.5 h listen time.

[hifial]

Opps, sorry guys. My misunderstanding about the mAmp.

[Cornan]

The microRendu is based on a Cubox-i (https://www.solid-run.com/freescale-imx6-family/cubox-i/cubox-i-specifications/)

Depending on the model it needs 5V *max* 2-3A.

 

The microRendu needs minimum 1A according the the specs. At 2.5 AH that gives you 2-2.5 h listen time.

 

As I understand the 1A spec includes the VBUS power supply which is 500 mA. Removing the need for supplying the VBUS power should reduce the power drawn by microRendu IMO. This is the case with USB Regen...but I would be very interested to know for sure if it applies to the microRendu as well.

[Cornan]

Opps, sorry guys. My misunderstanding about the mAmp.

 

No problem! :-)

[JohnSwenson]

I did a current measurement of the microRendu, in squeezelite mode.

 

During boot it took about 0.4A peak.

During playback it took about 0.2A

 

So the 1A requirement is a safe bet for microRendu + power hungry DAC.

 

For computing playtime for a battery you want the average current not the peak, thus for the situation where the DAC is not pulling any current, it will be around 0.2A.

 

I did try higher sample rates, the current was essentially the same at 192, I didn't try it with anything higher.

 

I did not try any of the other "modes" so I don't know how they will compare.

 

John S.

[Freann]

Well, there you go. Thank you John!

 

That KingRex battery will work after all.

[sm31]

The microRendu is based on a Cubox-i ...

 

No it's not; that's the Sonicorbiter SE.

[Cormorant]

The microRendu is based on a Cubox-i

 

It is not.

 

It is a custom motherboard designed for very low noise and very high signal integrity.

 

It does use a Freescale iMX6 DualLite processor.

 

But other than that it's like comparing a Porsche 918 Spyder with the Weissach package to a souped up Honda Civic.

[Cornan]

I did a current measurement of the microRendu, in squeezelite mode.

 

During boot it took about 0.4A peak.

During playback it took about 0.2A

 

So the 1A requirement is a safe bet for microRendu + power hungry DAC.

 

For computing playtime for a battery you want the average current not the peak, thus for the situation where the DAC is not pulling any current, it will be around 0.2A.

 

I did try higher sample rates, the current was essentially the same at 192, I didn't try it with anything higher.

 

I did not try any of the other "modes" so I don't know how they will compare.

 

John S.

 

Thanks a lot John! Then my uPower will suit the job perfectly!