Article: A Quick Spin With The RoonReady Sonore Sonicorbiter SE

[The Computer Audiophile]

You can view the page at http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content.php?r=684-A-Quick-Spin-With-The-RoonReady-Sonore-Sonicorbiter-SE

[occamsrazor]

Speaking of the Brooklyn, am eagerly awaiting your review! :-)

[iago]

Very interesting product, and I would be really interested in a comparison between Sonicorbiter's and other device's sonic qualities ...

[rogerdn]

Does this arrangement completely relieve the Roon PC server of any influence on SQ ?

[The Computer Audiophile]

Does this arrangement completely relieve the Roon PC server of any influence on SQ ?

Yes.

[orgel]

Nice write-up, Chris.

 

The SonicOrbiter SE is indeed out of stock at the moment (obviously, because I wanted to purchase one), but Jesus R said he hoped he would have some this week.

 

Anyone who's interested in using the SOSE or microRendu as an HQPlayer NAA should be sure to check out this thread in Sonore's forum:

 

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f26-sonore-sponsored/sonore-sonicorbiter-se-native-direct-stream-digital-support-27418/

 

--David

[mjm6]

Suppose someone has (or had) a Sonos system and liked several aspects of that system, in particular:

 

very easy navigation of the library

easy access to the control interface through the old remote devices

single-box amp and interface

ability to group zones

ability to label zones and see what is happening on the system at any given time

 

Do you see devices like this getting to that point where they are a legit equivalent offering for whole-house audio, and also providing the ability to stream the HD audio that isn't offered through the Sonos system?

 

I ask because my Sonos is now over a decade old and some of the devices are starting to become unreliable. I can double down on the Sonos, but I'd prefer to bring my listening room into the fold by eliminating the CAPSv2 in there and moving to something like this throughout the house. Then, use Jriver on the media server and feed to all the rooms as needed. Could use the microRendu in the listening room, and the SOse in the rest of the house.

 

Too bad there isn't a model with a built-in amp... something coming for that maybe?

 

---Michael

[firedog]

Suppose someone has (or had) a Sonos system and liked several aspects of that system, in particular:

 

very easy navigation of the library

easy access to the control interface through the old remote devices

single-box amp and interface

ability to group zones

ability to label zones and see what is happening on the system at any given time

 

Do you see devices like this getting to that point where they are a legit equivalent offering for whole-house audio, and also providing the ability to stream the HD audio that isn't offered through the Sonos system?

 

I ask because my Sonos is now over a decade old and some of the devices are starting to become unreliable. I can double down on the Sonos, but I'd prefer to bring my listening room into the fold by eliminating the CAPSv2 in there and moving to something like this throughout the house. Then, use Jriver on the media server and feed to all the rooms as needed. Could use the microRendu in the listening room, and the SOse in the rest of the house.

 

Too bad there isn't a model with a built-in amp... something coming for that maybe?

 

---Michael

 

I think this and Roon/Roon Ready devices could definitely do what you want. I'm sure some type of good quality all in one with amp is coming along that could do it. In fact this device can also do it, with Roon, or LMS.

 

In fact I just read today about the new Raspberry Pi 3 model that can be equipped with a DAC board and an amp board and is Roon ready. You could affordably put one of those in multiple rooms:

 

IQaudIO introduce Roon Ready Raspberry Pi DAC, amplifier | DAR__KO

 

Raspberry Pi Audio - IQaudIO Limited

 

https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/raspberry-pi-3-on-sale/

[Account Closed]

Welcome to the SB Duet of the modern day (minus the wireless controller).

[mjm6]

I think this and Roon/Roon Ready devices could definitely do what you want. I'm sure some type of good quality all in one with amp is coming along that could do it. In fact this device can also do it, with Roon, or LMS.

 

In fact I just read today about the new Raspberry Pi 3 model that can be equipped with a DAC board and an amp board and is Roon ready. You could affordably put one of those in multiple rooms:

 

IQaudIO introduce Roon Ready Raspberry Pi DAC, amplifier | DAR__KO

 

Raspberry Pi Audio - IQaudIO Limited

 

https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/raspberry-pi-3-on-sale/

 

Firedog,

 

Yes! I was thinking of the Pi's a bit when I asked this.

 

I've not looked into this too much, but I don't use Roon, so I'd be more interested in the ability to render from JRiver primarily (using JRemote as the interface, with JRiver on my main server in the closet).

 

Can I put together a Pi device with an built-in amp and have it function like a Sonos Connect:Amp in that it has volume controls, zone grouping, etc? I'm thinking it can, but I need to do a bit more research to verify.

 

The SonicOrbiterSE looks like it will do it as well, minus the DAC and amp, so it would function like the Sonos Connect somewhat (but even that had a DAC in it).

 

The mini-Aires is probably closer to the Sonos Connect, but at that price, no thanks.

 

 

---Michael

[Rexp]

I think this and Roon/Roon Ready devices could definitely do what you want. I'm sure some type of good quality all in one with amp is coming along that could do it. In fact this device can also do it, with Roon, or LMS.

 

In fact I just read today about the new Raspberry Pi 3 model that can be equipped with a DAC board and an amp board and is Roon ready. You could affordably put one of those in multiple rooms:

 

IQaudIO introduce Roon Ready Raspberry Pi DAC, amplifier | DAR__KO

 

Raspberry Pi Audio - IQaudIO Limited

 

https://www.raspberrypi.org/blog/raspberry-pi-3-on-sale/

Thanks for the heads up, one of these babies + Roon sounds like a game changer, and all for 50 bucks!

[vortecjr]

Chris, thank you for doing this mini review. Please allow me to provide some additional information.

 

The Sonicorbiter operating system is a collaboration between Sonore by Simple Design and Small Green Computer. Andrew writes all the control software from scratch. It's my job to perform quality control on all releases and updates. We work together on updates and new fixes. The software is hardware specific, but we try to keep as much in common between all the platforms.

 

While hardware is based on a Cubox, we have opted to include better power supplies with the unit. The base unit includes a linear supply for use in North America. The iPower power supply is offered as an upgrade for an additional 49 USD for use world wide.

 

When using RoonReady with hardware volume control your device needs to support this function or Roon will not enable the unit for playback. An example of a device that supports hardware volume control is an Audio Quest Dragonfly. In this example, selecting the hardware volume control bypasses software volume control in Roon and uses the Audio Quest Dragonfly's volume control in the analog domain.

 

In regards to the optical output we have sourced a 90 degree adapter that allows for a better connection and use of your own optical cable.

 

The Windows event is rather strange and only appears to affect one Sonore customer in addition to Chris. The Roon guys were finally able to reproduce the event after trying a number of Windows based computers. The fix is being tested and will be released soon per Roon.

[earnmyturns]

I've been using the Sonicorbiter SE's UPnP/DLNA capabilities to stream gapless FLAC from a Synology NAS with MinimServer to a couple of different DACs (Schiit's Bifrost Multibit and Bel Canto's C7R), controlled by BubbleUPnP on various Android devices. Perfect operation every time, makes the common woes of UPnP/DLNA alluded to go away. Great little device, saved me from wasting even more time debugging a standard Linux audio distro on another CuBox. I'm using Bel Canto mLink USB>S/PDIF converters and Nordost Blue Haven cables between the streamer and the DACs at the moment to reduce noise/jitter, I can't wait to see how the microRendu might do without a need for separate converters.

[Distinctive]

The Sonicorbiter operating system is a collaboration between Sonore by Simple Design and Small Green Computer. Andrew writes all the control software from scratch. It's my job to perform quality control on all releases and updates. We work together on updates and new fixes. The software is hardware specific, but we try to keep as much in common between all the platforms.

Have you (or SGC) considered bundling the microRendu with the microJukebox in order to support Roon Server?

[miguelito]

The (amazing) Roon team has found the solution for the Windows streaming problem to RoonReady devices (Aries and SonicOrbiter SE). It will be out in the next Roon release - no firmware update required on the devices themselves.

[vortecjr]

Have you (or SGC) considered bundling the microRendu with the microJukebox in order to support Roon Server?

 

Been there done that....we had this working at RMAF last year. Roon has not released the application for Linux though.

[joelha]

Yes.

 

Hey Chris,

 

No challenge here, just curiosity, but how did you setup your system to come to this conclusion?

 

Joel

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hey Chris,

 

No challenge here, just curiosity, but how did you setup your system to come to this conclusion?

 

Joel

Hi Joel - No worries, and good question.

 

I setup five different computers as Roon servers to send audio to the Sonicorbiter SE.

 

1. Windows 8.1 noisy, non-tweaked (hardware or software) PC with 6TB spinning drives of local storage.

2. Windows 2012 R2 server SOtM / AO server with highly tweaker hardware and software.

3. OS X El Capitan MacBook Pro

4. OS X El Capitan / Windows 10 (Boot Camp) MacBook Pro retina

5. OS X El Capitan iMac 5K

 

 

I couldn't hear a hint of difference between the sources when sending audio over Ethernet to the RoonReady Sonicorbiter SE. This combined with the fact I have no idea how the source could possibly effect the sound of the Ethernet endpoint in this situation, lead me to believe the source has no effect on sound quality.

 

Note: I completely respect the opinions of others who will try similar tests as more RoonReady endpoints become available. In addition, my conclusion here has absolutely nothing to do with locally attached server / DAC combinations not using audio over Ethernet.

[willcampbell]

Thanks for the quick spin.

One question: would the USB output power a DAC like the Audioengine D1 that is USB-powered?

[The Computer Audiophile]

Thanks for the quick spin.

One question: would the USB output power a DAC like the Audioengine D1 that is USB-powered?

Yes.

[Distinctive]

Been there done that....we had this working at RMAF last year. Roon has not released the application for Linux though.

Thx.

Regarding bundling, as a footnote I was not only referring to the operational aspect but also a commercial one.

[mlknez]

Would this device support 8 channels and output all 8 channels to my exaSound e28?

[The Computer Audiophile]

Would this device support 8 channels and output all 8 channels to my exaSound e28?

It all depends on the source. Right now Roon doesn't support multichannel.

[Forehaven]

Very interesting Chris about no audible diff. b/w all the computers. I was very curious about this, in theory then, one could save a ton of money on tweaked computers w. lps, cables and such. Spend the money on the renderer, and a native DSD dac no?

[fritzg]

Why is this an improvement sonically over a direct connected core with an SSD such as this one recommended by Roon: http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00SD9IS1S?pldnSite=1