SOtM smS-200 unveiled at Munich Hi-End

[BPED]

Hello, guys your help would be appreciated...

My Sotm sMS-200 doesn't recognize the hard disk connected via USB (MPD), I also tried with a USB stick.

 

In the Library configuration page I chose:

- Network Library Config: "Remove"

-Local Library config: Automatic USB storage mount "ON", Sync Mode "OFF", Samba "ON".

 

Any idea of which parameter I should change?

thanks!

[stefano_mbp]

Hi BPED

 

in my configuration Sync Mode is on and it works .... btw, to which USB port are you connecting the hd/usb drive? Not the vertical one as it is dedicated to dac connection 

 

 

[BPED]

Hi Stefano, thanks.

 

Yes I connected the hard disk to the USB1 plug (not audio USB). My issue is that when I try to save and close the Library configuration page it keeps thinking and it doesn't close.

Checking on my mac Finder I see Eunhasu with the two USB1 and USB2 folders with a red round sign (like street sign no access).

 

Btw, do you tick Samba like I explained above or not in your system?

thanks!

[stefano_mbp]

1 hour ago, BPED said:

Hi Stefano, thanks.

 

Yes I connected the hard disk to the USB1 plug (not audio USB). My issue is that when I try to save and close the Library configuration page it keeps thinking and it doesn't close.

Checking on my mac Finder I see Eunhasu with the two USB1 and USB2 folders with a red round sign (like street sign no access).

 

Btw, do you tick Samba like I explained above or not in your system?

thanks!

I tried a couple of years ago and I had to .... rediscover the trick ....

MPD cannot find the music itself, an upnp server is needed, then you have to install Minimserver on your SMS-200

Then you must configure it and you need to install on any computer you have on hand MinimWatch (here the link to MinimWatch installing instructions https://minimserver.com/installing.html ). Follow all the instructions, you'll need to install Java too if not already installed ... you'll find the links in the above installation guide

Once you have installed MinimWatch you'll be able to configure MinimServer on SMS-200. Launch it and you should find an icon (red the first time) like a music note, click on it and the configuration window will show

To start you just need to define the path to your music files in the contentDir field in the configuration window of MinimWatch that is (must be) /mw/data/music

Then you can find in your control point the music server which name is "MinimServer[eunhasu]"

Once you have selected it you should have all you music available in your control point

 

In my configuration, as in your, the USB content is not available as a share (even if Samba is checked), I can see the same icon you described

 

hope this can help you

[ClothEars]

On 3/6/2020 at 7:36 PM, BPED said:

Hi Stefano, thanks.

 

Yes I connected the hard disk to the USB1 plug (not audio USB). My issue is that when I try to save and close the Library configuration page it keeps thinking and it doesn't close.

Checking on my mac Finder I see Eunhasu with the two USB1 and USB2 folders with a red round sign (like street sign no access).

 

Btw, do you tick Samba like I explained above or not in your system?

thanks!

 

I'm sorry but I have to disagree with Stefano's advice as I operate my unit with MPD and it does find the USB connected drive without having to install Minimserver or any other server.  Also it does not matter which USB connection you use on the unit as it will still work. 

 

In fact I connect my USB drive to the dedicated DAC USB connection (vertical one) and use the other USB connection (horizontal one) to output to my DAC because it sounds better.  The extra noise filtering on the vertical connection brings greater benefit to the USB drive than to the DAC.  Several friends have tried it and were quite surprised with the improvement it brought.

 

To ensure the USB drive can be accessed you need to ensure you have the correct settings in Eunhasu for the Library config and MPD config.  Here are screen shots of my setup to assist in getting it right.

 

 

Another tip is to give Eunhasu plenty of time to respond as it can be quite slow.  I got myself in all sorts of bother when I became impatient with the unit in the early days and soon learnt to go off and make a cup of tea while the unit did it's thing.  This is especially the case with firmware updates.

[stefano_mbp]

@ClothEars I am quite sure that at the beginning it worked as you describe but now I cannot get it work in this way.

I tried with a usb key with just one file but there is no way to find it anywhere, sms is configured like your one

I’m using Lumïn app as control point and my sms-200 firmware is 4.7 and kernel is 4.18.19-214.fc27.armv7hl 

 

[BPED]

thank you to both Stefano and ClothEars! It seems that the usual way indicated by ClothEars doesn't work for me but I will try switching USB ports and wait. I will also try Minim tonight and report back as soon as I make progress. Fingers crossed

 

[ClothEars]

16 hours ago, stefano_mbp said:

@ClothEars I am quite sure that at the beginning it worked as you describe but now I cannot get it work in this way.

I tried with a usb key with just one file but there is no way to find it anywhere, sms is configured like your one

I’m using Lumïn app as control point and my sms-200 firmware is 4.7 and kernel is 4.18.19-214.fc27.armv7hl 

 

 

I found that Lumin does not work with an attached USB drive in MPD mode and that is the problem.  In fact I tried quite a few other MPD control apps (ie Kazoo, Kinsky, MConnect, MPDluxe etc.) and they either did not work or the interface was awful.

 

I use Soundirok as the control app (as do many friends) with great success.

[stefano_mbp]

@ClothEars this solve the “mystery” ....

 

Anyway I find MinimServer, running on a different computer (a NUC8i3 with Ubuntu in my case), a wonderful solution to browse my library mostly composed of classical music. And Lumïn app has a fine UI, sober and functional.

[tedwoods]

On 3/10/2020 at 2:20 AM, ClothEars said:

 

I found that Lumin does not work with an attached USB drive in MPD mode and that is the problem.  In fact I tried quite a few other MPD control apps (ie Kazoo, Kinsky, MConnect, MPDluxe etc.) and they either did not work or the interface was awful.

 

I use Soundirok as the control app (as do many friends) with great success.

Does Soundirok display art stored in the files?

[ClothEars]

3 hours ago, tedwoods said:

Does Soundirok display art stored in the files?

 

Yes it does.  Here are some photo's of the opening screen, browsing screen and an artist screen to give you an idea.

 

 

[tedwoods]

7 hours ago, ClothEars said:

 

Yes it does.  Here are some photo's of the opening screen, browsing screen and an artist screen to give you an idea.

 

 

No luck, I'm afraid...

I get all contents of the attached disc and can control it fine but no artwork...

In the settings something's mentioned about a script...

[ClothEars]

On 3/13/2020 at 7:09 PM, tedwoods said:

No luck, I'm afraid...

I get all contents of the attached disc and can control it fine but no artwork...

In the settings something's mentioned about a script...

 

You need to setup Soundirok (in "Settings" then "Devices") to find your artwork.  A script is not necessary.  Look under the album folders on your drive to see what name is used for the album artwork.  They will probably vary depending on the source of your audio files.

 

I use the file name "Folder.jpg" as my artwork file.  The name is case sensitive and each album folder on your drive needs a file named the same (in my case Folder.jpg) and it will display the artwork.  You may have your artwork saved with the filename "cover.jpg" or "Cover.jpg" for instance.  Just nominate this filename in Soundirok and it will display the artwork.

 

 

The file "Thumb.jpg" is an artwork file that you place in the artist folder to customise the display for a particular artist.  It is not essential as the first album artwork file will display as the default.  The "Booklet.pdf" file allows information in PDF files to be accessed through Soundirok. 

 

When I first started using Soundirok I did a search for all artwork files on the drive and used a bulk rename utility to change all the artwork file names to "Folder.jpg".  In hindsight I probably should have chosen "cover.jpg" as the standard artwork file name as it is more common.  For missing artwork I used JRiver to search for and insert artwork files into each album directory.

 

[tedwoods]

4 hours ago, ClothEars said:

 

You need to setup Soundirok (in "Settings" then "Devices") to find your artwork.  A script is not necessary.  Look under the album folders on your drive to see what name is used for the album artwork.  They will probably vary depending on the source of your audio files.

 

I use the file name "Folder.jpg" as my artwork file.  The name is case sensitive and each album folder on your drive needs a file named the same (in my case Folder.jpg) and it will display the artwork.  You may have your artwork saved with the filename "cover.jpg" or "Cover.jpg" for instance.  Just nominate this filename in Soundirok and it will display the artwork.

 

 

The file "Thumb.jpg" is an artwork file that you place in the artist folder to customise the display for a particular artist.  It is not essential as the first album artwork file will display as the default.  The "Booklet.pdf" file allows information in PDF files to be accessed through Soundirok. 

 

When I first started using Soundirok I did a search for all artwork files on the drive and used a bulk rename utility to change all the artwork file names to "Folder.jpg".  In hindsight I probably should have chosen "cover.jpg" as the standard artwork file name as it is more common.  For missing artwork I used JRiver to search for and insert artwork files into each album directory.

 

@ClothEarsThanks for taking the time to provide this info. I have done all of the above already. I have a pretty well organised library -the result of several years of painstakingly naming my files and selecting high resolution images through JRiver-  with all my covers stored in the files as folder.jpg and also as thumbnails and also I have pointed to the right directory (Collection URL), but still the problem persisted.

I have to mention I'm in Android, if that makes any difference...

I have also e-mailed the developer, but haven't heard back from them yet...

In the meantime I have been using a free app (MPD Remote), which after pointed to the right directory (the same as Soundirok) did find all my artwork.

Its design is a bit "different", but it works...

In my opinion, MPD is the best sounding option of the bunch and it's a pity that control apps seem a bit under-developed.

In the coming weeks I'm going to experiment with disc to device configurations, trying power supplies, cables and possibly re-clockers for the outboard disc (I have many audiophile friends...) to see if they make any difference.

Cheers,

Ted

[tedwoods]

A new firmware version is out...

To these ears, it sounds clearer and more dynamic. 😃

[ClothEars]

8 hours ago, tedwoods said:

A new firmware version is out...

To these ears, it sounds clearer and more dynamic. 😃

@MayfromSOtM

 

I just did the update to V4.8 and after the reboot I now cannot connect to my USB connected hard drive library.

In library config I selected the "sync disks" button which turned green and then selected "sync & save changes".

Still nothing!  I did a reboot and still nothing.

When I look via Windows Explorer I can see the Eunhasu folder just like before and I have copied my playlists to the  "mwdata/playlists" folder on SMS-200 micro SD card so I know it is accessible via the network but when I look further into the folder structure I see "mwdata/music/USB" whereas before it was "mwdata/music/USB1".  There are of course no folders or files under "USB".

 

In the change log it says:

- Upgraded USB disk auto mount features
- Changed USB disk mount point under '\\<ip address>\mwdata\music\USB\' folder
- USB disk mount folder name is combination of model name, file system name and UUID
- Automatic remove USB disk mounted folder when it disconnected
- Added 'Sync disks' button to write chached data into disk in Library config page 
- Removed Sync mode mount feature for USB disk in Library config page 

It's a pity there are no user instructions because this update has me stumped.

Anyone else worked out what is required to make it work?

 

[audiobomber]

Updating to 4.8 went smoothly here, no issues at all. Something must have gone wrong .I would force a repeat, @ClothEars.

 

I started to have trouble with 4.7 last week and forcing a repeat of the update fixed the problem.

[ClothEars]

38 minutes ago, audiobomber said:

Updating to 4.8 went smoothly here, no issues at all. Something must have gone wrong .I would force a repeat, @ClothEars.

 

I started to have trouble with 4.7 last week and forcing a repeat of the update fixed the problem.

 

Can you please confirm whether you are using MPD with an attached USB drive?

[audiobomber]

7 hours ago, ClothEars said:

 

Can you please confirm whether you are using MPD with an attached USB drive?

Sorry, I should have read your post more clearly. No USB drive. MPD yes, but files are on a NAS, via Wi-Fi to an extender, ethernet cable to sms-200. Nevertheless, I would recommend to repeat the 4.8 update.

[bmoregnr]

On 3/31/2020 at 1:46 AM, ClothEars said:

 

Can you please confirm whether you are using MPD with an attached USB drive?

I hope that gets sorted soon for you.  I had a quick question, when you do an update do you remove the USB drive first?  I think I've done it both ways but was wondering what was best.

[audiobomber]

On 3/30/2020 at 3:43 PM, tedwoods said:

A new firmware version is out...

To these ears, it sounds clearer and more dynamic. 😃

There's no indication of improved SQ in the 4.8 change log, but for the first time ever, streaming from my NAS has surpassed the internal CD drive in my CD/DAC/Preamp.

THANK YOU SOTM!

[Tannoymike]

No problem here updating to the new firmware although the updating progress does seem to be slow particularly around approx. 30% so be patient. I use the SOTM and MPD connected to a Windows 10 computer running JRiver 26 for playback from my external hard drive. 

[Tommd64]

Update process is stopped bij SotM . Latest version is now 4.7 again Instead of v4.8.

[5-pot-fan]

Glad I waited before jumping in on this new upgrade!

SOTM have pulled upgrades before, as you may know, but it usually comes back in good order.

A further SQ improvement is always welcome, if true.

I would also like to say publicly what good customer service SOTM provides, even in these times - thank you!

 

[audiobomber]

19 minutes ago, 5-pot-fan said:

Glad I waited before jumping in on this new upgrade!

SOTM have pulled upgrades before, as you may know, but it usually comes back in good order.

A further SQ improvement is always welcome, if true.

I would also like to say publicly what good customer service SOTM provides, even in these times - thank you!

 

I've noticed there's often another update or two right immediately after the initial.

 

I agree though, I'm thrilled with the firmware updates providing upgraded features and sonic improvements on my sms-200, even 3-1/2 years in.