SGC - "Roonify" your USB drive or NAS with the sonicTransporter

[asdf1000]

5 hours ago, agillis said:

We only support one USB attached hard drive. We do this for simplicity. Supporting many drives can cause all sorts of problems. If they are different formats etc.

 

Hi Andrew, nobody has reported any such issues with Roon's ROCK on the NUC.

 

So Roon have  figured out how to deal with different formats with their Linux based OS.

 

Appreciate if you can look into it.

 

[agillis]

On 11/1/2017 at 7:06 PM, R1200CL said:

@vortecjr @agillis

 

I noticed there is a new SonicTransporter i5  available. 

 

Is is it just a new case, or is there any other HW upgrades ?

 

If yes, can you give some details please ?

Maybe some more pictures, like rear side ?

If it dual RJ45, can these be bridged ?

 

Is the extra HD only a possible to add with the SonicTransporter at your site ?

How many USB HD is supported ?

How much RAM ?

Can bigger disks than the 4TB  be added upon request ?

 

It would be nice to know this before the a possible Black Friday offer. 

 

 

 

 

1. Just a new case

2. not much on the back

3. only one Ethernet port just like the old model

4. yes, all sonicTransporters can be purchased with no internal hard drive. Great for a USB drive or NAS

5. Only one USB drive is supported (they have 10TB USB drives now so this is not a problem)
6. 8GB RAM

7. Yes

8. I'm sure we will have the sonicTransporter included in a Black Friday Deal

[agillis]

On 11/1/2017 at 7:17 PM, Speed Racer said:

I am looking for a Roon server that also acts as a Roon endpoint. I would prefer if it had and AES or SPDIF output. Is that ever going to be an option with sonicTransporter?

 

The point of our server/player design is sound quality. You will always be able to get better quality by having the player separate from the server. If we did build a single unit we would have to spend so much isolating the power it would cost more then a two box solution.

[R1200CL]

8 hours ago, agillis said:

4. yes, all sonicTransporters can be purchased with no internal hard drive. Great for a USB drive or NAS

 

Are you now allowed to later add your own extra internal HD on this new version of i5 without sending it to you for modification ?

 

The question is not related to the older i5, as these versions use same HD for both OS and music. And therefore must be sent to you. 

Unless that have changed. Meaning you could also add an extra HD on those as well. Which would be great news for me. 

 

Actually if just a new case as you’re saying , then I would assume technically this should be feasible on the old i5 as well. 

Please confirm. 

 

Just maybe a bit challenging to fasten the extra  SSD properly. (But that’s my problem). 

 

 

 

[agillis]

8 hours ago, R1200CL said:

 

Are you now allowed to later add your own extra internal HD on this new version of i5 without sending it to you for modification ?

 

The question is not related to the older i5, as these versions use same HD for both OS and music. And therefore must be sent to you. 

Unless that have changed. Meaning you could also add an extra HD on those as well. Which would be great news for me. 

 

Actually if just a new case as you’re saying , then I would assume technically this should be feasible on the old i5 as well. 

Please confirm. 

 

Just maybe a bit challenging to fasten the extra  SSD properly. (But that’s my problem). 

 

 

 

 

The internal drive must be installed at the factory. You can send it back later to have it installed as an upgrade but that would cost a little more.

[agillis]

Quote

What do you recommend for a 2 Box Roon Server/Endpoint Solution with AES3 out to the DAC? I would like to avoid Windows if at all possible.

 

The best solution I can think of would be a sonicTransporter i5 plus an ultraRendu attached via USB to a Berkeley Audio Design Alpha USB.

[R1200CL]

9 minutes ago, agillis said:

 

The internal drive must be installed at the factory. You can send it back later to have it installed as an upgrade but that would cost a little more.

 

OK, so then there is still not two HD/SSD’s inside inside. In fact only one that has been split in two partitions ?

 

 

[R1200CL]

On 2.11.2017 at 12:17 AM, Speed Racer said:

I am looking for a Roon server that also acts as a Roon endpoint. I would prefer if it had and AES or SPDIF output. Is that ever going to be an option with sonicTransporter?

 

If SMG wanted to, he could purchase the SU-1 board, or a similar one, as well add the UltraRendu board, have a custom made case and add those boards. And a (two) separate LPS-1 of cause. Maybe even those LPS-1 integrated. Even use an internal LPS to supply the LPS-1’ and the main board. 

Would probably need an internal switch as well. 

 

But is there a marked for it ?

Would it be cheaper ?

 

You probably better ask http://atechfabrication.com/ for a custom built that meet your specifications. 

 

 

 

[R1200CL]

@agillis

 

I have a SW feature request for you.

 

Would it be possible to extract the temperature info as well into the web interface ?

Maybe even the S.M.A.R.T info ?

 

I think this parameter is available in Linux with just a command, but of cause a bit more work to have it displayed on the corresponding web interface.

Or can I type something myself one way or the other ?

 

I'm asking cause I notice that my SonicTransporter i5 can get quite hot, as I just moved it to my "computer room". I can actually make it have 100% workload if wanted.

 

What is your maximum recommended working temperature for the processor ?

 

[agillis]

it's tricky to get that info. SMART is only for hard drive information.

 

It is almost impossible to overheat the i5. It does get quite warm if it is working hard. This is by design. The entire case is a heat sink for the CPU.

 

What are you doing to get it to 100% CPU load?

 

 

[R1200CL]

1 hour ago, agillis said:

What are you doing to get it to 100% CPU load?

 

Activate all 4 cores ?

 

 

 

 

[jcn3]

On 1/4/2018 at 7:59 PM, R1200CL said:

 

Activate all 4 cores ?

 

 

 

 

After you've analyzed your library the first time, this would only be relevant when new files are added, right? Since you'd only be adding an album at a time, I don't see the need to dedicate resources to doing this quickly since we're talking small amounts of time one way or the other.

 

Am I missing something?

 

 

[R1200CL]

12 hours ago, jcn3 said:

Am I missing something?

 

Nope. You got it 100 % correct !

 

[Perri]

Isn't the original Sonic Transporter just a XCY i7 Min PC with Linear PSU and some proprietary Linux OS .

[R1200CL]

As far as I know, and own a SonicTransporter i5 myself, it’s an off the self MB.

 

As are probably any computer sold as something special. 

 

The Rendus are custom designed by John Swenson.

 

[Perri]

6 minutes ago, R1200CL said:

As far as I know, and own a SonicTransporter i5 myself, it’s an off the self MB.

 

As are probably any computer sold as something special. 

 

The Rendus are custom designed by John Swenson.

 

 

The Sonic Transporter is off the shelf though the tiny mother board is made by XCY or who ever they really call themselves in China .

 

Is the Rendu not just a glorified souped up USB hub just reclocking data as it goes or is there something else at work .

 

 

[R1200CL]

5 minutes ago, Perri said:

Is the Rendu not just a glorified souped up USB hub just reclocking data as it goes or is there something else at work .

 

He, he, you just made some people very upset ?

 

You just wait until they wake up in the US.

 

BTW, what system do you have ? Maybe you try a Rendu and verify this “glorified usb hub”, or maybe the ISO regen. At least the IR is closer to your description as it reclocks USB and totally isolate. 

[Perri]

22 minutes ago, R1200CL said:

 

He, he, you just made some people very upset ?

 

You just wait until they wake up in the US.

 

BTW, what system do you have ? Maybe you try a Rendu and verify this “glorified usb hub”, or maybe the ISO regen. At least the IR is closer to your description as it reclocks USB and totally isolate. 

 

You did see me asking not stating ?

[vortecjr]

On 7/25/2018 at 4:47 AM, Perri said:

Isn't the original Sonic Transporter just a XCY i7 Min PC with Linear PSU and some proprietary Linux OS .

SGC has different music servers and they can have different motherboards, processors, etc. The custom Linux operating system is called SonicOrbiter and works as a unified system (server / endpoint) with the Rendu series. As far as I know the are sold with a standard power supply, but some people buy linear supplied for them.  

[vortecjr]

On 7/25/2018 at 5:08 AM, R1200CL said:

As far as I know, and own a SonicTransporter i5 myself, it’s an off the self MB.

 

As are probably any computer sold as something special. 

 

The Rendus are custom designed by John Swenson.

 

Of course it is...SGC is not going to have a custom designed motherboard for a server. Just look at the expensive music servers talked about here yet they have much lower power CPUs compared to the SGC offerings.

 

The mainboard on the Rendu series is custom designed by John Swenson, but it's a three way collaboration between Sonore, SGC, and John Swenson.   

[vortecjr]

On 7/25/2018 at 5:10 AM, Perri said:

 

The Sonic Transporter is off the shelf though the tiny mother board is made by XCY or who ever they really call themselves in China .

 

Is the Rendu not just a glorified souped up USB hub just reclocking data as it goes or is there something else at work .

 

 

Of course it's an off the shelf motherboard. 

 

The Rendu series are micro computers and not specifically a hub. The hardware and software specifications can be viewed right on our website. There is more going on under the hood, but we rare discuss it:) 

[vortecjr]

On 7/25/2018 at 5:21 AM, R1200CL said:

 

He, he, you just made some people very upset ?

 

You just wait until they wake up in the US.

 

BTW, what system do you have ? Maybe you try a Rendu and verify this “glorified usb hub”, or maybe the ISO regen. At least the IR is closer to your description as it reclocks USB and totally isolate. 

We know what goes into the making of this devices, but we don't always do a great job explaining it to others.

[mfalcon]

Has anyone noticed any advantage of using an internal or USB drive vs a file server?  I’m skeptical there is one and find streaming from the NAS far more convenient but I was curious if anyone has had issues.  

[One and a half]

2 minutes ago, mfalcon said:

Has anyone noticed any advantage of using an internal or USB drive vs a file server?  I’m skeptical there is one and find streaming from the NAS far more convenient but I was curious if anyone has had issues.  

A USB drive for reliability 24/7 is an oxymoron. They don’t dissipate the heat and the drive fails. This is after trying three different types, aluminium, plastic.

 

Audio files are located on a Server with a Server OS. I did have a NAS, but could not tolerate the slow spin up time and copying large amounts of data took , well 5 times as long. A tower case has plenty of ventilation to keep enterprise drives cool and within spec.

 

If I copied large amounts of data and stream music files from the NAS, I’d hear ticks and pops. It was that reason the NAS is out of service and stored on a shelf ready for the dump.

[mfalcon]

Interesting.  Basically you are saying that both options are bad.  I’ve been using a NAS for a while without consistent dropouts.  Hopefully it won’t happen with the Sonic Transporter.