PS Audio LANRover

[jiminlogansquare]

That's great to hear, agradmd. One question, though. You indicate that you now must buy a new USB cable. What led to that conclusion? Thanks. Jim

[amgradmd]

That's great to hear, agradmd. One question, though. You indicate that you now must buy a new USB cable. What led to that conclusion? Thanks. Jim

 

One cable into the sending unit and another from the receiving unit with a cat-5 ethernet cable in between. Oh, I just tested reversing the config by using this setup as a go between while recording LPs. So PS Audio Phono Converter to LANRover to Mac Mini. Sounds amazing! Almost makes me want to re-rip all my vinyl. Almost.

[tedwoods]

The LAN Rover seems like a great solution for my current scenario, which -given certain unavoidable housing constraints- makes networked audio a rather feasible exercise.

I would just like to ask two things:

1. Has anyone tried to run content upsampled to DSD 128 (or even DSD 256, which PS Audio say it might be possible theoretically, but has not been able to test it) through the unit?

2. Could I use a Cat 8 cable between the two units, should I want to extend the length of the supplied Ethernet cable, or is that unnecessary?

[rrwwss52]

Ah AC wired Ethernet is my current set up... From that to LPS interested in what you think.....

Have a good weekend......

 

I had no luck with connecting ethernet over power. Couldn't get a lock on the ethernet signal. I'm running EOP into a switch on the media center end, so I have a lot of component connections.

 

Use of the LAN Rover via EOP configuration wasn't recommended by PS Audio. Knew that up front though. Figured I might have success since my Sonore microRendu and Bryston BDP-1 work like a charm using the EOP setup. Working some other tests in the meantime.

[amgradmd]

The LAN Rover seems like a great solution for my current scenario, which -given certain unavoidable housing constraints- makes networked audio a rather feasible exercise.

I would just like to ask two things:

1. Has anyone tried to run content upsampled to DSD 128 (or even DSD 256, which PS Audio say it might be possible theoretically, but has not been able to test it) through the unit?

2. Could I use a Cat 8 cable between the two units, should I want to extend the length of the supplied Ethernet cable, or is that unnecessary?

 

DSD 128 works perfectly. I would assume the cat 8 cable would work, but can't say for certain.

[tedwoods]

DSD 128 works perfectly. I would assume the cat 8 cable would work, but can't say for certain.

 

Thanks! The LAN Rover seems like a worthwhile, not to mention totally fuss free upgrade for my system. Pretty cool!

[airheadair]

Thanks! The LAN Rover seems like a worthwhile, not to mention totally fuss free upgrade for my system. Pretty cool!

 

Not totally fuss free in my experience, unfortunately. How well it works seems to depend on the DAC and software you are using.

[tedwoods]

Not totally fuss free in my experience, unfortunately. How well it works seems to depend on the DAC and software you are using.

 

Would you care to elaborate?

I use trimmed down W10/Fidelizer, JRiver MC22 and a Lampizator Euforia.

[rrwwss52]

I've had some mixed results as well ted. Connectivity, and some drop outs, required DAC reset.

[tedwoods]

I've had some mixed results as well ted. Connectivity, and some drop outs, required DAC reset.

 

Interesting... Let's see how it all evolves. Thanks for chiming in.

[airheadair]

Would you care to elaborate?

I use trimmed down W10/Fidelizer, JRiver MC22 and a Lampizator Euforia.

 

Here is a trimmed version of my post on the PS Audio forum.

 

1. It would not work with the receiver unit connected to the ethernet port of my Airport Express. Perhaps the latter is too old and only has a half-duplex connection.

 

2. It works with the DAC in my Eclipse TD-M1 desktop speakers, but only at reduced resolutions. (not more that 48.2 KHz).

 

3.It works with the DAC in my Marantz SA-14SA1, but not in precisely the same way it does with a direct USB connection.

ITunes will play music, but one has to reset the resolution in the Audio Midi controller to 192 or less.

 

4. It seemed at first not to work with the Marantz and Audirvana. Experimentation showed a surprising result, that it works with some oversampling rates but not others. In particular:

 

None: no sound

Power of 2: no sound

2x only: works

DoP DSD 64: works.

DoP DSD 128 works.

 

So this is not a simple plug-and-play solution.

 

No comments on the sound from yet, and probably there won't be any.

[tedwoods]

Here is a trimmed version of my post on the PS Audio forum.

 

1. It would not work with the receiver unit connected to the ethernet port of my Airport Express. Perhaps the latter is too old and only has a half-duplex connection.

 

2. It works with the DAC in my Eclipse TD-M1 desktop speakers, but only at reduced resolutions. (not more that 48.2 KHz).

 

3.It works with the DAC in my Marantz SA-14SA1, but not in precisely the same way it does with a direct USB connection.

ITunes will play music, but one has to reset the resolution in the Audio Midi controller to 192 or less.

 

4. It seemed at first not to work with the Marantz and Audirvana. Experimentation showed a surprising result, that it works with some oversampling rates but not others. In particular:

 

None: no sound

Power of 2: no sound

2x only: works

DoP DSD 64: works.

DoP DSD 128 works.

 

So this is not a simple plug-and-play solution.

 

No comments on the sound from yet, and probably there won't be any.

 

I guess I should have known by now, that nothing in computer audio is fuss free... Bigmouth strikes again!

[amgradmd]

I've had some mixed results as well ted. Connectivity, and some drop outs, required DAC reset.

 

I'm curious what your opinion of the LR is compared to the microRendu in terms of function and SQ. It seems like the two units perform the exact same task, albeit in slightly different fashion. And as a similar price point! I wonder if Sonore manufactures the LR unit. Paul McGowan has said that they outsourced the production of the LR according to their specs. Seems like Sonore could be behind it. Still, one has to wonder why someone like Sonore would make a similar product for a competitor. Maybe PSA gave them a pretty sweet deal to manufacture it?

[rrwwss52]

I'm curious what your opinion of the LR is compared to the microRendu in terms of function and SQ. It seems like the two units perform the exact same task, albeit in slightly different fashion. And as a similar price point! I wonder if Sonore manufactures the LR unit. Paul McGowan has said that they outsourced the production of the LR according to their specs. Seems like Sonore could be behind it. Still, one has to wonder why someone like Sonore would make a similar product for a competitor. Maybe PSA gave them a pretty sweet deal to manufacture it?

 

IMO, the two products are not related. I had some connectivity issues with the LAN Rover during testing, although I had good success using it with my Bryston BDP-1 player. I really like the microRendu (using the $50 iFi power supply). Works well with Roon, and HQPlayer NAA, or DLNA.

[amgradmd]

IMO, the two products are not related. I had some connectivity issues with the LAN Rover during testing, although I had good success using it with my Bryston BDP-1 player. I really like the microRendu (using the $50 iFi power supply). Works well with Roon, and HQPlayer NAA, or DLNA.

 

It's funny. I have a Mac Mini with Roon to HQPlayer and haven't had any issues whatsoever. Actually, that's not entirely true. I did get sideways for a minute when I accidentally moved the volume slider a smidge on the PSA driver preferences. That's a Mac issue though. I hear you about the microRendu and will be interested to see how it stacks up in the end. I am curious who made it for them, though! I'm going for burn in on my unit as we speak. I frankly love the sound currently, though, and can't imagine things getting too much better. I will switch to a higher grade ethernet cable to see what happens. Some guys are saying it makes a difference. We'll see!

 

Oh, I was looking at the iFi power supply for the LR, DAC, and phono converter, but thought it might be redundant coming off the PS Audio P10 regenerator. Anyone have an opinion on that?

[rrwwss52]

It's funny. I have a Mac Mini with Roon to HQPlayer and haven't had any issues whatsoever. Actually, that's not entirely true. I did get sideways for a minute when I accidentally moved the volume slider a smidge on the PSA driver preferences. That's a Mac issue though. I hear you about the microRendu and will be interested to see how it stacks up in the end. I am curious who made it for them, though! I'm going for burn in on my unit as we speak. I frankly love the sound currently, though, and can't imagine things getting too much better. I will switch to a higher grade ethernet cable to see what happens. Some guys are saying it makes a difference. We'll see!

 

Oh, I was looking at the iFi power supply for the LR, DAC, and phono converter, but thought it might be redundant coming off the PS Audio P10 regenerator. Anyone have an opinion on that?

 

The iFi works well with the microRendu. My iFi is plugged in to a P5, the baby brother of your P10. I'm waiting for Uptone's forthcoming LPS-1.

[sgr]

Hi,

I'm a LAN Rover beta tester. I've really enjoyed what the LR (enlarge and clarify the soundstage, more specific images, but slam and transients) can do. But in my experience, don't stop there. I owned a REGEN and mRendu previously. I like to use both the MRendu and REGEN connected in sequence. The sound just becomes richer, fuller, and more dynamic. Next I removed the REGEN and connected the LAN Rover to the mRendu. Wow! This was better too. All the great things the mRendu could do were multipled and better with the LAN Rover. The two used together and better, I could only shake my head. Next up, could the REGEN be added after the LAN Rover. Yes indeed. Did the trio of mRendu, LanRover, and REGEN be bettered? Enter Bluejeans Cat 6a and the Curious Cables.

I started with the Bluejeans Cat 6a Ethernet. Did it sound better than the Amazon Cat 7 I already owned. Yes. Maybe a little quieter and a little blacker. A few days latter I purchased a used Curious Cable USB loom. I'd read all about hear at Computer Audiophile of course but I had two other USB cables, a Lampizator USB and Clarus Crimson USB. I'd previously heard the benefits of both in my system, so I wasn't losing for much from the Curious duo. But after inserting the Curious USBs I could hardly stand it. More of everything. More bass, more dynamics, better pinpoint imaging, now the LAN Rover's ability to define the soundstage, the walls, instruments in space, etc, just became more real.

 

Next up I read about the TP-LINK MC200CM Gigabit Media Converter, 1000Mbps RJ45 to 1000M multi-mode SC fiber, up to 550m/1800ft, chassis mountable which is available through Amazon along with the Triplite multi mode optical cables.

 

I ordered a set to connect my gigabyte switch with linear power supply to the mRendu taking the place of the Bluejeans Cat 6a Ethernet cable that I'd been using. Surely this could not enhance the sound quality, could it. A few moments latter I'd connected it into the system, made sure the cable chain was synched, the mRendu was selected as NAA for my ROON/HQPlayer combo, sat down, made sure the volume was the same 80 on the Wavelet, and listened. I really was not prepared for what happened, there was a flash, the smell of scorched electronics and flames shot from the back of my Wavelet DAC!

[firedog]

I'm curious what your opinion of the LR is compared to the microRendu in terms of function and SQ. It seems like the two units perform the exact same task, albeit in slightly different fashion. And as a similar price point! I wonder if Sonore manufactures the LR unit. Paul McGowan has said that they outsourced the production of the LR according to their specs. Seems like Sonore could be behind it. Still, one has to wonder why someone like Sonore would make a similar product for a competitor. Maybe PSA gave them a pretty sweet deal to manufacture it?

 

It's definitely not Sonore and they will be happy to tell you that. Look on the net, there are similar existing products being sold and one of those companies is s apparently producing a PS Audio version of their product, with changes made acc'd to PS audio required specs: http://www.icron.com/products/icron-brand/usb-extenders/fiber/usb-2-0-ranger-2244/ or http://www.extron.com/product/product.aspx?id=10512

 

 

There are a couple of other products that could be the source, too.

 

PS Audio has confirmed that they are outsourcing the product to a manufacturer of a similar product, so apparently the Icron or similar product is it.

 

As far as the mR, the two products have a similar goal in mind, but aren't really the same thing, as one is designed to deal directly with USB, and the other reaches the goal by putting optical in the middle. I'd call it very different ways of dealing with a problem both devices are meant to solve.

 

Sonore is a very small company, without a permanent engineering/development staff - unlike PS Audio. Very doubtful they would want to - or have the resources for - another product similar in function to the mR, but needing different technology and a totally parallel design and development path.

[Distinctive]

Next I removed the REGEN and connected the LAN Rover to the mRendu. Wow! This was better too. All the great things the mRendu could do were multipled and better with the LAN Rover.

How did you connect the output of the LR receiver (USB) to the input of the uRendu (which is Ethernet)?

[sgr]

How did you connect the output of the LR receiver (USB) to the input of the uRendu (which is Ethernet)?

 

Sorry, I should have made the chai clearer. Here is the latest configuration. Subject to change as I experiment. My Wavelet DAC is at the speaker end of the room. The front end of the system as by my listening chair.

 

Here we go: Apple AirPort Extreme 6 > BJ CAT 6a> Server > BJ Cable 6a 25 ft > Gigabyte switch with lpsu > TP-LINK MC200CM Gigabit Media Converter, 1000Mbps RJ45 to 1000M multi-mode SC fiber> BJ CAT 6a > MicroRendu w/linear power supply > Curious USB > Lan Rover w/ Linear power supply > REGEN w/linear power supply via hard adapter > Curious USB Cable

> Legacy Audio Wavelet.

 

Usually I have my Lampi GG and Dude in my system but my Lampi is being updated by Lukasz this is why the mRendu is not located by the Wavelet DAC. As I didn't want to switch components around I started experimenting to see how I could get this all working.

 

I'll be adding another optical cable run to substitute for the 25 foot BJ CAT 6a between the server and the gigabyte switch.

 

I was amazed that adding the optical cable to the mRendu, REGEN, and LAN Rover that it could make such a difference. It seems that my system played louder after adding the optical run. But the volume settings remained the same. I believe the sonic improvement I hear are caused by a much lower noise floor than before. I guess the key word would be galvanic isolation. I thought the LAN Rover would have accomplished galvanic isolation and it does, but apparently one cannot have too much. Or maybe fiber optical sounds better than Ethernet? I'm open to all theories and explanations.

 

I can't wait to hear this system with my Lampi GG and Dude back in the system.

[Middy]

A cable is a big aerial... fibre just beams of light... So unless dark matter is proven.. and doesn't affect audio....

?..

Beautiful set up btw and thanks for the posts.. Doing the hard work for us...

Good luck

Dave

 

Sent from my SM-G900F using Computer Audiophile mobile app

[wakka992]

Hi guys I'm looking for some pics of PS Audio LanRover's internals but can't find them anywhere...

 

I'd just like to know whether PS Audio OEM is using custom programmed FPGA design or ASIC design.

 

thanks!

[Bill Leebens]

Hi guys I'm looking for some pics of PS Audio LanRover's internals but can't find them anywhere...

 

I'd just like to know whether PS Audio OEM is using custom programmed FPGA design or ASIC design.

 

thanks!

 

The original programming was done specifically for our application, and the ASIC was cloned from that.

 

May I ask why you ask this?

[astrostar59]

Why not just go AOIP (red net for example) and have done with it? i.e. remove USB altogether.

[Albrecht]

Why not just go AOIP (red net for example) and have done with it? i.e. remove USB altogether.

Because it's cheaper and some folks have invested in USB only DACs.