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Article: Sonore microRendu Review, Part 1


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Sorry for the newbie question, but is there a way to use the Micro Rendu without a router? Mine is 50 feet away from my stereo, and there's no way to run ethernet that far. I'd love to simply connect a hard drive with my music on it.

 

Get a WiFi extender with ethernet port. Probably not the way its supposed to be used but will work.

Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world - Martin Luther

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Computer neophyte and need some basic help.

 

I've got a

 

--Synology 1812 NAS with terabytes of music files,

-- a long ethernet cable from the NAS that will reach the micro-Rendu,

-- a DAC that will take USB,

-- and an IPAD.

 

The physical connections seem simple enough but how do I control my music files on the NAS and actually play music in terms of what software might best work?

 

Is all the software just going to be on my IPAD or do I need to fiddle trying to get software on the NAS and/or the micro-Rendu?

 

I don't see simple instructions on the Sonore website. Just a long list of programs I don't recognize that might work with it.

 

Thanks. And apologize for my ignorance on this stuff.

 

Mike

 

You would need another device on the network, so your iPad will do fine. Don't see an app, so I believe everything will be browser based.

 

Instructions on accessing @ SONORE microRendu Manual.

Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world - Martin Luther

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  • 2 weeks later...
But if you can't test alternatives, you need a trusted source to do it for you.

 

There are many on this forum, but you don't want to take their word for it.

 

The thing with DIY is not everybody has those skills, I certainly cannot handle a soldering iron and also its not always cheap and/or better as its made out to be.

 

Case in point, I tried to DIY a NAS. Add up all the h/w and it comes to what Synology costs (and quite often more). And the s/w is nowhere near what DiskStation Manager (DSM) offers. In the end I went with Synology because none of the others (FreeNAS, OpenMediaVault, FlexRAID, UnRAID, NAS4Free, etc.) really measure up, at least to a Linux noob like me. Synology OS takes like 5-15 mins to be and running.

 

Coming to audiophile DIY, I know folks who are into DIY. One guy I know makes TLs and rather well infact. They blow the socks off some commercial speakers, but end of the day he does not make them real cheap. For that price there are excellent budget offerings from many companies like Mission, KEF, Monitor Audio, etc. that compare and then there is the question of support and service. Do you think the DIY guy is going to be able to give unlimited support like the big guys? If Logitech could not, how will a DIYer?

 

DACs, Schiit again. Not many will have DACs that perform better than Schiit and also cost a fraction of what they cost at the same time.

 

The list can go on... but DIY is not all its made out to be unless you have some mad carpentry and electronics/electrical skills.

 

Most of us folks just want to listen to music and enjoy it, at the best budget we can afford.

 

PS: I'm a huge fan of the Pi, in fact use it and even recommend it. My DIY for the Pi is limited to the OS, nothing h/w. Just so you know I'm not biased against the little guy. It's unbeatable for $35 and for how excellent it sounds as a streamer, believe me I've tested it against $2500 PCs and $1000 to $2000 AVRs and in the streaming department (and you could also say as a media server) it was unbeatable. The open source Linux distros in fact offer more features than commercial AVRs, streamers, etc. And I've seen enough Pi's hooked up to excellent DACs like 2Qute and USB Regens and hold their own against just about everyone. That said its not for everybody. I cannot imagine my dad ever writing the OS on an SD card or even physically assembling the Pi in a case and putting together the cables. A Sonos makes more sense for him.

Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world - Martin Luther

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He would still be using a general-purpose computer rather than one designed end-to-end for the best SQ.

 

Ah, so many ways to skin this (or any) cat.

 

Comes down to how you use it.

 

The way I use it, 100% DLNA, the Pi is no different and certainly no less than the likes of Auralic (both), a PC, Mac Mini, or even a NAS. Unless folks want to sell us cleaners and conditioners for WiFi (that will clean wireless noise) or gold audiophile interconnects that connect wireless devices - I fear all of that may be coming - but let's not go there just yet and for now enjoy the music.

 

Even a general purpose - and even a multi purpose PC - while its multi tasking would sound the same when running DLNA for audio, easily achieved with the UPnP/DLNA Renderer for Foobar.

 

And my money would be on a general purpose PC (obviously an i7 with 16 GB or more RAM) running Bug Head Emperor to destroy just about any other purpose built for audio streamer/server/player.

 

Obviously the last will need head to head or toe to toe DBTs, but I deem it very unlikely that any Aurender, Auralic, Sonore, etc. would compare to the Bug and its myriad of filters that make 16/44.1 redbook sound like full blown vinyl - all coming from the venerable general purpose PC.

Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world - Martin Luther

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How is the inevitable crunch in bandwidth because of the combined Ethernet/USB controller in the Raspi no different than Auralic, a PC, Mac Mini, especially for high-rate DSD?

 

The Raspberry Pi 3's wireless LAN does not share the USB bus, so its perfectly alright to use USB/ethernet to connect to an external HDD or NAS and use WiFi for streaming.

 

I'm not into DSD, but how much b/w will it need? The Pi 3 gives 100 Mbps, and 4K video needs 25 Mbps, which I know for sure cause I've streamed 4K content via Netflix.

 

Obviously open to correction here (from folks who are streaming DSD).

 

It never will sound the same as a motherboard, a set of components, interfaces and power distribution designed from the ground up to do one thing and one thing really well: computer for the best SQ.

 

This device is not in the same league as a general-purpose SBC at all. One is a Lamborghini Countach, the other is a Lada. Both can make you travel from point A to B faster than by foot and you can sure work on a Lada to improve it...

 

I'm the first one to admit that the Pi sucks for both USB and HDMI, though I've seen the Pi USB plugged into a Regen and also direct to DACs like 2Qute. Myself though wouldn't use the Pi via USB, at least not unless I'm using something like USB Regen.

 

However, none of the interconnects and ports matter in the case of wireless streaming. I've personally heard the Aries Mini and the Pi in DLNA mode and I could not hear anything different or even pick between the two. Via USB, yes sure the Aries will walk all over the Pi. Like you put it, it's designed to do computer audio well.

 

My point - In my instance, using 100% DLNA, I cannot hear anything different from a $35 Pi, $800 NAS, $400 Aries Mini, or my $2500 gaming PC.

 

PS: FWIW, even Auralic tells you that wireless may sound better than wired and no I'm not getting into which is better.

Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world - Martin Luther

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I suspect (and I'm not trying to be snarky) that many of the audiophile users of Volumio/Rune/Moode use them not only because they like them, but because they are free. That's fine. Some of us are willing to pay $50 or $100 or more for what we consider a superior user experience. To each his/her own. Are you positive the users of free software would still be using them if some of the commercial software packages were somehow free?

 

Coming from JRiver and JPlay with a 2 PC setup I can certainly say hell yeah baby. Moode is excellent and MinimServer is the shiznit.

 

Bug Head Emperor is the best ever (again free), seriously its the best ever if you have the PC for it. I know folks with seriously high end systems using it. Though I have the PC for it, its still too much work for me, and I don't look for the analog/vinyl sound.

 

MinimServer is the shiznit as far as I'm concerned and I've already been corrected by @Cebolla that its not a media player and should not be called one.

 

PS: Even back in the day (and I really mean back in the day), cPlay (free) walked all over JRiver in SQ. Of course freeware is not always supported or updated, developers lose interest, and may even become paid, but just because something costs $50 or $100 does not make it the best either.

 

Superior user experience, yes certainly. All the freeware I've mentioned look ugly and need a couple of hours to even figure out, and then again most folks will never get it. Even to this day I do not understand or even know what all the filters and options do in BHE, but it sure walks over everything in terms of SQ.

Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world - Martin Luther

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Wireless is usually unbelievably noisy...

 

Please elaborate.

 

I run my music i.e. NAS and all endpoints on a separate network switch and wireless network.

 

But being audiophiles, what would we be if not for endless tweaking and getting the best SQ.

 

I cannot hear any noise with wireless, in fact the noise floor has come down a lot since going wireless, even measurably so, but I'm always open to further tweaking and improving.

Next to the Word of God, the noble art of music is the greatest treasure in the world - Martin Luther

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