Sonicorbiter - Direct connection to a Mac/PC (beta)

[vortecjr]

This thread is intended to be a supplement to the Sonore Rendu series user manuals. The manuals contain quick start information that can be viewed here:

Sonicorbiter Rendu Series - User Manuals

 

The Sonicorbiter operating system found on the Rendu series can be connected directly to a Mac computer via ethernet.

 

Please note:

1. The Sonicorbiter operating system requires internet access to work properly so your Mac computer needs internet access via Wi-Fi enabled.

2. Some output modes may not work at all or may not work correctly.

Shairport output mode - appears to work

MPD/DLNA output mode - appears to work

RoonReady output mode - appears to work

SqueezeLite output mode - appears to work with the unit's onboard LMS

NAA output mode - the device is not found

 

Follow these steps to enable a direct connection.

1. Go into Mac's System Preferences and select Sharing. Now enable Internet Sharing as follow:

2. Connect an Ethernet cable from your Mac computer to the Sonicorbiter SE or microRendu.

3. Connect USB and power up your DAC and the Sonicorbiter SE or microRendu.

4. When the Sonicorbiter SE or microRendu boots up use http://www.sonoicorbiter.com to locate and manage the unit from your browser.

[vortecjr]

Jesus, I have the physical layout to make this connection.

 

But it's not clear to me what the advantages might be, over direct Ethernet cable into the microRendu.

 

Could you explain?

This is intended for someone that does not have an Ethernet connection in the audio room.

[vortecjr]

Jesus, I couldn't get this to work. My micro rendu was working when plugged directly into a LAN port on my router. I unplugged the ethernet cable from the LAN port on my router and plugged it into a Thunderbolt to Ethernet adapter on my rMBP. I enabled internet sharing on the rMBP for Thunderbolt Ethernet.

 

When i went to sonicorbiter.com, it said it couldn't reach 192.168.2.2. I tried rebooting the rMBP, powering down/up both my DAC and the micro rendu, disconnecting/reconnecting the micro rendu USB to my DAC.

 

Somehow something is missing. Any ideas would be welcome. Thanks.

 

I don't think the micro rendu ever really rebooted because it looked ready in way less than 45 seconds.

 

The laptop still needs concurrent access to the internet via WiFi for this to work.

[vortecjr]

Of course it does, and I verified that the laptop had concurrent internet access via WiFi by using Safari to connect to a few websites.

 

I am running OS X 10.11.5.

 

I'm running OS X 10.11.4. The other difference is that my laptop has an board ethernet port.

[vortecjr]

Jesus, I got further. Now I can get to sonicorbiter.com using Safari on the rMBP! The only problem now is that BubbleUPnP on my Galaxy S6 cannot see the micro rendu, it's only showing the local renderer.

 

This should be a lot easier problem to resolve. What do you suggest I try next? Should I perhaps reboot the micro rendu or restart MPD? I am trying to use MPD/DLNA renderer mode (which is by default active in the Audio App Switcher).

Removing and replacing the power jack will reboot the machine. You can also reboot from the GUI. Make sure the unit is on MPD/DLNA output mode. I would try JRiver on the Mac to see if it finds it then wonder out a mobile tablet.

[vortecjr]

The micro rendu is definitely in MPD/DLNA output mode.

I rebooted the micro rendu from the GUI but BubbleUPnP still cannot see it. I also tried uninstall/reinstall of BubbleUPnP on my Galaxy S6 but that didn't help either.

 

If this is a BubbleUPnP issue, I guess I need to contact support for that product? I also realize this internet connection sharing solution is in beta.

 

Are you suggesting I try JRiver on the rMBP just to determine whether this issue is unique to BubbleUPnP? I've never used JRiver.

 

What control point are you successfully using with this 'Direct Connection to a Mac' setup?

 

I can definitely see my unit on a tablet with this connection method.

[vortecjr]

Jesus, when I put my micro rendu back onto a LAN port on my router (after trying it on the rMBP Thunderbolt/Ethernet adapter) I initially couldn't see the micro rendu. I had to do some extra step on the GUI to get the message 'MPD/DLNA reconfigured' before it would show up. I will try it again and document exactly what I did.

 

It seems like when I change where the micro rendu is on the network (ethernet connected to the rMBP Thunderbolt/Ethernet adapter vs ethernet connected to a LAN port on the router) an additional step is required to once again establish visibility. I suppose this is because the IP address of the micro rendu gets changed?

 

Does this make sense to you?

 

You might just needs to refresh the page.

[vortecjr]

Can you please tell me what control point software you are using and whether it's on IOS or Android. Thanks.

 

I mostly use Kazoo on my iPad mini.

[vortecjr]

Update to Post #21:

 

Last night, I reconnected the SBT to the MBP via Ethernet and played DSD files through the SBT without incident. So it appears the SBT's Wi-Fi receiver was the weak link. Would I be correct in assuming from this that an mR connected to the MBP in place of the SBT would have no problem playing DSD files? Thanks.

I don't see what not. Refer to note #1 above.

[vortecjr]

Hello

I've been using Sonore Rendu for a year. Great sound. No complaints.

 

I run JRiver via Win 10 on a Toshiba Laptop w/AMD chip.

The lap top is connected directly to the Rendu with a crossover ethernet.

From there it is a W4Sound DAC 2 to a Warpspeed Optical attenuator to a First Watt J1 to Decapo speakers.

 

 

There is one source of frustration. When I switch on the laptop, JRiver can be very slow to discover the Rendu.

 

Can you tell why that happens? What could I do to make the discovery more reliable?

As far as I can tell....there is no way for the user to tell JRiver to scan the network for DLNA devices. You have to wait for it to scan on it's own or restart JRiver.

[vortecjr]

I can't get HQ player to work with Roon and microRendu. I can get either Room/MRendu or Room/HQ Player but not all three together.

When I set the back-end of HQP to NAA The device field is empty and locked. So HQP isn't seeing my DAC. There must not be a connection between HQP and mRendu.

 

My set up is:SSD>MacAir/Rooncore/HQP>eithernetadapter/ethernet>mRendu>Auralic Vega.

 

Mrendu is set to NAA/HQP. Roon has HQP as the endpoint.

 

Any ideas?

 

These direct connections do not work with HQ Player / NAA.

[vortecjr]

Jesus, is the direct connection as good sounding as the traditional router-based connection?

 

The design intent is that the unit is connected to a router. This approach was provided as an alternative because it solves a specific use case. We have not conducted sound quality tests between the two schemes.

[vortecjr]

Sorry for the lack of expertise here. Can someone kindly weigh in?

 

You need some kind of bridge to connect back to your router. If WiFi based the signal strength matters.

[vortecjr]

So, hmmmm... I see instructions for Mac but not PC as the title implies.

 

Are there instructions for PC?

 

So, basically, my laptop is now a hub through which it uses my wifi to transmit the data to my mRendu, yes? I'm using Roon, and I would still have my NAS drive hooked to my SonicTransporter which then goes into my router, but from there I am cableless, correct?

 

NAS and sonicTransporter connect to router via Ethernet. Computer connects to router via WiFi. microRendu connects to the computer via Ethernet. I don't have instructions on how to configure a PC.

[vortecjr]

It should work that way. 

[vortecjr]

4 minutes ago, Theobetley said:

Here is what I have

 

HP with  I5 CPU, 12 gig of memory

 

system is bridged ala Romaz 

 with connection to router via wifi, and connection to uRendu via Ethernet cable

 

dac is Vinnie Rossi DHT which also powers the uRendu.

I understand people are doing this and I'm okay with it, but I don't provide support for that setup. The microRendu is intended to be connected to a router. Connecting the microRendu directly to a computer can have unintended consequences that I don't have any experience trouble shooting. Have you reached out Romaz?   

[vortecjr]

That is what people claim, but it doesn’t appear to measure any better that way.

[vortecjr]

22 hours ago, matthias said:

@vortecjr

@barrows

 

Hi,

would you please be so kind to try if Audirvana UPnP output from Mac works with the direct connection to a Rendu device?

Thank you.

Best

 

Matt

It should work. Are you having issues with this setup?

[vortecjr]

3 hours ago, matthias said:

 

No, it is a requirement for a buying decision, so I must know if it works. 

Shall I ask in the software section on the Audirvana thread?

Thanks

 

Matt

By it, try it, and return it if it doesn't work. It should work thought.