A novel way to massively improve the SQ of computer audio streaming

[Evo1668]

I have gone through this thread's posts and it looks like no one has successfully bridged 2 Ethernet nics on windows 10 and got the main pc to connect to a microRendu to play HQP.

Do I have that right, and if not tell me who I need to contact?

I set mine up on a Mac Mini, which is bootcamped and running Windows 10. One nic on the Mac mini and the other nic is a thunderbolt to Ethernet connector. HQPlayer connects to the mRendu in NAA mode. The mRendu is attached to the Mac mini/win10 computer using the Thunderbolt nic.

 

The bridge works fine across both nics. The IP4 adapter address which I added in Windows for the bridge was the original IP address of the MacMini/bootcamped Win 10. DHCP is managed by my Router -works absolutely fine.... no static addresses required.

[Peter_T]

I am totally confused (nothing new!). So in Server R2 I can do something called NIC Teaming but not Bridging. Would a NIC Teaming allow me to do a direct connection like Bridging?

 

Look at my earlier post : for W2012 in GUI mode : you can easily bridge 2 NIC's the same way as you can under W10, by using it's windows/system32/control.exe.

 

But soundwise I could only hear stuttering: same problem as I now also have with W10.

 

The SOTM200 is similar to the mRendu : you cannot give it a static IP-address : only DHCP works.

[tboooe]

Look at my earlier post : for W2012 in GUI mode : you can easily bridge 2 NIC's the same way as you can under W10, by using it's windows/system32/control.exe.

 

But soundwise I could only hear stuttering: same problem as I now also have with W10.

 

The SOTM200 is similar to the mRendu : you cannot give it a static IP-address : only DHCP works.

 

Thank you @Peter_T I will give it try shortly.

[rickca]

I am totally confused (nothing new!). So in Server R2 I can do something called NIC Teaming but not Bridging. Would a NIC Teaming allow me to do a direct connection like Bridging?

No. NIC teaming is link aggregation. Just google it.

[clipper]

By the way, I'm really liking the way this (direct connection from NIC to microRendu) sounds. Really big improvement here.

 

Putting FMCs in the chain between the computer NIC and microRendu, even when one FMC (the downstream one) or even both are powered by an LPS-1 (the same LPS-1), makes it sound worse to me. Strange...

 

I used to do this when I had a 2-pc JPLAY setup and thought it made a nice difference. But it seems like the improvement is even more significant in my microRendu setup.

 

Great tip, romaz. Thanks!

[romaz]

By the way, I'm really liking the way this (direct connection from NIC to microRendu) sounds. Really big improvement here.

 

Putting FMCs in the chain between the computer NIC and microRendu, even when one FMC (the downstream one) or even both are powered by an LPS-1 (the same LPS-1), makes it sound worse to me. Strange...

 

I used to do this when I had a 2-pc JPLAY setup and thought it made a nice difference. But it seems like the improvement is even more significant in my microRendu setup.

 

Great tip, romaz. Thanks!

Glad to hear, Clipper. I wish there was a way to explain what's going on. Seems like certain established network tweaks no longer apply. Are you on Windows or MacOS?

[lmitche]

By the way, I'm really liking the way this (direct connection from NIC to microRendu) sounds. Really big improvement here.

 

Putting FMCs in the chain between the computer NIC and microRendu, even when one FMC (the downstream one) or even both are powered by an LPS-1 (the same LPS-1), makes it sound worse to me. Strange...

 

I used to do this when I had a 2-pc JPLAY setup and thought it made a nice difference. But it seems like the improvement is even more significant in my microRendu setup.

 

Great tip, romaz. Thanks!

Clipper, so in the above configuration were you using a single y cable from the LPS1 to power both FMCs?

 

If so, that would account for the sound quality hit. This is because you inadvertently defeated the isolation with the y cable. You need two independent power sources to benefit from the FMC solution.

[clipper]

Glad to hear, Clipper. I wish there was a way to explain what's going on. Seems like certain established network tweaks no longer apply. Are you on Windows or MacOS?

 

Although I'm a MacOS guy in real life, I use Windows for audio.

 

I'm hearing improvements in so many different categories (soundstage, focus, PRAT, removal of digital grain), but the most pronounced or dramatic change was in the bass response. I had to make some serious downward adjustments to my subwoofer. Even after doing that, bass lines in the music I'm listening to are really standing out (a good thing) and are much easier to follow. So strange... Anyone else hearing the same thing?

[ducatirider]

Although I'm a MacOS guy in real life, I use Windows for audio.

 

I'm hearing improvements in so many different categories (soundstage, focus, PRAT, removal of digital grain), but the most pronounced or dramatic change was in the bass response. I had to make some serious downward adjustments to my subwoofer. Even after doing that, bass lines in the music I'm listening to are really standing out (a good thing) and are much easier to follow. So strange... Anyone else hearing the same thing?

 

Bass and soundstage.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

[clipper]

Clipper, so in the above configuration were you using a single y cable from the LPS1 to power both FMCs?

 

If so, that would account for the sound quality hit. This is because you inadvertently defeated the isolation with the y cable. You need two independent power sources to benefit from the FMC solution.

 

I figured as much. But even with only the downstream FMC powered by an LPS-1 (with the upstream FMC powered by the 9 volt "El Cheapo" that usually powers it), it was still vastly inferior to how it sounded with no FMCs...

[lmitche]

I figured as much. But even with only the downstream FMC powered by an LPS-1 (with the upstream FMC powered by the 9 volt "El Cheapo" that usually powers it), it was still vastly inferior to how it sounded with no FMCs...

No surprise. I retired my FMCs over a year ago for the same reason. The EMOsystems isolation transformer sounds best here.

[clipper]

No surprise. I retired my FMCs over a year ago for the same reason. The EMOsystems isolation transformer sounds best here.

 

Awesome! Looking at website now...

 

What model? EN-30?

 

Thanks.

[romaz]

Although I'm a MacOS guy in real life, I use Windows for audio.

 

I'm hearing improvements in so many different categories (soundstage, focus, PRAT, removal of digital grain), but the most pronounced or dramatic change was in the bass response. I had to make some serious downward adjustments to my subwoofer. Even after doing that, bass lines in the music I'm listening to are really standing out (a good thing) and are much easier to follow. So strange... Anyone else hearing the same thing?

Glad to hear of another Windows success.

 

The improvements you're hearing mirror what I'm hearing but what really stands out in my system is clarity. Just unbelievable "reach out and touch it" clarity. Then there is this immediacy that I'm hearing. I'm not talking about hyper or aggressive detail that is fatiguing and typical of bad digital but just this more alive and vivid presence to the music.

[romaz]

No surprise. I retired my FMCs over a year ago for the same reason. The EMOsystems isolation transformer sounds best here.

I will now be retiring mine also which is great as it will free up my LPS-1.

[lmitche]

Awesome! Looking at website now...

 

What model? EN-30?

 

Thanks.

Model EN70HD.

[lmitche]

I will now be retiring mine also which is great as it will free up my LPS-1.

Try repurposing the LPS-1 to power your SSD at 5 volts.

[clipper]

Model EN70HD.

 

Thanks.

 

I hope I don't order the EM50 by mistake...

 

[lmitche]

Lol

[romaz]

Try repurposing the LPS-1 to power your SSD at 5 volts.

That's a good thought.

[tboooe]

No surprise. I retired my FMCs over a year ago for the same reason. The EMOsystems isolation transformer sounds best here.

 

I will now be retiring mine also which is great as it will free up my LPS-1.

 

Such an interesting thread. Here is the experiment I am going to do to test between Fiber, FMC, and plain old cat6 cable.

 

1. Use a dual fiber nic (intel XA520 DA2) in my server PC to direct connect to a microrendu (which I will be purchasing shortly thanks to Clipper!) via FMC

2. Direct connect to microrendu with cat6 cable (server PC still connected to network via fiber swtich)

3. Direct connect to microrendu with cat6 cable + EMO systems isolation transformer (server PC still connected to network via fiber swtich)

4. Remove all fiber and just use cat6 with and without EMO systems (ideally i would need a second one to put between my server and switch but this little experiment is getting expensive!)

 

I will say that I like the sound with my Cisco SG300 fiber switch in between my wireless bridge and music PCs (HQP and NAA) but I have not heard an all copper network with the EMO in there.

[clipper]

Such an interesting thread. Here is the experiment I am going to do to test between Fiber, FMC, and plain old cat6 cable.

 

1. Use a dual fiber nic (intel XA520 DA2) in my server PC to direct connect to a microrendu (which I will be purchasing shortly thanks to Clipper!) via FMC

2. Direct connect to microrendu with cat6 cable (server PC still connected to network via fiber swtich)

3. Direct connect to microrendu with cat6 cable + EMO systems isolation transformer (server PC still connected to network via fiber swtich)

4. Remove all fiber and just use cat6 with and without EMO systems (ideally i would need a second one to put between my server and switch but this little experiment is getting expensive!)

 

I will say that I like the sound with my Cisco SG300 fiber switch in between my wireless bridge and music PCs (HQP and NAA) but I have not heard an all copper network with the EMO in there.

 

Awesome tests.

 

Looking forward to hearing about the results...

[kennyb123]

lEven after doing that, bass lines in the music I'm listening to are really standing out (a good thing) and are much easier to follow. So strange... Anyone else hearing the same thing?

 

Yes. That was most apparent improvement to me after making the switch.

[jelt2359]

Model EN70HD.

 

Where are you using this? Right after the computer?

[lmitche]

Where are you using this? Right after the computer?

I have two, one used for Internet connectivity between a wired wifi adapter and my NAS, the second between the NAS and upsampling machine. The NAS runs a virtual switch as well as serving music via a SMB server on Audiolinux.

[baconbrain]

I broke the bridge (temporarily) to show you my settings for each NIC (as an example).

 

Also, the rest of my network is on a 192.168.1.* numbering scheme.

 

See attachments.

 

Then just select both NICs, right click on one and choose Bridge Connections.

 

Note: the private IP address the network bridge is pulling (at the moment) is 192.168.1.231. The microRendu is pulling 192.168.1.218.

 

 

 

[ATTACH=CONFIG]32336[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]32337[/ATTACH]

 

I am courious as to your numbering scheme for the l217-V adapter which I am assuming is the one connected to the mR? Any particular reason why you chose the subnet, etc., shown?