Sonore ultraRendu v1.3

[Albrecht]

On 5/14/2017 at 8:14 AM, firedog said:

As long as they don't cancel the mR and stop supporting it (which obviously isn't happening), I don't think there is anything to complain about. Jesus said they will have a 3 tier line based on the SO OS, with mR in the middle. 

 

Nothing but audiophilia nervosa forces us to upgrade. 

 

That said I do wish companies like Sonore and Uptone gave us a little more idea about their product plans. Not details and not dates, just an idea of the development tree. Personally I'd prefer to do something like buy entry level and then wait for the 3rd tier high end product before upgrading. Or maybe upgrade to a used mR  from someone buying the ultra, if I had a SOSE. 

 

I'm sort of thinking the prices on the used market for the mR aren't going to be too good, as lots of them are going to be on the market when the Ultra comes out. 

Hi,

I want to humbly add a +1 here, - or at the very least ask if there are plans to make a SPDIF output microRendu with John's really great I/O board with built in isolation?

Likely I will buy an ultraRendu, but if there were going to be an ultra-SPFID-Rendu, - I would wait.

This is all exciting, - can't wait to see it!

 

[Albrecht]

15 minutes ago, firedog said:

Sonore had the Rendu and Signature Rendu, which were discontinued. Maybe  they still have a Signature Rendu available you could buy.

Hi,

Thank you Firedog. Much appreciated. I did almost get the Signature, but then the mRendu struck!  I am more psyched about the latest devs with the micro line....  but Thank you.

[Albrecht]

15 hours ago, Emcee said:

Don't want to change my current DAC so I'm only interested if there's an S/PDIF output.

+1

[Albrecht]

17 hours ago, Al Jones said:

As for the Ultra, well, it's quarter to three in the morning and I'm still listening, even though I should have been in bed before midnight.

 

There is a newfound "crispness" to everything, percussive effects explode with a scary realism and bass, which I thought was everything it could be and should be with the micro, now has more firmness, bounce and elasticity. The tonalities of various types of strings on acoustic guitars are more distinctive. Double-tracked voices are more easily distinguishable and room cues define recorded space with immense realism and ease.

 

If you've been on the fence about the Ultra, it's time to climb down and take the plunge.

Hi,

I have to concur. I got mine yesterday afternoon and got him plugged in in a few minutes and I must disagree with Darko's review in that the step up from microRendu to UltraRendu is more significant that he indicates: at least to me. I am hearing a much bigger soundstage, much sweeter & better defined bass, and more than significant amounts of low level detail. It is truly awesome. I listened to the really nice Dead Can Dance AIFF files that I ripped from the Hybrid Mobile Fidelity SACDs. One of things that blew me away was how the quiet background vocals were more distinct and more easily heard. Whereas before, - the two vocals were more like one vocal. Dead Can Dance also have a lot of African drums that have a similar timber, and they are played in different combos. These drums were more distinct, and it was much easier to distinguish between different, similar-sounding drums. I too found myself listening much longer than I anticipated, - playing 1 song after another, - curious has to how it was going to sound compared to the already excellent, microRendu. I have to say that I am really happy that I have done this, even though it pushed my budget, and my girlfriend's tolerance.

 

I do have one complaint. (See pic). I have the lovely Sonore/Cardas USB plug and the Sonore DC4/Cable. THere isn't enough room for the DC4 cable and the Ethernet cable to fit nicely between F-1 DDC because of the short length of the USB plug. I don't care about the Ethernet cable, but I don't like bending the $140 DC4 like that. (Finally, - this is a bit off-topic, - but I found that the DC4 from the LPS-1 makes a much bigger difference in SQ than the Sonore USB plug).

 

Jesus, - you ROCK!!

 

 

[Albrecht]

2 hours ago, mikicasellas said:

I am curious if the Ultra Rendu brings enough benefits having a MacMini instead a Dedicated Audio PC, NAS or Sonic Transporter,  i own a MacMini and feel that i am far from building a NAS or Dedicated PC right now, so i am hesitating if i go for the UR now or later when i have my PC for audio.

 

I know for most of you this must be a silly question but if anyone has a MacMini paired with the UR, would love to hear some feedback

 

Thanks!

I went from a Mac Mini on the audio rack to the ultraRendu and the ultraRendu blows away the MacMini so thoroughly that macMini is/was a joke. But that doesn't mean that the MacMini can't be used as an LMS Server or a Roon server and digital file music storage device, far away, in another room, on the network. I have a NAS that has MiniMServer installed + all my music files, and it sounds a little better than our building's iMAC running LMS Server and serving up AIFF on the NAS, - but I mostly stick with LMS/Squeezelite because we have 6 other Squeeze-like devices around our building. The old MacMini got shipped off to Philly for the nephew as an Email computer, - after the ultraRendu, - multi-function computers are banned from the living room...  

[Albrecht]

On 12/16/2017 at 12:21 PM, left channel said:

Any opinions/guidance on the Sonore DC-4 cable for the LPS-1?

Hi,

For me, in my system,  to my ears, the DC-4 cable was a requirement. I was using a Teradak linear PS as the feeder supply for the LPS-1 and the system sounded a little worse than the stock LPS-1 DC cable compared to the TeraDak alone. (It was a bit thinner and the mid-range was quieted. There was more detail, but at the expense of the mids and bass response). Immediately after the DC-4 cable the midrange & bass filled out without any loss of detail and clarity in the treble. The bass was smoother as well. At the time the cables by Ghent were not yet available. I have not yet tried a Ghent cable for the LPS-1, - so I have only compared the DC-4 to the stock cable.

[Albrecht]

17 minutes ago, aggielaw said:

I've wondered about how much influence the uR has on the sound as well, especially when I hear people saying Jriver sounds better than Roon, or Roon sounds better with HQPlayer than by itself and so forth.  I have a DAC that is extraordinarily revealing, and my system now sounds just a bit "edgy" and needs a bump in the 250-750Hz range.  Easily enough corrected with the parabolic EQ in Roon, but it leads me to wonder what is influencing the sound the most - the software, the general purpose computer acting as a Roon server, the uR, or the DAC. 

Just my experience...  But I've never heard Roon sound any different/better than LMS or MPD. When you consider that Roon is so expensive, plays mucky-muck with your music DB, is integrated with that shite internet streaming program Tidal, makes it hard to play albums. Ultimately, - though, - the biggest argument against Roon is that the sound quality is no better.

[Albrecht]

4 minutes ago, Frojo said:

I am running an UltraRendu -> curious cable->isoRegen -> curious link cable into a Chord Hugo. I found that switching my curious link to the USPCB was  a subtle, all-round improvement. 

 

11 hours ago, InnocentBlood said:

I'm currently connecting my ultraRendu to the Chord BluDAVE using a Curious Cable USB cable. the ultraRendu is powered by the LPS-1. I really like what I hear in this current setup. I'd like to ask if anybody else with a similar setup is using the USPCB A>B Adapter made by Uptone Audio in place of a regular USB cable? how do you manage to make the connection? is it a tight/ awkward fit? some pics would be welcome  

 

thank you all for your input and enjoy the music!  

I have the Sonore Cardas USB adapter and the USBPC was a significant step down in SQ in my system.

[Albrecht]

2 hours ago, André Gosselin said:

 

Curious to read that. On the Uptone site one can read :

 

Hi,

I want to emphasize that I had to use the USBPC with the 5v power pass-through turned ON as I am/was running an unpowered F-1 USB to SPDIF converter.

Whether or not turning off the 5v power pass-through in my system would make a positive SQ change is something I wouldn't know: and something I cannot test.

Cheers,

 

[Albrecht]

18 minutes ago, rickca said:

Does anyone know whether Supra Cat8 ethernet cables have this issue?

It is easy to remove one of the shields with a dental probe or small screwdriver. I run fiber with FMCs and use CAT 8 cable from the FMC to the Rendu shield removed.