Sonore ultraRendu v1.3

[gordec]

9 minutes ago, R1200CL said:

 

Where is your Roon ? And where is your HQPlayer ?

(located)

Both on the main PC.

[R1200CL]

13 minutes ago, gordec said:

Both on the main PC.

 

Windows PC ?

 

You mention HQPlayer embedded, but that’s a Linux SW. 

 

Anyway. You will have to test this. Roon RAAT vs HQPlayer NAA. 

There isn’t any final answer to your question. 

 

Many will suggest best combo is SonicTransporter with Roon and HQPlayer embedded installed. 

 

Your UltraRendu should in any case serve you well. It’s a very nice piece og HW. Remember to install latest SW on the Rendu. 

[GryphonGuy]

6 hours ago, gordec said:

Just bought the Ultra. Is the best possible sound quality using Roon -> HQPlayer -> then using HQ Player embedded option on the Rendu side?

 

I own a Chord DAVE DAC/pre-amp/headphone-amp. UltraRendu as a direct Roon endpoint into the DAVE produces the most transparent sounding music. HQPlayer, even in non-upscaling mode, does not allow low-level signals (like ambient sounds, or very soft instrument sounds in the mix) to be delivered to the DAVE, because simply removing HQPlayer from the processing, the DAVE renders those low level signals. DAVE's internal filtering and upscaling is superior to other software based upscalers in my experience. CD rips are particularly well rendered with Roon/DAVE via USB and the UltraRendu. As an aside, the uptone LPS-1.2 power supply and the Gotham GAC-4 DC cable enhances the blackness and separation of instruments without signal loss.

 

Regards

GG

[kyrill]

Hi GG

(noob question) Do you use a tablet or smartphone as a GUI to control  what to play? If yes what app?

If not how do you enter your playlist or enter yr library?

[barrows]

10 minutes ago, kyrill said:

Hi GG

(noob question) Do you use a tablet or smartphone as a GUI to control  what to play? If yes what app?

If not how do you enter your playlist or enter yr library?

If he is using ROON, then for sure he is using ROON remote for the control app. most likely on a tablet.

[kyrill]

thx I am in the setting up phase of the UltraRendu with an INtel NUC as server based on the o so many (different) real deep good advises in the thread

while having a moderate budget to make the best of it.

[GryphonGuy]

20 hours ago, kyrill said:

Hi GG

(noob question) Do you use a tablet or smartphone as a GUI to control  what to play? If yes what app?

If not how do you enter your playlist or enter yr library?

 

I have Roon Core on my Xeon-chipped Synology NAS and use Windows PC (usually laptop) as Roon controller. I have tried Roon on my Android phone but the screen is too small to be every-day useful for me.

 

Regards

GG

[gordec]

Just bought the Ultra.  I tried to connect it as HQP NAA and RoonReady. It was working fine for about 20 minute. Then it stopped working. 

 

The Ultra is connected via a TP Link switch. I see the Ultra on Sonicorbiter.com, and it's clearly connected to my network, but all possible modes Roon, HQP NAA, DLNA cannot be seen by the controlling player. 

[Account Closed]

3 hours ago, gordec said:

Just bought the Ultra.  I tried to connect it as HQP NAA and RoonReady. It was working fine for about 20 minute. Then it stopped working. 

 

The Ultra is connected via a TP Link switch. I see the Ultra on Sonicorbiter.com, and it's clearly connected to my network, but all possible modes Roon, HQP NAA, DLNA cannot be seen by the controlling player. 

I know this sounds quaint but try re-booting everything in the chain and I do mean everything including routers and switches. Then try one mode at a time starting with Roon Ready (RAAT). Remember that only the mode that is active at the time will show up to be controlled. The rest will not show while that mode is active. If you switch from mode to mode you may need to re-boot the uRendu. If using DLNA/MPD there are settings that need to be configured and a UPNP server must be active (BubbleUPNP is one) on your network. Please search this forum and you will get many posts for each possible scenario. Hope this helps. You can also ask Jesus R (Sonore) for help.

[gordec]

6 minutes ago, bobflood said:

I know this sounds quaint but try re-booting everything in the chain and I do mean everything including routers and switches. Then try one mode at a time starting with Roon Ready (RAAT). Remember that only the mode that is active at the time will show up to be controlled. The rest will not show while that mode is active. If you switch from mode to mode you may need to re-boot the uRendu. If using DLNA/MPD there are settings that need to be configured and a UPNP server must be active (BubbleUPNP is one) on your network. Please search this forum and you will get many posts for each possible scenario. Hope this helps. You can also ask Jesus R (Sonore) for help.

 

Thanks. Actually removing network bridge seems to have done the trick I can even switch modes without rebooting the rendu. 

[GryphonGuy]

22 hours ago, gordec said:

 

Thanks. Actually removing network bridge seems to have done the trick I can even switch modes without rebooting the rendu. 

 

Ahh YES. I had the same issue. If you bridge consumer-level wireless routers, you have to have Roon core, its controller and your endpoint on the same switch even if the network addresses are on the same subnet. Whatever the discovery protocols are, they are clearly not transported across a consumer-level wireless network bridge.

 

GG

[jamesg11]

Having another of my periodic issues with HQP into Roon ... often happens after the system has been unused for several weeks, as now.

Got a “ playback failed because couldn’t connect to hqplayer” in Roon. This finally got sorted (not exactly sure how) - now Roon remote indicates it is playing & HQP is upsampling but the player bar is not advancing & no sound.

 

Had this before & was not at all sure what fixed it! Thoughts?

[vortecjr]

4 hours ago, jamesg11 said:

Having another of my periodic issues with HQP into Roon ... often happens after the system has been unused for several weeks, as now.

Got a “ playback failed because couldn’t connect to hqplayer” in Roon. This finally got sorted (not exactly sure how) - now Roon remote indicates it is playing & HQP is upsampling but the player bar is not advancing & no sound.

 

Had this before & was not at all sure what fixed it! Thoughts?

Issue number does not appear to be related to the ultraRendu.

For the playback issue go to Apps / DAC Diagnostics and look for any errors. If you see an error power cycle the DAC. 

[mtcs]

Quote

9 hours ago, jamesg11 said:

Having another of my periodic issues with HQP into Roon ... often happens after the system has been unused for several weeks, as now.

Got a “ playback failed because couldn’t connect to hqplayer” in Roon. This finally got sorted (not exactly sure how) - now Roon remote indicates it is playing & HQP is upsampling but the player bar is not advancing & no sound.

 

Had this before & was not at all sure what fixed it! Thoughts?

 

Regarding your initial problem of not connecting to HQP, this happens to me a lot. I have a SonicTransporter w/HQP feeding an UltraRendu. I simply reboot the UR and restart HQP then reboot the ST. The problem goes away. You may want to try this for your current problem and see if it helps.

[Barton]

I feel my setup (ST>UR>DAC) with Roon has become more and more unstable over time. It crashes twice a week now. All software is up to date and no equipment changes have been made since the Ur was released. Usually resetting the Ur fixes the problem for a while, but sometimes a hard reset of the Sonictransporter is required as well. Symptoms vary, sometimes tracks skip from one the next rapidly, other times the Ur just drops out from Roon altogether. One computer used as a Roon remote (I have several and multiple phones connected) now shows tracks playing but cannot direct what is playing despite multiple restarts.

 

Sound quality is still phenomenal. Anyone else? 

[vortecjr]

Please update the unit again and wait for the Back to Main Menu link. Then reboot the unit.

 

Roon and HQ Player streaming to a Rendu needs a pre-start check list. First, I would go to Apps / DAC Diagnostics and make sure your DAC is listed and that there are no errors. If it's not listed or there is an error power cycle your DAC. You can also go to Apps / App Switcher and click on NAA instead of rebooting the unit. Then from HQ Player select the Rendu as the output.

[gordec]

I have been using uR for 1 week now. My chain is Win10 PC->Network Switch-> uR (Uptone JS2)-> Pro iDSD (Uptone JS2).

 

I have tried Roon only, Roon with HQP NAA, and Jriver DLNA. uR has been rock solid without dropping a beat with any file format I through at it. Never had to reboot. 

 

Overall sound quality is very, very good, but interestingly direct network streaming to Pro iDSD sounds just slightly better. However Pro iDSD tend to have intermittent stutters and hangup especially with DSD likely due to buffer issues. Also it only supports Airplay and DLNA. Either way, my take home message is that a great network player where it takes accepts ethernet directly with well implemented DAC section may provide the best SQ by reducing the length of the audio chain.

[lwr]

2 hours ago, gordec said:

I have been using uR for 1 week now. My chain is Win10 PC->Network Switch-> uR (Uptone JS2)-> Pro iDSD (Uptone JS2).

 

I have tried Roon only, Roon with HQP NAA, and Jriver DLNA. uR has been rock solid without dropping a beat with any file format I through at it. Never had to reboot. 

 

Overall sound quality is very, very good, but interestingly direct network streaming to Pro iDSD sounds just slightly better. However Pro iDSD tend to have intermittent stutters and hangup especially with DSD likely due to buffer issues. Also it only supports Airplay and DLNA. Either way, my take home message is that a great network player where it takes accepts ethernet directly with well implemented DAC section may provide the best SQ by reducing the length of the audio chain.

What cables to and from the UltraRendu are you using?  What power supply are you using for the UltraRendu?

[gordec]

21 minutes ago, lwr said:

What cables to and from the UltraRendu are you using?  What power supply are you using for the UltraRendu?

Using Wireworld Platinum Starlight USB and Uptone JS2 @ 7V. I haven't tried 9 V. I know uR can take 9V. Not sure that would change anything.

 

If they is anything else I can change, I would love to try them all. I really like uR as a streamer. It's rock solid. Never skips or stutters with all rendering endpoints and bitrates. Even if I can hear 5-10% improvement from Pro iDSD's own Ethernet port, I'm keeping it. 

[lwr]

2 hours ago, gordec said:

I have been using uR for 1 week now. My chain is Win10 PC->Network Switch-> uR (Uptone JS2)-> Pro iDSD (Uptone JS2).

 

I have tried Roon only, Roon with HQP NAA, and Jriver DLNA. uR has been rock solid without dropping a beat with any file format I through at it. Never had to reboot. 

 

Overall sound quality is very, very good, but interestingly direct network streaming to Pro iDSD sounds just slightly better. However Pro iDSD tend to have intermittent stutters and hangup especially with DSD likely due to buffer issues. Also it only supports Airplay and DLNA. Either way, my take home message is that a great network player where it takes accepts ethernet directly with well implemented DAC section may provide the best SQ by reducing the length of the audio chain.

I have found that using the UpTone USPCB A>B adapter from the UltraRendu to the DAC  sounds much better than using a usb cable.

 

Bridging the network outputs of you Win 10 PC rather than going directly to the UltraRendu, as opposed to going through the switch, is another improvement.

 

i have a JS-2 too, but I find that using the LPS 1.2 to power the UltraRendu is well worth the investment.

 

YMMV

 

[lwr]

31 minutes ago, gordec said:

Using Wireworld Platinum Starlight USB and Uptone JS2 @ 7V. I haven't tried 9 V. I know uR can take 9V. Not sure that would change anything.

 

If they is anything else I can change, I would love to try them all. I really like uR as a streamer. It's rock solid. Never skips or stutters with all rendering endpoints and bitrates. Even if I can hear 5-10% improvement from Pro iDSD's own Ethernet port, I'm keeping it. 

In my system, the Starlight cable came across with an added emphasis on the highs that, while impressive at first, began to sound overly etched and fatiguing in the long run. YMMV

 

 Running the UltraRendu on 9V will only result in its internal voltage regulators having to dissipate the extra 2V as heat.  It will not improve the SQ

 

 

[jamesg11]

On 3/1/2019 at 10:36 PM, vortecjr said:

Issue number does not appear to be related to the ultraRendu.

For the playback issue go to Apps / DAC Diagnostics and look for any errors. If you see an error power cycle the DAC. 

My suspicion is that the ifi micro idsd dac is problematic - numerous times the urendu shutdown soon after turning on the idsd dac. The well known current draw issue I suppose.

Eventually got roon-hqp playing, then after about 2 hours suddenly the urendu shut down ie lights out.

(js-2, 12V > lps-1, 7V > urendu > curious usb > idsd dac > preamp)

[asdf1000]

20 minutes ago, jamesg11 said:

The well known current draw issue I suppose.

 

A good way to test if it's that, use the JS-2 @ 7Vdc to power the Rendu directly, for a week or so, and then report back.

 

[jamesg11]

42 minutes ago, Em2016 said:

 

A good way to test if it's that, use the JS-2 @ 7Vdc to power the Rendu directly, for a week or so, and then report back.

 

Yes, had considered that - & now you’ve convinced me to try that!

It’s also about time I went to another dac ...

[vortecjr]

58 minutes ago, Em2016 said:

 

A good way to test if it's that, use the JS-2 @ 7Vdc to power the Rendu directly, for a week or so, and then report back.

 

My thoughts exactly.