Sonore ultraRendu v1.3

[left channel]

2 hours ago, Charente said:

@left channel ... not sure if this helps, but I spotted this on Qobuz's website 

 

http://www.qobuz.com/FR-fr/info/Hi-Fi/Bancs-d-essai/Tutoriel-Logitech-Media-Server179701

 

In French but you could run it through Google Translate (sort of !).

 

1 hour ago, rlow said:

 

I think it would be the same as Tidal, except whatever software you use to login and control playback, you simply log into Qobuz instead.

 

For instance I use BubbleUPNP for Android, and the same spot I can enable Tidal, also has an option to sign in to Qobuz right above it.

 

 

Thanks @Charente! That article was only posted just over one week ago. Chrome's built-in Translate did the trick. (I regret to say I've studied only Spanish and Mandarin.) What I needed was one little secret buried in there. It is not in the App Gallery, but it can be added elsewhere. @rlow I don't know BubbleUPnP, but it is the same as Tidal in LMS except it requires a somewhat unofficial third-party plug-in hidden deep inside the Settings > Plugins tab.

 

I am now streaming hi-res Qobuz tracks from LMS. The interface is certainly not Qobuz or Roon, but I'm getting most of my money's worth. Very happy. I already had Tidal HiFi working in LMS. If I want MQA I don't think that can be done even with LMS bit perfect tweaks, but I'll poke around.

 

The above experiment was performed on a microJukebox, but I now feel better about ordering an ultraRendu. Thank you.

[left channel]

[Dupe. Oops.]

[rlow]

1 hour ago, left channel said:

 

 

 

Thanks @Charente! That article was only posted just over one week ago. Chrome's built-in Translate did the trick. (I regret to say I've studied only Spanish and Mandarin.) What I needed was one little secret buried in there. It is not in the App Gallery, but it can be added elsewhere. @rlow I don't know BubbleUPnP, but it is the same as Tidal in LMS except it requires a somewhat unofficial third-party plug-in hidden deep inside the Settings > Plugins tab.

 

I am now streaming hi-res Qobuz tracks from LMS. The interface is certainly not Qobuz or Roon, but I'm getting most of my money's worth. Very happy. I already had Tidal HiFi working in LMS. If I want MQA I don't think that can be done even with LMS bit perfect tweaks, but I'll poke around.

 

The above experiment was performed on a microJukebox, but I now feel better about ordering an ultraRendu. Thank you.

 

BubbleUPNP is if you run DNLA output mode, plus the BubbleUPNP server plugin app from within Sonicorbiter and configure as an "OpenHome renderer". BubbleUPNP actually has an excellent interface IMO, but again, is Android only.

[j3294]

what are the alternatives for iOS?

 

[rickca]

3 minutes ago, j3294 said:

what are the alternatives for iOS?

 

I like the Lumin app on IOS.  I've never been able to get Kazoo to work with a microRendu.

[Dougster]

Strongly recommend Audirvana on MacBook controlled by Audirvana remote app on IOS on iPad. Tidal and Qobuz are integrated and this allows playing of MQA from Tidal.

 

The UR can also play with

iPeng on IOS using App Switcher and selecting  LMS to control/access local/Qobuz/Tidal. But this does not include MQA - this due to Tidal MQA being implemented so far only on desktop/PC platform.

 

Overall I use  iPeng and UR set to LMS to give best quality to my best DAC of non MQA, and play MQA via Audirvana remote on my IPad from my MacBook through Meridian Explorer².  The Meridian is only £99 these days!!

iOS 11 allows easy iPad switching/ swiping between the two control apps and of course access to wiki, gramophone, record reviews. I select the relevant DAC input via my preamp.No need for Roon for me and that gives you the funds for MQA Dac Sorted!

[Speed Racer]

Roon is so much nicer than A+......once I used Roon, there was no going back to A+. Roon is much more polished, has a superior user interface, and the zones feature is incredible. Roon actually provides support...they don't go dark for weeks at a time. I couldn't pay for my Roon Lifetime Subscription fast enough!

[Dougster]

Chacun a son gout mon ami! I don’t have zones and prefer to spend my money on music and equipment, my priorities. Thought my unorthodox approach might be of interest and show an alternative... and produce some reactions! Cheers.

[nbpf]

16 hours ago, left channel said:

The product description says "Supports Tidal and Qobuz lossless streaming in Squeezelite output mode and DLNA output mode" but there are not configuration details on the online user manual page. Anyone care to share setup details? Qobuz in particular, as we can't use Roon to make that one easier, but Tidal setup for this mode would also be a good example.

I do not know Sonicorbiter but a very straightforward way of setting up Tidal and Qobuz in DLNA/UPnP streaming mode on Debian/Raspbian system is via upmpdcli. If the uR supports installing upmpdcli (see https://www.lesbonscomptes.com/upmpdcli/), all you have to do is to type in your Tidal and/or Qobuz credential in the upmpdcli configuration file. I have been using upmpdcli for more than two years and it works flawlessly. It is possible that Sonicorbiter implements a different mechanism, of course. Perhaps Sonore can provide a pointer to some documentation?

[left channel]

15 hours ago, rlow said:

 

BubbleUPNP is if you run DNLA output mode, plus the BubbleUPNP server plugin app from within Sonicorbiter and configure as an "OpenHome renderer". BubbleUPNP actually has an excellent interface IMO, but again, is Android only.

 

Thanks, I appreciate BubbleUPnP and did try it briefly with the same server and that Android app, but I like using Squeezer for Android to control the LMS server. The Windows LMS interface, not so much. Roon is still going to be hard to resist, and I'm sure we would get what we pay for. Resistance is futile? :-)

[left channel]

3 hours ago, nbpf said:

I do not know Sonicorbiter but a very straightforward way of setting up Tidal and Qobuz in DLNA/UPnP streaming mode on Debian/Raspbian system is via upmpdcli. If the uR supports installing upmpdcli (see https://www.lesbonscomptes.com/upmpdcli/), all you have to do is to type in your Tidal and/or Qobuz credential in the upmpdcli configuration file. I have been using upmpdcli for more than two years and it works flawlessly. It is possible that Sonicorbiter implements a different mechanism, of course. Perhaps Sonore can provide a pointer to some documentation?

 

Thanks, that's very interesting too. But I'm all set now, as you'll see in my previous post. Turns out there is a third-party Qobuz plugin for LMS (which had to be installed manually from the volunteer dev's website until a very recent LMS update). It is now distributed with LMS, but hidden deep inside LMS settings instead of the usual App Gallery.

[rlow]

10 hours ago, Speed Racer said:

Roon is so much nicer than A+......once I used Roon, there was no going back to A+. Roon is much more polished, has a superior user interface, and the zones feature is incredible. Roon actually provides support...they don't go dark for weeks at a time. I couldn't pay for my Roon Lifetime Subscription fast enough!

 

I think Roon is the acknowledged leader at this point, it's just the price point that people balk at, but of course it's all relative to the state of your audio priorities and your bank account.

 

I've been contemplating Roon for a while not just for interface, but really for it's music discovery features - it's rich metadata appears to be a real competitive advantage that other software/servers would be pretty hard pressed to ever match.

 

Now back to the ultraRendu.

 

Mine finally came today (Black Friday bundle with the Sbooster power supply)! Currently warming up with Natalie Merchant on repeat :-)

 

More to come.

[rlow]

Anyone have any thoughts on optimal "burn-in" time for the ultraRendu,  and/or the amount of powered-on time it needs to achieve thermal/clock stability to have it sound optimal? Maybe people don't think this is really a thing with the uR, like some DACs and other equipment?

[Speed Racer]

I leave my ultraRendu on all the time. It should burn-in within 100 hours but mine sounded great right away. It got a little better after 10 hours. But then I put a new USB cable into play and shortly after that a new LPS to replace the iFi SMPS. Now it sounds quite sublime. 

[asdf1000]

Hi JR @vortecjr

 

Do you know if the new Pro-Ject Pre Digital S2 DAC works at both DSD512 and PCM768kHz with the micro/ultraRendu ?

 

http://www.box-designs.com/main.php?prod=preboxs2digital&cat=s2-line&lang=en

 

[Dougster]

Agree fully with SR’s reply, mine on all the time too, and remains stable ready for instant music!

[vortecjr]

9 hours ago, Em2016 said:

Hi JR @vortecjr

 

Do you know if the new Pro-Ject Pre Digital S2 DAC works at both DSD512 and PCM768kHz with the micro/ultraRendu ?

 

http://www.box-designs.com/main.php?prod=preboxs2digital&cat=s2-line&lang=en

 

It's hard to say what the limitations are with that devices. The only way to know is to see the DAC Diagnostics and to try it. I would expect some issues. 

[rlow]

11 hours ago, Speed Racer said:

I leave my ultraRendu on all the time. It should burn-in within 100 hours but mine sounded great right away. It got a little better after 10 hours. But then I put a new USB cable into play and shortly after that a new LPS to replace the iFi SMPS. Now it sounds quite sublime. 

 

3 hours ago, Dougster said:

Agree fully with SR’s reply, mine on all the time too, and remains stable ready for instant music!

 

Yep, sorry I wasn't clear. I do leave mine on all the time as well (just moving from the mR up to the uR, uR arrived yesterday) and just wondering how long people thought it might take to break-in and reach clock stability as well.

 

No reason to power off the Rendus, as I don't think they use much power anyhow, and likely not much when not streaming.

 

Plus, as you say, who wants to wait when they have a hankerin' for some tunes

[R1200CL]

On 7.12.2017 at 11:32 AM, Dougster said:

Chacun a son gout mon ami! I don’t have zones and prefer to spend my money on music and equipment, my priorities. Thought my unorthodox approach might be of interest and show an alternative... and produce some reactions! Cheers.

 

You should really try Roon.  And you can do all your switching inside the Roon feature named Zones. You will get a free 2 months trail here:

 

 

[Dougster]

3 hours ago, R1200CL said:

 

You should really try Roon.  And you can do all your switching inside the Roon feature named Zones. You will get a free 2 months trail here:

 

That is very kind indeed,thanks. I feel duty bound to reciprocate your support by giving it a good try. I shall report back. The video esp shots of its functionality have convinced me to make the effort. Successfully downloaded and 2 months free trial basis established!

 

listening to Tatiana Nikolaeva playing Shostakovich at the mo’

 

best wishes, Bruce

[left channel]

22 hours ago, Em2016 said:

Hi JR @vortecjr

 

Do you know if the new Pro-Ject Pre Digital S2 DAC works at both DSD512 and PCM768kHz with the micro/ultraRendu ?

 

http://www.box-designs.com/main.php?prod=preboxs2digital&cat=s2-line&lang=en

 

 

13 hours ago, vortecjr said:

It's hard to say what the limitations are with that device. The only way to know is to see the DAC Diagnostics and to try it. I would expect some issues. 

 

I don't have my ultraRendu yet, but here's the same thing from a microJukebox. As far as I can tell the features are in there. I have played DSD256 (DoP) and of course 24/192. It's getting a player to provide higher DSD or PCM that would be the challenge. Try HQPlayer.

 

 

 

[asdf1000]

6 minutes ago, left channel said:

It's getting a player to provide higher DSD or PCM that would be the challenge. Try HQPlayer.

 

Hi again! Many thanks.

 

I have Roon which had no issues up-sampling to DSD512 from ultraRendu to an iFi micro iDSD Black Label, so Roon is fine as a player.

 

Your screenshot answers my question about PCM768kHz so I can cross that off the list.

 

I now just need clarification that Native DSD512 isn't an issue, from the micro/Rendu. It's obviously fine with Windows.

 

Hard to know until someone gets it in hand though.

 

[left channel]

@Em2016 glad to help once again. The Pro-Ject only supports DoP; I don't know if that will be an issue for you. I've never ventured into the stratosphere for those numbers.

[asdf1000]

8 minutes ago, left channel said:

@Em2016 glad to help once again. The Pro-Ject only supports DoP; I don't know if that will be an issue for you. I've never ventured into the stratosphere for those numbers.

 

LOL. Oh I didn't pick up on DSD12 only being DoP but I should have - it's mentioned on the product page.

 

Hmmm I am confused (as usual) - native DSD512 generally needs PCM768kHz equivalent bandwidth.

 

DSD256 via  DoP 'rides' PCM768kHz.

 

So if this DAC supports DSD512 via DoP it would need to 'ride' PCM1536kHz (768 x 2).

 

Maybe a query for Pro-Ject Support about DSD512 support?

 

Edit: I wrongly used 768 instead of 705.6 and 1536 instead of 1411.2. But the same query applies.

[barrows]

6 minutes ago, left channel said:

@Em2016 glad to help once again. The Pro-Ject only supports DoP; I don't know if that will be an issue for you. I've never ventured into the stratosphere for those numbers.

If it is DoP only then the max rate will be DSD256.  As 705.6 PCM is required for DSD256 via DoP, and 1411.2 PCM would be required for DSD512 via DoP... Unless it can actually handle 1411.2 PCM!