Ianmac Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 I built my Caps 3 to replace my Caps 2. which replaced a early streamer and SBox. I used Chris's design adding a PP usb card and an SSD storing my music files. The Caps MB was fed from a good quality 12v LPS with the PP USB card and SSD fed from separate 5v LPS. It has served me well. I ventured into vinyl last year heavily modifying a Technics1200 and building a DCT phono pre. The return to analogue highlighted the shortfall in my digital system - a tiring sound with a lack of fine detail, highlighted in piano and violin pieces. My initial reaction was to try something else so I organised an Aires with LPS and found this not as good as my CAPS 3. My next move was to try some tweaks to Windows so bought Fidelizer. This did yield an improvement and I have been running it for about a year. It tells me Windows is not perhaps the best software for my purpose. Im running headless and finding Windows upgrades a continual nusiance. At the time I started venturing into Vinyl again a friend told me of a company in Switzerland ( www.engineered.ch their MNR board) who make a variety of digital audio boards for other equipment manufacturers and sell one or two with evaluation boards for DIY - a bit like Hypex with their amps. Two months ago he send me his own DIY engineered.ch carded unit to play with. I was hooked at first listen, using 24/96 files from the LINN library I heard crystal clear piano and violins, I was a bit gobsmacked, this unit was producing the closest to analogue sound I had heard from any digital source Ive used on my system. I downloaded the tech info on the engineered site, located their NMR renderer and looked at what was required to get it up and running as a unit. Ordered their NMR card( 420 Swiss Francs, worked out at about £ 350 into the UK with carriage and Duty paid ). It needs a 3.3v 450-750 ma power supply, a coaxial connector Cinch or Molex SMB to BNC, from board to case and a case itself. Built the unit and put it to a full evaluation. The whole family, young ears and older, prefered the NMR to any of my older streaming gear. I decide on a full switch to NMR on both my systems. Ordered a second board and built it into a 1u half rack to match my Benchmark DACs All my CAPS and tweaked SB touch are now redundant. Im running JRiver on my NAS which is WHS based, the two NMR renderers on my nework talk to JRiver via J Remote on an old i pad and i pod. If anyone is considering a change to their digital streaming system and can do a little DIY I would suggest they take a close look at this extremely well designed board. For a little over £500 one can get a renderer that will outperform units costing much much more on the open market. Im not saying its beter than brand X or Y just to my ears its the closest Ive heard to analogue to date. Ill try and post some photos. Gavin1977 1 Ianmac Engineered.ch NMR renderer/ JRiver/Benchmark DAC2HGC/Hypex Ncore/ ATC scm40. Link to comment
One and a half Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 Fascinating AS Profile Equipment List Say NO to MQA Link to comment
nbpf Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 Thanks, very interesting! Could you further specify which power supply, connector to BNC and case you have used with the NRM interface? Thanks, nbpf Link to comment
DuckToller Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 @lanmac Thank you for sharing the information. The board looks quite interesting, just ... it is only DSD128, which might reduce the usage to a second system for some. I am aware that DSD512 is difficult to archieve at this point due to the necessary computing power, just think it is a trigger for future usage. Does @wisnon from Switzerland know a little bit more about this company and their products ? Their NMR could be an enhancement to some JOB products, I could imagine ... Cheers, Tom Link to comment
chauphuong Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 Hi @lanmac, where can the board be installed? Please show your pictures. Thanks for the interesting info. Link to comment
trung224 Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 @chauphuong: From what I see in their website, you need to buy a NMR module and the MRMOD module and a 3.3V PSU to form a complete digital transport https://www.engineered.ch/products/nmr/#cc-m-product-12915261822 Link to comment
chauphuong Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 3 hours ago, trung224 said: @chauphuong: From what I see in their website, you need to buy a NMR module and the MRMOD module and a 3.3V PSU to form a complete digital transport https://www.engineered.ch/products/nmr/#cc-m-product-12915261822 Haha seems a fortune to me. Get back to Pi 3x+DigiOne nirvana... Link to comment
Ianmac Posted April 24, 2018 Author Share Posted April 24, 2018 @chauphuongThe NMR board comes complete with the MRMOD card installed on it. You need a 3.3v PSU. I built my own PSU and case to match my Benchmark DAC. @nbpf, as above I built my own 3.3v supply I could not find an off the shelf unit from any of the main UK electronic component suppliers ( RS and Farnell) that met my requirements. If you download the data sheet on the NMR page 12 gives you a list of the Cinch connectors that fit the on board socket. Cinch UK were not helpful so I used a molex equivalent from Farnell- SMB right angle plug 75 ohm Molex 73100-0256. My case output was a 75 Ohm BNC jack to jack insulated from chassis- Neutrik NBB75F1. I bought 75 ohn BNC to BNC RG179 cable on ebay. Cut the length I need with one BNC connected and fitted the Molex to the other. Molex plugged into the card and BNC on the inside case end of the BNC jack to jack.I use a 75 ohm BNC to 75 ohm RCA for connection between the MDR and my DAC. This provides a completely co axial path with no connection to chassis. A case is very much a personal preference or two small cases one PSU one NMR. I used a Hammond 1455T220-1-104LF for my first NMR this is aluminium with a slide off top for access. Ive tried to post photos from my imgur album but so far have failed, probably Finger trouble on my part but cant find a sticky on the forum telling me the correct procedure. Ianmac Engineered.ch NMR renderer/ JRiver/Benchmark DAC2HGC/Hypex Ncore/ ATC scm40. Link to comment
trung224 Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 2 hours ago, chauphuong said: Haha seems a fortune to me. Get back to Pi 3x+DigiOne nirvana... I have made a contact with engineered.ch. They said that the MRMOD module is included with NMR interface, so we only need to buy a NMR interface. Sorry for my mistake Link to comment
nbpf Posted April 24, 2018 Share Posted April 24, 2018 @Ianmac Thanks for the details! Best, nbpf Link to comment
RickyV Posted May 6, 2018 Share Posted May 6, 2018 On 24-4-2018 at 2:35 PM, Ianmac said: @chauphuongThe NMR board comes complete with the MRMOD card installed on it. You need a 3.3v PSU. I built my own PSU and case to match my Benchmark DAC. @nbpf, as above I built my own 3.3v supply I could not find an off the shelf unit from any of the main UK electronic component suppliers ( RS and Farnell) that met my requirements. If you download the data sheet on the NMR page 12 gives you a list of the Cinch connectors that fit the on board socket. Cinch UK were not helpful so I used a molex equivalent from Farnell- SMB right angle plug 75 ohm Molex 73100-0256. My case output was a 75 Ohm BNC jack to jack insulated from chassis- Neutrik NBB75F1. I bought 75 ohn BNC to BNC RG179 cable on ebay. Cut the length I need with one BNC connected and fitted the Molex to the other. Molex plugged into the card and BNC on the inside case end of the BNC jack to jack.I use a 75 ohm BNC to 75 ohm RCA for connection between the MDR and my DAC. This provides a completely co axial path with no connection to chassis. A case is very much a personal preference or two small cases one PSU one NMR. I used a Hammond 1455T220-1-104LF for my first NMR this is aluminium with a slide off top for access. Ive tried to post photos from my imgur album but so far have failed, probably Finger trouble on my part but cant find a sticky on the forum telling me the correct procedure. Do you have some pictures, like to see them. Meitner ma1 v2 dac, Sovereign preamp and power amp, DIY speakers, scan speak illuminator. Raal Requisite VM-1a -> SR-1a with Accurate Sound convolution. Under development: NUC7i7dnbe, Euphony Stylus, Qobuz. Modded Buffalo-fiber-EtherRegen, DC3- Isoregen, Lush^2 Link to comment
Popular Post Ianmac Posted May 9, 2018 Author Popular Post Share Posted May 9, 2018 I have pics but trying to download them into the forum has proved to be problematic and i havent as yet found a sticky that tells one the correct procedure Ill try again --Success! The aboves shows the NMR card top left. Regulator bottom left Linear supply on the right. This is built into a half rack width unit to match my Benchmark DAC as per the top photo. I built my first unit into a hammond case. look&listen and LTG2010 2 Ianmac Engineered.ch NMR renderer/ JRiver/Benchmark DAC2HGC/Hypex Ncore/ ATC scm40. Link to comment
barrows Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 @Ianmac, I would recommend adding one small (around .1 µF) ceramic capacitor in one of the locations: C1, C2, C34, or C35, and making sure the stand off at that position is continuous with the chassis. This grounds the NMR board at high frequencies. Note also that the NMR will pass through DoP for those who have DACs which accept DoP on SPDIF (there are a few) and in set ups where you can tell the playback software to send DoP (like Minimserver). So with some DACs you can get DSD playback to work. Anyone who is handy at SMD soldering could also upgrade the onboard clocks for better performance. SO/ROON/HQPe: DSD 512-Sonore opticalModuleDeluxe-Signature Rendu optical with Well Tempered Clock--DIY DSC-2 DAC with SC Pure Clock--DIY Purifi Amplifier-Focus Audio FS888 speakers-JL E 112 sub-Nordost Tyr USB, DIY EventHorizon AC cables, Iconoclast XLR & speaker cables, Synergistic Purple Fuses, Spacetime system clarifiers. ISOAcoustics Oreas footers. SONORE computer audio | opticalRendu | ultraRendu | microRendu | Signature Rendu SE | Accessories | Software | Link to comment
Ianmac Posted May 9, 2018 Author Share Posted May 9, 2018 Thanks for the feedback Will add the decoupling ceramic. Ianmac Engineered.ch NMR renderer/ JRiver/Benchmark DAC2HGC/Hypex Ncore/ ATC scm40. Link to comment
maro73 Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 Hello I am a friend of Ian , and an admirer of his craft , and scientific approach of HIFI I still own the RENDERER that Ian built I have tried it against the Auralis Aries , Aurender N100 h , Melco N1A , Lumin U1 Well , I sold the Aries Femto And the thing is that this card had one problem : Software was lacking in IOS Now , with BubbleuPNP server , you can set the renderer tp OPENHOME , and thus use the Lumin app to control it With the MelcoN1a , it plays in the same league as the Aurender N100 H .. Not it's a question of budget Soon ,I'll get rid of the Aurender too Cheers Link to comment
seeteeyou Posted November 1, 2019 Share Posted November 1, 2019 Is this new model another winner? https://www.engineered.ch/products/ered-dock/ Link to comment
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