Rendu Support Thread

[gd0]

Thanks again guys.

 

Download PMW/JR and put a little time into it's set-up and configuration, if you find you can live with that GUI relative to your expectation in being an iTunes user, then perhaps you can move forward and consider the microRendu and network streaming as sonically superior to local playback. You would enable DLNA in PMW/JR for that purpose.

PMW/JR does appear to set up well enough for my purposes without inconvenience. I will try it strictly as a player for a while, namely to test its performance on my redbook + hi-res PCM library. If it matches BitPerfect performance, I'll hang with that for a while before considering uRendu.

 

I'm not wild about being connected to Pono, where I can obviously be monitored and solicited. Maybe hacked (I did receive a weird robot telephone call about some Microsoft something immediately after registering with Pono).

 

But I'm not wild about being connected to iTunes Store either, and I live with that I guess.

 

 

Hi gd0... I started out where you are now....

Thanks for your detailed post.

 

An aside: I tried HQPlayer, and while it was immediately seductive, after a while it started to feel like all the upsampling options were somehow steps away from the intended original audio signal; a little like the old-fashioned Loudness button on a receiver. Plus I need to stick with ALAC and its better ability to retain metadata. But that's just me.

 

I understand all the steps in your journey, and can see how your particular upgrade path works.

 

But for my purposes, I wonder if adding all those bits and pieces - and researching/experimenting with the variations therein - might be more effort than the result will justify. When a one-box hardware solution (with built-in power supply etc) might be be a more streamlined solution.

 

I guess that has much to do with sound quality, which is hard to qualify and express from one person to another. And with regard to this thread, how the uRendu itself performs.

 

Which still leaves me with the question: how does one describe or characterize the uRendu? Is it a player? Seems not. A renderer? Exactly what is it doing that makes it a discernible step up by adding it to PMW/JR?

[Nikko1960]

 

Which still leaves me with the question: how does one describe or characterize the uRendu? Is it a player? Seems not. A renderer? Exactly what is it doing that makes it a discernible step up by adding it to PMW/JR?

 

uRendu is not a player. Your player software is JRiver, or Roon, or one of many others. It runs on your iMac. Now you can connect your iMac directly to your DAC via a USB cable, but there will be lots of computer generated noise riding along with the music data. You might want (as I did) to insert a Regen device inline with the USB feed to re-clock & clean up the signal. Others have successfully used an Intona device (along with Regen devices) to isolate noise from the DAC. Also works well (apparently) although I didn't try this.

 

Or you can use a renderer, like the uRendu. *As far as I can tell*, (meaning this is an educated guess only) this combines the effects of an Intona device together with a Regen device in a single package. And, because it's been designed along minimalist lines, it reduces noise by eliminating all the things that you find in a general purpose computer that create noise but which aren't necessary for the dedicated purpose of music playback. And it apparently benefits from an ultra low noise power supply. For example, Sonore sell their own supply for 3x the price of the uRendu itself and those that have it, rave about it. I went down a less extravagant route and will report back in due course how effective it is.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Nikko

[kennyb123]

Superb write-up, thank you!

 

+1

[cat6man]

well, i've got something funky going on now.

 

background:

got my mRendu, set it up for mpd with wall wart from sonore battery and sound was great.

plan was then to try it as NAA with hqplayer.

could not get linux hqplayer to find NAA and dac/device on linux laptop.

could get hqplayer to find it with daughter's laptop running windows.

then today i find that hqplayer can find mRendu from my NUC based linux system (why? don't know)

 

so, here i am thinking i can do some NAA vs. mpd to see if NAA + hqplayer as the renderer sounds better than using mpd and mRendu as the renderer.

then i find no sound out of dac............dac syncs to data and shows proper data rates, but no sound.

after more experimentation, i find i cannot get sound of the mRendu even back in mpd mode.......again, data rates change on DAC but no sound.............same behavior for NAA and mpd modes.

 

i went back and forth between the mRendu and sms-100 to see that usb and ethernet wiring were not the cause and the sms-100 gives me sound but the mRendu does not.

 

the only thing i can think of is that i did an update on the mRendu when attempting to solve the hqplayer/NAA problem and that is all i can think of that changed between first getting the mRendu and now.

 

any ideas Jesus?

[cat6man]

uninstalled all packages, and reinstalled just mpd, sound is back

 

update: reinstalled hqplayer and now hqplayer and mRendu/NAA make music.

 

clearly something got corrupted somewhere, but i'm ok now and will test NAA vs. MPD sound this week with an audio buddy (4 ears are better than 2)

 

we now return you to your regularly scheduled program

 

cheers everyone

[Nikko1960]

P.S. Because of the weak GBP, if you're in the US, order a Chord Mojo from amazon.co.uk. Checkout using your US login, pay in USD and it's $460 including shipping—$139 cheaper than here in the US.

 

Ha. Unfortunately for me, I live in the UK so everything foreign has just become a lot more expensive. Luckily, I purchased the uRendu before Brexit so paid for it with the as-then strong pound. It's also one reason (other than product excellence) why I've subsequently purchased a LPS locally from Paul Haynes.

 

Nikko

 

ps - if anyone is interested, having tried the lot, I settled on the poly-sinc-shrt and ADSM7 filters/modulators within HQP.

[Topspin70]

I also have the issue of sonicorbiter not discovering the MR, and also never having the green light lit. Can you give some hints as to what was done to solve your issue?

 

We (mainly Jesus doing all the thinking) tried a couple of things and it turned out the SD card was simply not sitting properly in the slot. Powered off, eject the SD card, slot it back in, powered on, and voila! It showed up and beautiful music started flowing. I can't tear myself away from it, and it's getting better by the hour. Truly unbelievable SQ.

[macmarty]

Understood, but you did not answering my question. If you plug the unit into a router do you get a green LED to light up?

 

Would like to give feedback here. After returning the unit to Martin Smith, he figured out that the unit worked fine in his system. with a new unit already on the way, the asked me to check the power supply . so at the end I figured out the power supply is broken. as i received the new unit I used another power supply and after a few seconds the mR was ready to use.

 

Would like to thank Martin Smith for his help and can advise any European resident to give vortexbox.co.uk a try if you are looking for a mR to buy. The service is very good.

[firedog]

Would like to give feedback here. After returning the unit to Martin Smith, he figured out that the unit worked fine in his system. with a new unit already on the way, the asked me to check the power supply . so at the end I figured out the power supply is broken. as i received the new unit I used another power supply and after a few seconds the mR was ready to use.

 

Would like to thank Martin Smith for his help and can advise any European resident to give vortexbox.co.uk a try if you are looking for a mR to buy. The service is very good.

 

I had a similar problem with another component once - component seemed not to work properly (it did come on and looked okay), but the problem was a fault in the PS, which wan't obvious. Lesson: always try an alternate PS when mystified.

[adamaley]

We (mainly Jesus doing all the thinking) tried a couple of things and it turned out the SD card was simply not sitting properly in the slot. Powered off, eject the SD card, slot it back in, powered on, and voila! It showed up and beautiful music started flowing. I can't tear myself away from it, and it's getting better by the hour. Truly unbelievable SQ.

 

I will try this today when I get home. Thanks.

[Topspin70]

I will try this today when I get home. Thanks.

 

Give it more than one try. The first time I did it, nothing. But when Jesus suggested I try it, it worked. Think the contacts have to be perfectly aligned or something. Nearly went out to get better cables and router, etc. Luckily it turned out to be a simple fix.

[R1200CL]

Got my MR today here in Oslo. It will replace my SBT with EDO. Just need a quick advice. What is the best setup/configuration for the MR ? NAA is someting very new to me as an example.

Roon running on a Qnap TS-453-Pro, to the SBT. (Music files are on an external 2008R2, but is planned to be moved to Qnap). Using iPad to control. No USB DAC, so it will be connected to hiFace Evo SPDIF converter, with external clock.

 

I later may find out that this setup will not work, as I guess the hiFace need ASIO or some Kernel driver to work, but this can be discussed in an other post or even a separate thread with MR connected to USB/SPDIF converters if I run into trouble. I know Berkely works just fine.

 

I have a W7 HTPC, where I can run Roon. I may look into HQ-Player later, but I have no DSD files, nor a DSD DAC. And will probably never have. My DAC do 192/24. I use Tidal a lot, as I find the Tidal SQ better than my rips done correctly by EAC. Have some files bought from HD-Tracs.

 

Will HQ-Player in theory benefit me ? How ? Up-sample PCM to 96 or 192 ? (We assume for now my HTPC has the horsepower).

If I use HQ-Player, will I then have to use a different UI than Roon on my iPad ?

If i switch to HQ-Player, what is then the recommended setup for MR ?

 

Is the general advice to run Roon and HQ-Player on different HW, assuming you still would have enough power to just run both in one machine.

 

Is Linux or Windows (or OSX) the preferred OS when HQ-Player is part of the setup ?

 

If I have understood things correctly the HQ-Player needs a UI, so it can't be run headless. Since I'm running iPad, does this mean I have to use RDT / VLC to enjoy HQ-Player.

HQ-Player questions and integration with Roon I can continue in the thread where this is discussed, so just answer those items on a very basic level.

Maye there exist some sort of best practice or user guide (for dummies) for all these things I'm asking ?

Or maybe someone would like to do one ?

[adamaley]

Give it more than one try. The first time I did it, nothing. But when Jesus suggested I try it, it worked. Think the contacts have to be perfectly aligned or something. Nearly went out to get better cables and router, etc. Luckily it turned out to be a simple fix.

 

So, I got home, and the cables I had ordered (2x50ft CAT6, 5x7ft CAT6) had been delivered. This meant I was able to go directly from my router to the Microrendu about 30 ft away. I also replaced all cables with these shielded CAT6 cables. As soon as I plugged the new cable into the µRendu, the green light popped on for the first time ever. I had been using EOP to get to it up until now connected with random standard CAT5e cables laying around. HQPlayer was still not recognizing the µRendu, but a restart of the router as well as my PC made it all click together. Funnily enough, HQPlayer picks up the Mutec MC3+ USB rather than the µRendu, but it still works splendidly in Roon. All is well that ends well. Hopefully this helps someone else. Thanks for all the advise on here, fellas.

[orgel]

Will HQ-Player in theory benefit me ? How ? Up-sample PCM to 96 or 192 ? (We assume for now my HTPC has the horsepower).

 

This is a little off topic for this area, but I'll try to answer your questions briefly.

 

I think you could benefit from HQPlayer. In your position I would upsample everything to 192/24. However, to see if you really prefer the sound you get from HQP, you should download the trial and play around with it.

 

If I use HQ-Player, will I then have to use a different UI than Roon on my iPad ?

 

No, once you have things set up properly and to your liking in terms of filtering, etc., you can pretty much forget about HQP and use the Roon UI. Note that to be compatible with the Roon iOS app, you need to have an iPad Air 2 or later.

 

If i switch to HQ-Player, what is then the recommended setup for MR ?

 

If you use HQP, you would use the mR in NAA mode. With just Roon, you would use it in RoonReady mode.

 

Is the general advice to run Roon and HQ-Player on different HW, assuming you still would have enough power to just run both in one machine.

 

It depends on what you're doing with HQP. Since you'd only be upsampling to a maximum of 192/24, I think you'd likely be able to run both Roon and HQP on your Windows HTPC with no problems.

 

Is Linux or Windows (or OSX) the preferred OS when HQ-Player is part of the setup ?

 

I don't think it really matters. FWIW, HQP's developer (@Miska here on CA) develops in Linux primarily (I think). If you're upsampling to DSD512, you need to have Windows or Linux in the mix, but this isn't applicable in your case.

 

If I have understood things correctly the HQ-Player needs a UI, so it can't be run headless. Since I'm running iPad, does this mean I have to use RDT / VLC to enjoy HQ-Player.

 

You'd need some sort of monitor or remote-desktop app to set up HQP, but once you have Roon/HQP integration set up, you can run the Roon iOS app on your iPad and that should take care of all your playback needs.

 

Maye there exist some sort of best practice or user guide (for dummies) for all these things I'm asking ?

 

There's a lot about this on the Roon forums. See here, for example:

 

https://community.roonlabs.com/t/how-do-i-use-roon-and-hqplayer-together/5866

 

--David

[R1200CL]

Thanks David.

 

I think you have made it quite clear for me. I like the possibillity to set it and forget it

 

Yes have iPad Air 2.

 

I will keep Roon om my Qnap. And install HQPlayer on my HTPC.

 

I will ask more if needed in the HQPlayer thread.

[dcas71]

Hi,

I'm a newbie here and I'm thinking of switching my all in one player-dac-preamp setup to a microrendu-dac-preamp, so apologies if I'm asking questions already covered in the 16 pages. It seems that most people use microrendu with a PC/Mac/server, but I want to know if it can be used entirely without that as follows with only a NAS/DLNA server (currently miniDLNA but could change) and a control point running on Android (iphone/pad could also be an option):

 

- Can I setup and stream from Tidal using only microrendu and a control point?

- Can I do the same with Spotify?

- Anyone using microrendu with MiniDLNA running directly on NAS, or another DLNA server on NAS?

 

If all the above is possible, can I do all the setup without any PC/Mac and if so how?

[Brubacca]

Hi,

I'm a newbie here and I'm thinking of switching my all in one player-dac-preamp setup to a microrendu-dac-preamp, so apologies if I'm asking questions already covered in the 16 pages. It seems that most people use microrendu with a PC/Mac/server, but I want to know if it can be used entirely without that as follows with only a NAS/DLNA server (currently miniDLNA but could change) and a control point running on Android (iphone/pad could also be an option):

 

- Can I setup and stream from Tidal using only microrendu and a control point?

- Can I do the same with Spotify?

- Anyone using microrendu with MiniDLNA running directly on NAS, or another DLNA server on NAS?

 

If all the above is possible, can I do all the setup without any PC/Mac and if so how?

 

Let me preface by saying that my mR is being delivered today (hopefully). It should work as you have described (nas- mR - tablet). I have a Netgear NAS with miniDLNA and will test. I also can test Tidal.

In this scenario it would seem that the control app is what interfaces with Tidal/Spotify. If the app works then the service should work. In my case I am planning on testing the Lumin and Linn apps on my Android Tablet and iPhone.

 

Edit- Bubble Upnp Server needs to be setup on the mR to use the Lumin/Linn Apps.

[R1200CL]

Hi,

I'm a newbie here and I'm thinking of switching my all in one player-dac-preamp setup to a microrendu-dac-preamp, so apologies if I'm asking questions already covered in the 16 pages. It seems that most people use microrendu with a PC/Mac/server, but I want to know if it can be used entirely without that as follows with only a NAS/DLNA server (currently miniDLNA but could change) and a control point running on Android (iphone/pad could also be an option):

 

- Can I setup and stream from Tidal using only microrendu and a control point?

- Can I do the same with Spotify?

- Anyone using microrendu with MiniDLNA running directly on NAS, or another DLNA server on NAS?

 

If all the above is possible, can I do all the setup without any PC/Mac and if so how?

 

I have a Qnap TS-453-Pro. With Roon installed. Works great with Tidal and local rips.

Control point is iPad. (Or my iPhone)

I think even a Qnap HS-251 will work. I have a friend that will test this in a couple of week.

 

I think Spotify is nothing to consider at all ?

Then just buy a ChromeCast Audio, use it toslink output to you DAC.

 

Could you explain what you have of equipment ? Have Tidal Hifi ?

Any plan of using HQ-Player ? Or Roon ?

 

Also you may consider a NUC or Mac Mini if not yet have a NAS.

You may all ready have a PC, why not just start with that and use RDT from your control point what ever you are planning to use as control point.

 

How do you do things today ? Maybe you goal is to go headless ?

[dcas71]

Thanks Brubacca for the info. It looks like Bubble on the mR itself may give me what I need. With this running and the using Linn/Lumin app as a control point, I assume that mR will stream direct from Tidal, without any need for another media server in the house?

 

I have a Qnap TS-453-Pro. With Roon installed. Works great with Tidal and local rips.

Control point is iPad. (Or my iPhone)

I think even a Qnap HS-251 will work. I have a friend that will test this in a couple of week.

 

I think Spotify is nothing to consider at all 

Then just buy a ChromeCast Audio, use it toslink output to you DAC.

 

Could you explain what you have of equipment ? Have Tidal Hifi ?

Any plan of using HQ-Player ? Or Roon ?

 

Also you may consider a NUC or Mac Mini if not yet have a NAS.

You may all ready have a PC, why not just start with that and use RDT from your control point what ever you are planning to use as control point.

 

How do you do things today ? Maybe you goal is to go headless ?

 

I'm running a D-Link NAS with miniDLNA server installed - this has been working fine serving around 750gb worth of FLAC albums to my Naim streamer unit, so I would prefer not to change the NAS.

 

My other main source is Tidal HiFi, although I keep Spotify for the shared playlists and better discovery. But I guess maybe I can keep spotify for mobile use only in future.

 

Definitely the goal is to go not just headless but PC-less. Even if I get a standalone DAC and mR as a USB source, I don't want a PC/Mac involved in the chain - I work on a PC all day and don't want one in the lounge for controlling music, or to have to keep one switched elsewhere in the house just for serving music.

 

So the big question for me is can I introduce mR and a good DAC (maybe Schiit Gungnir or even an Yggdrasil), without losing the easy control and streaming service integration I get with a Unitiqute or Bluesound Node2. I considered Chromecast Audio, but based on users' impressions I think that mR would make far more sense with the level of DACs I'm looking at.

[vortecjr]

Thanks Brubacca for the info. It looks like Bubble on the mR itself may give me what I need. With this running and the using Linn/Lumin app as a control point, I assume that mR will stream direct from Tidal, without any need for another media server in the house?

 

 

 

I'm running a D-Link NAS with miniDLNA server installed - this has been working fine serving around 750gb worth of FLAC albums to my Naim streamer unit, so I would prefer not to change the NAS.

 

My other main source is Tidal HiFi, although I keep Spotify for the shared playlists and better discovery. But I guess maybe I can keep spotify for mobile use only in future.

 

Definitely the goal is to go not just headless but PC-less. Even if I get a standalone DAC and mR as a USB source, I don't want a PC/Mac involved in the chain - I work on a PC all day and don't want one in the lounge for controlling music, or to have to keep one switched elsewhere in the house just for serving music.

 

So the big question for me is can I introduce mR and a good DAC (maybe Schiit Gungnir or even an Yggdrasil), without losing the easy control and streaming service integration I get with a Unitiqute or Bluesound Node2. I considered Chromecast Audio, but based on users' impressions I think that mR would make far more sense with the level of DACs I'm looking at.

 

The unit can do what you need. Have a look at these resources:

 

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f26-sonore-sponsored/sonicorbiter-tidal-setup-openhome-28520/

http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f26-sonore-sponsored/sonicorbiter-digital-living-network-alliance-mpd-output-mode-27265/

[Evo-No-Revo]

I am having trouble myself getting HQP working. My first issue that I need to address is that I can't update.

 

Here is what I am getting when I try to update the MicroRendu.

 

Upgrade in progress...

 

07/26/2016 01:50:29 - Starting upgrade. (This can take a long time...)

 

07/26/2016 01:50:29 - Updating sonicorbiter packages...

Malformed lock file found: /var/cache/dnf/metadata_lock.pid.

Ensure no other dnf process is running and remove the lock file manually or run systemd-tmpfiles --remove dnf.conf.

07/26/2016 01:50:38 - Updating OS packages...

Malformed lock file found: /var/cache/dnf/metadata_lock.pid.

Ensure no other dnf process is running and remove the lock file manually or run systemd-tmpfiles --remove dnf.conf.

07/26/2016 01:50:42 - Error: dnf update failed. Check error messages and try to fix the problem.

Back to main menu

[vortecjr]

I am having trouble myself getting HQP working. My first issue that I need to address is that I can't update.

 

Here is what I am getting when I try to update the MicroRendu.

 

Upgrade in progress...

 

07/26/2016 01:50:29 - Starting upgrade. (This can take a long time...)

 

07/26/2016 01:50:29 - Updating sonicorbiter packages...

Malformed lock file found: /var/cache/dnf/metadata_lock.pid.

Ensure no other dnf process is running and remove the lock file manually or run systemd-tmpfiles --remove dnf.conf.

07/26/2016 01:50:38 - Updating OS packages...

Malformed lock file found: /var/cache/dnf/metadata_lock.pid.

Ensure no other dnf process is running and remove the lock file manually or run systemd-tmpfiles --remove dnf.conf.

07/26/2016 01:50:42 - Error: dnf update failed. Check error messages and try to fix the problem.

Back to main menu

How many times did you press the update button?

[Evo-No-Revo]

Three times over the evening.

[vortecjr]

Three times over the evening.

 

Sounds like one them was interrupted. Contact your retailer via email to continue with support off line.

[hornytoad]

Has anyone compared the audio quality of using Ethernet vs . say a Apple express connected wirelessly to your main router ?