Rendu Support Thread

[ericuco]

I'm also wondering, can I use the Rendu on a PC setup without a NAS. Would a USB to Ethernet adaptor work? I love the idea of the Rendu but not setting up a NAS. I have a WD mycloud. But I don't feel its in the same league as a true NAS ie. Synology or the like.

 

You seem to be missing the point of the microRendu. You need another computer (e.g. server, NAS, etc.) in your setup that works as the player and sends the output via Ethernet to the microRendu. So your music files need to be connected to this other computer by whatever means (e.g. external USB HDD, NAS, etc.).

 

One example is the new sonicTransporter

[ericuco]

I have several PC's throughout the house all running Jriver as slaves?/client. All my music is stored on the PC and various external hard drives. I do get the sonicTransporter is one way of doing things. I was hoping to find or cheat my way without a NAS. I'm sure I could figure out how to set up a NAS drive but my computer skills suck. I've learned a ton from this site though. I will be moving to a Roon/Tidal set up soon. I can always start with Roon/Tidal and then over time change to a Ethernet connection. The Rendu has so many unique features. It's the reason after 5 years non violent trolling on this site, I've decided to subscribe.

 

Thanks for your response

 

If you get a NAS from Synology, they have a pretty decent UI so it is not difficult in setting up. Once you setup the NAS, you can find the NAS on your network using Windows Explorer (assuming Windows OS). At that point simply move (or copy) music files to the NAS.

 

There are similar NAS companies but I am only familiar with Synology.

 

Bottom line: NAS units are REALLY nice in sharing files across a network.

[ericuco]

Apologies for the newbie question. My router is on the opposite end of my apartment from my DAC, and running a cable from it to the SOSE would be impractical. Is it possible to buy a two-bay Synology NAS, store my music on it's drives, and run a short ethernet cable from it to the SOSE? In other words, can the NAS and SOSE create a simple two-node network—without a router? I'd like to forgo streaming and control the playback from my iPhone.

 

This is easy to solve. Just need a switch and wireless access point. For most of these things to work, you are going to need IP addresses assigned and a connection to the Internet for updates.

 

See my earlier post on this topic: http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f26-sonore-sponsored/sonore-microrendu-27389/index93.html#post550429

[ericuco]

Have you connected the mRendu directly to the router?

 

This is just a temporary step in order to have the mRendu assigned an IP address by the router. Once the address is assigned, you should be able to find it with your browser. Then you can move it back to its permanent location. This is what I had to do in order to get the mRendu showing up in my network.

[ericuco]

i definitely have enough network power, and computer power to run this, but i cannot figure out my stutter.

my gustard x20 takes dsd256 like a champ via usb. but won't even take dsd128 with the microrendu connected.

 

I assume you are running Windows on your computer? If so ...

 

Note that the mRendu is Linux-based so you are using a different OS to talk to your DAC when you place the mRendu in your system. I looked up the Gustard X20 DAC and saw no mention of supporting Linux, at least in the very limited search I did.

 

When you say Roon works fine w/o HQP, is the Roon outputting PCM or DSD (non-DoP)? On a similar note, what is the DSD setting in HQP (DoP or non-DoP)?

 

Edit: on further search, I did see where Linux was supported but that is probably only for PCM and DoP and not native DSD (non-DoP).

[ericuco]

Any recommendations for switches?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Computer Audiophile

 

This is an unmanaged switch that you just plug in and go. Been using these for home & work for a few years now without any issues.

 

https://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1220709-REG/cisco_sg110d_05_na_sg110d_05_5_port_ethernet_switch.html

[ericuco]

For several years now I have been fighting a consistent issue of my mRendu not recognizing my DAC (TPA Buffalo IIIse w/ I2overUSB board). Once the connection is eventually made everything is good and works for months. However, if the connection is broken like yesterday when the power to house went out, trying to regain the connection can take hours.

 

I usually try different combinations to resolve the issue - power cycle DAC, reboot mRendu, power cycle mRendu, unplug USB cable, etc. - but it is VERY frustrating.

 

I can see that the mRendu is up & running using the browser interface but when I go the settings, my DAC does not show. When I start up HQP, I get the error that the mRendu is not found as expected. So there seems to be some issue between the mRendu and my DAC.

 

Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.

 

I have seriously considered getting one of the new opticalRendu but given it runs the same software, I can't see spend more $$ for the level of frustration.

[ericuco]

12 hours ago, vortecjr said:

What version of SonicOrbiter are you using?

Version 2.7

[ericuco]

16 hours ago, vortecjr said:

When was the last time you pressed update?

Probably a few months ago. With this difficulty of connecting to my DAC, I try not to disturb the system unless absolutely necessary. Is there a newer release of SonicOrbiter?

[ericuco]

Received my opticalRendu today which replaces my opticalModule and microRendu. There is a definite improvement in SQ but not huge.

 

I have been experiencing some drop-outs of a second or so every few minutes which is odd given that the oM & mR combo would only have a slight tick (fraction of second) every hour or so.

 

In my case, the oR is connected directly to my 10GB switch using 1GB SFP so no need for the oM. My music sever is connected to the same switch using 10GB SFP.

 

I can monitor my network traffic for my music server and saw that I would get a reduction in the download (receiving) of my music files from my NAS (located elsewhere on my network) which would translate into a reduction of the upload (sending) to the oR. To solve the issue, I used the priority setting on my Google Wifi router to up the priority of my music server which seems to have fixed the problem.

 

In the photo below, you can still see the decrease in the download (receiving) but no decrease in the upload (sending) with the higher priority. Before changing the priority, there would be distinct gaps (breaks) in both the up & down. No idea what is causing this behavior but seems to be working ok.

 

[ericuco]

On 9/21/2019 at 7:21 AM, Miska said:

 

How is the network between your music server and NAS? Is the NAS on the same 10G switch too?

 

Hardware buffer overflows can cause bandwidth stalls, so check the 802.3x flow control settings and status on your NICs and the switch.

 

Although I have one Seagate NAS that doesn't support 802.3x. Not much issue for me, because it is only used to store backups. My music "NAS" is my Xeon E5 Linux workstation with Samba, which does support 802.3x. I can get very consistent full 1 Gbps file access speed with it (~100 MiB/s).

 

 

Thanks @Miska

 

After I first reported the frequent stalls, everything seemed to sort itself out and I was only getting a stall (one second or so) about once an hour which was ok but not ideal.

 

As you suggested, I did move my NAS so it connects directly to the same 10G switch as my music server and oR and have not had any stalls. The 10G switch (QNAP QSW-804-4C) is unmanaged so no settings to check but it does support 802.3x flow control.

 

The little blip shown in the down load (receiving) to my music server that I showed in my original post turns out be track (file) changes. It occurs about 5 seconds before the new track begins (due to buffering?). At the time I was listening to a live album so it was hard to detect when a new actually track began (no break in the output between tracks).

[ericuco]

6 hours ago, Vangelis said:

It would be helpful if product support manuals on line on or in the box packing described the led displays. 

 

Looking at the rear of the ST i5 its solid orange on the right side and yellow blinking left side of the LAN input. I did try and reboot the STi5  from the front switch, that did not help.

It’s helpful to know that the OR led should be green. I guess I had forgotten that as I had an UR prior to this. The switch is a TRENDnet 5-Port Unmanaged 10 Gigabit and it worked fine with the UR.  I’m trying to determine and work through which units and cables are the issue in the signal paths. The OM is displaying two solid green leds left of the Ethernet LAN input and one intermittent yellow led on the right. Do the two green leds indicate that it has a active connection and is functioning? What does the intermittent yellow led indicate?

 

My confusion here is that the switch has input signal and output signal at least its feeding my Wi-Fi router so I know the switch is working. I switched out all my ethernet cables to determine if any of them are defective and they are not.

 

Any chance you could provide a list of your various equipment which includes model numbers and the like?

 

You mention a "TRENDnet 5-Port Unmanaged 10 Gigabit" but in a quick search I can't find a 10GB switch from TRENDnet so I can't research what the switch does.

 

Also, what SFP's are you using? Brand & model number. In the fiber optic world, there are lots of different types of SFP's, etc. so you have to keep everything straight.

 

As @jcn3 mentions, you probably don't want two routers in your local network. I am assuming that the modem from your ISP is also serving as a router (maybe, maybe not). Again, knowing specifically the equipment we are dealing with would help.

 

[ericuco]

54 minutes ago, Vangelis said:

The Switch is a TRENDnet 5-Port Unmanaged 10 Gigabit model TEG-S50g

 

The WiFi router is aAC1200. 

 

I using a 7 meter Ultra Spec Cables' OM1 (62.5/125) Fiber Optic SFP compliant Cable that Andrew at Small Green approved. It’s available from Amazon for $20.

 

My thought now is try ditching the switch and go modem ethernet>TP-Link Ethernet>OM SFP optical>OR.

 

I always heard that a switch providers another layer of isolation and the LAN/ethernet outputs even hardwired from WiFi router are not so good. I may be wrong about any issue about differences of router quality when everything is going Ethernet.

 

First off, ditch the wifi router for now. This assumes that the modem from your ISP is serving as your modem and router (and possibly wifi). If you have brand & model number that would be helpful.

 

Here is a schematic of how things should be connected. The top one is the most direct and assumes that your modem has at least two Gigabit Ethernet ports AND is near enough your server (computer) and the oM/oR. The bottom schematic includes your switch if your modem does not have two Gigabit Ethernet ports available.

 

BTW, the switch you have is a simple 1GB switch, not a 10GB switch.

 

 

[ericuco]

When I first got my opticalRendu installed, HQP on my Linux server was dropping the connection (server > fiber > switch > fiber > oR) to the opticalRendu (running HQP NAA) after a period of time (a few hours). In order to reestablish the connection, I needed to reboot the opticalRendu.

 

Previously, with my mRendu and more recently with my opticalModule & mRendu setup, this was never a problem so this new behavior with the opticalRendu was a bit disconcerting at first.

 

After a day or two, that all seemed to get sorted out in that the connection is no longer being dropped. I am guessing it had to do with my network in some manner.

 

@Miska any ideas why this might have happened based on your knowledge of network systems? Could it be something with the router getting updated to track a new device (opticalRendu)? Or perhaps my unmanaged "smart switch" learning about the new connection? I am hoping you have an answer to this in case others experience similar behavior.

[ericuco]

For one thing, you cannot upgrade 2.7 to 2.8 through the online process. Upgrading to 2.8 requires purchasing ($29) a microSD card from Sonore or Small Green Computers.

[ericuco]

If I recall correctly, the original batch of 2.8 cards had an issue with the oR, something to do with overheating. Sonore quit sending out 2.8 cards for a few weeks(?) while the problem was diagnosed and resolved.

 

I waited for the new batch of 2.8 cards but when I reboot my oR, I have to let it cool down for several minutes (15-30) before powering back up. That means physically disconnecting power cord and then reconnecting it after several minutes. Otherwise the oR will not show up on my network.

[ericuco]

1 hour ago, bobflood said:

I am pretty sure that Andrew fixed this problem with an update. I have a uRendu so I don't have any issue.

 

I don't recall the exact thermal issue that Andrew fixed but it did not fix the issue I reported above as it has been repeatable. I don't have any thermal issues (although it does get rather warm with a 7.5v supply) once the oR has successfully booted and been recognized on my network.

[ericuco]

1 hour ago, Granthar said:

I have a MicroRendu, I have tried numerous times to update the software but it always says "nothing to do" yet after a reboot its still at 2.7, how do I move this forward?

 

To upgrade to 2.8 requires purchase ($29) of new SD card from Small Green Computer.

[ericuco]

7 minutes ago, lxgreen said:

I am having some shorting out issues with my optical rendu in a second system. My system is:

 

wireless router satellite > wired Ethernet > optical module, powered by SGC 5v LPS > fiber > OR Powered by Sonore 7v LPS > usb out to Schiit EITR > digital out > Schiit modi Multibit > integrated amp.

 

it seems the OR shorts out after playing for a few hours. OR and OM do not seem overly hot. It resets if I remove power to OR and Ethernet from OM, then reconnect after waiting a few min.

 

the only other variable is I use a russound speaker selector to run either Inside speakers or my outside patio speakers, but not at same time.

 

not sure why this is happening but frustrating.

You could have a bad SFP module. I was having occasional dropouts which I finally traced down to a bad module. If you have any extra modules, perhaps try them. If problem still persists then you have eliminated you possibility.

 

Even simpler check is to make sure modules and cables are pushed in (seated) all the way.  I have had that problem as well.

[ericuco]

17 minutes ago, lxgreen said:

But I thought the 7v Sonore LPS was fine for the OR.

Sonore (Small Green Computer) sells two versions of the 7v LPS - 15W and 50W. The 50W is for OR while the 15W is for the other Rendus and OM.

 

Also, the Sonicorbiter software (2.7?) that shipped with the early batches of OR’s had an issue that caused units to overheat. Sonore actually stopped shipments for a brief period until the software could be changed.

[ericuco]

1 hour ago, JHG said:

I am ready to give up on my microrendu 1.4.  It continually drops out of my network and I have to unplug and plug it back in.  And then it drops out again at varying times.  At the moment I can't get any of my control points to connect.  This has been happening since I installed 2.8.  I would like to send it in for service.  Can I get a RMA?

Thanks.

Jim

 

For the most part Sonore has moved all of their support over to their new forum.

 

Might want to post something over there.