Rendu Support Thread

[JohnSwenson]

I got mine to work, this is what I did:

 

Power disconnected to microRendu, plug in USB cable, switch set to USB2.

 

Plug in power. Wait the normal boot time, use the normal sonicorbiter.com to to connect tothe microRendu, make sure things are setup in your normal configuration.

 

Start playing music.

 

Note there is no sound, even with the volume control turned up.

 

While playing flip the switch to USB1. Music starts playing! Pull the USB cable out (leave microRendu powered up), wait a few seconds, plug USB cable back in. Should hear music (might have to turn up volume), flip switch to USB2, unplug cable, wait a few seconds. Plug USB cable back in, should hear music, again may need to adjust music.

 

You are now back to USB2 mode with music!

 

This worked for me. I hope it works for you.

 

I'm not sure what is happening, but I think the driver in the microRendu is getting out of sync with the mode the DAC is in. This should not happen, but at least for me, changing the mode switch got things to work, so it seems like it has something to do with the mode.

 

John S.

 

Further investigation shows what is probably significant. When in USB2 mode (high speed), when you hear music Altset 1 is being used, this is S32_LE. When you are NOT hearing music Altset 2 is being used, this is S16_LE. My guess here is that the driver is sending out 16bit samples, but the DAC is expecting 32 bit samples thus causing strange things to happen (like no sound). When the driver switches back to Altset 1 things are fine again.

 

My guess this has something to do with the DAC telling the software it can support both 16 and 32 bit samples, but somehow when the driver chooses 16, the DAC is using 32. Either the DAC shouldn't be telling the driver it supports 16 bit samples when in USB2 mode, or somehow the DAC is not tracking the fact that the driver is using 16 bit samples.

 

John S.

[JohnSwenson]

hello, can i use a squeezebox touch with the microrendu? what would be the chain of compnents?

thanks,

drmike

 

In the squeeze universe there are three types of devices:

server, player and controller.

 

The microRendu is just a player, the SBT can be all three.

 

The SBT can be used as a controller for the microRendu, ie set the player to be the name of the microRendu rather than the SBT and what happens on the screen is now showing and controlling what is happening on the microRendu rather than the player built in to the SBT.

 

The SBT can also be setup to be a stripped down LMS, it works but is slow and can't handle really large libraries. I personally would only use it if you are taking the SBT to the cabin in the woods, or in your car, or someplace else where you don't have another computer you can run LMS on.

 

Of course you can run an SBT and the microRendu in parallel, the SBT in one room and the microRendu in another, but it sounds like you are asking if there is a way to use them together.

 

John S.

[JohnSwenson]

i was wondering if i could use the SBT as a screen to see what the microRendu was doing. if that is possible would the SBT come after the mR?

thanks,

drmike

 

Sure, it very easy to do. Both the microRendu and the SBT need to be connected to the same network (LAN) the microRendu has to be hard wired but the SBT can be either hardwired or use WiFi.

 

On the SBT go to the main menu and select Settings, then select Choose Player. This will show a list which will include the names of your SBT and microRendu. Select the microRendu and now the screen is controlling the microRendu. It works just like it normally does except that it is showing what is playing on the microRendu, and it lets you control what is happening on the microRendu.

 

You have to be careful when in this mode, the screen is talking to the microRendu NOT the internal player on the SBT. So what you see playing is NOT what is coming out of the audio jacks on the SBT, it is what is coming out of the DAC connected to the microRendu. Thus if you plug headphones into the SBT you will not hear what is on the screen. If you want to control the player in the SBT you need to back and choose the SBT player.

 

When the SBT is set to the microRendu you can still use an app on your phone (or other device) to control the microRendu, you can use either one, whichever you want to use. I frequently have an SBT right next to the microRendu so I can see at a glance what is playing on it, and can use it to control what is playing to the microRendu when I am standing right in front of the rack without having to dig my phone out. At my listening position I have an old phone permanently setup to be a controller.

 

The SBT does not connect directly to the microRendu, they both connect to the same network. If you want to use a hardwired connection for the SBT you will need an open Ethernet port on a switch or router to connect it to. It does NOT have to be the same switch the microRendu is connected to, just that it be on the same network.

 

In this mode the actual audio data is NOT going through the SBT, it is just a controller.

 

Note that this is all assuming that your microRendu is setup for squeezlite mode, which makes it look like a squeezebox player. If it is in some other mode the SBT will not see it.

 

I hope this makes sense.

 

John S.

[JohnSwenson]

John:

 

My, I add, if you could see what was playing in Roon ?

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Computer Audiophile

 

I doubt it, the controller on the SBT can only see other Squeeze universe players. So unless Roon acts as a squeezebox player it wont see it.

 

John S.

[JohnSwenson]

8 hours ago, R1200CL said:

@vortecjr

 

http://www.sonore.us/ultraRendu.html

 

Recomends LPS-1 set to 7 VDC. Of cause no other option is possible. 

 

Can you update with LPS-1.2as well please ?

 

And the the question is @JohnSwenson, what is the recomended input voltage using LPS-1.2 with the ultrRendu.

If both 7 and 9 should be the same, then OK of cause. I just notice some PS has recommendations to 9 V. 

 

Same question  may may apply to ultraDigital 

There is no normal technical reason why one or the other sounds different. The LPS-1.2 is doing essentially exactly the same thing in both voltages. In the ultraRendu the internal voltage regulators dissipate more heat at 9V than at 7V, thus things get hotter. This MAY change the sonics.  Some parts of digital audio sound better at higher temperature and some sound worse, so there is no way to tell in a particular system/brain combination. It DOES get warmer, but if you have decent ventilation on the ultraRendu it shouldn't make any difference to reliability, if it is getting HOT at 9V, then stay at 7V.

 

I have tried this experiment multiple times in my system and have a very hard time telling any difference let alone preference, but it may be different for others, so try it and see what you like. If there is no significant sonic advantage to going to 9V, then just run it at 7V.

 

John S.

[JohnSwenson]

What is happening to the LEDs on both the ultraRendu and the LPS-1?

 

John S.

[JohnSwenson]

1 hour ago, Dasign said:

I’ve be running my UltraRendu with an Uptone 1.2 PS for over a year without any issues. I had to move the UR/Uptone PS on my rack and the UR will no longer power up (amber LED). I checked the Uptone PS and it does read at 7.1 VDC. Tried powering via my HDPlex PS at 7 VDC with same results (amber LED). I disconnected the UR/Uptone combo and reconnected everything back without any success. What causes the UR LED to go amber?

The LED goes from red to amber during the later phases of the boot process, this is where the audio specific initialization stuff is happening. The very last part of the boot process is making a connection to your network, after a network connection occurs the LED turns green. So if the LED stays amber it means you are not making a network connection.

 

So you need to check your network cables, make sure all switches and routers are up and running etc. If that doesn't help try turning off then turning back on the router and any switches before turning on the uR.

 

Did you recently change anything in your network? If so that might be a good place to start looking.

 

John S.