Who Owns An OpticalRendu, What Did It Replace? And Do You Own The Entire System Optique?

[Mike Rubin]

I have an optical version of the Signature Rendu SE and the optical module.  The latter is powered by one tap on a Wyred4Sound LPS.  The SE plays into a Wyred4Sound 10th Anniversary DAC.  I inherited a few bucks, so I stretched a bit and replaced a microRendu and a Wyred4Sound DAC 2 DSD SE with these pieces.  The microRendu itself replaced a SOTM SMS-1000 server a couple of years before the latest upgrade.  (The source is a Synology DS218+, the amplification is a Wyred4Sound STI-500 original version, and speakers are Revel F32’s.  Router is an ASUS R-AC87R and switches are Netgear GS Series unmanaged.  Power comes through a PS Audio Power Wave 10.  I don’t have Roon, Tidal, or Qobuz, so I use JRiver, other DLNA, and LMS servers and appropriate controllers.)

 

Each upgrade has produced remarkably better sound and, currently, my system sounds better than it ever has by any measure you could name.  The optical module just by itself made a surprisingly big difference after using a TPLink FMC, especially with respect to bass reproduction and general clarity.  My living room is not set up for proper imaging (and to preserve my marriage it never will be), but I now have a much wider soundstage than I had.  Bad speaker placement also limits the amount and quality of bass, but I have more and better low end as I have moved up the Sonore product ladder.  Noise is nonexistent, even when the volume is up.  Pace is improved, with percussion having greater impact, as well.  Good recordings sound better than they have and bad recordings still sound bad, which generally is a desirable paradigm.  I also love that the rendus have played every file format that I have natively.  Not sure what to add beyond these generalities.

 

There are downsides of which any potential buyer should be aware.  Connectivity to DAC’s can be dicey, a problem noted by other posters on the Sonore sponsored forum here.  Both  Rendus from time to time have had a tough time making the handshake with the half dozen DAC’s that I have swapped out in troubleshooting and experimenting, although the worst of those problems was a DAC issue, not a rendu one.  Restarting either of the rendus after a firmware update, a power failure, a network reboot, or a cable or equipment swap has proven an adventure, requiring a specific power-on sequence, re-saving the controller software in the rendu settings, and restarting the server software, which may or may not recognize the rendu as an active server.  Sometimes the software says music is playing but no sounds emerge from the amp, in which case I have to go through the entire restart sequence again.  Be patient and it eventually restarts.  

 

It’s not nearly foolproof as pushing a button to startup a CD player or a server like the SoTM, but keep this in mind:  I spent more than I could afford in order to replace my first rendu with another rendu, knowing full well about these issues, simply because, at the time, my system never sounded better than with the original rendu doing the heavy lifting.  Also, Sonore stands behind the products and offers advice promptly when you do run into snags.

 

I haven’t heard the regular opticalRendu, but I gather that it sounds remarkably close to the Signature version for a lot less money, especially if you also use the Sonore-branded power supply.

 

In short, I highly recommend these products to those patient enough to endure their peccadillos.  I think they sound fabulous, at least in my system.

[Mike Rubin]

26 minutes ago, Ralf11 said:

initial connectivity to the DAC?  each time it is powered up?  or continual issues while playing music?

 

Mostly when powering up.  It usually keeps a connection, once made, until interrupted by a need to boot up for whatever reason, although it occasionally will just stop after a random song partway through a playlist or album.  

 

Also, and this is a DAC issue and not a rendu one, some XMOS DACs have a problem with mixtures of 16/44 and 24/44 files, of which I have many.  That problem routinely would break the connection between rendu and DAC.

[Mike Rubin]

On 9/13/2019 at 2:41 PM, charlesphoto said:

 

Oh, you will be doubly amazed with an LPS-2 on there. 

Kinda confused here.  Are you referring to an Uptone LPS 1.2 or are you referring to a different linear power supply?