Post by ajski2fly on Aug 20, 2021 15:37:18 GMT
Apologies if this has been done before but I thought it might be helpful to some wishing to improve their digital soundscapes.
A brief background, I have been streaming from the net and from my NAS drive in some way or another for around 3 years, primarily using a RPI/HiFiBerryHAT to Caiman SEG DAC running Volumio, and streaming form with TIDAL or Qobuz, TIDAL has been ditched(poor SQ IMHO). This set up I was reasonably happy with, but felt that something was missing aurally, maybe not that engaging musically it the best way to put it. I more recently tried using my MacBook via USB directly to the DAC using Volumio/Qobuz (with no upscaling) this was a step up in SQ, but not quite what I hoped for and it also tied up the computer all the time. So I started investigating other solutions see theaudiostandard.net/thread/6365/anybody-used-usbridge-signature-player?page=2&scrollTo=216719
I did some box swapping and move to and Audiolab 8300CDQ with a very good on board DAC, and this improved the dynamics and openness slightly, after more consideration I plumped for a Sonore microRendu microRendu initially I powered with an adjustable standard PSU at 7v whilst I waited for a linear PSU from Linear PSU as recommended from a couple of others on TAS.
My initial thoughts on SQ from the microRendu was that it was good at least at the same level as using the MacBook as already described. However I had some teething problems, on the first power up it all worked find and I set up Roon as I wanted to trial it. then I decided to switch to MDP/DNLA and try it with Audirvana, after doing this I lost all sound output, after several roboots and finally rebooting everything service was resumed through Audirvana, I found this very odd, then during changing music selection, sound was lost again. I made several checks, including plugging the MacBook directly to the DAC USB and all worked fine. The next day I powered up from scratch and presto it worked fine. However this annoying issue does not end there, after a few days of listening to the radio and vinyl I returned to the microRendu and once again the problems returned.
What I could not establish was what was causing the sound loss, although I did establish that Roon and Audirvana both saw the DAC thought from a software point of view were processing music but nothing was getting to the DAC. So a few days ago I called Martin at the Audiostore, he is very helpful, he asked what I had done hardware/software, various questions about my router and switch and then about then USB cable, an Audioquest Cinnamon specifically purchased to stream from the Macbook, and also my Eehternet cable. His recommendation was to swap out the Audioquest for a simple USB inexpensive one, and see the result, in his experience they have found in the past the so call high end USB cable can cause switching issues with DACs, I was rather surprised with this. He also said that using Cat 6 or 7 ethernet cables could cause issues streaming music data, and ethernet cables with metal plugs casings, mine is Cat5 with plastic plugs, he advised to swap it if the USB cable was not the issue. I thought this might be useful info for some others in the future.
So I duly swapped out the £80 cable for a cheap as chips 60cm printer USB cable and powered up, and all worked fine, I swapped back and forth the from Roon to MDP/DNLA many times switching between Audirvana and Roon server, and I also installed and used Mconnect on the iPad with Qobuz and all was stable. So you have been warned about expensive cables they may not be right in all situations. I have since removed the cheap USB cable and now am using the USB-A to USB-B adapter that came with the microRendu with it supported on some isolating rubber pads, and this works well, minimum possible cable length and tucked out the way, I did not a slight improvement in SQ having done so, more openness. So I am hoping that all is now well and everything will continue to work and be stable.
SQ with this set up using the plug in the socket transformer set to 7vDC sounded pretty good, by the way Martin recommended that around 6.5V was a good voltage to be at, he was aware that some considered it sounded better a 8vDC but he pointed out that the extra power would mean the microRendu would run hot and was likely to shorten its working life.
This morning the Linear PSU arrived from China, I had asked this to be set to 8vDC, but decided on Martin's advice to adjust it to 6.5vDC, this is very simply done with an adjustable pot inside, just take the top casing off (two screws each end), I adjusted it with it switched off and unplugged for safety and then checked the voltage with a digital meter each time until I had it set correctly, this is the safest way. One thing to note is that the DC plug fits fine into the microRendu but that the internal connectors are a little widely spread apart compared to the diameter of the + pin on the microRendu, I discovered this as I lost power to the unit when setting it up with the new PSU. You can simply adjust the central connector on the plug using a pin or very small screw driver.
Having got everything plugged up and working I sat back and listened to a favourite Shpongle track, and immediately was taken by the spaciousness and depth of the soundstage, also the low end sounded great and well defined, the upper registers were clear and and crisp and great dynamics, to me this sounded the best I have heard digital on my system, certainly as good as a very good CD. So I moved onto some classical and came across a new release of Vivaldi's - The Four Seasons by Christian Li, tis stunned me the dynamics and presentation not only of the soloist but also the orchestra are fantastic, I can close my eyes and pick out parts of the orchestra and their position relative to each other, and SQ is great very musical and a pleasure to listen to. I have cried on this afternoon listening to Beethoven's 5th, Shotakovich's No1 and currently
just stunning is all I can say.
I have just let Roon move onto the this piece and it great....
So in summary for the outlay of just under £500 for the Sonore microRendu and a Linear PSU you get a very, very good end result in terms of sound quality, dare I say it "It does not sound digital, just musical"
A brief background, I have been streaming from the net and from my NAS drive in some way or another for around 3 years, primarily using a RPI/HiFiBerryHAT to Caiman SEG DAC running Volumio, and streaming form with TIDAL or Qobuz, TIDAL has been ditched(poor SQ IMHO). This set up I was reasonably happy with, but felt that something was missing aurally, maybe not that engaging musically it the best way to put it. I more recently tried using my MacBook via USB directly to the DAC using Volumio/Qobuz (with no upscaling) this was a step up in SQ, but not quite what I hoped for and it also tied up the computer all the time. So I started investigating other solutions see theaudiostandard.net/thread/6365/anybody-used-usbridge-signature-player?page=2&scrollTo=216719
I did some box swapping and move to and Audiolab 8300CDQ with a very good on board DAC, and this improved the dynamics and openness slightly, after more consideration I plumped for a Sonore microRendu microRendu initially I powered with an adjustable standard PSU at 7v whilst I waited for a linear PSU from Linear PSU as recommended from a couple of others on TAS.
My initial thoughts on SQ from the microRendu was that it was good at least at the same level as using the MacBook as already described. However I had some teething problems, on the first power up it all worked find and I set up Roon as I wanted to trial it. then I decided to switch to MDP/DNLA and try it with Audirvana, after doing this I lost all sound output, after several roboots and finally rebooting everything service was resumed through Audirvana, I found this very odd, then during changing music selection, sound was lost again. I made several checks, including plugging the MacBook directly to the DAC USB and all worked fine. The next day I powered up from scratch and presto it worked fine. However this annoying issue does not end there, after a few days of listening to the radio and vinyl I returned to the microRendu and once again the problems returned.
What I could not establish was what was causing the sound loss, although I did establish that Roon and Audirvana both saw the DAC thought from a software point of view were processing music but nothing was getting to the DAC. So a few days ago I called Martin at the Audiostore, he is very helpful, he asked what I had done hardware/software, various questions about my router and switch and then about then USB cable, an Audioquest Cinnamon specifically purchased to stream from the Macbook, and also my Eehternet cable. His recommendation was to swap out the Audioquest for a simple USB inexpensive one, and see the result, in his experience they have found in the past the so call high end USB cable can cause switching issues with DACs, I was rather surprised with this. He also said that using Cat 6 or 7 ethernet cables could cause issues streaming music data, and ethernet cables with metal plugs casings, mine is Cat5 with plastic plugs, he advised to swap it if the USB cable was not the issue. I thought this might be useful info for some others in the future.
So I duly swapped out the £80 cable for a cheap as chips 60cm printer USB cable and powered up, and all worked fine, I swapped back and forth the from Roon to MDP/DNLA many times switching between Audirvana and Roon server, and I also installed and used Mconnect on the iPad with Qobuz and all was stable. So you have been warned about expensive cables they may not be right in all situations. I have since removed the cheap USB cable and now am using the USB-A to USB-B adapter that came with the microRendu with it supported on some isolating rubber pads, and this works well, minimum possible cable length and tucked out the way, I did not a slight improvement in SQ having done so, more openness. So I am hoping that all is now well and everything will continue to work and be stable.
SQ with this set up using the plug in the socket transformer set to 7vDC sounded pretty good, by the way Martin recommended that around 6.5V was a good voltage to be at, he was aware that some considered it sounded better a 8vDC but he pointed out that the extra power would mean the microRendu would run hot and was likely to shorten its working life.
This morning the Linear PSU arrived from China, I had asked this to be set to 8vDC, but decided on Martin's advice to adjust it to 6.5vDC, this is very simply done with an adjustable pot inside, just take the top casing off (two screws each end), I adjusted it with it switched off and unplugged for safety and then checked the voltage with a digital meter each time until I had it set correctly, this is the safest way. One thing to note is that the DC plug fits fine into the microRendu but that the internal connectors are a little widely spread apart compared to the diameter of the + pin on the microRendu, I discovered this as I lost power to the unit when setting it up with the new PSU. You can simply adjust the central connector on the plug using a pin or very small screw driver.
Having got everything plugged up and working I sat back and listened to a favourite Shpongle track, and immediately was taken by the spaciousness and depth of the soundstage, also the low end sounded great and well defined, the upper registers were clear and and crisp and great dynamics, to me this sounded the best I have heard digital on my system, certainly as good as a very good CD. So I moved onto some classical and came across a new release of Vivaldi's - The Four Seasons by Christian Li, tis stunned me the dynamics and presentation not only of the soloist but also the orchestra are fantastic, I can close my eyes and pick out parts of the orchestra and their position relative to each other, and SQ is great very musical and a pleasure to listen to. I have cried on this afternoon listening to Beethoven's 5th, Shotakovich's No1 and currently
just stunning is all I can say.
I have just let Roon move onto the this piece and it great....
So in summary for the outlay of just under £500 for the Sonore microRendu and a Linear PSU you get a very, very good end result in terms of sound quality, dare I say it "It does not sound digital, just musical"
