The Hugo of streaming?
Posted by: charlesphoto on 14 June 2016
Ha, knew that would get your attention!
I was using my UQ1 for streaming only purposes to the DAC V1 via a good s/pdif cable, but was never entirely happy with the set up, esp as the UQ was mostly going to waste. My budget wasn't much, and I didn't want to just move over to another streamer, esp as the asynch USB on the V1 is one of its main features, and supposedly better sounding than coax. I considered a Mac Mini, but then started reading over on the Computer Audiophile forum raves about the forthcoming Sonore microRendu. So last week I got in on the second batch and have had one up and running since Friday with an iFi power supply until I get a proper linear power supply for it (probably the upcoming Uptone LPS based on charging ultracapacitors).
For those not in the know, the microRendu is about the size of a small flip phone, only connects ethernet in and USB out, and runs a small custom linux OS on an sd card that is accessed headless with a really simple and easy GUI. It was built with low noise hardware and the best sound throughput as the top priority. Took all of under five minutes to set up. It has several modes: Squeezelite, DLNA (regular and open home), NAA Roon/HQ player mode, airshare and I think maybe one other. I have mine running in upnp mode from my Vortexbox using the Lumin app as a controller. Currently also running Roon as a trial, but for what it costs and the hardware requirements its not for me at the moment. Cool app though, esp if you have a big collection.
From the moment I plugged the microRendu in I knew that it was game over. And it just keeps getting better as it burns in; I also added an Atlas Element USB cable that sounds really nice for the price. I think the likes of already fringe companies like Aurender and Auralic have got to be more than bit worried about what these even more fringe upstarts are doing. I'm not really the best person to be doing comparisons because I've never had the $ to change out gear like some do, or work my way up a heirarchy like Naim. But it really is extraordinarily impressive, made my old set up sound "broken" even (and I thought it sounded pretty damn good). I never thought I would have a hifi this good due to $. Lots of talk in hifi about "inky blackness" which I've never really experienced until now. Reverb esp - its like it just floats out into an empty void. A bit disconcerting at first actually! Also the balance is perfect - voices are right where they should be, piano sounds totally natural (the true test imo), nothing recesses or comes forward in any strange way. I was experiencing some fatigue before and now that's history. The only fatigue now is from staying up to late listening to music nonstop!!
So, if you're looking at streaming options and have a dac (or plan on getting one), then you should check out the mR. Imo its' this years Hugo - a serious game changer, at least as far as where USB audio is at. For me it's all I'll ever need in that regard. And the UQ is now happy and wonderful sounding where it should be, in my basement office, utilizing all of its functions. 
Mr Underhill posted:Well, I removed the LPS-1 from powering my RP3, running LMS, and then quickly replaced it - the sound quality dropped by that much.
Yesterday I put in a 1A 7.1v LT3045 between the R-Core powering the uR; and, I put in a 0.5A 5v to replace the R-Core powered LPS-1 powering the RP3.
The effect of the 7.1v LT3045 was similar to the LPS-1 when powering the uR. Some interesting detail was highlighted, but musical heft was reduced.
I ended up with the following:
8v low noise R-Core PSU > uR; and
8v R-Core > 0.5A 5v LT3045 > RPi3 (LMS).This gives me the best results. All using short quad-star silver/Teflon cables.
M
...........No.
I have mention LT3045s in the posts above a few times, so I thought I would go into a bit more detail. These are NOT some form of original discovery by me but have been mentioned by one person in particular but now on a couple of fora.
In essence they are a small PCB that cleans the DC reducing noise:
To quote:
'One of the Major keys to the LT3045 SQ success is it's PSRR. Again PSRR stands for Power Supply Ripple Rejection - the ability to filter our ripple (noise and grunge on the AC line) from passing through the LDO regulator to the DC output. This is critical. So if a LPS uses an R-core transformer the R-core will act as a first stage of very high freq Ac noise suppression something a toroidal does not do, second the PS smoothing caps act as a second line of defense (and why PSRR here is important), the most critical filtering stage comes with the LDO regulator. The very old school LM317T has virtually no high freq PSRR.'
I am not aware that these come in nice pre-made boxes, so it is a matter of buying the cards, from the bay in my case, project boxes and DC female connectors. A bit of soldering and voila.
The cards themselves need to be set to the output voltage that you require, and they can handle. In my case I was able to buy:
2 x 0.5A and 5V; and
2 x 1A and 7V1.
The other day I made up the boxes and used one between my LPS-1 (7V) & RPi3 (5V LT) and one between my low noise R-Core (8V) and ultraRendu (7V1 LT). Initially the uR booted OK, then quickly stopped. I rebooted and it now worked OK for about four hours before stopping again. I noted the SQ mentioned above, 'Some interesting detail was highlighted, but musical heft was reduced', and removed the LT3045
I did some other changes yesterday and had a cogitate while doing so. I would have preferred to have bought a LT3045 1A 7V5, if one had been available. I suspect the uR is more sensitive to voltage input than the microRendu, and that the short quad-star silver/teflon cables I used presented just enough resistance to dip the voltage below 7VDC. So, I made up a 5cm straight silver Teflon DC-DC cable, non-quad, and put the LT back into the chain.
Heft:
I am sure that, like me, you have read comments where people have commented that the amount of apparent bass has reduced, but the ability to follow the bass line has increased. That the bass euphony has masked other elements in the music. Before with the LT in circuit I was hearing additional detail and I could undoubtedly follow the bass line easily, but also I felt that what was being presented was subtly anaemic. Now with the shorter simpler DC-DC cable the uR has run for twelve hours without a hitch, and that bit of a stripped out feel has gone.
So, what were the other changes I made? Following a recipe developed by a rabid experimenter elsewhere I had introduced a StarTech USB extender into my system. I was running four 512GB fast USB sticks from the LEX. The cook had tried using a cheap USB3.0 hub, and found that the SQ improved ......when, you use: Good DC source and a good quality USB cable. So I bought the ingredients and powered the hub from my LPS-1, also powering the RPi3, via another LT3045 (0.5A, 5V).
Qobuz vs Local
I have been amazed at how good Qobuz can sound, really excellent. Good local files are probably marginally better, I will struggle to describe why - and will end up making statements that are too bald. Having instituted the changes mentioned above I feel that there is a tad more clear water between Qobuz & my local files; assuming that te quality of the files being played is the same. I can easily 'prove' the superiority either way by carefully selecting the 'right' files.
If you are using DC powered devices, and the output falls within those that are output by a LT3045, AND you are up for a bit of soldering, then I would strongly recommend giving them a go. OBVIOUSLY, these are electrical devices and if you have ANY doubts then get someone knowledgeable to build and test them for you.
M