Sonore micro rendu- dlna vs roon

[@mention:1566878603990222]

Thanks! I'll check out a Gustard as I prefer the NDAC.  Its probably going to come down to a second hand NDAC or 2Qute.  In the meantime I'll live with an OPPO 105 as my DAC which is surprisingly not too bad as a DAC

Hi Marcusman,

I have done a few posts on the 105D, it is excellent. For me best results were gained by:

Connecting using the balanced XLRs;
Turn off the video card;
Via audio setup set the output to fixed;
Via audio setup set the output to stereo (downmix).

I also enjoyed using the 105D via the Gustard, which I think was an improvement.

Ultimately my Bel Canto is better to my ears, but the 105D is more 'obviously' detailed & perhaps dynamic.

I would expect the Naim to win out for you ---- but I don't think these things are simple or straightforward, and system dependent.

M

Isn't this just typical!

My AV system now sounds much better than ever before with my new microRendu and TP power supply, and I was looking forward to an extended listening session this morning. So what happens?

Everything was fine last night, but this morning discovered that none of my streamers could connect to my Synology NAS, and my Synology NAS Assistant could also not connect to the NAS. Tried a reboot, only to find that the NAS would not reboot, and that the dreaded 'constantly flashing blue LED' reared its ugly head. This is symptomatic of a hardware failure of some sort, so contacted Synology Support for advice. Their advice was to try booting up the NAS with no hard drives in place. I encountered the same constantly flashing blue LED which apparently indicates (that the problem probably liew with the Synology motherboard rather than the WD drives.

So, I have raised a ticket with Synology and await their advice.

So annoying, but at least the Olympic events are available to distract me, and I can still listen to Radio Paradise on my Muso QB, or Tidal services via my streamers. Life is still bearable after all!

Now, if I have to replace my NAS, I wonder if my WD Red drives can simply be slotted into my new Synology NAS? Obviously I couldn't do this on a Windows PC, but if the operating system is installed on NAS firmware (or is it?), would I be able to simply slot the disks into a new Synology NAS? 

RobH posted:

You have my sympathy, any additional backups?

Thanks Rob,

Yes, I do have a backup (updated regularly) which my brother keeps for me at a different location.

However, in this case I am pretty sure that the WD Drives (mirrored) are ok, so I should be able to get my stuff (music, videos and photos) directly from them.

I may actually take this opportunity to tidy things up, retain my NAS for just music, and move my home videos and photos to a second NAS.

Hmack posted:

marcusman posted:

Thanks for the review HMack. I'm thinking about the microRendu with the Naim DAC or the 2Qute

Marcusman,

I'm sure the microRendu would be great with either.

Just one thing though. is the NDAC a USB dac, or would you have to go with the DAC V1?

Hi marcusman,

I'm using the microrendu with a 2Qute and can confirm the combination is for me providing the best digital replay I've experienced at home.

I'm currently using the el-cheapo switcher PSU's and intend to replace them with either 7v Teddy Pardo's or the equivalent from MCRU. Therefore much more to come I hope.

Paulebarrow posted:

Hmack posted:

marcusman posted:

Thanks for the review HMack. I'm thinking about the microRendu with the Naim DAC or the 2Qute

Marcusman,

I'm sure the microRendu would be great with either.

Just one thing though. is the NDAC a USB dac, or would you have to go with the DAC V1?

Hi marcusman,

I'm using the microrendu with a 2Qute and can confirm the combination is for me providing the best digital replay I've experienced at home.

I'm currently using the el-cheapo switcher PSU's and intend to replace them with either 7v Teddy Pardo's or the equivalent from MCRU. Therefore much more to come I hope.

 

Paul,

I can confirm that the performance improves greatly with the TP 7v power supply. No doubt it will with other good supplies as well.

Hi Hmack,

My sympathies; like you, been there, done that - and expect to repeat the experience in due course.

M

Hmack posted:

Now, if I have to replace my NAS, I wonder if my WD Red drives can simply be slotted into my new Synology NAS? Obviously I couldn't do this on a Windows PC, but if the operating system is installed on NAS firmware (or is it?), would I be able to simply slot the disks into a new Synology NAS? 

In principle, but things can can and do go wrong. I've done this 3 times (4 bay RS units)  and it only worked once. On the other two occasions I needed to restore the original data from backup. It's one of the reasons I run a nightly backup.

Regarding the operating system. Each DS/RS is a bit different, but in general there is a boot loader on internal flash in each unit. When disks are installed, the DS/RS will boot and upon initialisation create a 2GB partition on one or more disks to store the OS and it's packages.

This is one reason why swapping disks in to a new unit can be hit and miss. If there is a mismatch between the OS - on the disks - and or the boot loader version on the internal flash of the DS/RS your old disks can be rejected.

From your profile I see you are running 2 bay unit. If things go wrong and if your disks are formatted with EXT4 and you are using RAID 1 - mirroring - then you could access the data by mounting either of the disks/volumes on a Linux machine or a Virtual Machine. OS X doesn't support EXT4 natively and I assume Windows is the same. This would allow you to copy the data to another drive. This is quite handy if you want to copy the data to a computer or switch NAS units or brands after a failure.

This is also a good reason; there are others, not to use Synology Hybrid Raid. If you use the standard RAID modes you have a better chance of recovering or reconstructing data after a hardware failure.

Paulebarrow posted:

Hmack posted:

marcusman posted:

Thanks for the review HMack. I'm thinking about the microRendu with the Naim DAC or the 2Qute

Marcusman,

I'm sure the microRendu would be great with either.

Just one thing though. is the NDAC a USB dac, or would you have to go with the DAC V1?

Hi marcusman,

I'm using the microrendu with a 2Qute and can confirm the combination is for me providing the best digital replay I've experienced at home.

I'm currently using the el-cheapo switcher PSU's and intend to replace them with either 7v Teddy Pardo's or the equivalent from MCRU. Therefore much more to come I hope.

 

Hi

Had you used any other link between the DAC? Uptone Regen or Intona? Wondered if there was 'another' step up from these

Hmack posted:

Paulebarrow posted:

Hmack posted:

marcusman posted:

Thanks for the review HMack. I'm thinking about the microRendu with the Naim DAC or the 2Qute

Marcusman,

I'm sure the microRendu would be great with either.

Just one thing though. is the NDAC a USB dac, or would you have to go with the DAC V1?

Hi marcusman,

I'm using the microrendu with a 2Qute and can confirm the combination is for me providing the best digital replay I've experienced at home.

I'm currently using the el-cheapo switcher PSU's and intend to replace them with either 7v Teddy Pardo's or the equivalent from MCRU. Therefore much more to come I hope.

 

Paul,

I can confirm that the performance improves greatly with the TP 7v power supply. No doubt it will with other good supplies as well.

Thanks

Mr THX posted:

Paulebarrow posted:

Hmack posted:

marcusman posted:

Thanks for the review HMack. I'm thinking about the microRendu with the Naim DAC or the 2Qute

Marcusman,

I'm sure the microRendu would be great with either.

Just one thing though. is the NDAC a USB dac, or would you have to go with the DAC V1?

Hi marcusman,

I'm using the microrendu with a 2Qute and can confirm the combination is for me providing the best digital replay I've experienced at home.

I'm currently using the el-cheapo switcher PSU's and intend to replace them with either 7v TP or the equivalent from MCRU. Therefore much more to come I hope.

 

Hi

Had you used any other link between the DAC? Uptone Regen or Intona? Wondered if there was 'another' step up from these

No but I understand the microRendu has the Regen circuitry built in but a refined version.

Ditto, thanks all.  I love this forum so much great advice!

[@mention:36342540893260961]  BTW looks like you have the system I'm aiming for.  

marcusman posted:

[@mention:36342540893260961]  BTW looks like you have the system I'm aiming for.  

I can recommend the combination without hesitation and that's with the el chepo switchers!

I'm looking forward to replacing them with linear PSU's when funds allow and anticipate a significant step forward from an already happy place!  

Got my TP 7V PSU for MicroRendu. I immediately noticed an uplift in performance. 

Nice product. 

I'm looking to replace the switchers for my microRendu and 2Qute.

Both require 1A supplies but does anyone know if there any benefit in going for 2/2.5A Linears instead of 1A?

Thanks

GregW posted:

Hmack posted:

Now, if I have to replace my NAS, I wonder if my WD Red drives can simply be slotted into my new Synology NAS? Obviously I couldn't do this on a Windows PC, but if the operating system is installed on NAS firmware (or is it?), would I be able to simply slot the disks into a new Synology NAS? 

In principle, but things can can and do go wrong. I've done this 3 times (4 bay RS units)  and it only worked once. On the other two occasions I needed to restore the original data from backup. It's one of the reasons I run a nightly backup.

Regarding the operating system. Each DS/RS is a bit different, but in general there is a boot loader on internal flash in each unit. When disks are installed, the DS/RS will boot and upon initialisation create a 2GB partition on one or more disks to store the OS and it's packages.

This is one reason why swapping disks in to a new unit can be hit and miss. If there is a mismatch between the OS - on the disks - and or the boot loader version on the internal flash of the DS/RS your old disks can be rejected.

From your profile I see you are running 2 bay unit. If things go wrong and if your disks are formatted with EXT4 and you are using RAID 1 - mirroring - then you could access the data by mounting either of the disks/volumes on a Linux machine or a Virtual Machine. OS X doesn't support EXT4 natively and I assume Windows is the same. This would allow you to copy the data to another drive. This is quite handy if you want to copy the data to a computer or switch NAS units or brands after a failure.

This is also a good reason; there are others, not to use Synology Hybrid Raid. If you use the standard RAID modes you have a better chance of recovering or reconstructing data after a hardware failure.

According to the very knowledgeable sounding support chap I spoke to at Synology, I ought to be able to insert my WD drives straight into a replacement NAS and access my data with very little intervention, and no danger of data loss. I certainly hope this turns out to be the case, although I do have a backup as a safeguard.

I'm pretty impressed by the level of service given by Synology. Although my NAS is out of warranty they have offered to re-flash the ROM on the motherboard in the hope that this resolves the problem, and they will do this free of charge. Of course it may turn out to be a hardware problem, in which case I will just have to purchase a new NAS. I have ordered a new NAS in any case, because I intend to run with 2 NAS drives from now on. One dedicated to my music collection, and the other for my photos and home videos.

Thank goodness for Tidal in the meantime.

I also have to say that the microRendu/TP 7/2 and Chord Hugo is sounding better and better. I am extremely impressed, and would now unreservedly recommend the Rendu (with good power supply - this definitely excludes the iFi) to anyone who is considering it for their own system.    

My experience with Synology is mixed. With hardware issues they seem to be on the ball. With software/OS issues I have ended up solving issues for myself. Hope you get a result.

My Sbooster is now delayed, probably until the end of the month.

M

charlesphoto posted:

The hard adaptor is there for convince only I think. No way for me to balance the mR back of my V1 so never used it. Just get a decent USB cable and be done with it. There's no special sauce in the hard adaptor and many have said bespoke USB cables sound better. I'm using a fairly inexpensive Atlas Hyper and have nothing to complain about. 

In the 4 weeks the microRendu has been in my system, I've been using a Chord-C USB as I had one spare.

However, following a number of very positive comments on other forums and the review on digitalaudioreview.net, I've plumed for a Curious Cables USB.

Mike at curious was extremely helpful and made me a bespoke 100mm version of the Regen Link which is a perfect straight link from the microRendu to my 2Qute. It arrived in the UK from Australia in 7 working days which is better than many UK retailers.

As for the sound, it has livened up to everything that has been claimed. More detail, smoother and the soundstage appears to have gained additional depth and scale.

For $120 shipped, it is something of a bargain in this world of ridiculously over priced cables and has taken the microRendu to another level. The next step is LPS's for the microRendu and 2Qute, so more to come.

The Buster posted:

My microRendu arrived on Friday, and after two very late listening sessions going well into the early hours later, I'm absolutely gobsmacked by sound now being produced by my DAC (a Resonessence Invicta Mirus). 

Pound for pound, the best value addition to my system without a shadow of a doubt. My NDX  soon to be sold! It's that damn good. There was no need for any A-B comparisons: after five minutes, I knew the microRendu was a keeper. Having also auditioned the Aurender N100H and the Melco N1A (as a USB DAC source) at home, this little box of tricks goes to the top of the tree for me.

To respond to the OP's question, I have now installed Roon core on my iMac, and have found the same result - that is that DLNA mode sounds marginally better than the Roon Endpoint mode. Bizarre but true - the iMac must be introducing some "digital nastiness" en route. 

Out of interest which power supplies are other owners using with their microRendu? I have the ifi iPower.

Hi Buster!

I had the chance to try the Melco N1A (as a music server connected to a Devialet 200 via USB) and the results were rather impressive. Problem is I also tried Roon and now I want to include it in my system. How would you compare the performance of the Melco against the microRendu? Any help would be very useful.

Thanks in advance and best regads,

ZP

ZePiter posted:

The Buster posted:

My microRendu arrived on Friday, and after two very late listening sessions going well into the early hours later, I'm absolutely gobsmacked by sound now being produced by my DAC (a Resonessence Invicta Mirus). 

Pound for pound, the best value addition to my system without a shadow of a doubt. My NDX  soon to be sold! It's that damn good. There was no need for any A-B comparisons: after five minutes, I knew the microRendu was a keeper. Having also auditioned the Aurender N100H and the Melco N1A (as a USB DAC source) at home, this little box of tricks goes to the top of the tree for me.

To respond to the OP's question, I have now installed Roon core on my iMac, and have found the same result - that is that DLNA mode sounds marginally better than the Roon Endpoint mode. Bizarre but true - the iMac must be introducing some "digital nastiness" en route. 

Out of interest which power supplies are other owners using with their microRendu? I have the ifi iPower.

Hi Buster!

I had the chance to try the Melco N1A (as a music server connected to a Devialet 200 via USB) and the results were rather impressive. Problem is I also tried Roon and now I want to include it in my system. How would you compare the performance of the Melco against the microRendu? Any help would be very useful.

Thanks in advance and best regads,

ZP

Hi ZP, 

Prior to hearing the microRendu, the Melco N1A was the best streaming USB source for my DAC that I'd heard, and it was very much going to be my next purchase. I didn't really need the additional storage that the Melco offered, so took a gamble with the MR after all the positive reviews. I would say the MR is "as good" as the Melco, when used as a USB source, with both devices giving a detailed, natural, and musical presentation, and lacking in any digital noise and nastiness. I probably couldn't separate them in terms of one being better than the other, so it would boil down to your preferred use case, and requirements. 

Probably not very helpful I know!

Regards,