My sigma streamer(SS) has arrived, so I’ve set it up and made a connection to my home network.
But roon core cannot find SS as a roon ready device but only as an AirPlay device.
I don’t know what’s wrong…
Is it because I’m using a third paty dac(chord HMS & Hugo2 combo)?
I sent an email to exasound asking for a solution.
BTW, SS as an UPnP device works fine.
Kamon, Sigma Streamer is made for use with exaSound DACs. The Roon Ready functionality is available only with exaSound DACs.
My roon core is running on sonictransporter i5.
NAS & STi5 connect to wifi router, and wifi router transmits music files to SS via AC wifi.
Previously I used a win10 laptop as a streamer, it worked fine. Also linn ds connected to another wifi bridge works well.
Send the streamer back. You’ll never get decent sound over AirPlay. Why bother with the hassle?
There are plenty of good RoonReady streamers in this price range that aren’t crippled.
Great design decision.
Make your streamer as proprietary as possible and still advertise it as RoonReady.
@brian @rob @john - should this device be advertised as RoonReady? Seems like a cheat.
Oh really, It’s very disappointed…
The manual says “USB Audio Class 2.0, availability of features is not tested”, but not says RoonReady function is only for exasound’s dacs…
Even if proprietary features of your products doesn’t work, it just doesn’t seem like RoonReady can’t be used for another dacs…
I strongly hope to address this issue with a firmware update.
Here is the first sentence on the product page on our website for the Sigma Streamer:
“The exaSound Sigma connects your exaSound DAC to the home network and turns it into a streaming device.”
We offer 30-days return option, please contact us for return authorization.
Is this purposely or just accidentally misleading?
The full name of the device is ‘Exasound Sigma Streamer’, not ‘Exasound Sigma Streamer Helper’.
Not really RoonReady, or not in the same way as are other less crippled streamers.
Does this same kind of defect hold true for your ‘Exasound Gamma Music Server’ running Roon Core? Can it only serve your ‘Exasound Sigma Streamer Helper’?
I don’t think it is misleading. The manual all but says “your exaSound DAC” in nearly every DAC reference. Given that their previous streamer was tied exclusively to their DACs, I’m not sure why this is a surprise. The PlayPoint and an Exasound DAC was one of the first Roon Ready streaming combinations years ago.
It really is not different than a Chord Poly and Mojo combo, imho.
When they advertise a ‘streamer’ as being RoonReady, but it turns out that only if one uses their DAC, that is not a RoonReady streamer, IMHO.
Was the previous streamer that you reference also advertised as being RoonReady?
The whole point behind RAAT is its flexibility and this approach completely perverts that.
It isn’t that their device becomes RoonReady, it’s that Roon becomes ExasoundReady.
You are familiar with this manufacturer. Their server that runs Roon Core can it serve something other than their streamers?
Yes, but nowhere, that I can find, does it say ‘exclusively’.
Some quotes from the manual -
" It connects your exaSound DAC to your home network and delivers seamless, life-like music experience."
“exaSound Sigma Streamer can be used without any configuration right out of the box.”
In the section of the manual about connecting to Roon, it doesn’t that the Exasound DAC has to be used.
Yes, this is true, but it doesn’t change my argument. Chord goes out of their way to show that it only works with MoJo. The whole device is shaped to fit into the MoJo case.
Since it has been deprecated, I could not find their site’s product page, however, it is still listed on Roon’s own Exasound Product page, so I’d say Yes. (See Red Underscore).
Exasound states that the Gamma Server’s USB connectivity is with their DACs and that any other devices have not been tested. They go on to say specifically that other Manufacturer’s DACs should be connected via network.
RoonReady means that the device’s Roon/RAAT implementation has been tested by Roon and pretty much guaranteed to work “out of the box”. This only attests to the streamer’s implementation and that a RoonCore will pick it up without issue. Not to the other side of the equation, meaning to what device it can or cannot stream.
To Quote the Roon Pages:
It’s a designation given to audio player hardware products that have both implemented RAAT, and have been certified by Roon Labs for proper implementation.
And therein is the OP’s complaint and why a refund is being offered. Roon Core does not pick up the ‘streamer’ sans Exasound DAC.
If the Roon principals, other than the Mods (no offense), don’t care and it seems they don’t, then I don’t care either.
However, I take your point (or what I think is your point) and that if one wants to live within the Exasound eco-system, then the proprietary aspect of their devices doesn’t matter.
playpoint owner’s manual says
USB Audio Interface:
exaSound proprietary ZeroJitter™ USB audio interface with error correction
playpoint mark II owner’s manual says
PlayPoint Mark II - New Features
Support for third-party USB Audio Class 2.0 DACs
USB Audio Interface:
USB Audio Class 2.0
exaSound proprietary ZeroJitter™ USB audio interface with error correction
sigma streamer owner’s manual
USB Audio Interface:
exaSound proprietary ZeroJitter™ USB audio interface with error correction
USB Audio Class 2.0,availability of features is not tested.
Sigma works as UPnP/OPENHOME renderer, but not as roonready bridge.
It’s sure that Sigma’s manual doesn’t say “Support for third-party USB Audio Class 2.0 DACs” and it says “availability of features is not tested”, but confusing…class compliant streamer and dac only have partial compatiblity…
We believe that to get different results, one has to do something differently. exaSound DACs use a proprietary USB packet streaming protocol. This has advantages and limitations. Back in 2011 we had a DSD256 USB to I2S interface. We were the first one world-wide to sell an audiophile-grade DSD256 DAC. Later on we introduced the first 8-channel DSD256 DAC.
On the flip side the limitation is compatibility. For Mac and PC users we offer custom ASIO and Core Audio drivers. For the streaming world we offer custom streamers. We were one of first to obtain Roon Ready certification.
The Sigma Streamer can handle DSD 256 and PCM 384 kHz/32 bit over Ethernet and Wi-Fi. In fact, in our lab we can demonstrate streaming of 6 channels of DSD256 over Wi-Fi. The volume control implementation is unique, streaming is always at 0dB Full Scale. Sonically the Sigma is a top-quality streamer at very affordable price. It just has to be used for what is made for - to stream to exaSound DACs. The owner’s manual all but says “your exaSound DAC” in nearly every DAC reference.
Roon Core on the exaSound Gamma Music Server works like any other Roon Core. Over the network it streams to any device that Roon can stream to. DACs connected locally via USB to the Gamma Server are handled directly by the Roon Core. We state in the user guide that we don’t have the resources to test compatibility.
Like our customers, we are not interested to have returns. We provide free pre-sales consultation and we work one on one with every customer over email, phone and remote support. In addition we provide 30-days trial period and money back guarantee. We’ve been selling our proprietary DSD256 technology successfully since 2011 and we have satisfied repeat customers.
@George_Klissarov from exaSound has not only clarified the situation, but also offered a refund immediately for the confusion.
Closing this one out and fixing the topic title.
As for the Roon Ready limitations, we will have a talk with George.
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