UPS tracking tells me a Sonicorbiter SE is in Dublin and “currently in transit to it’s destination”. I thought I’d post a contemporaneous account of my experience with it.
First thing is finger’s crossed and hopefully I’m not charged any VAT, but it’s UPS and I have a sinking feeling I probably will. Our own postal service can be quite hit and miss on VAT collection.
Here’s hoping I have a RAAT optical connection to my Naim DAC by this evening.
Well it’s turned out to be a brief fling with the SOSE, didn’t even get to Salinas!
There is a sync light on my Naim DAC that lights up to show “the clock is precisely synchronised with the input stream”.
With the SOSE, in any configuration, RoonReady, ShairPlay or Squeezelite the light lit up for 15 seconds, then there would be a slight pause in music as The light extinguished and then play continued.
Checking with Naim they said “you have an unstable clock from sonic orbiter digital output causing the Sync light to go out. This is a normal functionality in this event.”
Andrew doesn’t think a replacement will change matters and is surprised the "low accuracy " clock in the Squeezebox synchronises while the one in the SOSE doesn’t.
So ends my (first) brief foray with RAAT and SOSE.
One positive is that the iFi ipower powers the Squeezebox so postage back over the Atlantic won’t be quite as prohibitive as it might have been.
Unfortunately not, there is no asynchronous USB connection on the Naim nDAC.
I do plan to get a Hugo TT but will probably try and match one of the new RAAT devices coming soon with it.
My thinking was to play with the SOSE until I had the Hugo and maybe go the microRendu route, moving the SOSE to have another RAAT endpoint in the house. But the optical incompatibility with Naim puts and end to all that.
