Ok - got the little device yesterday - very clever and easy to setup. I did play some music on both mR via USB and AIR Ethernet (Windows) - could not really tell the difference - tells me that this little box is very competent and has the potential to be better if I played around with my hardware infrastructure - given that my Dev AIR protocol works I may use it with my Musical Fidelity set up/ Windows PC in my other room. All in all quite impressed with SQ.
Thank you for the feedback. One advantage of the mciroRendu though is that you can change the PS.
Good work - it is a very smart design and I see the appeal to computer audiophiles - hope you do well with it - have my vote!
I can vouch for what @Jesus_Rodriguez has said, I have the microRendu & Devialet setup and the former moves ahead of AIR on the Dev when it has a very good power supply and network feed. In my case, an Uptone JS-2 power supply and TP Link optical isolators on the ethernet feed.
Hi - am looking at my whole hardware architecture now - most of my computers are custom built to my specs - has been 2 years - requires update looking at this with my Synology (recently upgraded to fulfill my streaming needs for video) also will look at stand alone servers like Antipodes - would like to try the AES output route as well as experiment with PS supply for mR via USB - have three sound systems so all options will be looked at and accommodated - thanks for the tip on SQ.
Hello,
I was ready to order a Melco N1A when I had the chance to try Roon… I also have a Devialet 200 and I really like the sound of the Melco, but now I need to find a way to include Roon in my system.
Working as a Rooned music server, the sonic transporter i5 + microRendu combination might be exactly what I need.
I do have a few questions, though:
- is there any advantage in choosing the STi5 with SSD storage?
- is it possible to install suitable software and rip CDs directly to the STi5?
- what is your opinion regarding the microRendu SQ against the Melco (or Aurender)?
Any help would be great!
Thanks 
I can’t help much, but…
I use the STi5 +microrendu with a NAS as my music storage and it works great, and sounds great, so I don’t feel the additional cost of the SSD drive was warranted. Another option is to just plug in a USB drive to the STi5, which will also be cheaper.
I guess it comes down to how different you feel the sound could be based on where the music is sourced from.
I do not think there is an option to rip CDs direct to the STi5, even plugging in a usb drive, but I think they do offer a model(s) that have this ability
I havent tried a Melco
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Does you Devialet AIR work? I found in my system via Windows 10 - the AIR (via Ethernet) is very competent and for me on par with microRendu (using the standard power supply) - I am working building a new audio PC and will look to upgrade power supply for MR - to test it against the AIR protocol. Keep in mind if AIR works - it’s relatively simple implementation.
I never tried Devialet’s AIR and only tested the Melco’s USB output. The sound is remarkable but it would be great to know how it compares with the microRendu…
I would suggest to try Devialet AIR whether it works for you. It’s free, you can use it with Roon, and it sounds good in my opinion.
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If you want a solution that does not require a computer all Devialet products have a SPDIF input. You can use the microRendu with a USB to SPDIF converter. This way you only need a Roon Server (sonicTransporter), player (microRendu + USB to SPDIF), and a table for control (I like the iPad mini)
Thanks - I have now installed the new beta version of AIR (via Ethernet) on the Devialet - this to me sounds a tad better than my mR setup - nonetheless I will be using it with my musical fidelity DAC (although I use their V-Link solution for USB) - I will see how that setup goes. For now I think with the new AIR protocol the mR solution is redundant in my setup with the Devialet