microRendu General Thread

If I buy a MicroRendu, then it would not matter if I have my Roon Server on a common, but powerful, Windows PC or a “audiophile” computer like the SonicTransporter i5.

Am I right? i.e. SQ wise.

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I switched from a very expensive pc to a sonicTransporter i7.
Sounds much better here.

This is what Chris Connaker said when reviewing the SOSE:

I setup five different computers as Roon servers to send audio to the Sonicorbiter SE.

  1. Windows 8.1 noisy, non-tweaked (hardware or software) PC with 6TB spinning drives of local storage.
  1. Windows 2012 R2 server SOtM / AO server with highly tweaker hardware and software.
  2. OS X El Capitan MacBook Pro
  3. OS X El Capitan / Windows 10 (Boot Camp) MacBook Pro retina
  4. OS X El Capitan iMac 5K

I couldn’t hear a hint of difference between the sources when sending audio over Ethernet to the RoonReady Sonicorbiter SE. This combined with the fact I have no idea how the source could possibly effect the sound of the Ethernet endpoint in this situation, lead me to believe the source has no effect on sound quality.

Note: I completely respect the opinions of others who will try similar tests as more RoonReady endpoints become available. In addition, my conclusion here has absolutely nothing to do with locally attached server / DAC combinations not using audio over Ethernet.

I can’t see any reason why the same wouldn’t apply to an mR.

13 posts were split to a new topic: Roon Core Hardware / OS options and sound quality

I’ve split out the on going wider discussion to its own topic.

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42 posts were split to a new topic: Would the mRendu benefit from a good power supply?

A post was split to a new topic: Sonicorbiter 2.5 operating system

I don’t think a lot of people are willing to try such complicated systems. I can tell you most of our users don’t like science projects and are using the unit as is because they are satisfied with the sound they get.

Anyone know why microrendu doesn’t have an optical out? Would it pay to put it through a usb-optical converter, or have sonore already taken steps to quieten and isolate the USB connection?

The USB output on the microRendu is very quite. It has a very low noise power supply and precision timing to reclock the USB signal.

With most DACs you will get the best sound out of your DAC with the microRendu attached to the USB input.

If your DAC doesn’t have a USB input or the SPDIF input is better then the USB input (true on some older DACs) Then a USB to SPDIF converter is a good solution.

If you are interested in isolation, some people are using ethernet to optical or usb-optical solutions

http://www.schiit.com/products/eitr

USB to S/PDIF solution.

Yep I guess this is exactly what I was asking…

Has anyone tried the 7.5v kingrex battery power supply, to power the microRendu? It seems a bargain, and I’m wondering if disconnecting from the mains entirely would further improve the sound, albeit by having to keep recharging the battery…

It says in the specs it’s 5v out. You would need 7.5v - 9v out to power the microRendu.

Nope. It’s definitely primarily 7.5v out. It also has a secondary 5v usb out, for usb powered devices, but I don’t think you can use both outputs simultaneously…

If it has 7.5v out it should work well with the microRendu.

Took the plunge and bought one as I found one on clearance. Will report back…

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I used batteries for a while on the mR. They have a very low noise floor. I noticed improved dynamics when I swapped in the LPS-1.

Makes sense. Do you happen to know what the current rating of your battery setup was? The 2.6A of this battery setup seems like overkill for the microRendu, so plenty of headroom for dynamics in thinking… (?)