I’m using Tidal for 99% of music listening. When streaming directly with Volumio (which is integrated in the minidsp SHD) the sound is awesome, very clean, very defined, just a pure pleasure (thanks to Dirac). But I’m not happy with Volumio, since sometimes playback just stops (no, no networking problem) and Tidal sorting of albums doesn’t work correctly for me. Since I was always keeping an eye open for Roon, I got myself an Intel NUC8i7 with Roon and connected it via USB to the SHD with the provided USB cable by miniDSP (with the same Dirac filters of course).
But the sound just isn’t the same as over ethernet and Volumio, it’s narrower and the bass is a little less precise and more boomy. Still good but over ethernet it is clearly better.
So my question is, what can I do, to achieve the same result with my NUC via USB as with the SHD and ethernet? Better Power supply for the NUC? Wait for the SHD to become RoonReady and stream via ethernet?
The only way I have seen to get ethernet streaming from Roon to the SHD is squeezelite on Volumio. I’ve read that it’s a bit ‘fiddly’ to get it working, but once you’re past that it should work. Roon has direct support for squeezebox streaming under Settings->Setup. Worth a try.
RAAT only works at 16bit in Volumio (Roon Bridge) I think, so is not optimal.
I currently use a microRendu (1.4) into the USB of the Mutec MC3+USB. From there I connect AES/EBU to a Devialet 250 CI. I could connect directly to the USB port on the Devialet (did so via Uptone regen), but I get much better sound via the Mutec. You’d probably find the same if you could try a Mutec. The SHD also has a AES/EBU input, but RCA and Toslink inputs would work too.
I’ve experienced the same thing. I’m running Roon on on an Antipodes and then via Raspberry Pi to an SHD Studio and then via AES to Dutch and Dutch speakers. The native SHD Volumio sounds crisper and liver than via Roon. Both are getting the benefits of Dirac (which are large). I prefer Roon because Volumio is a pain for playing my flac files – I can do it but Roon is much easier. I have no idea if the difference is Volumio, or the limitations of the Raspberry Pi and the extra layer of processing. I do find not reading the ratings of the music in Roon quite freeing though.