Roon Core is now on an HP PC with a stock soundcard. Audio/video -HDMI to a Yamaha CX- A5100 Preamp -MacIntosh 404/501/252 power amps-
My thought was to add an external DAC into one of the audio outputs and use iPad.
Am I on the right track?
{ Also I have a Sonic Build endpoint which I have been unable to locate on the network.
Thanks,
George
I was going to recommend getting a suitable Roon endpoint. I checked Sonic.build, they claim their endpoints support Roon, but they are not listed by Roon as Roon Ready or Roon Tested. That’s fishy: vendors cannot package Roon endpoint capabilities without Roon’s approval. All approved vendors are listed here.
There are a number of alternatives that are accepted by Roon, either ready to go or DI. On the DIY front, a Pi-based solution like this running Ropieee would be a reasonable starting point. But there are many other options.
You could also add an EVGA Nu audio card. Sounds wicked good. Better than a lot of external DACs… Designed with Audio Note.
Thank you for the options. I wondered about a high-end soundcard as @Rugby suggested. @Fernando_Pereira I tried to contact Sonic Build without success. Makes me wonder too. I am not sure how to use the 252 (LOL) but it makes sense. @Xekomi I have a friend who loaned me a Schiit DAC to test. I am looking into the correct way to hook it up to be seen by Roon.
Easiest way to start is to connect it to the HP PC with an USB cable. However, some PCs put a lot of electrical noise on their USB ports that decreases sound quality in connected DACs, which is why I recommended a separate endpoint.
Where in the chain do you place an endpoint @Fernando_Pereira ? Thanks!
In my setups, I have the Roon Core running on an Ethernet-wired (Linux) PC. Endpoints are also Ethernet-wired and they also connect to downstream audio gear with appropriate connections (in my case S/PDIF or I2S). I use two kinds of endpoints: 1) DIY Pi2AES to stand-alone DACs driving headphone systems; 2) Linn system hubs for speaker systems.