Mode #2 - ShairPort Output - This is an AirPlay emulator that utilizes streams sent to it from a compatible source.This output supports true gapless playback of PCM and DSD/DoP. Mode #1 - SqueezeLite Output - This output works with any Logitech Media Server and compatible controllers.Now, the microRendu brings some other interesting tricks to the party. And which is compatible with re-clockers like my Brainstorm DCD-8 and Mutec MC3+. That would not normally get my interest, except that I have a Berkeley Alpha USB which would take that interface the step further to the DAC input I normally prefer to use. which is also an ethernet network renderer, but to USB, instead. This is about the new, just released, barely shipping microRendu. this is NOT about the Signature Rendu- which may also reach it's ultimate synergy with the DS DAC due to the I2S interface they both have. Why? Yes, the Signature Rendu is a clearly a special piece, but it needs a partner, and the DirectStream danced with it like they have been secretly practicing every dance style for 30 years. Again, sorry, but WTF! Why, with this input (Ted promised me all inputs were identical) would the DirectStream now explode into colors, tones, rhythms, clarity, absurdly accurate image density, and overall musicality that I've maybe never heard before. The display analogy: not only had they turned the color and hue controls back on, the display became 3D (without glasses, thank you) and had the blackest blacks I'd ever seen. Due to my well-heeled assumptions, I went from WTF to laughter (yes, I think I physically laughed out loud a few times thank god no one heard me they were all asleep) then back to WTF several times. It was an audiophile's best dream, an audio lover's best attempt of heaven on earth, a contender for one of two or three best audio listening sessions of my life. My first taste of this combination lasted, without wine-induced bathroom break or any other silly distraction, until about 3am in the morning. After confirming that a P300-powered Sig Rendu was now rock solidly connected, I found a nice Nordost HDMI cable and entered the world of I2S (I can't tell you how many sources, format converters or DACs I've had in here that taunted me with this connection, but this was the first time I had input and output together in one room). Jesus is very proud of the work that went into the Signature Rendu, especially the very low jitter, very high quality I2S output (compatible with several pin-compliant I2S HDMI inputs on several different DACS, including the DirectStream.) As luck and irony would have it, the Rendu setup required me dusting off an old PS Audio P300 ac-generator to block some house-bound dc that caused the Rendu to drop off the LAN periodically (a fix that is coming soon, according to Jesus). The DirectStream, gathering a little dust while I decided how to write the review, was calling out to me "play me, play me". (Note: Chris's review of said Signature Rendu is due out presently). A couple weeks ago it arrived and I hooked it up via BNC/SPDIF to my Chird Hugo. It is an ethernet to SPDIF (or I2S-HDMI) converter/renderer. He wanted me to hear his flagship UPnP renderer, the Sonore Signature Rendu. Lacking as I am in adult supervision (aka "wife"), whenever something really intriguing comes along, I have an unfortunate tendency to let my enthusiasm get the best of me, if the possibilities lead to more and better tunes- all the more so, if it leads to utilizing something that seemed very necessary at one point, and which has been judged by a host of reviewers to be "best in class" (Berkeley Alpha USB to AES interface), but which due to dropping using a Mac or PC as a music server, has been somewhat under utilized.Īnyway, the item sparking my enthusiasm this time is the Sonore microRendu-Īnd the reason Sonore came to my attention at all, is due to a friend's interest in the PS Audio DirectStream DAC, and the review by Ted_B on CA for which he was very impressed with some aspects of the amount of detail and balance in the DirectStream's rendering- but it was like a 4K image with the color saturation turned way down- for him, it just didn't reach any kind of real musical nirvana, UNTIL,Ī few weeks ago I got a call from a good audio buddy, Jesus R of Sonore fame. MicroRendu with sonicTransporter.curio by Jon Hancock, on Flickr Given the concept that a picture is worth a thousand words or more, (especially on the internet) let's get the pictures rolling. Well, geez, it's a new year, and I haven't finished configuring and tweaking my last music player setup (AURALiC Aries with Mutec 1.3+ and AURALiC Vega DAC) and I'm already working on another one, a combination of pieces I've bought in the past and some new bits (pun intended) that should fit together fairly well, from what I hear, and give me an opportunity to tryout Roon as well.
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