Clock vs Streamer advice

I believe so. There’s no going around the noise the laptop generates. Not optimized for streaming. Too many things running, fan, etc.

On top of it all, it’s inconvenient. A good streamer should be all you need. If you feel the need to add a reclocker, you can tackle that later. 

🤤

tempting but not quiet there yet….

Juan…yeah we’ll wait :)

@zpatenaude37 got it. 

I wouldn’t bother with the Bricasti streamer. Their DACs are very good though. 
Depending on your budget, you can pickup a used Lumin U1 or U2 (the big boy vetsion, not the mini). Or look for a used Aurender N200. With a good USB cable into the Bricasti that will be the combo to beat. 

Looks like Melco has a USB DAC-dedicated output. So I would compare N200 and Melco using USB out. 
Make a note though….Qobuz sounds better than Tidal with the Aurender N200. Not sure about Melco. To @mclinnguy’s point…the key is to use what works best for each streamer. Could be Roon for Melco. I don’t know…

I don’t have any major grievances with the conductor app.
Roon is more advanced in few areas - it slices and dices, consolidates and filters better than the Conductor. It also provides an actual bitrate of the album in the search results as opposed to “HR” or “Max” label that you get with the Conductor. But none of these missing features are essential and they don’t impact the sound quality. They’re just there as part of an enchanted feature set. Nice to have  

@zpatenaude37 let us know how that comparison goes.

zpatenaude37 OP

28 posts

01-31-2024 at 02:41pm 

I guess Aurender is close to being Roon compatible. 
 

What is the source of this information?

@lalitk I’m a Roon user. I still have an active subscription but not using it anymore in my main system since I switched to Aurender. I also heard about Roon integration being “in the works” but haven’t heard it from an official and reliable source.
As to trying Roon….I was thinking about how Aurender designers can integrate Roon endpoint capabilities. I struggle to envision how, when Roon is enabled, the processing of the data stream can remain true to what the Conductor app/OS is doing. My assumption is that Roon will have to be enabled and by doing so the Conductor processing will be turned off. Meaning less processing, no caching.
I hope I’m wrong. But if I’m right, the device you will be running your Roon core on will be the least of your problems. It’s unlikely to make any difference. The conductor is what we’ll continue using for critical listening. That’s my prediction. And it is also what I believe to be Aurender’s main driving factor for delaying and potentially may be never implementing Roon ready functionality. I’ll be glad if I am wrong though because I really love the rich feature set offered by Roon.

I don’t have these issues with the conductor app. It’s 100% stable for me. There’s a default action you can pick when adding a song to the queue. I usually have add to end. Then I go back after I’m done adding songs or just let the queue get there on its own. But it never disconnects for me. Very strange.

As to adding a network card, go under the assumption that it will be a competitor to a $1500-$2000 streamer…some but not all. 

@zpatenaude37 if not too late…I’d like to chime in.
I have done a pretty extensive comparison in my system between the Bricasti M3 network card used as a Roon endpoint and the Bricasti M3 used as DAC driven by Aurender N200. To me, the network renderer in the Bricasti does not compete with the N200. This was the case even when I used the N200 with a stock power cord and the included Aurender USB cable.
Few important items to make a note of with the N200 -

1. It requires close to 300hrs of break in to settle. There are times when it will sound “digital” and grainy in the beginning and midway thru. It all starts going away after about 250hrs and by 300hrs it’s awesome

2. The N200 is optimized for USB. Yes the spdif out sounds good but USB is just better in every way. However, even with the spdif out using DH Labs D750 cable I liked it better than using the M3 network card

3. The Aurender is very resolving but not harsh. If your components or cables upstream are tuned to brighten things up, you will hear the brightness imparted by the upstream components.

This streamer is not a small change when added to the system and as any impactful upgrade will require some work to properly integrate. Once done, it’s smooth, tube like and extended with great dynamics. That is how I would describe it. Going back to the Bricasti network card, using the same Ethernet cable I use to feed the Aurender, the soundstage collapses, clarity reduces and the overall presentation just doesn’t match the N200. Not to completely disregard the Bricasti network card, it competed and beat out the Lumin U1 Mini in my system. So it’s not terrible at all. It just doesn’t hold a candle to the N200.