Review: Sonore ultraRendu

This is a review of the Sonore ultraRendu. This is an ethernet-to-usb converter that I use for HQ Player Network Audio Adapter output or for Roon-Ready output. In either output mode, I use the ultraRendu device with Roon. I do not use the other output modes, which include Squeezelite output, Sharepoint output, and MPD/DLNA output. My Roon Core and HQ Player (embedded version) run on a Small Green Computer sonicTransporter i9 music server. In the past I’ve also run Roon Core and HQ player (desktop version) on a Mac Mini, in which case I can dispense with the ultraRendu and connect the Mac with a USB cable directly to my integrated streamer/DAC/pre-amp. I also can connect an ethernet cable from the sonicTransporter directly to my streamer/DAC/pre-amp, bypassing the ultraRendu.

I notice little if any difference in the sound quality of these various connections, per se. So, why use the ultraRendu at all? The main reason is that HQ Player embedded version runs a bit better on my sonicTransporter than the HQ Player desktop version does on my 2014 Mac Mini, allowing (in some cases) higher upsampling rates. As far as I know, I have no way to use HQ Player embedded on the sonicTransporter without inserting the ultraRendu as an NAA (adapter) in between the sonicTransporter and the streamer/DAC/pre-amp.

So, basically, I’m using it as a switching device upstream from my preamp. The ultraRendu needs a separate power supply. For this purpose I use Uptone Audio’s ultraCap linear power supply, whose case is almost identical to the ultraRendu’s. The ultraRendu and ultraCap add cost, complexity, clutter and heat to my system. So I’d love to find a satisfactory way to run HQ Player embedded on my music server (the sonicTransporter i9) without these extra little devices. Some people might be satisfied with the sound I get by using my streamer/DAC/pre-amp as a network-attached Roon-ready device. In that case, I could dispense with HQ Player, the ultraRendu, and the ultraCap. In some future Roon release, maybe the digital signal processing features (including upsampling) will improve to the point that I’ll be ready to do that. Meanwhile, the ultraRendu works pretty well for my current needs, usually. An exception is when, after a power outage, the USB handshake sometimes does not recover gracefully. Then I sometimes have to do a sequence of reboots/reconnects to restore the connections. I don’t know if the fault is with the ultraRendu, the DAC, or the combination.

Caveat: I’m writing this review primarily to qualify for a free upgrade to my player’s operating system. The vendor wants upgrading users to first post an online review of a Sonore Rendu series player, otherwise pay for the upgrade. I apologize in advance for any unintended inaccuracies in the above review, in which case I’d welcome polite corrections from other posters.