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Senore ultraRendu or Oppo 205 as Roon endpoint

I intended to connect a Senore ultraRendu via USB to an Oppo 205 for Roon. But after reading the manual it appears as though I can connect Ethernet directly to the Oppo to play the files. That would eliminate some clutter, but would I take a sonic hit? If the ultraRendu is preferred, should I use the USB B port or one of the USB 3.0 ports? I previously used USB from the ultraRendu to a USB B port of an Ayre QB-9 DSD DAC, but the Oppo has only digital audio inputs, the Ayre only analog. (The Ayre integrated amp needs servicing, but I’ve read that the Oppo 205 DAC is quite good.)
dbphd

Showing 2 responses by dbphd

dbphd OP
1,632 posts
 
I connected Ethernet directly to the Oppo 205 and Roon came up, but the sound quality is less good. Any conclusion is confounded by too many changes. An Oppo 205 and NAD M22 replaced the ultraRendu, Ayre QB-9 DSD DAC, and Ayre A7e integrated amp. I suspect replacing the Ayre DAC and amp is the more likely cause of diminished sound quality than eliminating the ultraRendu. Nevertheless, I left the ultraRend and LPS-1.2 in place for now so all I need do is move the Ethernet to compare. I think I can leave the ultraRendu connected the USB audio port of the Oppo to as a selectable input.
dbphd OP
1,632 posts
 
Once I got everything straightened out, the sound quality of files played using the Oppo 205 as a Roon endpoint is excellent.  I'll take down the ultraRendu and LPS-1.2.  A big turning point was setting up a Velodyne HGS-10 to augment the KEF LS50s,  I used the Oppo 205 menu to set the KEFs to small with crossover at 80 Hz,  That was so successful that I'll add another HGS-10 and SMS-1 bass manager for set up and acoustic room correction.  It's trivial to move from Roon to disc to cable.
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