Sonore OpticalRendu

Six reviews in one day just to save $30 bucks?

I have experimented a lot with my opticalRendu (oR) setup.

1. Power supply quality makes a bit difference. I feel that the Sonore Audiophile Power Supply (SAPS) is a great match for the oR and the opticalModule (oM).

2. The type of SFP matters a great deal to the sound quality. Some sound digital with a low noise floor and a relatively flat soundstage. Others sound more natural, with better timbre, more euphonic with a better depth in soundstage. The best SFP I have that exhibits the latter is the Cisco SFP-10G-AOC1M. I prefer that over the others I’ve tried. And yes: please be very careful and buy the original one - the ones from China on eBay appear to be fake.

Soon, I’ll be placing my oR/oM setup with 2 SAPS, SFP / fiber up for sale to move to the signatureRendu.

Hoping you guys can give me some advice. My Lumin D2 died and so I am looking for an alternative and based on all I've read I want to set up seperate digital streaming with optical rendering going into a USB DAC (still thinking which one; currently have a Mac C47; but probably will do either a Holo May or the Weiss 204 and just use the C47 as pre-amp).

Anyway, what components from SGC do I 'need' to be able to 'feed' the dac, get the benefits of optical rendering and be able to stream without Roon using Tidal or Qobuz from my phone.

Specifically, I'm wondering what is the difference between the Optical Rendu and the Ultra Rendu + Optical Module bundle (this is what Andrew recommended, I'm just trying to understand options).

Also, what improvements are expected in the new Optical Rendu.

Thanks for your expertise; I watch the videos but seems there's more than one solutions through SGC components.

The setup that I have uses a SGC as a Roon core, which then connects through my home network via Ethernet. The SGC can also be set up in a few other modes that the Rendu players accept. I then have a network switch with an SFP module that converts the signal to optical and a magenta patch cable to feed into a Signature Rendu, with USB going out to the DAC. This same setup would work with an OpticalRendu as it accepts the same fiber optic input.

In a separate setup, I have another network switch with an SFP module which is connected to an optical converter. The Ethernet gets converted to optical in the switch, then back to Ethernet in the converter, which then feeds the ultraRendu, with USB going out to the DAC.

The advantage of Optical vs ultra is that there are fewer boxes and less setup required. The OpticalRendu also has some other internal improvements, and I expect the new OpticalRendu to have even more.

Just as a note, when ordering parts like the SFP modules, you really need to pay attention to specs: frequency, throughput, compatibility with your switch. They aren't all the same and if you get the wrong module, it won't work. I ended up getting a Cisco SFP from FS.com since I was using Cisco switches, and their tech support e-mailed me to confirm compatibility before they sent it out.