Audiophile streamer (improving source)

[renjith lal]

Any thoughts on Mini DSP SHD with Dirac 2.0? I am mostly tempted by Dirac.

I am using Dirac with my Arcam AVR. It is good but not tried for stereo.

oh yes a good quality USB cable does make a difference. As for the multi box setup of SOtM i added them in phases so i could figure out the difference they made to the sound so it wasn't an overnight decision to pick up all the SOtM gear together

I got your point. It is always better to do in steps, to know the improvement each component brings.
I am confused with lot of options in SoTm, and top of line with all boxes can go up to 10k $ I guess.

 

[eastofthesun]

I got your point. It is always better to do in steps, to know the improvement each component brings.
I am confused with lot of options in SoTm, and top of line with all boxes can go up to 10k $ I guess.

Start with the sms200 ultra , then add a power supply so on and so forth ... so each one is just a step to getting more out what you play . Also the source is key ... most of my stuff is either AIFF or wav... so ya the source is good . At some point I might take the TX USB ultra on trial basis and try it out to see what it adds to the soundscape .

 

[renjith lal]

Start with the sms200 ultra , then add a power supply so on and so forth ... so each one is just a step to getting more out what you play . Also the source is key ... most of my stuff is either AIFF or wav... so ya the source is good . At some point I might take the TX USB ultra on trial basis and try it out to see what it adds to the soundscape .

Thanks for the suggestion, will look in to the option you mentioned. Power supply you are using from S Booster or from SotM itself?

 

[eastofthesun]

Thanks for the suggestion, will look in to the option you mentioned. Power supply you are using from S Booster or from SotM itself?

SOtM itself the sPS - 500

How would the sotm stack compare sound wise say to a ps audio direct stream dac with network streamer ?

Haven’t heard the ps audio ...

 

[SaurabhK]

Sotm i guess makes sense if you are into a file based music set up. I would only be streaming using tidal etx... what would one get? I alreqdy have the bluesound node plus audiolab dac combo. Am looking to upgrade . So either a streamer with inbuilt dac or a separate streamer and separate dac . Very confusing as therr is no little to demo in delhi.

 

[heliumflight]

Sotm i guess makes sense if you are into a file based music set up. I would only be streaming using tidal etx... what would one get? I alreqdy have the bluesound node plus audiolab dac combo. Am looking to upgrade . So either a streamer with inbuilt dac or a separate streamer and separate dac . Very confusing as therr is no little to demo in delhi.

Let me know I have a CA Cxn v1 streamer/dac boxed which I'm not using

 

[eastofthesun]

Sotm i guess makes sense if you are into a file based music set up. I would only be streaming using tidal etx... what would one get? I alreqdy have the bluesound node plus audiolab dac combo. Am looking to upgrade . So either a streamer with inbuilt dac or a separate streamer and separate dac . Very confusing as therr is no little to demo in delhi.

You can stream using tidal too via the sms 200 ... ya you will need an external dac for sure ...

 

[SaurabhK]

Yes but you would need to playback using roon. Setting up a roon server just for playing Tidal doesnt make sense. if you have loads of file based music a roon nucleus makes great sense with SOTM stack . So either a Dac with built in streamer or a Dac and a streamer combo would make sense for me.

 

[noblejose]

for a change, try Allo USBridge Signature player..

 

[amit11]

Windows operating system is hopeless for music. i would say it is a total no no, inspite of all the kinds of tweakings or optimization you try to make. Windows simply does not cut. Same goes for android.

Linux based better. Like raspberrypi , sotm.
I have not used sotm. I use raspberry pi and it outputs usb digital and i m happy.

Another thing is how good is the usb implementation in the DAC. isochronous, asynchronous etc. I only had optical dac. Hence i got topping d10 dac in between, and use it only as usb to spdif convertor. No complaints.

 

[SKR]

Hi all,

I am looking for best option for transporting digital data to DAC. At present I use Ethernet (CAT6) connection from my router to Devialet 120.

Currently for local play back I place my music files in laptop ( windows 10) and play using Foobar program using bit perfect option.
I have used Roon before and it was good but expired now. I also use Tidal for streaming from laptop and connected to DAC using ethernet.

Now I am looking for best way to improve my source. Following are different options I found

1) Intel NUC with audioLinux.
2) Dante suggested by a friend
3) SoTM sMS-200 Ultra with external power supply and master clock (SoTM there are tons of option up to 8k $ )
4) Roon Nucleus
5) Streamers from Auralic, Aurender and Bryston.

Can you please suggest which is the best option?

Considering the cost and upgrade option Intel NUC is a good option but not sure about the effort to fine tune it .
Did any one compared performance between Intel NUC and SoTM? Please share your experience.


Thanks
Renjith

Hi,
I was earlier using dedicated Mac Mini as my music storage device connected to my DAC.
About a year back I added a Roon Nucleus and SOtM 200 Ultra Neo. This improve sound quality a lot undoubtedly.
But just a few days back I just connected my Roon Nucleus directly to my DAC in my McIntosh Preamplifier ( keeping SOtM out of the chain). Surprisingly results were fantastic.
So my advise buy a Roon Nucleus first and connect it directly to your DAC. You will definitely notice a marked improvement.
No computer windows or Apple can match a dedicated music server.
I have stored my music on a 2TB SSD in the Roon Nucleus. Plus the stream Tidal on Roon itself.
In fact Roon Nucleus works as a streamer also. And a pretty decent one.[/QUOTE]

SOtM has so many things to buy. Sms200 Ultra Neo streamer, power supply, A high end LAN switch, power supply for Switch. And every thing is costly. If you want to add a Clock that it will be extremely costly.
I think the latest a model of Sonore Optical Rendu will beat SOtM . It uses a optical cable from your LAN Switch using a LAN to Optical convertor. Than this optical cable carry’s the signal to the streamer Optical Rendu. This optical cable eliminates all noise and other impurities from the signal there by producing much better sound quality. I am thinking of buying one but there are no dealers and can’t get it from USA because of Covid.
My advice first buy a Roon Nucleus and connect to your DAC. Let it burn in for 200 hours. Use decent USB cables.

If you go for SOtM step by step than by the time you take second or third step this technology will be outdated as digital is moving very fast.
I have SOtM and power supply but I am thinking of buying Sonore Optical Rendu. Using Roon Nucleus directly to DAC via USB is also giving very good results.
In my opinion a Roon Nucleus at $1500 is a very good product. Take a life time membership of Roon at dollar 500. And that’s it. See how it sound. Later can add a steamer anytime. Now my SOtM is lying idle. I can use this power supply with any other equipment . Also with optical Rendu. SOtM power supply is really good. It has 3 or 4 options on and you can switch to 7v DC or 9v, or 12v or 18V.

 

[bornfi]

Please also check a thread I created talking about how using fiber optic to replace large section of Ethernet helped my system.

SFP, Media Converter, Fiber optic, Copper isolation

Subject i basically to ensure that this thread pops up in case somebody is researching in this direction. This message is for those who use Ethernet cable in their audio or HT setup. Here is something I found somewhere and tried myself and convinced that it takes the performance to next level...

www.hifivision.com

 

[renjith lal]

If you go for SOtM step by step than by the time you take second or third step this technology will be outdated as digital is moving very fast.
I have SOtM and power supply but I am thinking of buying Sonore Optical Rendu. Using Roon Nucleus directly to DAC via USB is also giving very good results.
In my opinion a Roon Nucleus at $1500 is a very good product. Take a life time membership of Roon at dollar 500. And that’s it. See how it sound. Later can add a steamer anytime. Now my SOtM is lying idle. I can use this power supply with any other equipment . Also with optical Rendu. SOtM power supply is really good. It has 3 or 4 options on and you can switch to 7v DC or 9v, or 12v or 18V.

Roon lifetime cost is 699$ now. I am not sure about the importance of roon core or server quality. Did you compare it with a NUC? I cam curious how much improvement it gives over a NUC or sonic transporter(headless). Roon nucleus is having I3 processor but I know it may be enough still wondering. Digital is becoming more complicated. I saw a video and he was explaining the importance of clocks. Digital is becoming complicated if you want to do it properly.

 

[SKR]

Roon lifetime cost is 699$ now. I am not sure about the importance of roon core or server quality. Did you compare it with a NUC? I cam curious how much improvement it gives over a NUC or sonic transporter(headless). Roon nucleus is having I3 processor but I know it may be enough still wondering. Digital is becoming more complicated. I saw a video and he was explaining the importance of clocks. Digital is becoming complicated if you want to do it properly.

I am not saying Roon Nucleus is the best. There may be other servers costing twice or 4 times giving some improvement. Roon Nucleus is a Stereophile class A rated. John Atkinson compared it with another expensive server and couldn’t notice much difference. If you are using any type of computer than there is no comparison with Roon Nucleus, it’s way ahead. With the capacity/library you might have i3 processor is more than enough unless you want to buy i5 higher model and pay more. Roon is only handling your audio files unlike normal computer doing multi tasking.

I use the roon nucleus not the plus version and have the SOtM sms 200 ultra with the sPS 500 power supply , also have the sCLK - OCX 10 external clock frm SOtM which is connected to the sPS 500 of the sMS 200 . The roon nucleus also has its own sPS 500 power supply unit . Then I have the SOtM sNH - 10G which has its own sPS 500 power supply unit .

Spending so much on SOtM it’s better to buy DCS DAC

 

[eastofthesun]

Spending so much on SOtM it’s better to buy DCS DAC

well they say each one to his own so lets leave it at that

 

[Gunbir]

Spending so much on SOtM it’s better to buy DCS DAC

With that logic we'd all have the same systems. There's no one way to get to any one point, Therein lies the beauty of our hobby.

Roon lifetime cost is 699$ now. I am not sure about the importance of roon core or server quality. Did you compare it with a NUC? I cam curious how much improvement it gives over a NUC or sonic transporter(headless). Roon nucleus is having I3 processor but I know it may be enough still wondering. Digital is becoming more complicated. I saw a video and he was explaining the importance of clocks. Digital is becoming complicated if you want to do it properly.

Having used Roon Core first hand on
- Laptop (SSD)
- NAS (Server HDDs)
- Nucleus (SSD)
- i7 NUC (SSD)

I can tell you the immediate differences are in UI speed, latency and multi-tasking abilities. There is a considerable difference in sound quality as well but perceiving that will depend on your system. On a high end system capable of resolving detail, the advantages of the Nucleus can be very obvious.

 

[AmK]

Euphony seems to be another good option. You can buy the computer from them (called Summus) or just download the Euphony OS + Stylus Player software, and intall on your own NUC, and then connect to dac via USB.

https://euphony-audio.com/

 

[renjith lal]

Having used Roon Core first hand on
- Laptop (SSD)
- NAS (Server HDDs)
- Nucleus (SSD)
- i7 NUC (SSD)

I can tell you the immediate differences are in UI speed, latency and multi-tasking abilities. There is a considerable difference in sound quality as well but perceiving that will depend on your system. On a high end system capable of resolving detail, the advantages of the Nucleus can be very obvious.

Do you hear big difference between NUC and nucleus? I understand internal in a NUC may create trouble.
I do see some people using linear power supply for nucleus + and special purpose dc cables with Nucleus plus.
Nucleus is only I3 processor and if you see internal pictures other than heat fins I dont see anythings special in that. I am not sure if I am correct.
Does it have a better clock?

 

[Mayank Shah]

Hi all,

I am looking for best option for transporting digital data to DAC. At present I use Ethernet (CAT6) connection from my router to Devialet 120.

Currently for local play back I place my music files in laptop ( windows 10) and play using Foobar program using bit perfect option.
I have used Roon before and it was good but expired now. I also use Tidal for streaming from laptop and connected to DAC using ethernet.

Now I am looking for best way to improve my source. Following are different options I found

1) Intel NUC with audioLinux.
2) Dante suggested by a friend
3) SoTM sMS-200 Ultra with external power supply and master clock (SoTM there are tons of option up to 8k $ )
4) Roon Nucleus
5) Streamers from Auralic, Aurender and Bryston.

Can you please suggest which is the best option?

Considering the cost and upgrade option Intel NUC is a good option but not sure about the effort to fine tune it .
Did any one compared performance between Intel NUC and SoTM? Please share your experience.


Thanks
Renjith

Hi, would the volumio based DSP streamer from minidsp suit your requirement?

Intel NUC is just another mini PC with very weak specs, wouldn't you be better off using a PC/ Laptop with Windows/Linux dual boot?

 

[renjith lal]

NUC you may get good spec but it has fan, , better will be a headless system with audio Linux I guess.