I’m a fan of the K.I.S.S. rule. Bluesound Node 2i with both a coaxial & optical connected to the DSSr. Works for me. I don’t subscribe to Roon nor would I ever consider it. I can stream True DSD via my networked Sony UBP-X1000ES and Audirvanna.
2 Likes
It’s worth noting, FWIW, that our own Paul McGowan has, in these forums, stated that basic Mac Mini performs about as well as an Aurender. And Mark Levinson, the actual man, not the company, is also a big believer in Macs as music servers. He says that many of the highest quality recordings in the world are done on a Macs and that the Mac is also the perfect device for music playback.
I realize the audiophile logic behind high price servers and streamers as being specialized audiophile devices, yada yada. I do wonder if this one particular area is where the wheels begin to come off the audiophile cart as they are mostly just computers in some form. Of course who doesn’t love spending money? The Lumin, Auralic and Aurender stuff certainly looks wonderful.
I went low on the streamer. I found a used MicroRendu 1.4 (about the same as the UltraRendu) for $250 shipped. Works great connecting to a Mac Mini over the network running Roon and HQP. I have no first hand experience with high end streamers/ servers, thus can offer no meaningful personal opinion and instead prefer to hide behind Paul McGowan and Mark Levinson because it saved me money 
1 Like
This is an interesting debunking video…
He actually did an “excuse video” afterwards where he apologised for “debunking” Innuos just on specs and words. I prefer that other video, while this one is still entertaining.
2 Likes
Thanks for pointing that out. He did clarify that Innuos did use some sort of proprietary motherboard. But he didn’t take down the original video
A local dealer sells both Innuos and Lumin and said Lumin is much better build quality. He thought Innuos build quality didn’t qualify as audiophile, even at similar price points.
1 Like
While I’m not qualified at all to judge electronics (and the OCD guy most probably is) all the InnuOS models where Sean Jacobs designed the power supply seem very solid. I was a happy owner of a Zenith MKII for two years - but also moved on to a LUMIN. Go figure 
1 Like
I second (or third or fourth) the Sonore Signature Rendu SE Optical. Running the optical signal from EtherREGEN and its fantastic.
Although to throw a wrench into everything else everyone is saying, I just now found that including the Matrix after the SigRenduOptical actually made things too bright and unnatural, less defined as well. Granted, this is with WireWorld SilverSphere and Uptone LPS 1 (REL and Hypsos LPS on the way soon, hopefully)
To directly answer your Q, I have been blown away with the SigRenduOptical and an Inakustik USB
I stopped searching after I got my Signature Rendu Optical Streamer.
1 Like
Hi Al, Doesn’t the Sonore have a I2S output thus eliminating the need for a Matrix Spdif?
Nope, USB only. But my DAC doesn’t need a Matrix so no big deal.
1 Like
Sonore has a wide range of products. The Signature Rendu SE Optical (mentioned most recently) does not have an IIS output, only usb. A converter, like the Matrix is necessary for this (believe Sonore has a converter for USB>IIS as well)
1 Like
Thanks for the answer. I’m intrigued by the sonore products and trying to educate myself on the sonore line of products.
If you want lots of education I’d give Adrian at Sonore a call or email - he’s super helpful and patient. When I was going thru the SSR Optical purchase he educated me about the benefits of optical ethernet connections and his advise was borne out in my system. He also guided me away from spending even more money by convincing me certain things just make no difference.
2 Likes
Al - what DAC are you rockin’ at the moment? You’ll perhaps Forgive me For Forgetting. And I write “at the moment” intentionally😝
1 Like
Oh, wait a minute - there’s a Song There: "Forgive Me For Forgetting"
This, I am not kidding about.
2 Likes
Out of curiosity, what were the “certain things”?
His recommendation was to move my server as far away as possible from my listening room (fortunately, easy for me to do), and given this he told me there was no need to spend big on a LPS or power cable for the server. I wasn’t convinced so AB’d the server in the listening room and far away - far away was far and away better as Adrian suggested. Then I repurposed a nice power cable (Shunyata Alpha) to the (now remote) server, not noticeable difference in SQ, did the same with an LPS (not Farad) - again no diff. So I saved $ by not buying yet another LPS and yet another Shunyata. 
3 Likes
Listening to a Mac mini as a server/streamer as I type this. It can be a great starter, but can be bettered for a price. I also have a BlueSound Node2i that I enjoy for it’s simplicity, and an Innuos ZENith Mk 3 with a Phoenix for their sound. I still consider the Mac mini approach to be a hair shirt experience in implementation, ease of use and sound. Technology has moved on considerably.
1 Like
Our hobby is such a faith based endeavor. There’s such little science involved. And so few blind listening evaluations to determine what actually sounds better. Instead we have the review machine, which is about as corupt as anything can possibly be. And we have manufacturers with massive margins. And then forums like these filled with personal opinions.
I’m reminded of the Arizona Audiophile Club (name?) DAC shootout last year. With 30+ audiophiles and blind listening situations on a $118K system, the lowly $800 Black Ice Audio DAC (Jolida) beat out Chord, PS Audio, Holo, etc. The little el cheapo beat all comers.
I wonder what the results would be if all of our audiophile beliefs and superstitions were put under a scientific microscope? What would the result be?
It’s so difficult to get to the truth of the matter when we are so burdened by largely unproven theories and a massive marketing push. Yet no one with the capacity to get to the truth has a financial interest in doing so.
And thus we plug onward, the earth is flat. So be it.
Gryphon Kalliope DAC. It’s really very good.
2 Likes