Octave Questions

I don’t know how to flag, but would flag any post with those weird little yellow faces !!!

I sometimes get the idea that in the high-end context it is almost rude to want value for money.

Servers are unique in this context that it is the one piece of audio equipment that many people still DIY, using NUCs or similar. Roon are not a hardware company, but said that they made the Roon Nucleus to satisfy their software users who do not have the DIY skills, and the units are priced at not much more than the parts + labour + a little profit for the effort.

Most servers you can look inside and see all the parts and price it up. I was surprised that the one I have has a quite expensive TEAC ripping drive, a fast DVD unit that costs about $90. Some of them cost as little as $20. It can rip a CD very fast. It is noisy. Like my previous unit, you can choose between fast (noisy) and slow (quiet) modes.

I would modify it a little and say: there were times when some hifi gear had the approach of some racing cars. Was it Lotus or McLaren (not sure but one of the two) famous for being the fastest (when they work).

So occasionally high end customers had to be thankful when something sounded really good, which otherwise seemed to be in noticeable contrast to reliability or built quality.

Thanks, Steven. That’s an interesting comparison between the two products. I would offer a correction, however. Our longer term plans will see streaming itself (as differentiated from serving) as integral to our DACs, a process we began many years ago. Our
Network Bridge is a streamer and it can access files from a NAS, etc. It obviously has no storage. I would imagine future connected products with a newer version of the Bridge built into the DACs, thus I believe we’d be on the same course as Linn in that regard.

We’re getting ready to launch Stellar Integrated next month. That product will have StellarStream built in allowing access through a free StellarStream app (IOS and Android) that can stream Tidal, Qobuz, Spotify, radio. It has Apple AirPlay, TuneIn,
Amazon Music, Deezer, etc. and so on.

You are correct that we see a server as a core product within the stereo chain just as we see disc players in that same way.

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There was an unfortunate period when some were flagging posts as a weapon, not because the other member posted anything problematic.

As a reminder to all, please avoid ad hominem attacks.

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A post was merged into an existing topic: Stellar integrated?

Sounds like there are going to be a number of interesting products coming up in the next 12 to 18 months, and no one has mentioned loudspeakers for a while!

It appears the next year will be great fun with all sorts of goodies to consider.

7 posts were split to a new topic: Quality Control

But no Roon??

The only issue I have with your post, Paul is that if you’re running on ROCK , you’re not really on 3rd party software but a custom Linux core they’ve engineered to run Roon. 3rd party hardware? Unless it’s Nucleus, okay. But Roon is ROCK solid for me, pun intended. And feeding a Sprout through usb via Raspberry Pi.

So just a small issue. :<)

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Loudspeakers are a hot topic internally in the engineering department. Work on the AN3 as well as the upcoming Stellar line of speakers is moving at a fast pace - though one might think the runner is a snail (and they wouldn’t be too far off the mark). There
are just so many thousands of small details that I want to yell out loud…. We are hopeful the final, final version of cabinet and drivers will be in house in mid January. If that happens to schedule, we can place orders and with any luck be in production in
time for Axpona show in April.

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I’m sorry, but I was not following the Octave tread in the forum. I have an Aurender. Maybe this has been addressed. Is Octave a stand alone server like the Aurender? Does it have I2s that output DSD to the DSS like the DMP? Will it have an app to be use on a Iphone or Ipad?
My brother is interested in getting the Aurender or better yet, the upcoming Octave, if it is a better unit in functionality and sound quality.

The upcoming Octave is a music server like the Aurender. I can’t remember if it will have I2s but I would assume it would. The Octave music server will have its own control app for iPhone/iPad. Regarding sound quality only time will tell. Clearly PSA will feel it is the best in the world.

Outstanding. Hope it comes out soon. Depending on how good it is, I am also interested. The Aurender sounds terrific but it is quirky, Sometimes I have a hard time starting it up after shutdown. It just keep blinking and you wait forever and have to shut it down and restart again. Sometimes several times. Most of the time it starts normally and very quick. It’s like a computer freezing up sometimes. If it has I2s output, then I wouldn’t need the Matrix and all those extra parts.

I am not sure how long more I can wait for the Octave transport.
At the moment I am doing Bridge II for the past 3 years and considering Lumin U1, however, member here couldn’t find much improvement with his Lumin U1 over the Bridge II.
Not sure about all the functions that the Octave will carry, I need as a transport only, and hopefully can control with MConnect as with the Bridge II.

I have the LUMIN U1 (the big one, not the Mini).
It is significantly better than Bridge 2, but also significantly more expensive. And you need a really good digital cable. Most of my cables are from Wireworld, but from the LUMIN to the DSD DAC, I use a Chord Sarum T aes/ebu.

Paul said

  • whether it will really sound better than Roon?
    Yes, that much is quite easy to demonstrate.

Paul when you state that Octave is clearly better than Roon in SQ it would be useful to state the hardware configuration of Roon setup used for comparison.

Comparing Roon a few years ago to today there has been vast improvement in Roon Sq. based mostly i believe on using more capable hardware.

Also i am not sure I understand what is so special about the Air Gap interface, can one not achieve the same benefit by using a fiber link between server and player?

thanks much

magicknow

Paul’s vested interest is in Octave not Roon. Many of us here use Roon in it’s current release and the most recent release of Roon is a complete revision of the code. I have no complaints about Roon and it’s sound. I have a highly resolving system and Roon complements it well. I would ask current users that have exposure to other servers and software, ideally in parallel to Roon, to comment on the sound. When Octave is released, I’ll look forward to trying it and making a comparison

Paul as to what you wrote in the Bridge III thread about a separated Bridge III version, the above is not valid anymore, rather the opposite, correct? I understood not decided yet, but in theory and from sound quality perspective you prefer a separate version now.