Team, I get a lot of emails and posts asking about the compatibility of the Rendu.i2s and the PWD MKII. I have been looking for someone to test this combination to qualify that the combination works as intended. I just setup a customer’s system based on J River as the DLNA server/how-is-ted-coding-the-fpgaroller via remote support. He is using the Sonore Rendu.i2s in combination with his PS Audio PWD MKII interconnected via HDMI cable. The customer is reporting gapless playback and all sample rates are working properly without dropouts. He has conducted his tests with the various modes including Native X.
For those of you who are not familiar...the Rendu is not a computer and instead is a dedicated audio device with Ethernet input and HDMI LVDS i2s output all powered by a custom made linear power supply.
Please post any questions or comments you may have...
Jesus R
Do you have a version compatible with Australian 240V AC?
Is it compatible with EMM server software, gapless?
Are there any special software requirements or settings needed to achieve gapless playback?
Does it play all file formats (including alac)? Or maybe you recommend transcoding at the server irregardless?
It looks like a brilliant achievement.
stereophilus, we could make in 240VAC unit, but it will not have a CE rating. As an alternate, you could use our DC version of the Rendu and power it from the SOtM battery supply that has a 240VAC charger that is CE rated. EMM server will stream it's gapless solution, but that us not the same as proper gapless support from the approved methods listed in our website. Please refer to our website for the currently approved gapless playback schemes. I don't want to post them here in case additional approved methods are found. It plays the major formats including ALAC. Transcoding is specific to the server so we recommend it on a case by case basis.
Sounds good!
I wonder how it sounds compared with the W4S music server as the source.
Now we are waiting for the CE marking......
frode, I'm confident in our product and in EJ's server so no issues either way. For me It's all about options. The CE rating is not something you should hold your breath on. It costs a lot of money and I'm not really interested in it. As stated above, we have a DC version and a SOtM battery supply with CE ratting. If that combination does not satisfy your needs this product is not right for you. However, if someone really wants it and wants to provide a grant for it we would consider it:)
Sounds good!
I wonder how it sounds compared with the W4S music server as the source.
Now we are waiting for the CE marking......
frode, I'm confident in our product and in EJ's server so no issues either way. For me It's all about options. The CE rating is not something you should hold your breath on. It costs a lot of money and I'm not really interested in it. As stated above, we have a DC version and a SOtM battery supply with CE ratting. If that combination does not satisfy your needs this product is not right for you. However, if someone really wants it and wants to provide a grant for it we would consider it:)
Jesus R
This is why I put 'thanks' on your previous post, because I didn't know about this option.
The Rendu-i2s is everything the Bridge was supposed to be when I made my investment in it 2+ years ago. True gapless playback and sound quality that is at worst equal to the bridge and by my initial impressions, better. I no longer have to dread dealing with the bridge connectivity issues to enjoy 50% of my music collection. No problems with any tested setting or function including playback through NativeX. My thanks to Jesus for his product expertise and guidance in helping me get back to the music!
The Rendu-i2s is everything the Bridge was supposed to be when I made my investment in it 2+ years ago. True gapless playback and sound quality that is at worst equal to the bridge and by my initial impressions, better. I no longer have to dread dealing with the bridge connectivity issues to enjoy 50% of my music collection. No problems with any tested setting or function including playback through NativeX. My thanks to Jesus for his product expertise and guidance in helping me get back to the music!
gswaul, do you intend to try the Rendu with the external PS Jesus was talking about?
It should improve SQ in general.
@frode, the Rendu has custom built linear power supplies built right into the unit. The SPDIF output version is a single linear power supply with a toroidal transformer. The i2s, analog, and MSB Network output versions each have two linear power supplies with a toroidal transformer. The PureDSD output has three linear power supplies with two toroidal transformers. Each power supply uses very high end and expensive ultra low noise regulators. You don’t need an external PS with our unit’s unless you purchase the DC input version as a work around for 230VAC. In this case we recommend the SOtM dual battery supply because the DC unit has been designed around it. BTW the DC unit also uses the same very high end and expensive ultra low noise regulators.
@frode, the Rendu has custom built linear power supplies built right into the unit. The SPDIF output version is a single linear power supply with a toroidal transformer. The i2s, analog, and MSB Network output versions each have two linear power supplies with a toroidal transformer. The PureDSD output has three linear power supplies with two toroidal transformers. Each power supply uses very high end and expensive ultra low noise regulators. You don't need an external PS with our unit's unless you purchase the DC input version as a work around for 230VAC. In this case we recommend the SOtM dual battery supply because the DC unit has been designed around it. BTW the DC unit also uses the same very high end and expensive ultra low noise regulators.
Jesus R
Thanks. I didn't mean to suggest that the inboard version was of a poor quality, but are you saying that the only point with the external supply is that it is CE marked for use with 230VAC in Europe?
Except for this there are nothing to gain?
frode, it’s okay! I just wanted to make sure people understood that this is a ground up design and no tweaking is needed:) With the Rendu DC version the SOtM dual battery supply is all you need, but I’m sure someone will want to try a $1,000 power supply…
BTW in a typical computer you may start with a 12VDC or 19VDC input voltage. No matter how good that power supply is the next thing that happens is that several DC to DC converters convert the voltage to 12VDC, 5VDC, and 3.3VDC as needed. These DC to DC converter add a ton of noise downstream of your power supply. It’s still a good idea to start out with a good PS because the noise is cumulative. I recommend the SOtM filters to reduce the noise of the SATA drives, fans and clean up the power to the USB card. In comparison, the Rendu starts out with a high end linear power supply and feeds 3.3VDC to the circuit board and no DC to DC converters are used in the design. Also, the Rendu has no SATA drives, no fans and does not have USB capabilities.
But if you order the Rendu with the outboard DC PS, I reckon the built in AC part is ‘removed’ during assembly. In other words, it cannot be retrofitted.
But if you order the Rendu with the outboard DC PS, I reckon the built in AC part is 'removed' during assembly. In other words, it cannot be retrofitted.
frode, the transformer is removed in the Rendu DC version along with the bridge rectifier. It still has a power supply though with the same high performance regulators as the AC version. This allows you to input the SOtM battery supply output voltages of ~6.5VDC to ~8.4VDC and still deliver 3.3VDC to the Rendu's circuit board. We rated the Rendu DC for 6VDC to 10VDC. The supply should be rated for at least 1.5 A, taking into account that most supplies will be better (lower noise) when not running at their max current. Actual consumption will depend on exact voltage, and sample rate.
This looks like what I’ve been waiting for! Reasonable price, plug and play, stream from my NAS , does gapless… The real drag is this is what the Bridge should have done, and what the Silent Server should have been…
This looks like what I've been waiting for! Reasonable price, plug and play, stream from my NAS , does gapless.. The real drag is this is what the Bridge should have done, and what the Silent Server should have been..
erikm, Paul is working on the WaveStream application and that seems to be coming along. I do want to clarify something because I'm getting emails about our Rendu vs Sonic Orbiter. The Sonore Rendu is an external bridge like device and the Sonore Sonic Orbiter is Silent Server like device. The two are completely different and thus each has a specific usage prescription...
I have been keeping my eye on the Rendu for a while and am pleased that it’s now confirmed to work with NativeX. Overall it’s a great product! If I understand correctly from the Sonore website, however, gapless support requires either an Android tablet or a PC. I have neither. Maybe someday I will break down and get a computer to test wavestream when it’s released, but I’d rather just stay with my NAS running MinimServer and iPad/eLyric.
I have been keeping my eye on the Rendu for a while and am pleased that it's now confirmed to work with NativeX. Overall it's a great product! If I understand correctly from the Sonore website, however, gapless support requires either an Android tablet or a PC. I have neither. Maybe someday I will break down and get a computer to test wavestream when it's released, but I'd rather just stay with my NAS running MinimServer and iPad/eLyric.
magister, the following would work gapless for you:
1 NAS running MinimServer, Android phone or tablet running Bubble UPNP APP, and the Rendu. No computer needed, but that would also work if it had MinimServer running on it.
2. NAS running Logitech Media Server, your iOS device running Squeezebox APP, and the Sonic Orbiter. No computer needed, but that would also work if it had LMS running on it.
#2 - I will check out LMS. I assumed that this would require owning Logitech hardware, but a quick internet search shows that this is not so. I like MinimServer very much, but will look at LMS to see what other possibilities are out there.
Thank you Jesus.
#1 - as I said, I have no Android stuff.
#2 - I will check out LMS. I assumed that this would require owning Logitech hardware, but a quick internet search shows that this is not so. I like MinimServer very much, but will look at LMS to see what other possibilities are out there.
magister, I didn't have any Android devices either, but found them abundant since people are always upgrading there phones:) I was able to get one for free from a friend. New 7" tablet with nine hours of battery is about $200 and it makes sense to dedicate something like this to this task. You don't need to own Logitech hardware to use LMS. I'm using LMS on both my Synology NAS and Vortexbox NAS...