[orkney]

This looks very interesting indeed. I'm a little put off by pricey add-on LPSs and 45.00 shipping charge to CA (Canada) for what amounts to a cigarette packet, but may give it a whirl regardless. Thanks all for the ongoing impressions.

 

[Albrecht]

pricey add-on LPSs and 45.00 shipping charge to CA 

 
Shipping to SF was $20. I use a $120 Teradak. But, - will be buying the Uptone LPS-1.
 
For me it's the performance. My $800 total microRendu blows away the more expensive Auralic Aries. YMMV

 

[motberg]

Thanks for all the microRendu reports.
As another point of PS reference (this is for my W4S Recovery USB device) I recently compared a Kingrex uPower battery power supply to a TeraDak 30W, both with and without using the iFi DC iPurifier. The TeraDak showed noticeable improvement, especially in the bass... so the TeraDak with the IFi DC iPurifier may be a really nice and not crazy expensive option (especially if you have the TeraDak laying around..)

 

[muski]

The microRendu blew me away. I have two now—one feeding my Chord Mojo and one feeding my Devialet D800.  My one caveat is I wouldn't bother with the 9V iFi PS—they're nothing special (and it causes a nasty buzzy ground loop with the Chord Mojo). I have an HD-Plex LPS feeding one of them—and it did make a big difference. For the other, while I wait for the Uptone LPS-1 to ship, I'm just using a spare 9V switching PS I had lying around from some old router. It sounds as good as the iFi with no ground loops.

 

[zachawry]

Hi all. I'm seriously considering the microRendu. The thing is, I don't have a network connection per se.
 
I am going to just have it connected directly to my Macbook Pro through a USB/Ethernet adapter. 
 
Will this work? 
 
Thanks. 

 

[Albrecht]

Hi,
 
""I am going to just have it connected directly to my Macbook Pro through a USB/Ethernet adapter. 
 
Will this work?""
 
No, it needs to be connected to a LAN and assigned an individual IP address to the device.
 
Cheers,

 

[muski]

  Hi all. I'm seriously considering the microRendu. The thing is, I don't have a network connection per se.
 
I am going to just have it connected directly to my Macbook Pro through a USB/Ethernet adapter. 
 
Will this work? 
 
Thanks. 

 
 
Actually, it will work. If you turn on Sharing->Internet Sharing  and share your connection from Wifi to your ethernet port, you can directly connect a µRendo to a Mac with a regular ethernet cable. No router or crossover cable needed. This is how I connect my iMac to my µRendu. 

 

[muski]

The Ethernet will have a self-assigned IP address (it will have a yellow icon next to it which you can ignore). As long as wifi is connected to the Internet, MySonicOrbiter will see the µRendu. I recommend a shielded Cat 7 ethernet cable.
 
Here's some screen shots of the configuration:
 
 

 

 

 

[zachawry]

Thanks a lot. The phrase "As long as wifi is connected to the Internet" kinda worries me, though. 
 
If my Internet connection goes out for some reason, I won't be able to get my music six inches from my Mac to my mRendu?
 
That seems...odd, to say the least. 

 

[zachawry]

  Thanks a lot. The phrase "As long as wifi is connected to the Internet" kinda worries me, though. 
 
If my Internet connection goes out for some reason, I won't be able to get my music six inches from my Mac to my mRendu?
 
That seems...odd, to say the least. 

I've done some more looking, and it appears that you do indeed need always-on Internet access to use the device. Please, someone tell me this is wrong!
 
That seems just absolutely crazy to me. I need perpetual Internet to play even local music files? That's just....bizarre. 

 

[Albrecht]

 That seems just absolutely crazy to me

 
No
 
It's a distributive networking device, designed for distributive networking. The fact that the MacBook gives one the wonderful feature of sharing an Internet connection is kind of a fortuitous hack.
 
The microRendu is not designed to be a "local" music playback device. A better purchase for you would be the PSAudio LanRover.

 

[zachawry]

   
No
 
It's a distributive networking device, designed for distributive networking. The fact that the MacBook gives one the wonderful feature of sharing an Internet connection is kind of a fortuitous hack.
 
The microRendu is not designed to be a "local" music playback device. A better purchase for you would be the PSAudio LanRover.

OK, granted.
 
It seems like my usage case isn't the intended case. Still, I'd love anybody to confirm whether or not the device requires persistent connectivity beyond initial setup to play local music. 
 
This page: http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f26-sonore-sponsored/sonicorbiter-direct-connection-mac-pc-beta-28606/
 
has the following statement:
 
1. The Sonicorbiter operating system requires internet access to work properly so your Mac computer needs internet access via Wi-Fi enabled.
 
To me, that sounds like the device needs to ping the manufacturer's servers to continue operating. If that isn't the case, then great. 
 
If that is the case, then you are making the entire operation of your music system dependent on the tiny manufacturer of this device. If they go out of business or even just have a bad day and their servers go down, then is your entire system bricked? I would hope that's not the case, because that's some serious fragility and dependency right there. 

 

[Albrecht]

 
OK, granted.
 
It seems like my usage case isn't the intended case. Still, I'd love anybody to confirm whether or not the device requires persistent connectivity beyond initial setup to play local music. 
 
This page: http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f26-sonore-sponsored/sonicorbiter-direct-connection-mac-pc-beta-28606/
 
has the following statement:
 
1. The Sonicorbiter operating system requires internet access to work properly so your Mac computer needs internet access via Wi-Fi enabled.
 
To me, that sounds like the device needs to ping the manufacturer's servers to continue operating. If that isn't the case, then great. 
 
If that is the case, then you are making the entire operation of your music system dependent on the tiny manufacturer of this device. If they go out of business or even just have a bad day and their servers go down, then is your entire system bricked? I would hope that's not the case, because that's some serious fragility and dependency right there. 

Hi,
 
It's more like your MAC needs to be connected to the Internet because it's sharing out its network connection with the microRendu. The MicroRendu does not need to constantly be phoning home to Sonore. Your MAC is acting as a router and handing out an IP address to the microRendu in order for it to send & receive the music file packets from the MAC.  Your MAC will still need to run mimiMServer, Roon, LMS, etc.

 

[frankraindog]

You don't Need internet for mR if you can handle ip adresses and stuff, the internet just makes it easier for People who don't want to mess around with those things. But if you don't have a network ( which is easy to set up and low on budget) the mR isn't for you , in my opinion. Check audiostream with their latest posts about mR and See if you can handle it , otherwise look elsewere, like ak dap or cd Player

 

[muski]

I'd agree that you're getting a little far from the intended use case, though it might work with some fiddling. The shared port configuration I was describing was more of a way to bridge wifi to Ethernet and avoid needing an extra router and Ethernet cable (and lets you disconnected from the mains if you're running from a battery powered laptop.)
 
Sounds like you're more interested in a USB DAC?