CHORD ELECTRONICS DAVE

[adrianm]

I have tried the susvara out of the DAVE. Don't waste your time. It can't drive it lol

Hence the AHB2 question

 

[jlbrach]

one of the reasons I have become such a fan of the solitaire P HP's is how incredibly well the dave can drive them...I have listened out of my external amps and out of the dave itself and find the dave as good or better...plus it is a fantastic HP

 

[DJJEZ]

Hence the AHB2 question

The AHB2 can drive the susvara extremely well

 

[muski]

Roon blurred the bass and lower mid and added a smearing to the whole sound

Yes, that’s exactly how I feel about Roon vs LMS/Squeezelite. I still use Roon for casual listening, but always LMS /Squeezelite for critical listening. I don’t understand why either, but I’d wager that Roon is mangling some bits somewhere along the way.

My sonicTransporter i9 optical + opticalRendu combination makes switching between them very easy. The SonicTransporter can run both LMS & Roon server simultaneously, and the opticalRendu can be swapped from one to the other with a single click. While I’ve never heard the K50 or Statement, with the Sonore’s optical isolation and the Innuos Phoenix Net and Phoenix USB in my chain, I’m guessing it’s a decent (and nerdy) approximation.

 

[BassicScience]

Like all things digital, this oversimplifies the processing under the hood. Roon does a lot of signal processing, e,g., in my case it transcribes DSD to 32-bit 384khz PCM before feeding it to the M-scaler. I suppose I could feed the M-scaler raw DSD, but that has not worked reliably for me. I have found that just switching on the equalizer in Roon, without changing any frequency settings, greatly deteriorates the signal quality. For many years before I got Roon, I used a Squeeze server. But I am so used to the Roon interface that I cannot go back to the old clunky Squeeze interface, leaving aside sound quality. But I would never characterize Roon as transparent. My go-to yardstick for digital remains my massive CEC-TL0 belt driven two box CD transport into the M-scaler. That beats Roon DSP hands down. But of course the great strength of Roon is the huge amount of source material available to stream. Still, I have many thousands of red book CDs bought over 30 years of patient collecting and I am never going to sell my CDs. My first CD, bought in 1985, still plays back perfectly. My first hard drive? Don’t even go there! Roon may die tomorrow, as might Qobuz or Tidal. But my physical optical media will live on, and outlast me. No need for a network to play back redbook CDs.

My response did not "oversimplify the processing under the hood" given I said that if streaming front ends sound different on the same machine/interface, then it comes down to either configuration settings OR different processing done within the programs. I run Roon core on a silent PC that I built myself. It uses the Windows 10 ASIO interface to avoid any Windows data processing. I don't use the Roon equalizer or upsampling. DSD is formatted into DoP, a simple wrapper with no change to the actual data.

As such, I have no need to try any other streaming programs, because Roon is currently doing exactly what I want, namely sending music files to my DAC in a bit-perfect manner. FWIW, if I stream local files using JRiver or cloud files from the Tidal UI directly, I don't detect any change in the quality of sound. YMMV.

 

[Kirklandia]

Has anyone here had any experience with Audioquest‘s Niagara line of power conditioners? I’ve read some good reviews but some first hand accounts from owners would be appreciated.

The 1200 quieted down the noise level. It was a night and day change because of a combination of sensitive headphones and a tube amp.

 

[Ciggavelli]

My response did not "oversimplify the processing under the hood" given I said that if streaming front ends sound different on the same machine/interface, then it comes down to either configuration settings OR different processing done within the programs. I run Roon core on a silent PC that I built myself. It uses the Windows 10 ASIO interface to avoid any Windows data processing. I don't use the Roon equalizer or upsampling. DSD is formatted into DoP, a simple wrapper with no change to the actual data.

As such, I have no need to try any other streaming programs, because Roon is currently doing exactly what I want, namely sending music files to my DAC in a bit-perfect manner. FWIW, if I stream local files using JRiver or cloud files from the Tidal UI directly, I don't detect any change in the quality of sound. YMMV.

Transparency of your system, blah blah blah, sometimes you don’t know something else is better until you try it, blah, blah, blah

 

[Ards]

Yes, that’s exactly how I feel about Roon vs LMS/Squeezelite. I still use Roon for casual listening, but always LMS /Squeezelite for critical listening. I don’t understand why either, but I’d wager that Roon is mangling some bits somewhere along the way.

My sonicTransporter i9 optical + opticalRendu combination makes switching between them very easy.

FWIW. I don't own the sonic Transporter, but am using the opticalRendu - I have Roon configured to work with LMS clients and have the opticalRendu in Squeeze mode. Sounds much better than Roon Ready mode. A veil is lifted...

 

[Triode User]

FWIW. I don't own the sonic Transporter, but am using the opticalRendu - I have Roon configured to work with LMS clients and have the opticalRendu in Squeeze mode. Sounds much better than Roon Ready mode. A veil is lifted...

My comparisons had Roon Core on my K50 Server with Squeezelite Audio device output on the K50Player. This was compared to Squeeze on the K50 Server and Squeezelite on the K50 Player. This was connected to an Mscaler by USB with both and then outputting to Dave by dual BNC.

Squeeze/Squeezelite was by far the best sound quality, ie no Roon. Worst of all was Roon Core plus Roon Audio output.

 

[ObjectiveSubjectivist]

My comparisons had Roon Core on my K50 Server with Squeezelite Audio device output on the K50Player. This was compared to Squeeze on the K50 Server and Squeezelite on the K50 Player. This was connected to an Mscaler by USB with both and then outputting to Dave by dual BNC.

Squeeze/Squeezelite was by far the best sound quality, ie no Roon. Worst of all was Roon Core plus Roon Audio output.

That's what I did.
Currently using Roon with Squeezelite endpoint. It seems like a middle ground between going full LMS or full Roon.

 

[Triode User]

That's what I did.
Currently using Roon with Squeezelite endpoint. It seems like a middle ground between going full LMS or full Roon.

Agreed. I would say that is middle ground. Unfortunately I do not like the sound of the middle ground especially with albums that I know well such as Opium Moon by Opium Moon. (Try it, it is not everyones cup of tea but I love the texture and interplay of the instruments)

 

[Roasty]

All this talk of Squeezelite made me curious. Decided to try it and just managed to set it up, running from my sms200ultraneo with qobuz and tidal. Music does sound clearer and details seem easier to make out. But I do find the web UI a bit clunky and laggy.

 

[ObjectiveSubjectivist]

All this talk of Squeezelite made me curious. Decided to try it and just managed to set it up, running from my sms200ultraneo with qobuz and tidal. Music does sound clearer and details seem easier to make out. But I do find the web UI a bit clunky and laggy.

Try adding Material Skin to your LMS. It helps a bit, but yes user experience is nowhere close to what is Roon offering.

 

[Sampajanna]

I go the middle route too. I love being able to switch so easily with the Innuos 2.0 app from Innuos player to Roon + Squeeze. Takes only a few seconds. Allows search and explore in Roon, then critical playback in Innuos. Really is the best of both worlds! I couldn’t imagine life without Roon no matter SQ, since it leads me to so much new music all the time.

 

[Triode User]

Try adding Material Skin to your LMS. It helps a bit, but yes user experience is nowhere close to what is Roon offering.

Agreed with Material Skin. That is what I use with LMS/Squeezelite on the K50.