[zek4u]

Wish I wasn't so OCD. So maybe a battery replacement ever so often and hopefully no degradation when it starts charging at random times. I'm using a microRendu and read that it didn't recognize the unit after the Mojo was powered down. Assume the TT would have the same issue. This is why I was thinking of leaving it on all the time. What I do with my 2Qute.

Jesus Rodriguez with SONORE said "Some DACs behave this way...most don't though. We can look into the restart issues if you send the unit in as part of the 1.4 hardware update." Maybe this is just some random occurrence. If it does happen, send in my microRendu or just go ahead and upgrade to an ultraRendu, something I was planning to do anyway.

 

[Whazzzup]

I know nothing of rendu, I use a desktop music server

 

[zek4u]

I know nothing of rendu, I use a desktop music server

Can I ramble This isn't directed at you Whazzzup, it's just something I wanted to write down.

Do you use a SOtM or jCAT USB card in your music server? You get a huge gain from using one. Then you get another one if you power it cleanly. If you power your motherboard with a good PSU, its even more of a gain then powering the USB card cleanly. I did all kinds of tests. There is a big "BUT" here though. Everything else has to be good. Sound like the rest of your system is up to speed. I did have some kind of cheap Furman and it killed my 2 channel system. Bet a good linear one rocks. I love my Audience and my cousin has good luck with the new AudioQuest Niagra. I like to have clean 0s and 1s to start with. Those dirty PC motherboards will kill your sound. If you don't think clean 0s and 1s matter, just try hooking up a Dell Mini 9. It's a small fanless, 10/100, can't keep up with DSD but... sounds terrible as a media server. Removing the SOtM tX-USBexp in my CAPs server and moving to a microRendu was huge! Just read some of the reviews. It just further isolates RMI/RFI distortion because these little devices with their proprietary mother boards and USB configuration are built for good 2 channel audio. We are talking Aurender level without the cost and from what I've read, even more so with the ultraRendu. All my CAPs server is doing now is sending DLNA to the microRendu for further isolation. A good PSU is also important on the microRendu. I think quality goes like this from worse to best:

Dell Mini 9 > USB > DAC
A PC > USB > DAC
Power Conditioner > A PC > USB > DAC
Power Conditioner > A MacBook/Mac Mini > USB > DAC (Think Macs just have cleaner motherboard at this point)
Power Conditioner > A PC > USB > JitterBug or similar device > DAC (still not starting with the cleanest 0s and 1s)
Power Conditioner > A MacBook/Mac Mini > USB > JitterBug or similar device > DAC
Power Conditioner > A PC Audiophile computer > SOtM/jCAT > USB > DAC (this is where better power cables start making a difference)
Power Conditioner > A PC Audiophile computer good PSU > SOtM/jCAT > USB > DAC (huge gain here!)
Power Conditioner > A PC Audiophile computer good PSU > SOtM/jCAT with good PSU > USB > DAC (not as big of a gain)
Power Conditioner > A PC Audiophile computer good PSU > DLNA > microRendu with iFi PSU > USB > DAC (big step!)
Power Conditioner > A PC Audiophile computer good PSU > DLNA > microRendu with iFi PSU > with even better USB > DAC
Power Conditioner > A PC Audiophile computer good PSU > DLNA > microRendu with even better PSU > USB > DAC
Power Conditioner > A PC Audiophile computer good PSU > DLNA > microRendu with even better PSU > with even better USB > DAC
Power Conditioner > A PC Audiophile computer good PSU > DLNA > ultraRendu with even better PSU > with even better USB > DAC

If you don't have this worked out, I feel like you might not even be hearing the full potential of you system/dac.

Guess I should get back to work.

 

[Whazzzup]

Geez can my rabbit hole get any deeper. Finally just did hi res downloads 192 24 bit unto my antipodes audio server. Crap its double the cost of iTunes but worth it.

 

[zek4u]

Slippery slope. Soon you'll need 24 terabytes on a NAS.

 

[Super Pang]

Does the RCA output have less gain than XLR? It should but I thought I'd check.
I'm finding I prefer the fixed output (3V?) into my passive pre-amp than adjusting the volume on the Hugo but using XLR the passive volume knob gets deafening after just a couple of clicks.

 

[miketlse]

Does the RCA output have less gain than XLR? It should but I thought I'd check.
I'm finding I prefer the fixed output (3V?) into my passive pre-amp than adjusting the volume on the Hugo but using XLR the passive volume knob gets deafening after just a couple of clicks.

I thought that people have posted that XLR has twice the voltage of RCA.

 

[Whazzzup]

Does the RCA output have less gain than XLR? It should but I thought I'd check.
I'm finding I prefer the fixed output (3V?) into my passive pre-amp than adjusting the volume on the Hugo but using XLR the passive volume knob gets deafening after just a couple of clicks.

Voltage out is one thing. the TT has a standard set volume voltage out, all things the same, what influences what you hear is the amp. Specifically if its balanced out amp. The voltage is doubled as the volts are for each channel.

 

[Super Pang]

I have gone fully balanced throughout. I think I need to decide if the max voltage really does sound better (I could be imagining it as it's very hard to volume match) and if it does I'll change to RCA so I've got more control with the pre.

And I know Chord advise going direct to the power amp but until they add an input switch to the SPM range I can't, plus I enjoy the sound a passive brings to the party.

 

[kennyb123]

Wish I wasn't so OCD. So maybe a battery replacement ever so often and hopefully no degradation when it starts charging at random times. I'm using a microRendu and read that it didn't recognize the unit after the Mojo was powered down. Assume the TT would have the same issue. This is why I was thinking of leaving it on all the time. What I do with my 2Qute.

Jesus Rodriguez with SONORE said "Some DACs behave this way...most don't though. We can look into the restart issues if you send the unit in as part of the 1.4 hardware update." Maybe this is just some random occurrence. If it does happen, send in my microRendu or just go ahead and upgrade to an ultraRendu, something I was planning to do anyway.

I leave my TT on all the time. I hadn't really put much thought into battery degradation.

I have a microRendu as well. I got the 1.4 update, which I found to be well worth the money. At present, I am using UpTone's USPCB in place of a USB cable and the improvement in clarity was profound. Currently it's: microRendu > USPCB > ISO REGEN > USPCB > Hugo TT.

During the time I was without microRendu, I drove the TT directly from my Mac Mini (powered by UpTone JS-2). So it was: Mac Mini > Audience Au 24 SE USB > ISO REGEN > USPCB > Hugo TT. I had a very difficult time enjoying the music with this configuration. A big drop-off in naturalness plus the addition of grain and harshness. I spun vinyl instead.

I was very happy to receive the microRendu back. Wonderful sound now.

 

[Whazzzup]

fantastic, you got to try a desktop music server running roon core. The TT elevates to a whole new level, especially in hi res, but right on with the rendu.

 

[Articnoise]

I leave my TT on all the time. I hadn't really put much thought into battery degradation.

I have a microRendu as well. I got the 1.4 update, which I found to be well worth the money. At present, I am using UpTone's USPCB in place of a USB cable and the improvement in clarity was profound. Currently it's: microRendu > USPCB > ISO REGEN > USPCB > Hugo TT.

During the time I was without microRendu, I drove the TT directly from my Mac Mini (powered by UpTone JS-2). So it was: Mac Mini > Audience Au 24 SE USB > ISO REGEN > USPCB > Hugo TT. I had a very difficult time enjoying the music with this configuration. A big drop-off in naturalness plus the addition of grain and harshness. I spun vinyl instead.

I was very happy to receive the microRendu back. Wonderful sound now.

Yes it’s weird how fast we can get used to the most recent enjoyed SQ. So much that the music doesn’t even sound likeable anymore, only because of one change in an extensive digital chain that we thought was great just a few month ago.

The same happened to me. I thought that yes the mR with LPS do sound clearly better than my old JCAT USB board with a LPS, but that JCAT still sound pretty good. This was from memory, lol. I went back to confirm this a month ago and fund, like you, that not only did it sound worse than I remembered it, I didn’t even enjoyed listing anymore and had to go back to mR. For the record I tried it for 3 days to eliminate that it wasn’t just a bad day SQ thing.

 

[zek4u]

A year ago, I almost went from the SOtM tX-USBexp to a JCAT but stopped myself. Now look at how many options we have. microRendu, ultraRendu, SOtM sMS-200. Well guess we have a few more but I feel its getting better. I just wish the complexity would be less. I spent 3 days at a friends house. The brand new Synology NAS cratered after large/long transfer. 2 hour ride to pick up a QNAP. Having to show him how to manage jRiver/Roon, reset the microRendu when their are problems. It's still not completely seamless like a true network appliance. Guess this is where Roon and Aurender have the advantage. At least we have options.

I need to get Roon core going on my own CAPs server. I'm just such a creature of habit. Copy files to my NAS, drag the HD/DSD stuff over to jRiver. For redbook, export playlist from iTunes into jRiver.

I'm still tempted to either try a Chord TT or a Mytek Brooklyn with my V281 all balanced. A Resonessence Veritas or Mirus would also be nice but doesn't look like they come up used very often.

 

[rgs9200m]

An Audioquest Diamond USB cable makes a big difference on the Hugo TT (or even the original Hugo). That's what my ears tell me.

 

[zek4u]

An Audioquest Diamond USB cable makes a big difference on the Hugo TT (or even the original Hugo). That's what my ears tell me.

I went from a Wireworld Starlite Platinum 7 to a Chord Company Signature Tuned Aray USB. Love the thing. I remember what I believe was a review saying the Audioquest Coffee was excellent with a Chord 2Qute. I sold it 2 weeks later. Think that made stay away from Audioquest. Just wish I could afford some of the higher price interconnects from Chord Company.