amrutmhatre90
100+ Head-Fier
Added a Streamer to My R26 – Here’s Why
I had been using the LAN input on my Gustard R26 with Roon and HQPlayer for a year and a half, including an FMC powered by an LPS. I was quite happy with this setup.
Then, there was some discussion about Diretta in one of our audio groups, so I decided to experiment. I tried it using a basic Raspberry Pi 5 running a trial version of GentooPlayer with Diretta.
The improvement was immediate – the sound became more organic and musical. What struck me the most was the vast soundstage, extending well beyond the width of my speakers.
I was sold on Diretta's performance! But I wasn’t too keen on paying two separate license fees for GentooPlayer and Diretta.
That’s when a group member shared that SOtM had announced free Diretta Target support for all its devices.
I had seen a few SOtM units listed on Carousell, and I decided to go for it. I managed to get a great deal on the following:
System Connections:
The clock also has made a significant difference, Switching back to the internal clock on the R26 now sounds muddy in comparison – the external clock brings an unmistakable level of precision and clarity.
I had been using the LAN input on my Gustard R26 with Roon and HQPlayer for a year and a half, including an FMC powered by an LPS. I was quite happy with this setup.
Then, there was some discussion about Diretta in one of our audio groups, so I decided to experiment. I tried it using a basic Raspberry Pi 5 running a trial version of GentooPlayer with Diretta.
The improvement was immediate – the sound became more organic and musical. What struck me the most was the vast soundstage, extending well beyond the width of my speakers.
I was sold on Diretta's performance! But I wasn’t too keen on paying two separate license fees for GentooPlayer and Diretta.
That’s when a group member shared that SOtM had announced free Diretta Target support for all its devices.
I had seen a few SOtM units listed on Carousell, and I decided to go for it. I managed to get a great deal on the following:
- SOtM sMS-200 Neo Ultra with master clock input
- SOtM sPS-500 power supply
- LHY OCK-2 master clock
- BNC clock cables (Gustard and a generic one)
System Connections:
- The R26 and SOtM are synced via the LHY OCK-2 master clock using sine wave output.
- The R26 and SOtM are connected via USB.
- A Mac Mini M2 runs Roon Server.
- A Gaming PC hosts HQPlayer and Diretta Host.
- The PC connects to the internet via the router, and to the SOtM through an FMC and Ethernet.
The clock also has made a significant difference, Switching back to the internal clock on the R26 now sounds muddy in comparison – the external clock brings an unmistakable level of precision and clarity.
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