Holo Audio Red Streamer

[musicinmymind]

Install volumio or ropieee on another microsd card & use it instead of Red OS then scan the network.
Sometimes, the OS gets corrupted & fails to boot.

I will try... my main use case to use Tidal connect. Can you pls suggest which alternate OS is best

 

[Matthew Willims]

Hi guys, been reading through this thread though haven't been able to clearly determine something. Am I able to use the USB and Coax inputs, output back to the USB out? This would allow me to get rid of my Gustard U18 which is dedicated to media PC output for movies/TV/games etc whilst using the RED streamer (in place of my current Accurate Studio Audio MBS-S800 streamer). The auto switching of inputs would greatly improve ease of use in my system and be a big win with my wife. It's enough she has to turn on preamp and power amp each time.

I'm rather hoping to use the following sound path:

Synolgoy NAS (Roon Core) > Renolabs Ultimate Audio Switch > Network Acoustics Muon Pro > Holo Red Steamer (Silent Angel VitOS image) > Gieseler Audio Reinigen > AudioGD DI20HE over USB > AudioGD R7HE Mk2

Using Gothic Audio Semperfi "The Outsider" USB cables and Tubulus Concentus I2S cables in the chain, DI20HE and R&HE Mk2 are both synced from an Afterdark Emperor Double Crown OCXO clock using 50ohm Duelund pure silver clock cables by Aurealis Audio.

If it does work I'll need to see what sounds better, USB out or BNC connector coax.

If someone could answer this for me it would be greatly appreciated. Sorry if this has already been answered. I madly read through the thread over a few days and may have missed something.

I only stream via Roon hence why I intend to use VitOS as I've typically found that to give better sonics with RPi based end points though given this uses the compute unit I guess it may not have any impact as everything is largely kept separate. Guess I'll see.

 

[kumar402]

Hi guys, been reading through this thread though haven't been able to clearly determine something. Am I able to use the USB and Coax inputs, output back to the USB out? This would allow me to get rid of my Gustard U18 which is dedicated to media PC output for movies/TV/games etc whilst using the RED streamer (in place of my current Accurate Studio Audio MBS-S800 streamer). The auto switching of inputs would greatly improve ease of use in my system and be a big win with my wife. It's enough she has to turn on preamp and power amp each time.

I'm rather hoping to use the following sound path:

Synolgoy NAS (Roon Core) > Renolabs Ultimate Audio Switch > Network Acoustics Muon Pro > Holo Red Steamer (Silent Angel VitOS image) > Gieseler Audio Reinigen > AudioGD DI20HE over USB > AudioGD R7HE Mk2

Using Gothic Audio Semperfi "The Outsider" USB cables and Tubulus Concentus I2S cables in the chain, DI20HE and R&HE Mk2 are both synced from an Afterdark Emperor Double Crown OCXO clock using 50ohm Duelund pure silver clock cables by Aurealis Audio.

If it does work I'll need to see what sounds better, USB out or BNC connector coax.

If someone could answer this for me it would be greatly appreciated. Sorry if this has already been answered. I madly read through the thread over a few days and may have missed something.

I only stream via Roon hence why I intend to use VitOS as I've typically found that to give better sonics with RPi based end points though given this uses the compute unit I guess it may not have any impact as everything is largely kept separate. Guess I'll see.

I wouldn't use Holo Red just to get a USB streamer whose output goes over Reinigen and again to AudioGd DI20HE. Ya if you want to send Coax signal to DI20HE then I do see some merit.

 

[Matthew Willims]

I wouldn't use Holo Red just to get a USB streamer whose output goes over Reinigen and again to AudioGd DI20HE. Ya if you want to send Coax signal to DI20HE then I do see some merit.

Still, that wasn't what I was asking. I will be comparing both direct from the RED to DI20HE via coax (BNC one end RCA the other) as well as with USB in the chain. What I'd like to confirm however is that all inputs will output to USB.

I've reasons to try both and whichever works best and sounds best to my ears is the solution I will stick with. I do appreciate your thoughts on this, though I'm looking to compare both signal paths.

 

[Jack Dawkins]

Not sure you understand how the Red works as the only input that lets all the outputs be active is via Ethernet. The only other input is USB which turns the Red into a DDC and not a streamer. There is no Coax input. It's either an Ethernet input streamer or a USB input DDC.

 

[Matthew Willims]

Not sure you understand how the Red works as the only input that lets all the outputs be active is via Ethernet. The only other input is USB which turns the Red into a DDC and not a streamer. There is no Coax input. It's either an Ethernet input streamer or a USB input DDC.

Thankyou Jack, that’s the clarification I needed. I did in fact misunderstand how this worked as you surmised. I can use the coax output into the DI20HE, and possibly the USB output. All other connections are outputs. I think I can work around this.

The reason I use a Gustard U18 is I only use it for streaming movies, games etc into my DAC and the Red will do this just fine. It also combines the streamer so I can reduce box count by 1. Not a bad result.

Still not clear on the USB output though if it works I’ll try it and report my findings. I suspect Coax output may sound better for my use though not above trying USB either. One’s optimised for jitter whereas the other has considerably higher bandwidth/throughput. It will be interesting at least, assuming it works.

 

[Jack Dawkins]

If you use Ethernet in then you can use all of the outputs. If you use the one labeled USB input then it's only a DDC and the outputs are still active for that function. I have used the Red so far with the USB, AES and Coax outputs and found that the differences are more cable and DAC preference than anything else. So feed your DAC with what you have found to be it's preferred input. In my case I have tried the Red with the May KTE, the Spring 3 KTE and the Aqua La Voce S3. With both Holo DAC's USB is the preferred input and sounds the best but with the Aqua AES is the preferred output. With all three their designers preferred output sounded the best with the other two still fine but a slight bit below the preferred output.

 

[Matthew Willims]

Excellent, thanks so much Jack. You have convered everything I couldn’t gather quite comprehensively. Now for a long wait to recieve my Red. I’ll use the Silent Angel VitOS image on mine for Roon Bridge and USB input from my media PC for non musical entertainment.

 

[cglin222]

Correct. Not at the same time.

So Ethernet in and then i2s won’t work then?

 

[Matthew Willims]

Hang on.... So I might still not be understanding.... Can I use the Red with USB input and Ethernet with it autodetecting the active input (assuming Windows has released control of the red)? I would only need one output, which in my case will likely be USB. Sorry if I'm being dense/obtuse.

 

[cglin222]

Hello,
No, it doesn't seem to work.
As I understand it, the USB mode is coupled to the DDC.
Streaming with the Lan cable should theoretically output via I2S.

The DDC is activated when the Usb cable is plugged in, as I understand it.

So with Ethernet in and i2s out does it mean it’s not really doing ddc but just putting via “output” i2s

 

[Matthew Willims]

So with Ethernet in and i2s out does it mean it’s not really doing ddc but just putting via “output” i2s

Bummer, if this is the case it destroys the value proposition for me. It’s the combination of the two made it seem a good choice, particularly given it lacks a clock input

 

[cglin222]

Bummer, if this is the case it destroys the value proposition for me. It’s the combination of the two made it seem a good choice, particularly given it lacks a clock input

Got a confirmation it’s just an output

 

[Matthew Willims]

Mmmm, might cancel my order methinks

 

[Jake2]

Mmmm, might cancel my order methinks

I would hold fire if I were you. I’m not a Red owner but I‘ve red a few statements in the last day or two that are at odds with those I’ve read previously in this thread. Will add a couple of comments later re my understanding, got some work deadlines…