Not sure about any 'old PC'. Last I read on the other site was him [romaz] looking into embedded computing.
On reflection, my comment about "any old PC" was a bit flippant, so let me explain further:
Firstly. when romaz first came across his mR, he dropped his expensive all-in-one servers because he found he could get a better sound with an mR plus any server/PC that he had to hand, which from memory did include something like a Mac Mini. Since then, especally after he discovered the direct bridge method (which in effect takes the router out of the signal path) he went through many discoveries which showed that the source could be considerably further improved. But those improvements didn't contradict his earlier point that mR + cheapo server/PC sounded better than his previous best expensive all-in-one server. It's just that further tweaking has increased the margin of improvement.
Secondly, in my own much more modest experience, I did briefly compare my mR + absolutely normal Windows 10 Dell XPS13 laptop against a full size Aurender (fairly certain it was a W20) directly connected to DAVE via a £1k USB cable. Aurender was streaming Tidal vs the same albums ripped from CD on my laptop,
I'm not claiming this was in any way a full and thorough comparison, but to my own satisfaction the differences were fairly subtle, but also immediately obvious after just a few seconds:: My laptop had greater clarity and dynamics, and the Aurender was slightly softer, smoother, easier on the ear. Both had their merits and the differences weren't huge, but if I had to choose one over the other irrespective of cost, I would have chosen my mR+laptop, although ideally I would have had a combination of both, as the Aurender was kinder to poor recordings (which could come over a touch brash with my laptop).
At the time, from memory I was still using HQP and I also had free Fidelizer. Very importantly, my laptop ran on its internal battery - SQ dropped if connected to mains.
Since then, a few small tweaks have further incrementally improved my source: Upgrading to Fidelizer Pro; adding Process Lasso; replacing the LPS1 stock DC power cable with a short silver one; and last but not least getting the direct bridge method to work. So I feel that the earlier slight brashness has reduced since that comparison (and completely eliminated when I upgraded my HEK V2's cable, but that's another story).
So yes, I really did mean any old PC, but one that still needs to be tweaked in the usual audiophile/audiophool way. I still expect a dedicated server to ultimately be both better SQ and certainly easier to maintain, which is why I'm still following this thread. It's just that, based on my experience so far, the chosen server MUST have the option of a NAA solution, it MUST be able to run Roon, and it MUST be able to be powered by my incoming Paul Hynes SR7 power supply. I remain open minded enough to still consider an all-in-one solution that has none of these things, but it's going to have to prove itself first. Ultimately, all else being equal, I love the simplicity of an all-in-one server, but as romaz would say: I can't un-hear what I've already heard.
