[motberg]

  Just added the HDPLEX 100W LPS into my system.
 
Currently it is only powering the Small Green Computer i5 sonicTransporter. Previously the i5 sT was being powered by the included stock brick and cables.
 
There have been immediate sound quality improvements.
 

Thanks for posting this... helpful info to folks planning to use a MicroRendu and similar..
(iirc one guy at the AOIP thread recently had similar results upgrading his computer also)
I am thinking of a second system using the SOtM SMS-200, so the info is timely and much appreciated.

 

[TheAttorney]

Any more thoughts anyone about the SOtM SMS-200?
 
Romaz elsewhere has stated he now much prefers this over his mR.
Having just got an LPS-1 for my mR, I'm struggling to keep track of the next little wonder box that comes round, and I'm inclined to sit tight for a while and see how things pan out over a longer period.
 
However, looking at the SOtM spec sheet, there are two features which in combination could immediately get my wallet out: Static IP Address and WiFi.
 
Does the Static IP address mean that I don't need a router between my laptop and SOtM? 
And does the WiFi mean I don't even need an Ethernet cable for same connection?.
 
The idea of my HQP+NAA (or Roon equivalent) laptop connecting wirelessly direct to SOtM is very appealing in terms of reducing little-box-clutter.   
And would there be a any impact to SQ compared to my current wireless router and Ethernet cable?  
 
I couldn't find the answer to those questions from the (difficult to read) manual and the online reviews I've seen.
 
PS. I'm pleased to say that my LPS-1 doesn't get much above "warm" when driving my mR to DAVE. A long, long way off having to think about heat sinks. 

 

[nepherte]

Any more thoughts anyone about the SOtM SMS-200?

Romaz elsewhere has stated he now much prefers this over his mR.
Having just got an LPS-1 for my mR, I'm struggling to keep track of the next little wonder box that comes round, and I'm inclined to sit tight for a while and see how things pan out over a longer period.

However, looking at the SOtM spec sheet, there are two features which in combination could immediately get my wallet out: Static IP Address and WiFi.

Does the Static IP address mean that I don't need a router between my laptop and SOtM? 
And does the WiFi mean I don't even need an Ethernet cable for same connection?.

The idea of my HQP+NAA (or Roon equivalent) laptop connecting wirelessly direct to SOtM is very appealing in terms of reducing little-box-clutter.   
And would there be a any impact to SQ compared to my current wireless router and Ethernet cable?  

I couldn't find the answer to those questions from the (difficult to read) manual and the online reviews I've seen.

PS. I'm pleased to say that my LPS-1 doesn't get much above "warm" when driving my mR to DAVE. A long, long way off having to think about heat sinks. 

If your devices are all on the same network connected via hubs or switches, then no you don't need a router.

 

[TheAttorney]

Thank you nepherte.
 
Just to be absolutely clear, as the precise point of this particular excercise is to not have any hubs or switches or any other little box or dongle at all:
 
I can have my laptop running HQP (or Roon) with endpoint loaded on the SOtM.
By using the WIFI function of laptop talking directly to the WIFI function built into the SOtM, I can play music between the two with absolutely nothing other than fresh air in between?

 

[nepherte]

  Thank you nepherte.
 
Just to be absolutely clear, as the precise point of this particular excercise is to not have any hubs or switches or any other little box or dongle at all:
 
I can have my laptop running HQP (or Roon) with endpoint loaded on the SOtM.
By using the WIFI function of laptop talking directly to the WIFI function built into the SOtM, I can play music between the two with absolutely nothing other than fresh air in between?

Hmm. Fixed ip simply means that it does not need to retrieve an ip address from the likes of a DHCP (typically present in a router, could also be on a server, or ...). The ip address is directly configured on the device itself. You can do this with almost all devices that are not completely locked down by the vendor.
 
When you communicate over the network, packets are arriving on all devices on that network (smart devices such as switches and routers can narrow it down to a smaller part of the network). When these packets arrive on the device, devices compare the address to see whether it was meant for them. If not they discard it, otherwise they process it further. 
 
For the WIFI of your laptop to talk to the WIFI of the SOtM, I think one of them will need to act as an access point. I doubt that SOtM is doing that, which means your laptop will have to act like one. It might be possible to do something similar to connecting one network port directly to another with a cable, but I'm not entirely sure.

 

[kennyb123]

I can have my laptop running HQP (or Roon) with endpoint loaded on the SOtM.
By using the WIFI function of laptop talking directly to the WIFI function built into the SOtM, I can play music between the two with absolutely nothing other than fresh air in between?

The lowest noise floor I was able to achieve with an Auralic Aries was when I moved to optical fiber. It clearly bettered wifi, which surprised me as, like you, I figured wirlesss would offer isolation. I can't explain why, but suspect it has something to do with operating a radio receiver/transmitter in really close proximity to sensitive analog circuits.

I'm using a microRendu now, so wifi is no longer an option. But based on my experience with the Aries, I probably wouldn't be using wifi even if I could.

 

[TheAttorney]

I'm using a microRendu now, so wifi is no longer an option. But based on my experience with the Aries, I probably wouldn't be using wifi even if I could.

I'm using laptop -> wifi -> router -> ethernet -> mR
 
And when I replaced above wifi link with an ethernet cable to router, the sound definitely degraded (surprisingly) - although this was a Monoprice ethernet cable, and I'm not the only one to be unimpressed by it. Maybe the tables would have turned had I used another Supra CAT 8, but in the meantime the convenience of wifi suites me really well, so I'm not rushing to change that. Just curious if removing the router is a possibility with the SOtM.

 

[romaz]

  I'm using laptop -> wifi -> router -> ethernet -> mR
 
And when I replaced above wifi link with an ethernet cable to router, the sound definitely degraded (surprisingly) - although this was a Monoprice ethernet cable, and I'm not the only one to be unimpressed by it. Maybe the tables would have turned had I used another Supra CAT 8, but in the meantime the convenience of wifi suites me really well, so I'm not rushing to change that. Just curious if removing the router is a possibility with the SOtM.

 
The sMS-200 used to have the option of being configured with a static IP but SOtM removed this feature in firmware version 2.0 unfortunately.  I am in communication with them to try and return this feature but for reasons other than convenience.
 
With that said, I have figured out a way to connect my Mac Mini (the same can be done with a Windows PC) directly to either a microRendu or sMS-200 although a router will still need to exist somewhere if you plan to stream from Tidal.  Despite the convenience of this, I found a massive improvement in SQ, as large as powering either a microRendu or sMS-200 with my Paul Hynes SR7.  Where my SR7 (and LPS-1) improves dynamics and dimensionality of either of these endpoints, this direct connection significantly improves clarity and immediacy.
 
I have detailed what I have done in CA:
 
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f10-music-servers/novel-way-massively-improve-sq-sms-200-and-microrendu-31110/

 

[Articnoise]

   
The sMS-200 used to have the option of being configured with a static IP but SOtM removed this feature in firmware version 2.0 unfortunately.  I am in communication with them to try and return this feature but for reasons other than convenience.
 
With that said, I have figured out a way to connect my Mac Mini (the same can be done with a Windows PC) directly to either a microRendu or sMS-200 although a router will still need to exist somewhere if you plan to stream from Tidal.  Despite the convenience of this, I found a massive improvement in SQ, as large as powering either a microRendu or sMS-200 with my Paul Hynes SR7.  Where my SR7 (and LPS-1) improves dynamics and dimensionality of either of these endpoints, this direct connection significantly improves clarity and immediacy.
 
I have detailed what I have done in CA:
 
http://www.computeraudiophile.com/f10-music-servers/novel-way-massively-improve-sq-sms-200-and-microrendu-31110/

 

If you go PC directly to microRendu you will not get the benefits that an NAA is supposed to bring to the table. The benefits of having an NAA is (as I have understand it) that no direct link between a PC and the DAC/DCC make noise pollution generated or picked up by the PC less relevant than directly connected. Noise is never totally irrelevant thou and it’s always better to never get it than try to treat it, if possible.

 

If the PC et al have exceptionally little noise, the benefit of using the mR as an NAA is maybe of low importance and the less is more can be of more importance. I don’t know I have not tried it. My point is that it can be very system dependent, if the benefit of an NAA sounds better or not. A system with all noise pollution and ways that the noise can travel taking care of (SR7, LPS-1 etc.) is probably very different from a more normal, more noise infected environment/home.  

 

[romaz]

   

If you go PC directly to microRendu you will not get the benefits that an NAA is supposed to bring to the table. The benefits of having an NAA is (as I have understand it) that no direct link between a PC and the DAC/DCC make noise pollution generated or picked up by the PC less relevant than directly connected. Noise is never totally irrelevant thou and it’s always better to never get it than try to treat it, if possible.

 

If the PC et al have exceptionally little noise, the benefit of using the mR as an NAA is maybe of low importance and the less is more can be of more importance. I don’t know I have not tried it. My point is that it can be very system dependent, if the benefit of an NAA sounds better or not. A system with all noise pollution and ways that the noise can travel taking care of (SR7, LPS-1 etc.) is probably very different from a more normal, more noise infected environment/home.  

I have not found this to be true at all with this direct connection.  An ethernet connection is inherently galvanically isolated and so this does not change.  While I have gone to great lengths to make my modified Mac Mini a very low noise device, even when using my much noisier Mac Pro which has a noisy 12-core Xeon, dual GPUs, etc., this supreme clarity is still there.  I would suggest you try it and see for yourself.  To some extent, logic defies what I am hearing but it also goes to show that there is much that is not fully understood when it comes to audio over ethernet.

 

[TheAttorney]

Quote:

  With that said, I have figured out a way to connect my Mac Mini (the same can be done with a Windows PC) directly to either a microRendu or sMS-200 ..... this direct connection significantly improves clarity and immediacy.

Very, very interesting. You know how much I hate the proliferation of little boxes in my hifi chain, so thank you for this promising potential solution.
 
I'll have to read the CA thread a couple of times to absorb it all. Some immediate questions/comments in the meantime?
 

• Are you using HQP NAS (or Roon RAAT) end point modes in this direct connection? Does it affect SQ if NAS is still used or not?
• You mentioned somewhere that you felt Roon 1.2 now surpassed HQP's SQ. Do you still think so?
• I see that upcoming Roon 1.3 has abundance of new tagging/upsampling/DSP features that threaten to make both HQP and JRiver redundant. I wonder if Roon has integrated some HQP functions, or Roon and HP are now effectively rivals?
• One reason I prefer laptop > wifi > router is that my ultra slim Windows 10 laptop doesn't have an ethernet socket. But theoretically I can use a USB 3.0 > Gigabit converter dongle for this direct connection purpose
• Hopefully, with this internal bridging option, I can now access the internet via my wifi internet router (for Roon/Tidal etc) - without impacting the direct ethernet connection to mR

 

[bmichels]

Here is a new server that should be considered.   It include SSD storage as well a Roon SERVER + HQ player, and it does DSD up-sampling to the maximum DSD capability of your DAC.  The manufacturer configure the HQ-Player's filter best suited to your DAC.
 
 
Review in positive feedback : http://positive-feedback.com/reviews/hardware-reviews/sound-galleries-monaco-server-sgm2015/
 
thread in the What's Best Forum :  http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?20899-Sound-Galleries-SGM-2015&highlight=SGM-2015
 
Website of the manufacturer Sound Galeries : http://soundgalleries.com/product/sgm-2015/
 
 

 

[TheAttorney]

  Here is a new server that should be considered.   It include SSD storage as well a Roon SERVER + HQ player, and it does DSD up-sampling to the maximum DSD capability of your DAC.  The manufacturer configure the HQ-Player's filter best suited to your DAC.

Yes, SGM seems to be creating quite a buzz these days. The main downside for me is that it's expensive (a lot more than $10K from memory). My laptop can do all that for <1/10th of the price (abeit with a smaller SSD). What is not clear is how much of a SQ gain one can get for those extra $K - in an mR/SOtM world which is meant to seriously reduce the impact of source differences.

 

[izzard1982]

  Very, very interesting. You know how much I hate the proliferation of little boxes in my hifi chain, so thank you for this promising potential solution.
 
I'll have to read the CA thread a couple of times to absorb it all. Some immediate questions/comments in the meantime?
 

• Are you using HQP NAS (or Roon RAAT) end point modes in this direct connection? Does it affect SQ if NAS is still used or not?
• You mentioned somewhere that you felt Roon 1.2 now surpassed HQP's SQ. Do you still think so?
• I see that upcoming Roon 1.3 has abundance of new tagging/upsampling/DSP features that threaten to make both HQP and JRiver redundant. I wonder if Roon has integrated some HQP functions, or Roon and HP are now effectively rivals?
• One reason I prefer laptop > wifi > router is that my ultra slim Windows 10 laptop doesn't have an ethernet socket. But theoretically I can use a USB 3.0 > Gigabit converter dongle for this direct connection purpose
• Hopefully, with this internal bridging option, I can now access the internet via my wifi internet router (for Roon/Tidal etc) - without impacting the direct ethernet connection to mR

I agree about #2, I have been using Roon + HQPlayer for several months and switched back to only Roon yesterday just to see how it sounded and I think I will not use HQPlayer anymore.

 

[bmichels]

  I agree about #2, I have been using Roon + HQPlayer for several months and switched back to only Roon yesterday just to see how it sounded and I think I will not use HQPlayer anymore.

 
Another bad news for HQ-Player:  ROON 1.3 will include PCM to DSD up-sampling !   So may be no more need for HQ-Player anymore if the ROON''s up-sampling is of the same quality as HQ Player ?
 
Extract from DARCO's article on ROON 1.3:  "One of the biggest complaints about DSD is the paucity of available content. With Roon 1.3, you can roll your own. Many HQPlayer users report a smoother, richer sound when upsampling PCM to DSD at source. Soon you’ll be able to access the same from within Roon itself. 1.3 brings with it a re-sampling engine that will allow users to apply sample rate conversion to every type of content before it is sent downstream to a direct-connected DAC or over the network to a streamer – yes, from 44.1kHz to 384kHz PCM to DSD128 and DSD256. A choice of SRC filters will allow listeners to season according to taste. Farewell HQPlayer, we hardly knew ye. (Just make sure your network can handle DSD streaming before you get going with this)."