[Leopold Nenning]

Step Two

Gungir MB USB 5 arriving. Interconnects now XLR (Amphenol plugs, Canare cable €40 for 4) between Gumby and Freya. The PC is connected to the WAN via Ethernet and to Gumby via USB. I am using a USB 2.0 printer cable with ferrites (spell check insists that I have ferrets attached to my cables, but I know better) on either end. When I attach the cable to my printer no music comes out, so its no good for printing music. Getting the bits from PC to Gumby works fine though.

Listening to both Qobuz and Tidal I have tried several tracks in all available resolutions. With one exception, where the 88.2/24 track was clearly better, and one where MQA was sensational (in both cases I think due to a better mix/mastering), 44.1/16 has been better in every way (being able to follow, timbre, attack, rhythm) on the Gumby. Hi-res seems more nervous, “noisier”. Switching back to 44.1/16 slows the heart rate down, sighs of relief follow. Musicians are people again, not highly resolved impulses masquerading as music. There is no difference I can discern in my system between 44.1/16 and 44.1/24. All this is in stark contrast to the TEAC, where Hi-res was usually preferable. The TEAC was also always polite and listenable, never tiring, occasionally even involving. I mean, that’s more than you can say about a lot of digital transducers.

With the wrong source material, Gumby grates. In fact pretty much find only 44.1/16 listenable over longer periods. Makes sense, Mike is a card-carrying Redbook-centric after all. It’s a trade-off I am happy with. Emotions and involvement are way more important to me than anything else in HiFi. I want to be moved to tears when a song is sad and laugh out loud when it is funny. Which pretty much means I will stick with Tidal instead of Qobuz, even though, at least where I am, the latter is more reliable. Just too much 96/24-only material on Qobuz.

Step three to follow as soon as Aleph joins the fray.

 

[Jason Stoddard]

Aegir news?

Still waiting...sorry for the boredom, it's just "wait for the boards" time on both Ragnarok and Aegir. Soon, though.

 

[Timster]

Oh, maybe someone can tell me please if Freya’s LEDs are supposed way behind the front, inside the case, as opposed to being situated in their respective little holes and glowing from there?

Congrats on your new Schiit

Re the LEDs, no they should not be behind the little holes. It sounds like something has moved in transit or they were poked in by the previous owner/children. Could be lined up by removing the tubes and the volume knob, then the case and carefully lining them up and putting it back together. I had to do the same on a Magni, but that only had one LED, the Freya has 6 or more. Disclaimer : I am not a Schitt tech, and have not tried this... your own risk.

 

[Leopold Nenning]

Thank you. I will move them to where they should be. Need to get those surgical pliers with the long handles somewhere. Thats maybe also why the switching its so loud. The LEDs can't block the clicks ...

 

[Pietro Cozzi Tinin]

With the wrong source material, Gumby grates. In fact pretty much find only 44.1/16 listenable over longer periods. Makes sense, Mike is a card-carrying Redbook-centric after all. It’s a trade-off I am happy with. Emotions and involvement are way more important to me than anything else in HiFi. I want to be moved to tears when a song is sad and laugh out loud when it is funny. Which pretty much means I will stick with Tidal instead of Qobuz, even though, at least where I am, the latter is more reliable. Just too much 96/24-only material on Qobuz.

The Yggdrasil has the same tendentie (problem) which is why it's not a versatile DAC in spite of it's high SQ.

 

[mp29k]

Step Two

Listening to both Qobuz and Tidal I have tried several tracks in all available resolutions. With one exception, where the 88.2/24 track was clearly better, and one where MQA was sensational (in both cases I think due to a better mix/mastering), 44.1/16 has been better in every way (being able to follow, timbre, attack, rhythm) on the Gumby. Hi-res seems more nervous, “noisier”. Switching back to 44.1/16 slows the heart rate down, sighs of relief follow. Musicians are people again, not highly resolved impulses masquerading as music. There is no difference I can discern in my system between 44.1/16 and 44.1/24. ...

With the wrong source material, Gumby grates. In fact pretty much find only 44.1/16 listenable over longer periods. Makes sense, Mike is a card-carrying Redbook-centric after all. It’s a trade-off I am happy with. Emotions and involvement are way more important to me than anything else in HiFi. I want to be moved to tears when a song is sad and laugh out loud when it is funny. Which pretty much means I will stick with Tidal instead of Qobuz, even though, at least where I am, the latter is more reliable. Just too much 96/24-only material on Qobuz.

I think this may point to an issue in your source. I have Gumby's little brother, Bifrost MB gen 5, and Qobuz High Res is breathtaking. Computer sources can add a lot of noise, and I imagine this is exacerbated by dealing with high res sources (I have found high res brings the detail, the background sounds more to the surface. Which means they also bring the noise and jitter up as well). Check settings on your Roon setup, and if you are using the Core machine as the source (rather than a dedicated endpoint), try the latter. You may be surprised.

 

[Leopold Nenning]

I think this may point to an issue in your source. I have Gumby's little brother, Bifrost MB gen 5, and Qobuz High Res is breathtaking. Computer sources can add a lot of noise, and I imagine this is exacerbated by dealing with high res sources (I have found high res brings the detail, the background sounds more to the surface. Which means they also bring the noise and jitter up as well). Check settings on your Roon setup, and if you are using the Core machine as the source (rather than a dedicated endpoint), try the latter. You may be surprised.

Thank you! Is this what you mean?

 

[Leopold Nenning]

I think this may point to an issue in your source. I have Gumby's little brother, Bifrost MB gen 5, and Qobuz High Res is breathtaking. Computer sources can add a lot of noise, and I imagine this is exacerbated by dealing with high res sources (I have found high res brings the detail, the background sounds more to the surface. Which means they also bring the noise and jitter up as well). Check settings on your Roon setup, and if you are using the Core machine as the source (rather than a dedicated endpoint), try the latter. You may be surprised.

Mhm, to daft to upload image, apparently. So it says Source: Tidal FLAC 44.1 16bit 2ch, Roon optimised Core Kit: Roon advanced audio transport, Gungir Gen5 ALSA

 

[mp29k]

Mhm, to daft to upload image, apparently. So it says Source: Tidal FLAC 44.1 16bit 2ch, Roon optimised Core Kit: Roon advanced audio transport, Gungir Gen5 ALSA

What type of system is running your Roon core? Does it have all kinds of other peripherals attached to it, like keyboards, monitors, printers, etc?

 

[Leopold Nenning]

What type of system is running your Roon core? Does it have all kinds of other peripherals attached to it, like keyboards, monitors, printers, etc?

Would you kindly point me to where to find this information in Roon? There is nothing attached to it, other than an Ethernet cable and a USB cable. Oh, and a power cord. I disconnected the printer 'cause it wouldn't print music

 

[mp29k]

Would you kindly point me to where to find this information in Roon? There is nothing attached to it, other than an Ethernet cable and a USB cable. Oh, and a power cord. I disconnected the printer 'cause it wouldn't print music

I'm sorry, let me explain differently.

Roon as a software package has different purposes. It is a Server (called Roon Core), a Controller (whatever you use to control the software, many use a phone or a tablet, others use the computer the Core is installed on), and an Endpoint that runs RAAT (Roon Advanced Audio Transport).

While you CAN use the same computer, or laptop to run all three (Core server + Controller + Endpoint), that is NOT ideal from a sound quality standpoint, especially if you have other peripherals connected to the machine.

The best sounding system will involve using a computer (whether it be PC, NUC, Mac, Nucleus, etc), as the core server, and then attaching a dedicated endpoint to the SAME NETWORK to run the endpoint software, known as RAAT. This is because it is best for the enpoint to not have to do anything but read files off the network and play them (not look for updates online for windows or OS/X, not run printer servers, not run graphics cards, and CD/DVD drives, etc). All of these things add electrical noise, and you will notice it more when playing high res.

I use an "in-between" compromise. I have dedicated a mac mini to play the role of both Core and Endpoint, but have disconnected everything else from the unit, and shut off key services (like wifi, bluetooth, screen savers, monitoring software, etc). I am sure I could get a better overall implementation going with a dedicated endpoint, but I am new to this, and this was the investment I could make to get started. Eventually, I will be looking to add something like a Sonore micro-rendu or a Lumin U1 Mini as an endpoint.

I hope this helps explain what I mean, and good luck to you!

 

[Leopold Nenning]

I'm sorry, let me explain differently.

Roon as a software package has different purposes. It is a Server (called Roon Core), a Controller (whatever you use to control the software, many use a phone or a tablet, others use the computer the Core is installed on), and an Endpoint that runs RAAT (Roon Advanced Audio Transport).

While you CAN use the same computer, or laptop to run all three (Core server + Controller + Endpoint), that is NOT ideal from a sound quality standpoint, especially if you have other peripherals connected to the machine.

The best sounding system will involve using a computer (whether it be PC, NUC, Mac, Nucleus, etc), as the core server, and then attaching a dedicated endpoint to the SAME NETWORK to run the endpoint software, known as RAAT. This is because it is best for the enpoint to not have to do anything but read files off the network and play them (not look for updates online for windows or OS/X, not run printer servers, not run graphics cards, and CD/DVD drives, etc). All of these things add electrical noise, and you will notice it more when playing high res.

I use an "in-between" compromise. I have dedicated a mac mini to play the role of both Core and Endpoint, but have disconnected everything else from the unit, and shut off key services (like wifi, bluetooth, screen savers, monitoring software, etc). I am sure I could get a better overall implementation going with a dedicated endpoint, but I am new to this, and this was the investment I could make to get started. Eventually, I will be looking to add something like a Sonore micro-rendu or a Lumin U1 Mini as an endpoint.

I hope this helps explain what I mean, and good luck to you!

Thank you, beautifully explained. I do have a NUC and it does nothing but music. I am about to get some endpoints with DACs for the kids, but I thought in my case the endpoint was Gumby. If understand you, I should be connecting some sort of box ("a device to which Roon can send audio") without a DAC to the LAN and connect that box to Gumby. What kind of box would that be though?

 

[Leopold Nenning]

The Yggdrasil has the same tendentie (problem) which is why it's not a versatile DAC in spite of it's high SQ.

I think they are really similar, everything I read about Yggy seems to apply to Gumby as well. Yggy just does everything even better, I guess.

 

[mp29k]

Thank you, beautifully explained. I do have a NUC and it does nothing but music. I am about to get some endpoints with DACs for the kids, but I thought in my case the endpoint was Gumby. If understand you, I should be connecting some sort of box ("a device to which Roon can send audio") without a DAC to the LAN and connect that box to Gumby. What kind of box would that be though?

Lots of endpoints. From the cheap (Chromecast Audio a
Or a raspberry Pi) to expensive (Lumin products, etc). Although, if you’re using a NUC with ROC, you’re doing better than most for the noise aspect.

 

[Leopold Nenning]

Lots of endpoints. From the cheap (Chromecast Audio a
Or a raspberry Pi) to expensive (Lumin products, etc). Although, if you’re using a NUC with ROC, you’re doing better than most for the noise aspect.

Thanks, got it, found this info in the meantime: https://community.roonlabs.com/t/cost-effective-roon-endpoints/54630/10