There's a few debates on a sound quality difference between the two, all personal taste. Personally, ill take the plug and play, no power issues, no more components needed, little to no worry of EMI of optical over USB any day.
Biggest reason I bought it is because a relevant amount of people I have a great deal of respect for (some reviewers, some just enthusiasts) have classified it as having the best sound quality you can get from that sort of device - this includes stuff like the $4000 Wadia and even out-worldly servers like the $17000 Aurander. If this were one person's opinion I may be sceptical but given a fair amount of people share this opinion I thought it would be crass of me to not give the $650 mRendu a try (especially given I already own a decent upgraded PSU as advised).
I've never tried a Raspberry Pi nor have I read about the benefits of the Hifiberry but what the mRendu does is negate every bit of residual noise coming in from anywhere in your chain prior to your DAC - doesn't matter how dirty your mains power and network (it's a ethernet based streamer) are or how much jitter is created, the mRendu is supposed to be 100% clean under any circumstance at all time. Now whilst my computer is already pretty optimized and my motherboard cost me around $600 and has dedicated audio/USB/Coax/Toslink components and outs I'm still quite certain there is improvement to be had somewhere.
I mean, even if the improvement is only barely noticeable at least I will know for a fact that the computer/source is not at fault and that any residual noise is in the recording itself rather than on my end. For me, that sense of security alone is worth 600 bucks.
Just adding on here to this answer of the original question a few posts back:
Another way to think of this is that the mRendu is a dedicated audio device (the Pi is a general computing device) with dedicated audio software output modes. And while it's apparently not plug-and-play, it's much easier than having to set up your Pi and hi-fi software and other software setup tweaks to get sound. It does this at what seems to me is a reasonable price for a few guys/gals to spend their time building and selling these devices. I'm fine with supporting that as I am not fine being a software alpha tester...
In my system, the mRendu is a complete game-changer and makes me like digital in ways that compliment my analog set up. Your ears may vary, but I encourage you to give it a listen. And as @Vigrith says, masses of people on other sites are posting big positive impressions. (No, I don't work for or know them. I am super excited by what this thing does for my ears because I love audio.)
I have a microRendu, and I've used a couple of other, lower-cost Ethernet>USB renderers: a Solidrun CuBox-i2ex running Volumio (~$90), and a SOtM sMS-100 (~$400). The microRendu beats both, not hugely but audibly, as input to a Bimby (Bifrost Multibit). The microRendu with direct USB to the Bimby beats both of those even if they are helped by a Bel Canto mLink USB>S/PDIF coax converter reclocker. Again, not by a huge margin, but noticeably in attack/decay (especially cymbals), overtones (strings and voice), and instrument separation. The theory of the microRendu is that it is designed to minimize jitter and electrical noise, compared with renderers based on off-the-shelf ARM processor boards and power supplies, like the others mentioned here.
I've been really happy with Raspberry Pi 3 with Moode Audio; and USB input to the Bimby streaming music (FLACs and MP3s) from my network attached storage. Never had any problems with USB. Here's a picture: Whoops, I don't have permission to upload a picture.
Sonore products are very nice and sound great (I'm using a SonicOrbiter now myself.) Another option to consider, especially if you plan to dabble in Roon: http://www.salksound.com/streamplayer-home.php
To me, the Roon player sounds better than the Squeezelite player on the exact same gear. Not sure why: don't really CARE why. It just does.
Sonore products are very nice and sound great (I'm using a SonicOrbiter now myself.) Another option to consider, especially if you plan to dabble in Roon: http://www.salksound.com/streamplayer-home.php
To me, the Roon player sounds better than the Squeezelite player on the exact same gear. Not sure why: don't really CARE why. It just does.
The Vortexbox is my server, yes. I have the Roon software running on the VB OS. I'm just no longer using LMS. The Sonicorbiter and Yggdrasil is the playback end, into my 2-channel preamp.
Sonore products are very nice and sound great (I'm using a SonicOrbiter now myself.) Another option to consider, especially if you plan to dabble in Roon: http://www.salksound.com/streamplayer-home.php
To me, the Roon player sounds better than the Squeezelite player on the exact same gear. Not sure why: don't really CARE why. It just does.
Interesting. I also found Roon better on FLAC PCM than DLNA/MPD with both microRendu>Bimby>Asgard2>MrSPeakers Alpha Prime and Sonicorbiter SE>Bel Canto mLink>Bel Canto C7R>KEF Reference 1. Like you, no idea why, only theory is that Roon decodes FLAC on the server, reducing computing load on the Sonore devices, demands on their local power sources, processor and RAM electrical noise. Like you, I don't really care, anyway I like Roon's library management and control way better than my previous Minimserver/BubbleUPnP setup.
I saw in Audio Advisor that they were prominently featuring an amp that had a decidedly Schiit-like style to it. I wonder if Jason and Mike have become inadvertent style trend-setters.
I saw in Audio Advisor that they were prominently featuring an amp that had a decidedly Schiit-like style to it. I wonder if Jason and Mike have become inadvertent style trend-setters.
My issue with port power isn't Windows 10, and I use a gaming laptop, not a full tower. It's not an issue when I'm only using bimby and a mouse or printer. It's an issue when I have twelve things hooked up, so likely a PSU limitation.
I bought an audiophile power strip. I could not believe the difference in sound stage and the clarity on highs. So I bit the bullet and replaced all the wiring in my house with oxygen free cryo treated silver. My Magni wall wart never had it so good! Refusing to give in, I rewired the power to my house (on Long Island) all the way to the upstate nuclear plant ( I wish it was Niagara) but what can you do?) with silver plated cryo treated oxygen free copper. I wish I could have used silver the whole way, but as it is, it cost me 3.7 billion dollars. I wired under Long Island sound because the bribes to wire through the city would have exceeded the costs of underwater wiring. That Magni is finally singing now. I can hear the moisture level of the saxophone reed. My Magni wall wart is finally at peace. Spend the 3.7 billion dollars. You will not regret it.
i guess we have gotten ahead of the Japanese!
http://www.wsj.com/video/japanese-audiophiles-are-going-to-extremes/7CDB7E7F-C035-4595-9D5A-42D6D2B4B356.html
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