[Orange5o]

I think an under-discussed aspect is the source. Urd has always sounded like their best usb implementation. Almost everyone here and on other forums it seems Pi2aes products sound better with AES. The output of your source should probably guide your connection type tbh.

 

[Voxata]

My digital sources? Schiit Urd (with Unison in, Unison out, SPDIF/out, AES/EBU out) or WiiM Pro (SPDIF/coax out).

SPDIF/coax is good but Unison is better, for my ears. Unison repackages the data with its own precise clock, controlling jitter better. All other inputs have to deal with the stream clock.

Reds output jitter is the lowest I've ever seen measured. I'm curious why Unison sounds a bit sharper/harder or flatter to me, to the point it kind of breaks my system synergy. It's just too much for my already pretty neutral system. I'm thankful there are options for those with different synergy, and that Yggdrasil is such a versatile DAC.

 

[theveterans]

Testing a Macbook Pro as Roon Endpoint using USB to Yggdrasil MIB . Sounds better than Windows 10 I think lol

 

[jlemaster1957]

Testing a Macbook Pro as Roon Endpoint using USB to Yggdrasil MIB . Sounds better than Windows 10 I think lol

My concern about my own set up using a dedicated Macbook laptop is that the laptop has only USB-C ports, so I have to use a USB-C- to- Ethernet adapter to send audio data out to my Sonore Optical Rendu. The final step before the Rendu is optical cable, and it works fine (most of the time- every now and then Roon has a “connectivity problem”), but I can’t help think that if I could switch to a server that outputs a quality Ethernet signal directly my audio SQ would improve- thinking about soon switching to a Sonore Sonictransporter which should integrate well with the Rendu. The new Roon Nucleus One is another even cheaper option.

 

[Luckyleo]

Testing a Macbook Pro as Roon Endpoint using USB to Yggdrasil MIB . Sounds better than Windows 10 I think lol

That's my setup as well. No complaints from me.

 

[tutetibiimperes]

My concern about my own set up using a dedicated Macbook laptop is that the laptop has only USB-C ports, so I have to use a USB-C- to- Ethernet adapter to send audio data out to my Sonore Optical Rendu. The final step before the Rendu is optical cable, and it works fine (most of the time- every now and then Roon has a “connectivity problem”), but I can’t help think that if I could switch to a server that outputs a quality Ethernet signal directly my audio SQ would improve- thinking about soon switching to a Sonore Sonictransporter which should integrate well with the Rendu. The new Roon Nucleus One is another even cheaper option.

What purpose does the Optical Rendu serve?

Would it not be possible to use a USB-C to USB-B cable to connect the MacBook directly to the Yggdrasil? That’s what I do, but with an iPad instead of a MacBook (works well for me since I use Apple Music as my source).

Does the Optical Rendu do something special when added to the chain?

 

[theveterans]

My concern about my own set up using a dedicated Macbook laptop is that the laptop has only USB-C ports, so I have to use a USB-C- to- Ethernet adapter to send audio data out to my Sonore Optical Rendu. The final step before the Rendu is optical cable, and it works fine (most of the time- every now and then Roon has a “connectivity problem”), but I can’t help think that if I could switch to a server that outputs a quality Ethernet signal directly my audio SQ would improve- thinking about soon switching to a Sonore Sonictransporter which should integrate well with the Rendu. The new Roon Nucleus One is another even cheaper option.

I’d avoid an adapter directly to Optical rendu and use a quality LAN switch instead for your optical rendu. That way rendu is isolated and the switch will provide fresh, clean signal to the rendu

 

[theveterans]

That's my setup as well. No complaints from me.

Agreed! Pretty simple setup where nothing is running other than roon or Spotify connect (midi set to 16/44.1) for Spotify bitperfect. CPU cyles on the Mac is minimally disturbed while I use my PC for non audio tasks. Last but not the least, everything is off the grid and runs only on batteries so no mains leakage possible

 

[Melting735]

What purpose does the Optical Rendu serve?

Would it not be possible to use a USB-C to USB-B cable to connect the MacBook directly to the Yggdrasil? That’s what I do, but with an iPad instead of a MacBook (works well for me since I use Apple Music as my source).

Does the Optical Rendu do something special when added to the chain?

There are many stories behind optical rendu e.g.
1. It use optic fibre instead of Ethernet over long distance to minimize noise
2. You can avoid noisy motherboard sound
3. It supports Roon, tidal and qobuz, so you will get bit perfect music, and you can control your music on your cellphone.
4. It supports HQPlayer
And more...

It would be a different story if everyone needs it

 

[tutetibiimperes]

There are many stories behind optical rendu e.g.
1. It use optic fibre instead of Ethernet over long distance to minimize noise
2. You can avoid noisy motherboard sound
3. It supports Roon, tidal and qobuz, so you will get but perfect music, and you can control your music on your cellphone.
4. It supports HQPlayer
And more...

It would be a different story if everyone needs it

So it’s mainly for use when your source and your DAC aren’t close enough to connect directly via USB?

 

[theveterans]

So it’s mainly for use when your source and your DAC aren’t close enough to connect directly via USB?

That but it’s mostly isolating source electrical noise from the signal so you get the cleanest signal. Not sure about jitter performance with all those extra conversions from Ethernet to light and back to USB

 

[jlemaster1957]

That but it’s mostly isolating source electrical noise from the signal so you get the cleanest signal. Not sure about jitter performance with all those extra conversions from Ethernet to light and back to USB

Yes to all above - and yes that’s my concern- jitter with the conversions. Once I get a new server (and yes it’s in another part of the house distant from Yggy, Rendu is right next to Yggy) I aim to compare the Rendu (USB) vs PI2AES (AES) and then decide which to keep.

 

[tutetibiimperes]

That but it’s mostly isolating source electrical noise from the signal so you get the cleanest signal. Not sure about jitter performance with all those extra conversions from Ethernet to light and back to USB

Got it. Isn’t the whole concept of Unison USB that it isolates all noise from the input though?

 

[theveterans]

Got it. Isn’t the whole concept of Unison USB that it isolates all noise from the input though?

Yes. For others, SPDIF is still king. For me Unison is leaps and bounds better than any C-media that I don't perceive USB as inferior to SPDIF. There are slight differences, but all inputs make me giggle in awe and get in the zone easily

 

[Slackaveli]

If anybody is itchin' to upgrade from A2 to More is Better , hit me up. I'd buy A2 cards right now. Or, if somebody wants to trade from A2 to A1 with some cash thrown in, either option available to somebody.
I want me some A2.

Also do we got any Yggy owners running a DDC like Denafrips Iris for instance? Noticeable improvement over just Gen 5 usb?