[romaz]

We need to demo a CAT hint hint

I'm glad you're starting to hear improvement.  While the CAT is indeed very good and has that next level of refinement, it is not at the expense of the TotalDac server being bad.  I believe both play in the same league and the two are more similar than they are different.  I continue to go back and forth from CAT to TotalDac server and at no time while I am listening to the TotalDac server do I feel less than fully engaged.  Vincent has now also publicly announced that Roon integration is under way (finally!) so things are looking even better.

 

[paul79]

Yep Totaldac goin ROON. Won't be for everybody though, and will be endpoint only for the Totaldac Server. Roon Server must run on a PC somewhere on the network.
 
Once and if, Vincent gives the "Roon is the sonically superior nod", I will be going ape building a fanless powerhouse Hynes Linear Powered NAS, that will run Roon Server, and have plenty of storage. Should be some very interesting stuff to come!

 

[7ryder]

  Yep Totaldac goin ROON. Won't be for everybody though, and will be endpoint only for the Totaldac Server. Roon Server must run on a PC somewhere on the network.
 
Once and if, Vincent gives the "Roon is the sonically superior nod", I will be going ape building a fanless powerhouse Hynes Linear Powered NAS, that will run Roon Server, and have plenty of storage. Should be some very interesting stuff to come!

I'm not sure what you mean by "Roon server must be run on a PC somewhere..." I use Roon with my d1-dual off of a PC now as a remote with Roon...did you mean to say that he's adding RoonSpeaker to the Totaldac server?

 

[nepherte]

Yes

 

[a1uc]

I use Roon with my d1-dual off of a PC now   you answerd  your own question 

 

[romaz]

  Yep Totaldac goin ROON. Won't be for everybody though, and will be endpoint only for the Totaldac Server. Roon Server must run on a PC somewhere on the network.
 
Once and if, Vincent gives the "Roon is the sonically superior nod", I will be going ape building a fanless powerhouse Hynes Linear Powered NAS, that will run Roon Server, and have plenty of storage. Should be some very interesting stuff to come!

Paul's point is well taken.  It remains to be seen whether Vincent's first implementation of Roon with his server will have as good a SQ as MPD.  At the most basic level, there is Roon compatibility such as running Roon off of a standard PC and Mac, but this doesn't mean it sounds great.  There are many who believe their Mac Mini with Amarra or Audirvana sounds better than their Mac with Roon.  Then there are different levels of Roon optimization ranging from mere adaptation to full optimization where a manufacturer actually submits their product to Roon for in depth testing.  
 
With the CAT, for example, because it is a PC running Windows, it is Roon compatible out of the box but Scott Berry, it's designer had not made efforts to optimize it as his focus had been more on JPLAY/JRiver and so a notable head-fier and myself have been working on this ourselves.  We now have it optimized very well to where we believe it is superior to JPLAY/JRiver but there are still optimizations that are beyond our reach that only Roon can provide and so Scott has now made arrangements to submit the CAT to Roon at their New York facility for this highest level of optimization.  How far Vincent will go with this is unclear.  I hope he goes all the way and I suspect he will.
 
Paul is also correct about Roon only being an endpoint on the TotalDac server.  The Cubox cpu isn't robust enough to be able to run Roon Server and so this must lie elsewhere, some other PC on the network.  Here are Vincent's own words:
 
https://community.roonlabs.com/t/totaldac-goes-roon/5211
 
Thus far, Roon has focused more on convenience, feature set and reliability and they have acknowledged this.  They are beginning to set their sights on ultimate sound quality and so this will bode well for all of us.

 

[isquirrel]

  Paul's point is well taken.  It remains to be seen whether Vincent's first implementation of Roon with his server will have as good a SQ as MPD.  At the most basic level, there is Roon compatibility such as running Roon off of a standard PC and Mac, but this doesn't mean it sounds great.  There are many who believe their Mac Mini with Amarra or Audirvana sounds better than their Mac with Roon.  Then there are different levels of Roon optimization ranging from mere adaptation to full optimization where a manufacturer actually submits their product to Roon for in depth testing.  
 
With the CAT, for example, because it is a PC running Windows, it is Roon compatible out of the box but Scott Berry, it's designer had not made efforts to optimize it as his focus had been more on JPLAY/JRiver and so a notable head-fier and myself have been working on this ourselves.  We now have it optimized very well to where we believe it is superior to JPLAY/JRiver but there are still optimizations that are beyond our reach that only Roon can provide and so Scott has now made arrangements to submit the CAT to Roon at their New York facility for this highest level of optimization.  How far Vincent will go with this is unclear.  I hope he goes all the way and I suspect he will.
 
Paul is also correct about Roon only being an endpoint on the TotalDac server.  The Cubox cpu isn't robust enough to be able to run Roon Server and so this must lie elsewhere, some other PC on the network.  Here are Vincent's own words:
 
https://community.roonlabs.com/t/totaldac-goes-roon/5211
 
Thus far, Roon has focused more on convenience, feature set and reliability and they have acknowledged this.  They are beginning to set their sights on ultimate sound quality and so this will bode well for all of us.

 
Good post Roy, I have been finishing of some more optimisations for the CAT and should have those fully tested by the end of this week.
 
The Roon SDK has now been released and I have been getting a good look at the endpoint driver enabling code, should be too hard to get the CAT registered as a Roon end point. Just a word on this, end point and Roon Speakers are 2 different things. Roon Speakers is really the noemenclature for a fully integrated system including DAC and active speakers. Think of a B & W Zeppelin and you get the idea.
 
Don't forget about your friends in Aus 

 

 

[romaz]

   
Good post Roy, I have been finishing of some more optimisations for the CAT and should have those fully tested by the end of this week.
 
The Roon SDK has now been released and I have been getting a good look at the endpoint driver enabling code, should be too hard to get the CAT registered as a Roon end point. Just a word on this, end point and Roon Speakers are 2 different things. Roon Speakers is really the noemenclature for a fully integrated system including DAC and active speakers. Think of a B & W Zeppelin and you get the idea.
 
Don't forget about your friends in Aus 

 

Credit where credit is due.  Simon is the real brains behind the Roon optimization for the CAT and his work with it is what made the CAT so appealing as I was hunting around for the best server possible.  I believe he has even taught Roon themselves a few things with his findings (such as eliminating graphics drivers completely when running headless).

 

[Yoga]

Hats off to you guys for helping to shape the future of these products. Incredibly exciting :¬)

 

[Pale Rider]

Finally got my Totaldac D1 Dual and Server set up. Worth the initial effort. Listened through KGSSHV Carbon and Stax SR-009.
 
Although the MPaD software on which it relies is a bit flaky compared to the Lumin software—all you DAC-makers, how is it that Lumin can do this so well and so reliably, but the rest of you suck at it?—once you have everything set up per Vincente's instructions, it makes wonderful music. Still way too early for a direct comparison with either the DirectStream or the NADAC, but early listening impressions are very favorable.

 

[Yoga]

  Finally got my Totaldac D1 Dual and Server set up. Worth the initial effort. Listened through KGSSHV Carbon and Stax SR-009.
 
Although the MPaD software on which it relies is a bit flaky compared to the Lumin software—all you DAC-makers, how is it that Lumin can do this so well and so reliably, but the rest of you suck at it?—once you have everything set up per Vincente's instructions, it makes wonderful music. Still way too early for a direct comparison with either the DirectStream or the NADAC, but early listening impressions are very favorable.

Looking forward to some impressions of the TotalDAC vs Lumin A1.

 

[Pale Rider]

 
Looking forward to some impressions of the TotalDAC vs Lumin A1.

Yeah, me too. 

 Right now, I have an embarrassment of riches, and just not enough time for serious evaluation. But it's all fun.

 

[Yoga]

 
Yeah, me too. 

 Right now, I have an embarrassment of riches, and just not enough time for serious evaluation. But it's all fun.

Time is the most valuable currency :¬)
 
How are you finding the LCD-4s?

 

[Pale Rider]

 
Time is the most valuable currency :¬)
 
How are you finding the LCD-4s?

Indeed it is.The 4s have almost no air time, just enough to make sure they are working reliably. But FWIW, the d1-dual does a reasonable job of driving them and the HD800. Just haven't listened critically. What I really want to do is set up the Lumin and the NADAC to drive the GS-X and use that to compare the LCD-2. LCD-4, and HD800. That will give me a little bit more of an apples-to-apples comparison point.

 

[Yoga]

 
Indeed it is.The 4s have almost no air time, just enough to make sure they are working reliably. But FWIW, the d1-dual does a reasonable job of driving them and the HD800. Just haven't listened critically. What I really want to do is set up the Lumin and the NADAC to drive the GS-X and use that to compare the LCD-2. LCD-4, and HD800. That will give me a little bit more of an apples-to-apples comparison point.

The GSX is quite forward if I recall correctly, that may favour an Audeze pairing.
 
Comparing the GSX to the d1-dual direct connection would be incredibly useful too, but as you say, time is the bottleneck. I often sit down to compare things and end up enjoying an album with a glass of red instead :¬)