jonmarsh

Not very original here, but CONGRATULATIONS Chris on all the hard work and faith in this area of music- and see how it's bloomed and developed, and all the relationships and knowledge that have been shared. Looking back, for me the biggest things in the last 10 years have been precision re-clocking and R2R ladder DACs, like the TotalDAC series and the "budget" Soekris DAC's like the 1541, and more recent developments in serving and rendering like the microRendu, Signature Rendu, and the dCS network bridge. And of course, Roon. Now, it's even harder to imagine what the next 10 years might bring- seems like it would be hard to top what's gone down in the last 10- but who knows?

Very interesting and thorough report. Thank you for taking the time to write it up so completely, and explain where you are coming from. My only comment is in regards to using the DAC as a preamp- I used to be coming from where you are, and went this way for some time with other DAC's like the Berkely Alpha, and the TotalDAC-D1. However, a colleague of mine in Munich, after some experimentation, concluded that the results with the TotalDAC are better (including the six, which he now has) WITH a high grade preamp; and visiting him earlier this year, and trying it with and without his Chorale Preamp (curved front panel version- see picture), I agreed that results at medium and lower listening levels were clearly better with the preamp in the circuit, and overall it was not subtle with the right program. So, since then, there is now a very clean Halcro DM10 in my system, (thanks to Audiogon, at a reasonable price) and I have to say I concur. So, should the opportunity present itself, you might want to try that, even with your T+A, as an experiment. The kicker is, that even a Cambridge Audio 851e produced much the same improvement, though not quite to the same level.

Very interesting to hear about this... Especially as I've been very close lately to getting serious about this... Probably not until the next speakers are finished, though. Will be very interested to hear your full review- how much more evaluation do you plan before that will be out? You must have some pretty specific clear impressions to write what you have so far, so I'm certainly interested in your follow up. I've own their first gen, and am currently very happy with a TotalDAC, but this has been the Alpha RS has been the only thing that has really intrigued me, especially as I rip and convert my SACD's to 176.4 PCM.

This is one of the many reasons working with the Alpha USB is nice, because one can just leave it on along and the Rendu doesn't seem to have any issues finding it- of course, whether the DAC is on or off. Anyway, getting the microRendu was a good excuse to try Roon, and so far I like what I'm seeing and hearing a lot.

I have that, but have just gotten the microRendu running with sonicTransporter, and for now it's just driving an Alpha USB into a Vega DAC- this weekend I want to run it through the Mutec3+ with frequency standard into my TotalDAC (will still be through the Alpha USB), and compare on those. To me, the Aries sounded a bit light compared with my NAD M50, which I preferred sonically, but which I'm not fond of the software and the occasional system glitchiness. Already shown Roon to GF, who appreciates it for how it introduces artists, and links genres, as well as the handling of classical titles. Drawing conclusions from whatever I prefer might only be valid if you use an Alpha USB in your system. For now it's just burning in with program on my portable system (goes to work and back for evaluations) with

I'm going to be setting mine up this weekend, and with the Mutec plus a 10MHz standard. My own experience with both the Mutec and Brainstorm DCD-8 is that while one is good, two are better, though if you're using a 10MHz rubidium standard, the cascaded difference is not enough; I.E., I would use one Mutec and one rubidium standard with it before I would cascade two Mutecs- and two Mutecs with rubidium standards is getting into the area of diminishing returns, IMO. YMMV, of course; this is all with a TotalDAC-D1 dual following the Mutecs. The microRendu is intended for a more portable and demo system, and as such is expected to usually be used with an AURALiC Vega or a CA 851D, for demoing more moderate priced gear and doing sonic evaluations on Class D solutions at work. But if the microRendu works out as expected, I'll likely get another one and consider how to set that up, as there may be something more portable than a sonicOrbitor to use it with for out of the home use that is acceptable sonically. And BTW, I'll be using an Alpha USB after the microRendu in my main system, to feed my Mutec, but for portable use am hoping that the microRendu will play nice enough for now that I don't need something between it and the fairly high quality USB input on the Vega. Will have to listen carefully, and put it on the AP to know for sure...

Not shown the diagram is that the Airport Express will be tied into my WAN router. The AE has a fairly comprehensive management program, and I'm used to working with a variety of Apple routers, so at this point I'm not expecting any surprises. (Famous last words) and I've read your online materials and guides.

Happy Days are here? I didn't find out about the micro Rendu until Chris posted the Part One review on the 29th and I saw it on Monday... wasn't spending time on the inter webs that weekend- But I ordered it minutes after reading the review Monday morning the 2nd, expecting that I would be in the next batch in June. But surprise, surprise, the sonicTransporter arrived yesterday, and the microRendu and iFi supply arrived today! This will be a more complicated setup than my M50 or Aires, but I'm trying this out because I wanted to go with Roon, and was also interested in how well the Rendu's work, as a friend might be in the market for the bigger one for the DirectStream DAC. This is my system plan for this new build- all the other parts are on hand, so it should be an interesting weekend. I'll be trying several DAC setups, as is is really intended to be a portable demo system, but could become my main go-to system- so it will get checked with the TotalDAC-D1 Dual, the Vega, and an 851D Cambridge that is my "budget" recommendation to friends for getting a good clean analog volume control along with a very decent DAC in one box for $999 these days. It benches quite well on my AP for the minimal money it costs.

+1 on that, I've already sent a couple of friends who live in Munich to the stands for Mola Mola and those who will be using their gear...

I appreciate the timing of the review if only because I still wouldn't have known about the product without it! Been so busy lately I rarely have time to do more than check the front page of CA and the new main posts- so the review and the follow up comments on Monday were my introduction. Ordered one on Monday, along with a sonicTransporter, and will set them up with Roon, using a dedicated router and subnet. I'm curious to see how it compares with my NAD M50 and AURALiC Aries, but won't render that judgement until I have the signature power supply, too... (Sigh... Another $1400 I really needed for speaker and electronics parts and CAD software right now... :W

That would be cool and interesting... Probably for the dealer, too! Very different technology approaches.

In the same boat with you, but different model- I've had a TotalDAC-D1 Dual since 2013. One thing you might want to investigate if you use AES/EBU is a reclocking unit before the TotalDAC. A friend of mine in Munich and myself (in SF Bay are) both use Brainstorm DCD-8 with a rubidium 10MHz master oscillator to clock the DCD-8. Mutec MC3+ is another alternative, I've got one but have been too busy to try it out yet (sitting in a box on the shelf for over a year!), but it does auto sample rate changes and handles single wire AES to 192kHz, which the Brainstsorm doesn't (requires dual wire mode, rare on server outputs, though Vincent can accommodate that if you ask). I'm still curious to hear a Berkeley Alpha RS; I had the original Alpha DAC, now landed to a friend, which for it's time had a lot of pluses (I also still have a LIO-8 updated to ULN-8 which is just used as a DAW for music learning and recording); we've heard the Meitner's and MSB's of a few years ago, before buying TotalDAC. I'm sure they're better now, but I am curious about the RS DAC still. At the moment, not $16K curious; I've spent too much money on test equipment the last quarter to go there!

Not at all surprised to hear this from you- I have a LIO-8 which I've upgraded overall to a ULN8 (DSP and Pre's) and I still use it as a DAW for music learning and recording, as it works fine with the Thunderbolt to FireWire adapter. But a TotalDAC-D1 dual replaced it in my stereo playback system back in 2013, with the help of a friend I visit regularly in Munich. Vincent has always been a very professional and accommodating person to deal with, and I can highly recommend him, as can my friend, who has a TotalDAC server, too. One thing we both do is running the AES input through a Brainstrom DCD-8 as a reclocker, while using a Rubidium 10MHz frequency standard to clock the DCD-8. This provides even more focus and definition than the TotalDAC by itself. (Been doing this for years, as earlier we were using this approach with Antelope Zodiac DAC with good results). I'm planning to try out a Mutec reclocker due to auto-sample rate change and higher single wire AES sample rate capability- will have to see how that works out. The updated LIO-8 is still very useful, as it's used for music learning and recording, and as a DAW interface still works very, very well.

I completely agree with the idea of using the full balanced output, but in my experience (I can quote examples with gear I own) it may not be the preamp that is fully balanced input to output in a conventional sense that will deliver the best results. Different approaches (as shown above, and used in pro gear) do not necessarily use fully balanced circuits in the way that audiophiles understand for the internal construction of the Yggy or my TotalDAC-D1 Dual (which is essentially two fully balanced DAC internally operating at 180 degree phase). A good example would be comparing an Ayre K5 preamp with a Cambridge Audio 851e. The Ayre is well known for not doing quite as well with single ended inputs or outputs, for good reason (BTW, I own one), and it is fully balanced input to output as regards gain circuitry. The Cambridge is one of the few preamps under $2K which has three sets of balanced inputs as well as balanced outputs, and handles the conversion very well- it is over an order of magnitude lower in THD+N than it's predecessor, well under 0.001%, and in my opinion and experience one of the best bargains in preamps you can find. (I own one of them, too). Bruno is probably the best Class D designer in the world, because he's a top analog designer. As he often quips in his AES papers, for any amp, it's an analog world, whatever else you might believe. The nCore designs are completely discrete in the signal path- the only way to get full control over critical aspects of circuitry such as high speed comparators, and MOSFET gate drivers, to optimize their analog performance. The UcD designs are nearly completely discrete, only using very high spec op amps (LM4562) in the instrumentation amplifier style balanced front end- which drives the comparator stage which operates fully balanced also. I'm very curious to see how the final Mola Mola designs turn out. If they stick to they're planned pricing, they won't be inexpensive, but the value proposition should be very high- something the Yggy seems to offer, as does many other somewhat recent and innovative components, like most of the AURALiC offerings and even NAD's M22. Those I can vouch for and recommend based on experience, and their use in my home. The Yggy hasn't quite convinced me I need to find out just how good it actually is, but it's likely that it exceeds my past reference in that price class, the NAD M51. Now, if only Stereophile could do a review...

There certainly are preamps that take that route, and there are many which take other equally valid or superior routes dealing with balanced inputs and outputs. I know Bruno Putzeys might not agree with you on this one.... I'm familiar with this topology, but then I used to design pro audio gear, and moonlight from time to time on the higher end consumer side of things. There's an old saying that no generality is worth a damn - including this one. If you have specific preamps to not recommend, because you've listened to them and tested them, in comparison to others that meet your criteria, that could be useful - but blanket statement rarely are.