hytechrednek

A few days ago I received the Micro SD Card from SGC containing v2.9. (Thanks Andrew). Has anyone noticed an improvement in Sound Quality? I certainly did. Not sure why. I know upgrades like this are about compatibility or stability issues but I went back to the previous Mirco SD containing v2.7, and there is clearly a difference. The Micro SD Card with v2.9 produces less haze in the analogue domain when used in the Micro Rendu. It comes across as a greater sense of pitch, clarity and instrument separation. I'm using Roon but the improvement was noticeable when I tried Spotify as well.

Per the offer proposed by Small Green Computer for a free copy of Sonicorbiter OS Version 2.9, I'm writing a short review of my Micro Rendu and Optical Rendu. I've had the Micro for several years now with no problems. Last year I bought an Optical Conversion Package from Small Green Computer that really helped the sound quality. I was so impressed that I loaned it to a friend to try on his Bluesound Node 2i. He subsequently bought an Optical Conversion Kit from Andrew at Small Green Computer. I was so impressed by the Optical Conversion that I bought their Optical Rendu, which was better still. Andrew has always been helpful and responsive to any questions. Charles

Here is my experience with this issue. The OpticalRendu does not like to be powered down unless you first quit via the software control panel. I'm not sure why, but I think it must leave some data corrupted. If you simply flip the power supply off and not power down through the software control panel, it acts goofy when you turn it back on and refuses to play anything. For example with Roon: If you start a playlist, it will act like it is going to play the first track but aborts and skips to the second track, aborts and skips to the third track…etc until it reaches the end of the playlist and stops. I typically use Roon but it also acts up with other playback software, just in different ways. I found that as long as I first disabled the OpticalRendu in Roon, then went to the Rendu Control Panel and select "System" >"Power Down." Then you must wait 10 seconds for the thing to do a countdown until it tells you it's "OFF." Only then you can flip the power switch off. I think in those countdown seconds it is preparing some settings for a restart. It's kinda like a personal computer. They want to be shutdown in an appropriate manner, not just pull the plug and cut power. This has been the only way I could keep mine trouble free. I never had a problem with it after discovering this characteristic. If it gets stuck in this mode from say from a unexpected power outage, it can be tedious trying to get it to behave again. I learned a System Reset can help, but I also found that switching to different playback modes somehow helps it to reset itself. Also powering off and back on again multiple times as others have mentioned. Whenever I intentionally turn it off, I always followed the protocol of shutting it down in the software control panel. At least that was my experience. BTW, I have the latest software installed, so it's not that.

Will this fix the Spotify Track Selection Problem? I have found that right clicking on a random selection and choosing "Add to Queue" will allow a direct skip to that track.

2.7 but mine will not update to 2.8 for some reason.

Have owned several DAC's over the past decade. Most in the $2k range. All were well regraded and had good reviews. I bought an Ares II and compared it against a couple of DACs I had at the time. Sold them all and ordered a Pontus II. No regrets. Added a Pi2AES Digital to Digital converter a few months back and use the I2S connection of the Pontus. Very happy with this setup.

I've owned or auditioned dozens of prominent IC based DACs. IMO discrete resistor ladders DAC's simply outperform them in ever way. I first bought the Denafrips Ares II and was so impressed that I sold it and bought the Pontus II, which was a huge step up. Would love to hear the rest of the Denafrips product line. Can't imagine the improvements would be as big a jump as the Ares to Pontus, but who knows?

This has been up a long time with no answer. If you are still interested. It uses 6-12volt type A23 batteries that are easily user replaceable. I just bought a used Coffee USB and find it much better than my previous Straightwire, WireWord, Supra or Oyaide USB.

No. I no longer have the uR.

Of course I would prefer using a later Mac OS and realize there are limitations that will be encountered with 10.8.x but the benefits outweigh the liabilities. I'm using A+ or Amarra primarily. Cog was mentioned just to cover the breadth of all the things I've tried and have in the playback arsenal. None of these software packages bring to the party what 10.8.2 and 10.8.3 provide. It's that significant!

I'll be extra careful.

All playback software and HiFi hardware connections were the same in my comparisons of yesteryear and today. I presently have a multi partitioned drive where I can boot any version of OS 10.8. It is clear that 10.8.2 and 10.8.3 are superior sounding to 10.8.4 and 10.8.5.* All other hardware and playback software remains static, so unless someone is going to claim that drive partitions can impart a sonic character, then I don't see any random elements that could bias the evaluation. Without the experience of 7 years ago that I already described, I might have dismissed any assertions about the Superiority of 10.8.2 or 10.8.3, just as you have. (Although I probably would have kept that opinion to myself) Don't knock it until you've tried it and every OS from Sierra to Catalina, is not trying it. *10.8.4 and 10.8.5 remind me of all the other versions of the Mac OS that I've had installed on my machines through the years. Of course I do not claim to have heard every single iteration of every Mac OS release.

Wanted to personally thank KUJA for bringing to my attention the musical quality of Mac OS 10.8.2. It has solved a big mystery for me. Almost 7 years ago I was at a friends home listening to his hifi. He had just bought a new MacBook Pro. This was his first foray into using a computer instead of a CD player as a front end. We got his machine setup and listened for awhile. I thought it sounded really great, better than how I recall my MacBook sounding. My laptop was older and used an Intel Core 2 Duo processor, while his used a newer i5 processor. I brought my MacBook along for this outing so I decided to connect my laptop in place of his. Just as I suspected, his laptop sounded more natural and musical, while mine sounded artificial and edgy. Of course we were using the same playback software and music files for comparison. I also made note of the fact that I was still running Snow Leopard (10.6) and his machine was running the latest Mac OS at the time, Mountain Lion (10.8). I did not notice the exact version on his machine but decided that might be the difference. The musical improvement was so remarkable that when I returned home, I promptly went to Apple‘s website where I bought and downloaded a copy of Mac OS 10.8. Sadly, it did not give me the improvement I'd heard at my friends home. After this experiment failed to give results, I suspected it might be the newer processor that was making the improvements. I was ready for a new machine, so I went out and purchased a new MacBook Pro just like my friend's, only to be disappointed again. I didn’t know what to make of it. My friend and I had switched back and forth several times between computers during our visit and both of us were certain of the difference in musical sound quality. A few days after this experience, my friend was on a trip to Alaska and lost his new computer in a hunting lodge fire. He and his companions were fortunate to escape with their lives. Well this event left me no means to investigate further. I just decided it was a fluke incident and there was no way to figure it out. Now skip forward to a few months ago. I was reading this forum where KUJA claimed that Mac OS 10.8.2 or 10.8.3 sound better than other operating systems. He also said that even 10.8.5, sounds inferior. This caught my attention, so I did some research and found that when Apple released Mac OS 10.8.0, they released a series of minor updates very quickly. Some were within weeks of the initial release. Perhaps this could account for why there was a discrepancy between what I heard at my friends home and when I downloaded the OS and bought the new Macbook computer. I know for a fact that the download was 10.8.5 because I still have the installer archived on an old external drive. The computer may have been running 10.8.5 as well, but I no longer have it. Usually these updates are minor bug fixes so you don't expect them to make any major difference, especially not in sound quality. I wanted to verify what KUJA claimed but Apple does not make 10.8.0 available for download any longer. They only let you download the full install for 10.8.5 or the updates of 10.8.2, 10.8.3 and 10.8.4. Seems I recall this situation existed back 7 years ago and prevented me from trying earlier versions. Well I finally managed to find a copy of 10.8.0 this week. I installed it on my 2012 Mac Mini and then performed the update to 10.8.2. It sounds great and reminds me of what I heard almost 7 years ago. We were not imagining things and KUJA is absolutely correct! What Apple did in these updates I have no idea. A software guru might be able to dig into the bowels of the beast and figure out what they screwed up. All I know is this; if you are not listening to 10.8.2 or 10.8.3, then you missing out on some musical enjoyment. Thanks so much KUJA for posting this information. It solved a long standing mystery for me and is providing hours of good music coming from my system. Perhaps there are other MAC OS versions that also sound good. Hytech

Not much risk if the machine is dedicated for music playback only.

My preference is for musical sound. Age has nothing to do with it.