flyingelephant

Thanks. I guess I'm asking two questions here, separate from people's opinions on individual pieces of kit: 1) Is there any added sound quality benefit to getting a box with a fancy display that does streaming (Lumin, Auralic) - especially if I am going to be using Roon through my Mac or iPad as a controller? If not - that points me towards either the UltraRendu or the SOtM sms200 Neo Ultra + a good dac. 2) If I do go with a Lumin or Auralic, what are the plusses and minuses of an all in one (less cables) vs a streamer plus a separate dac. One person I spoke with suggested that dacs are improving all the time, and if I had separates, I wouldn't need to upgrade the whole thing - just the dac, should I choose down the line. Thanks!

Hi all, I have settled on a NUC to run Roon (moving the server off my iMac.) I will serve about 2.5TB of AIFF rips on a Synology NAS Now I need to upgrade my Cambridge Audio DacMagic Plus and add Network streaming. I'm also getting an EtherRegen. Solutions I am contemplating: SOtM sms200 Neo Ultra or Sonore UltraRendu with Sonore LPS With Chord Qutest Either of these would be about $2900 Or - Spending a bit more for a Streamer + Dac, or a Streaming Dac SOlutions I'm thinking of: Auralic Aries G1 or Lumin U1 Mini with Chord Qutest This would be about $3800-$4500 or A streaming DAc Auralic Vega G1 - $4000 or Lumin T2 $4500 Thoughts? Many thanks!

Thanks, Chris. Very helpful.

Any opinions on: Park Ave Audio Tweak Geek Moon Audio Underwood ( in Hawaii) Thanks!

Anyone have any recommendations for a great/knowledgeable dealer? Thanks!

Are you using the 1st JS-2 to power both the SonicTransporter and the Etherregen, and a 2nd JS-2 to power the Optical Rendu? What/how is the Sonic Transporter connected to source material and your network? Are you using SFPs, optical cable etc.? Thanks! Steep learning curve here...

Of course that would help! i am in Brooklyn, NY. i imagine anyone in the US works be good. Even Canada? Thanks!

Who have you all worked with who can help advise putting together the digital components of a mid-priced system (I have the analog side taken care of.) Someone who is knowledgable and ethical. Looking to put together a few zone wireless Roon system (currently using Roon Core on an iMac over Airplay to a few endpoints via Airport Express) Thanks.

After reading Chris's review of his new system, I am starting to be attracted to A: a Roon Core that is separate from my iMac - Like a NUC, or SonicTransporter or Innuos Zen MK III + + some rendu or soTm sms +dac plus all the various lpsu's... And/or NUC or other Roon Core + a streaming dac - Mytek Brooklyn Bridge is looking very nice. In Chris' setup - he doesn't have any power supply upgrades, or Rendus. The simplicity of this is attractive to me, There are a lot of choices - don't want to drive myself crazy.

@Ultrarunner - Thank you. I'm seriously considering a Sonictransporter I9 as well. Why did you choose that solution over, say, a high powered NUC - running Windows or Linux? Also - I notice in your system you don't have a Sonore Optical Module - any reason?

Wonderful writeup, Chris. What strikes em the most is how lean and efficient this setup is. There is so much discussion here about optical, LPSU etc - and this setup has none of that. (I'm actually surprised by this...)

Very helpful. Thanks @bluesman

I wish! Think - 50% of that max. ideally, less.

Hmm - hadn’t thought of the ISOregen. i am now pretty clear that I would like to get my Roon Core of my main (and busy) iMac. Then - am looking at a network device - (thanks for the suggestions) This will be for my desktop system, as well as a few other endpoints in the house over WiFi. So - debating the following options for running Roon Core: •a Nuc •A nas ( not sure how well that will do dsd in Roon An INNUOUS Zen Mini A SGC Sonic Transporter- probably the I9 for DSD and then the following options for a network connection for my DAC: •the whole Optical suite from Sonore •an Ultra Rendu with LPS •the SoTM s200 Neo or Ultra Neo with LPS Finally - strongly considering upgrading my dac (currently a Cambridge Audio DacMagic +)!- either to a Chord Qutest or an RME Adi2. So - now my budget has expanded... altjough I’d still like to keep things as low as possible, while still getting good SQ/Value. Any helpful suggestions appreciated. Thanks.

Hello - For my desktop solution, I have a 2017 IMAC running Roon going into a Cambridge Audio DacMagic-Woff Ear Kitoki tube amp driving Omega CAM speakers. (this amp/speaker combo is a major upgrade from my previous $300 Emotiva powered monitors) I've never quite gotten why one might need a separate streamer - but reading around here, it seems that the iMac is possibly introducing unwanted noise into the signal path? SO - my first question is - why should I upgrade my server to a separate server from my work computer? Or - am I okay just keeping things as they are. What can I expect in terms of SQ and performance if I take the server function of my work computer? If so - and needing something will run as Roon Core (as well as perhaps a Plex server?) - am I better off with a NUC,a NAS, or are other options like this: https://www.smallgreencomputer.com/collections/recommended-solutions/products/premier-server-player-combo-sonictransporter-i5-ultrarendu-7v-linear-power-supply?variant=12400215719970 a better option? Budget - no more than $2000 Many thanks!