Sonore microRendu

[vortecjr]

The only prerequisite is to have a unit. Right now we have a waiting list and long list of existing customers that will be given a change to purchase the v1.4 hardware via email. The emails will go in the order the units were purchased and depending on availability.     

[kennyb123]

2 hours ago, jsa307 said:

It's certainly your prerogative to sell your product however you see fit, but from a new customer's standpoint i find it bizarre. just my 2 cents..

 

From a customer's standpoint, one should be extremely impressed that Sonore would provide their existing customers the chance to get to the front of the line for the 1.4 board.  What a wonderful way to thank those who have been with them for a while!!!

 

Also, in light of this, I would think prospective customers would be even more encouraged to become a Sonore customer as this is proof that they will eventually take great care of you too - even potentially putting your needs ahead of those who have yet to invest in the microRendu platform.

 

Having said all that, I do sort of agree that this move does seem a little "bizarre" in light of the way most companies care for their customers.  

[bnbayer]

1 hour ago, kennyb123 said:

 

From a customer's standpoint, one should be extremely impressed that Sonore would provide their existing customers the chance to get to the front of the line for the 1.4 board.  

 But it's NOT "the front of the line". That wouldn't be bizarre at all. What's bizarre is that this is the ONLY way to get the 1.4 board. Even after the waiting list of all existing customers is taken care of, new mR's will still only be sold with the old board. 

[rickca]

2 minutes ago, bnbayer said:

Even after the waiting list of all existing customers is taken care of, new mR's will still only be sold with the old board. 

But that could change.  Does it make sense for Sonore to continue production of the original microRendu board?  

[flummoxe]

As a microRendu + LPS-1 owner, I recently read with interest a review of the dCS Network Bridge, against which the microRendu compared very favourably considering the price disparity.

 

https://www.audiostream.com/content/dcs-network-bridge

 

It will interesting to see if the ultraRendu can pip the dCS?

 

Does anyone here have experience of both there dCS Network Bridge and microRendu?

[R1200CL]

I think some time later this year, the MicroRendu HW rev 1.3.will go on sale ?

(That is if he has a stock of them). 

 

If or when sold out, the new MicroRendu will be HW 1.4, hopefully at same price as now. 

 

Or maybe the policy is to always buy with HW 1.3, and upgrade is the only way to achieve 1.4. That may be a bit bizarre ?

I can't see that option as realistic. 

 

Or it it may be that the MicroRendu will be discontinued. That may be a a feasible option. 

So hurry to buy one. You get  96% UltraRendu sound for almost half the price ?

[rickca]

7 minutes ago, R1200CL said:

You get  96% UltraRendu sound for almost half the price

Wait, how did you come to this conclusion?  Nobody has heard the ultraRendu or microRendu+clock upgrade yet.

[vortecjr]

1 hour ago, flummoxe said:

As a microRendu + LPS-1 owner, I recently read with interest a review of the dCS Network Bridge, against which the microRendu compared very favourably considering the price disparity.

 

https://www.audiostream.com/content/dcs-network-bridge

 

It will interesting to see if the ultraRendu can pip the dCS?

 

Does anyone here have experience of both there dCS Network Bridge and microRendu?

Not to get off topic, but I could have supplied a Sonore Signature Rendu so at least he would have been comparing SPDIF BNC with SPDIF BNC. He was also using Sonicorbiter 2.3. Anyway, I'm pleased with the results...who wouldn't want to be compared to dCS:)   

[k-man]

1 hour ago, flummoxe said:

 

Does anyone here have experience of both there dCS Network Bridge and microRendu?

You might want to ask that on the dCS network bridge thread.

 

[jsa307]

11 hours ago, kennyb123 said:

 

From a customer's standpoint, one should be extremely impressed that Sonore would provide their existing customers the chance to get to the front of the line for the 1.4 board.  What a wonderful way to thank those who have been with them for a while!!!

 

Also, in light of this, I would think prospective customers would be even more encouraged to become a Sonore customer as this is proof that they will eventually take great care of you too - even potentially putting your needs ahead of those who have yet to invest in the microRendu platform.

 

Having said all that, I do sort of agree that this move does seem a little "bizarre" in light of the way most companies care for their customers.  

 

your rationalization makes little sense. even if every existing customer chose to upgrade their device first, there still would not be any way for new customers to subsequently purchase a 1.4 microrendu without going through some sort of convoluted exchange and return.

 

i actually was just about to purchase one. i was just reading through this thread before i did, and happened to stumble upon this issue. now i will certainly wait for this issue to sort itself out first, and may very well buy a different product instead -- now that i know what i would be buying is a soon to be outdated version of the product, and without any simple way to purchase the new version directly

[vortecjr]

On 7/8/2017 at 8:35 AM, jsa307 said:

 

your rationalization makes little sense. even if every existing customer chose to upgrade their device first, there still would not be any way for new customers to subsequently purchase a 1.4 microrendu without going through some sort of convoluted exchange and return.

 

i actually was just about to purchase one. i was just reading through this thread before i did, and happened to stumble upon this issue. now i will certainly wait for this issue to sort itself out first, and may very well buy a different product instead -- now that i know what i would be buying is a soon to be outdated version of the product, and without any simple way to purchase the new version directly

Our competition (more than one) has not been very nice to their customers when it comes to updates. They came out with a new unit and they did not update the software on the original design. They came out with a hardware update and no path to update older units. They came up with a hardware update and charge an extraordinary amount for it. That is not what we are about.    

 

Priority #1 is to giving an option to update to long term customers. Unfortunately you have to wait in line especially if you are considering a unit now. I like the idea of having the $, $$, and $$$ price structure and I don't feel that anything is outdated. On the contrary they are as up to date as possible. If you really want the latest and greatest then get our ultraRendu.      

[jsa307]

15 minutes ago, vortecjr said:

Priority #1 is to giving an option to update to long term customers. Unfortunately you have to wait in line especially if you are considering a unit now. 

 

I think you're still missing the point on this one. I don't mind waiting on line - put me on the back of the line. But when it's my turn, I still don't understand why you're unwilling to sell me a new microrendu with the new board, instead of asking me to buy a used machine which I would then return??

[t_ram]

By the time someone pays for a new microRendu and then pays for the updated hardware aren't you getting close to what a ultraRendu costs? Is there an assumption I'm missing that the microRendu cost would remain the same with an updated 1.4 hardware? 

[jsa307]

1 minute ago, t_ram said:

By the time someone pays for a new microRendu and then pays for the updated hardware aren't you getting close to what a ultraRendu costs? Is there an assumption I'm missing that the microRendu cost would remain the same with an updated 1.4 hardware? 

ok that's fine too - then clearly state that the microrendu model is not going to change to the newer hardware in the near future. is that the case?

 

the curre

[t_ram]

7 minutes ago, jsa307 said:

ok that's fine too - then clearly state that the microrendu model is not going to change to the newer hardware in the near future. is that the case?

 

the curre

 

I don't know but I would think that would be the case. If it was just a software update then yes the price could remain the same. But for hardware I would think it justifies a price increase but then again he's offering the ultraRendu which would negate having to go through buying and returning a microRendu with the 1.4.

 

Now if you can find someone selling a microRendu for say $300 to $400 then it might be worthwhile to buy it and send it in for the the update. But it seems the going rate is around $500. It's just my guess that Jesus is encouraging new customers to go for the ultraRendu which will have everything that's the latest and most up to date that he can offer. I'm still pretty happy with the standard microRendu so I'm not sure I'll be changing anything anytime soon.

[rogerdn]

57 minutes ago, t_ram said:

 

I don't know but I would think that would be the case. If it was just a software update then yes the price could remain the same. But for hardware I would think it justifies a price increase but then again he's offering the ultraRendu which would negate having to go through buying and returning a microRendu with the 1.4.

 

Now if you can find someone selling a microRendu for say $300 to $400 then it might be worthwhile to buy it and send it in for the the update. But it seems the going rate is around $500. It's just my guess that Jesus is encouraging new customers to go for the ultraRendu which will have everything that's the latest and most up to date that he can offer. I'm still pretty happy with the standard microRendu so I'm not sure I'll be changing anything anytime soon.

So will the ultraRendu have the 1.4 bd ? Or doesn't it use one ?

[t_ram]

1 hour ago, rogerdn said:

So will the ultraRendu have the 1.4 bd ? Or doesn't it use one ?

 

From my understanding Jesus is not calling the ultraRendu board 1.4. It's a new product but it does share some of what the 1.4 upgrade has. Jesus said this earlier in the thread...

 

 

The new version 1.4 main board shares among other thing one of the key components in the upcoming ultraRendu. The update changes the oscillator utilized for the CPU and the USB regenerative circuit while the remaining circuit design remains unchanged.

[rogerdn]

3 hours ago, t_ram said:

 

From my understanding Jesus is not calling the ultraRendu board 1.4. It's a new product but it does share some of what the 1.4 upgrade has. Jesus said this earlier in the thread...

 

 

The new version 1.4 main board shares among other thing one of the key components in the upcoming ultraRendu. The update changes the oscillator utilized for the CPU and the USB regenerative circuit while the remaining circuit design remains unchanged.

Thks, had missed that.

[vortecjr]

9 hours ago, jsa307 said:

 

I think you're still missing the point on this one. I don't mind waiting on line - put me on the back of the line. But when it's my turn, I still don't understand why you're unwilling to sell me a new microrendu with the new board, instead of asking me to buy a used machine which I would then return??

I already posted on this thread that the production for this hardware update is not taking pace in the same location as the production of the microRendu. I also advised to buy the unit and use it in the mean time or buy the ultraRendu and your done.    

[vortecjr]

9 hours ago, t_ram said:

By the time someone pays for a new microRendu and then pays for the updated hardware aren't you getting close to what a ultraRendu costs? Is there an assumption I'm missing that the microRendu cost would remain the same with an updated 1.4 hardware? 

The cost of the original microRendu with the ver 1.4 hardware update does approach that of the ultraRendu. I have not decided to sell the microRendu with the ver 1.4 hardware update. If we do it will not be at 640 USD. 

[vortecjr]

9 hours ago, jsa307 said:

ok that's fine too - then clearly state that the microrendu model is not going to change to the newer hardware in the near future. is that the case?

 

the curre

That decision has not been made yet. 

[vortecjr]

9 hours ago, t_ram said:

 

I'm still pretty happy with the standard microRendu so I'm not sure I'll be changing anything anytime soon.

I'm really okay with this.

[vortecjr]

22 hours ago, bnbayer said:

 But it's NOT "the front of the line". That wouldn't be bizarre at all. What's bizarre is that this is the ONLY way to get the 1.4 board. Even after the waiting list of all existing customers is taken care of, new mR's will still only be sold with the old board. 

This conversation is getting old. I guess you have to be an existing customer to understand. If you are a new customer you can decides to buy the ultraRendu. If you are an existing customer this is a really great option that doesn't make you have to sell your unit and purchase the the ultraRendu. 

[asdf1000]

2 hours ago, vortecjr said:

I have not decided to sell the microRendu with the ver 1.4 hardware update. If we do it will not be at 640 USD. 

 

For those that may have forgotten (like me) since the original announcement "The update will be $235 USD for Sonicorbiter 2.5 owners and $245 USD for Sonicorbiter 2.3 owners."

 

I myself forgot about the price of this upgrade, so had to go back and look just now.

 

So you (and myself included) may want to think twice about ordering a new microRendu with the USD235 upgrade because the price is basically the ultraRendu.

 

The annoying thing for me is the need to use a USB cable with the ultraRendu - John's USPCB can't be used on the output unless you are able to bend your ethernet cable in that small space between ultraR and DAC. The DC connector isn't the issue as you can get right angled plugs. And assuming you can support the size and weight properly but there are ways to sort that.

 

It's definitely a great gesture and great deal for existing microRendu owners though, no doubt about it.

[barrows]

Guys, I think a few things might provide some additional clarity:

 

Sound quality wise, the microRendu with the clock update board sounds better than the original microRendu, the ultraRendu sounds better than either of those. (all comparisons consider the same power supply for each unit).  I will not attempt to quantify the differences, as any attempt to do so would be highly speculative: differences like this are system dependent.  A more resolving system will amplify the delta of the sound quality differences, so it is impossible to quantify these.

 

Additionally, it would be impossible for the microRendu with the clock update board to sell for the same price as the original microRendu, as the new clock part costs way more than the clock in the original microRendu.  So do not ever expect that the microRendu with the clock update board will sell for the same price as the original microRendu.