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Salk Streamplayer Gen III


davide256

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I recently heard this used at CAF 2018 as part of the Salk demo system. The system did an impressive job of delivering tone color, nuance and high frequency clarity. I'm adding

the Salk Streamplayer  to my list of components to learn more about, curious if anyone  has tried the Salk Roon server solution and what their thoughts were?

 

http://www.salksound.com/streamplayer.php?model=StreamPlayer+Gen+III

 

Regards,

Dave

 

Audio system

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I own this... I’m very happy with it.  I decided on it over the small green computer version (even though it cost more), due to the fact if I had an issue with the install (which I did!), I knew Jim’s excellent customer service would be worth its weight in gold. 

 

I feed reed mine directly to a Benchmark DAC3 HGC powered by the Benchmark AHB2 Amp.  

I also own Salk Song 3 Encores.  This setup hits the sound vs price point plateau for me.

 

JD

 

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I'm having a hard time understanding what this device does. Is the Salk Streamplayer intended to sit by your DAC in the music room and act like a Roon endpoint, or is it intended to be used as you would a SonicTransporter and act as a Roon server and NAS device combined?

 

"The function of music is to release us from the tyranny of conscious thought", Sir Thomas Beecham. 

 

 

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4 hours ago, rodrigaj said:

I'm having a hard time understanding what this device does. Is the Salk Streamplayer intended to sit by your DAC in the music room and act like a Roon endpoint, or is it intended to be used as you would a SonicTransporter and act as a Roon server and NAS device combined?

Yes, the latter... it’s your server for Roon Core and the SSD for music storage. It’s not an endpoint like, say a Bluesound Node 2i.

 

JD

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1 hour ago, JDoyle said:

Yes, the latter... it’s your server for Roon Core and the SSD for music storage. It’s not an endpoint like, say a Bluesound Node 2i.

 

JD

What is the function of the USB output?

 

"The function of music is to release us from the tyranny of conscious thought", Sir Thomas Beecham. 

 

 

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No built in Dac, she needs to go via usb to a Dac... in my case, I’m using the Benchmark I mentioned above.

All of this can be confusing, especially if you’re not a computer weenie (which I for one, am not :) ).

 

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask. 

 

JD

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No built in Dac, she needs to go via usb to a Dac... in my case, I’m using the Benchmark I mentioned above.

All of this can be confusing, especially if you’re not a computer weenie (which I for one, am not :) ).

 

 I should also ad that it’s basically a computer that looks like a stereo component.  You won’t need to use a computer (for your music), when using this.

 

If you have any other questions, please feel free to ask. 

 

JD

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Thanks, I think I got it.

 

The Streamplayer is intended to be connected to your DAC via USB and attached to the LAN switch via ethernet. So it combines the functionality of a Sonic Transporter i5 (Small Green Computer) with the functionality of a micro/ultra Rendu (Sonore).

 

The Sonic Transporter i5 normally sits in the server room away from the music sources and accesses the music via a networked switch from a NAS or depending on configuration, from its own HD or SSD. The m/uRendu does the functionality stuff (usb out, Airplay, DLNA, etc..), and sits in the music playback room.

 

The advantage of the SonicTransporter is that the separation of both functions makes for a less noisy music room environment (electrically speaking). Pricing is competitive when you combine the Small Green Computer and Sonore products.

 

It would help if Salk would include a diagram of a typical setup in their documentation.

 

"The function of music is to release us from the tyranny of conscious thought", Sir Thomas Beecham. 

 

 

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  • 3 weeks later...

I guess a little background on our StreamPlayer models might be in order.

 

About a decade ago, we were looking for a music server to stream music at audio shows.  We looked around and didn't really find anything that met our wish list.  Our goals were simple.  We wanted a model that was essentially silent.  This meant passively cooled with no fans.  We wanted a minimalist system with no extra bells and whistles (no LED display, no useless buttons, etc.) to keep things very simple and stable (and to eliminate any extraneous RF).  Since we were unable to find what we were looking for, we built our own. 

 

Our system was built on the basic Linux kernel and we added only those additional packages required for the task at hand.  (No graphical user interface, no mouse, no keyboard, etc. are required since a tablet or phone is used for remote control.)

 

We have basically two models: the StreamPlayer Gen III ($1695 base price) and the StreamPlayer Gen III SE (special edition)($2495 base price).  The functionality of the units is the same.  The difference is that the SE version supports multiple drives.  So in a standard SE version configuration, an SSD drive is used for the OS and Roon and a secondary drive is used for music storage. The standard processor is a low power i7Core processor (to provide for passive cooling). 

 

With the SE version, we can also build a custom StreamPlayer using a newer i9Core processor for customers who need more processing power to manipulate and process multi-channel recordings. As with our speakers, we are willing to customize a system to meet specific customer needs.

 

In a typical set-up, there are three connections required: power, Ethernet and a connection to a DAC (normally USB).  Both versions also support DLNA and AirPlay.  And with Roon, you can run multiple additional Roon end points or Roon-enabled DAC's.  (End points can be as simple as a Raspberry Pi 3 running Roon Bridge.)

 

If you have any questions on this, please feel free to post them.  I'd be happy to answer.

 

- Jim

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On 11/23/2018 at 2:35 AM, jsalk said:

I guess a little background on our StreamPlayer models might be in order.

If you have any questions on this, please feel free to post them.  I'd be happy to answer.

- Jim

 

Jim

Is I2S out (same configuration as PS Audio) - in place of USB - an option

Thanks

Rob

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