[bakufu]

hi all -

i'm currently using a mac mini as a roon endpoint for my salk streamplayer III.  no real complaints, since we're a mac household, and it's convenient to be able to share the mini screen elsewhere in the house.  but i'm wondering if there are superior alternatives out there. 

what are you folks using?

thanks in advance

[newzooreview]

Merry Christmas!

Maybe it's the holiday lethargy on my part, but the Salk StreamerPlayer III is a Roon endpoint. You can connect a USB DAC directly to it. From the manual "There are basically only three things you need to connect to get things going: 1) Power; 2) Ethernet; and, 3) a USB DAC (or S/PDIF if that option is ordered)."

So with a DAC connected to the StreamPlayer, you can run the Roon client on any device on the network and play music.

What function is the MacMini meant to perform in your setup? It sounds as if it might be redundant since the StreamPlayer is the Roon Server and Roon Endpoint.

[bakufu]

and a merry christmas to you as well!

the streamplayer sits in my main system in room 1. 

i have a second system in room 2 with a mini and a second dac.  the mini hosts the roon client, and streams from the player over ethernet.

1: streamplayer (roon server) -> dac -> preamp -> amp -> speakers

2: mac mini (roon endpoint) -> dac2 -> preamp2 -> amp2 -> speakers2

running a USB cable from the streamplayer to dac2 is not an option (~200 feet!). 

so i'm asking for recommendations for a device to take the place of the mac in room 2.

[newzooreview]

so i'm asking for recommendations for a device to take the place of the mac in room 2.

Aha!

I knew I was jumping to the wrong conclusion.

I have had very good luck with RoPiee running on an Allo DigOne Signature (SPDIF BNC output) or Allo USBridge Signature (USB out, obviously). I have both and they both provide better results than a battery powered MacMini that I had used previously. The cost is modest and running RoPiee eliminates all of the background processes and overhead from running a general purpose OS.

Depending on how much you want to invest, the power to the Allo box can be improved as well. I've tried the Shanti power supplies that Allo sells as well as the Uptone Audio UltraCap 1.2 with great results.

BNC coax output on the Allo DigiOne Signature was definitely better than the RCA Coax output in my experience, and that was with not-expensive Blue Jeans coax cable. The Allo was good enough that I did upgrade to a Stealth Audio coax cable with audible benefits, but that was in the main system where the DAC is a Holo May KTE, so the cable expense was, perhaps, justifiable.

I should point out that my Roon server is not the Salk StreamPlayer, but is a functionally equivalent Roon NUC. I now run USB directly from the Roon NUC to the Holo May with better results than the Allo box connecting by ethernet, but that is not relevant to your second system over ethernet needs.

The only downside to the Allo -- RoPiee setup is "some assembly required," but there would likely be help on AudioCircle if needed.

Happy listening! 

[jsalk]

I have used Raspberry Pi computers as an endpoint running Ropiee.  Simple and reliable.  Sound quality will depend on what you use for a DAC.  There are DAC boards that install directly in a RPi, but an outboard DAC of higher quality would probably be better.

If you want to get really fancy, you can order the Raspberry Pi 7" screen and a case to fit it in.  With Ropiee, it will display the album art when playing music tracks on Roon.  There is a driver you enable within Roon to make this happen.

You can do this for less than $100 (or perhaps a little more if you use the screen).

- Jim

[rmdtexas]

Hi,  if you are interested in spending a little more but getting a turnkey solution, i have been using the Sonore MicroRendu for several years as my Roon Endpoint.  They have been well reviewed and only $400 (without a power supply) or  $1025 with the Sonore Linear supply. You can use any  compliant supply, so you can use other power supplies if you have one. the specs are

Power input: 6-9 VDC (9 VDC not recommended) at 1 Amp min continuous.

Only problem is they are currently out of stock.

[bakufu]

> sonore

thanks for responding. 

i have a history with sonore products, and it ain't pretty -- but it does have a happy ending:  i purchased a streamplayer III from jim and that has worked out great.

regarding sonore, originally i purchased a server and a streamer from small green computers.  the server was non-functional.  i returned it.  the second unit arrived with an unidentified part rattling around inside.  i was assured that this was "not a problem", but i wasn't comfortable with that answer (would anyone be?), and again i retured it.  the third unit arrived and sure enough, this one refused to start up. 

adding to my failing confidence in the quality control at s.g.c. and the delays in getting anyone over there to respond to me was the awkward web-interface for loading files onto the internal hard drive of the server.  thank you jim for letting us treat the streamplayer as a vanilla linux box!  and getting a refund was a nightmare, which took several weeks to straighten out.

sorry for using your well-intentioned reply to sound off on sonore.  i've been reluctant to share my bad experience with their equipment, but this being christmas, i just couldn't resist.

the mac is probably overkill for this application, but as a general purpose machine which i can easily swap out for an equivalent box (i have several) it's probably as good a solution as i'm likely to find.

[rmdtexas]

I  understand your concern, but it does surprise me. I would be leery if i had experienced that.

 I only have experience with the Rendu product, not the SGC servers.  But for the Rendu line, Andrew was very responsive when i first received the Rendu and he helped me determine that the issue connecting to my DAC was the DAC's USB driver and not the Rendu.  The DAC manufacturer had to rewrite their firmware for Linux based streamers.

While i chose the Rendu product, I have friends, who have used the SOTM 200 endpoints instead. They appear to be happy with them and it is around the same price as the Rendu line.

[bakufu]

> SOTM 200

hi tex

thanks again for your willingness to impart useful information.  first off let me say that i don't want to come off like a grouch (which i suppose i am), but the more i look into the available alternatives to using a general purpose computer like the mac as an endpoint the less enamored of the idea i become. 

i suppose that a unit specially designed for audio (as sonore and SOTM claim to be) will have sonic advantages over devices like the mini, but it does seem to come at a cost.  for one thing -- and this is a real gripe of mine -- there is the necessity to interact with the device via a web-based proprietary gui.  ugh i say, ugh.  (fwiw i've been a professional programmer for half a century, so code doesn't scare me.) 

i compared the instructions for SOTM here:

https://docs.sotm-audio.com/lib/exe/fetch.php?media=manuals:sms-200_user_guide-rev0.7.pdf

with my current setup: 

initialize the mac as a streamer by downloading and installing the roon client.
connect the mac to the local dac.
connect to the lan via ethernet or wireless.
use any computer in the house to just pick the relevant dac from those shown in the roon client.

i must be missing something, but interacting with the streamer via the web is a lot more complicated, and therefore prone to error (which i encountered with the sonore device and their sonic orbiter web interface).  not just more complicated, but (and again i may be missing something) it seems like one would lose the ability to play music in the event of an internet outage.  why add this extra moving part?

it is frustrating that dedicated audio computers like this and the rendu aren't as user-friendly as the mac, since i am inclined to believe that they result in better sonics.

again, thanks for you willingness to engage ..

[jsalk]

Take a look at this:

https://ropieee.org/

I've done quite a few of these (Raspberry Pi + Ropiee) for customers in the past few years and never had a support issue.  I've even used them at audio shows in the past and no one had a negative comment about the sound quality in the room.

I should also note that the author hangs out on the Roon Forum and answers questions if need be.

- Jim

[bakufu]

thanks jim - looks interesting.  lots of choices to make first.  and i hate soldering.    i would have to get the preliminaries out of the way (get a machine, probably a monitor, the roon bridge, &c.).  sounds like a weekend project. 

but i suppose the main question is:  would this improve the sound (compared to my mac)?

[rmdtexas]

bakufu:

true, web interfaces are not the best.

But for the Rendu, it took <5 minutes to setup, and since then, the only time I have used the interface was when I updated the firmware. Otherwise, it just sits next to the DAC powered on.  if I do have to reboot it, I just power it down and back up.

I will check with my friends, but believe the SOTM 200, once configured, operates the same way.

[jsalk]

thanks jim - looks interesting.  lots of choices to make first.  and i hate soldering.    i would have to get the preliminaries out of the way (get a machine, probably a monitor, the roon bridge, &c.).  sounds like a weekend project. 

but i suppose the main question is:  would this improve the sound (compared to my mac)?

No soldering required.  As for sound quality, it is all up to your DAC.  Streaming devices do not produce sound, they just deliver a bit stream.  And as long as the bit stream is accurate (which it certainly should be), it is buffered by the DAC and clocked out from there.  So you will not hear any difference if using the same DAC.

- Jim