Of course we have seen a glimpse of the future with Varèse with ACTUS, Tomix and a whole new UI paradigm. No doubt some or all of this will trickle down in time. However largely speaking the Vivaldi is still pretty much SoTA, the notable fly in the ointment being support for 4x and higher DSD. It should be possible to solve this as the Stream800 is a modular part. The problem is that there is no drop-in alternative so, as Anup says, it is a question of cost and opportunity cost and it’s pretty much impossible for us to speculate on either.
On the Varèse release webinar David said, in response to a question, that engineering were ”trying to find a workaround”. That gave me a little bit of hope that this might be soluble. Time will tell.
100% agree. Short story had several systems. DCS is really quite impressive, a great company (don’t listen to BS on line) and really pretty straight forward. I don’t think an external streamer to a dcs product is necessary or worth the expenditure. That said I owned a Innuos and am considering another. Not for streaming but for storage and the UI and the Back up and ripping functions. I have a Roon nucleusone and am not satisfied with the SQ. That’s what started me down the Innuos path. I was using Roon and tried the MK3 and the SQ improvement was night and day in my system. Believe me I wish Roon SQ worked for me because it’s the best in most other areas. It has storage a great UI easy to set up backs up great managing my library as that’s mostly what I listen t. Ripped CD’s 90% time 10% streaming. Should be case closed BUT I did A/B side by side track testing a dozen times and Roon does not cut it compared to the Innuos entry level server. I have a Synology NAS with mini server which also sounds better than Roon same A/B tests but Minimserver file UI and support is like having a DOS computer, it’s untenable for me. So that’s why I am looking at storage, server solutions like Innuos . My only apprehension is the trade off of USB vs Network connections on the Rossini? Don’t really want to give up on Rossini streamer but its a trade off question. Since I mostly do library file listening I think its my only solution? Tried Audrivan I continue to have nothing but stabilization issues Only with that app at least with my Rig after tons of trouble shooting with everyone ???
think there are many top-notch streamer out there now (aka digital transporter). Innuos just announced Nazare and Aurender their W50 Both vendors have great GUI and Roon is not needed here imho…
The Roon Nucleus chassis stays really cool this way. The Melco N5 gets warm according to the manual with a warning to be careful not to touch it. I’m not sure if heat affects the SQ but I prefer the well thought-out Nucleus design for passive heat sink.
This is akin to what is known in the UK as a lawyer’s “boiler plating” warning. It is of the same import as the wording on a paper coffee cup ( “Warning: This cup contains a hot drink”). It is not really practical consumer advice but may be included for other reasons e.g. compliance with H&S legislation.
In fact the N5 case does not become particularly warm. The N5 here has been on 24/7 for some months. To the touch it remains close to the ambient temperature of the room and is marginally cooler than my Vivaldi DAC.
Yes indeed. Of course in practice you have to be able to touch the N5 case anyway or you would be unable to use the front panel buttons to operate the settings menu or even switch it off ( aside from pulling the power cord from mains outlet). So, in fact, the case remains cool but the company lawyer has done his job.
Both vendors have great GUI and Roon is not needed here imho…