Nice looking streamer/DDC.
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Maybe I am just thick however I fail to see the need for these streamers for users such as ourselves (dCS) and owners of other boxes such as Linn,Naim etc. which all have built in network boards (perhaps it is needed with Chord, the last of the big UK, as their units lack a steamer component)
Are the manufacturers of these streamers thinking their boxes are superior to the internal network cards in our dCS units - and implying their products can improve the sound of our units?
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it does look like a nicely designed box with good digital output options so I get it from that perspective but for non-dCS users who use straight up USB, one can buy a decent spec M2 mac mini
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Not to be too contrarian, but . . . If I didnāt have to use a gen purpose computer to serve/stream music, I wouldnāt. Iāve been an Apple user since before the Mac, a shareholder since 1995, and a die-hard evangelist. I have a current mini, and have had more than five different iterations. Itās a great little machine. But as an audio device? Itās noisy, prone to poor power management from an audio perspective, doesnāt share well with other uses; conversely, itās far more than one needs for this purpose. Just my $.02. YMMV.
To the point of Greggās question. I donāt see the dCS ecosystem as a good target for the Holo Red, but if one needs a streamer thatās multi-platform capable, it sure seems well-suited and reasonably priced for that. I see the DDC side as kind of a āfree bonus.ā
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I do get your point Greg, and I agree if one is multi tasking or doing complex DSP - not a great solution, run away.
BUT as a standalone device for a Roon server, a low spec Mac Mini (late 2014 for example) is a great and cost effective machine for serving music. Used units cost less than many pay for a basic switch!
- Noisy? no way at 15BA there is no real noise issue. Power consumption at Idle is 5-11W.
- Switching power supply should not be a non issue. Iād argue the Apple switching supplies are better from a noise perspective than many other solutions based around linear toroid PS. Switching supplies have to meet noise requirements.
- A headless Mac mini running Roon server and nothing else, consumes `3% cpu resources (if one is simply serving music as I do) - and since there are only a hand full of OS processes running that consume more than 0.0% of cpu - there is nothing competing with the task at hand and nothing to generate CPU noise. If fact Activity Monitor uses more resources than Roon most of the time!
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I tried the M1 Mac mini with a Chord TT2. Compared to my previous Antipodes CX, it didnāt sound anywhere near as good and I ended up dropping my experiment with Theoretica (although there were other reasons for this too).
I canāt say what it would sound like with the Rossini, but there were other downsides (such as needing to have the machine auto logged in in order to start Roon on boot). I also seem to recall I had to configure it to run without a monitor.
Like Greg, Iām a huge fan of Apple, having used their machines since 1989 but, if I wanted a simple Roon server, Iād likely take a serious look at the Roon Nucleus.
Thanks Erno, interesting review.
One slightly misleading comment they made in the article though - they describe the main chip in the CRS309 as an āARM CPUā (the 98DX8208). In fact, itās actually a Marvell Prestera Ethernet Switch SoC with an integrated dual-core ARM CPU - that chip is the key reason Mikrotik is able to price the CRS309 so cheaply;
While all Ethernet packet handling is done on-chip i.e. in hardware thatās fast but āexpensiveā, layer 3 capabilities have to mostly be handled in software, which is far slower but cheaper. A similar multiple 10G-capable networking chip that does both Layer2 and Layer 3 in hardware would cost nearly the full price of the CRS309 just for the chip, like the Broadcom Qumran or Jericho series.
Bottomline is that as long as you use the CRS309 as a pure Ethernet Switch, you get fantastic price/performance 
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Donāt forget the dCS Network Bridge kind of pioneered this use-case of Ethernet streaming to synchronous AES/SPDIF output; designed to add Ethernet streaming capability to legacy DACs mostly.
Albeit, even some new DACs, like the brand new PS Audio DirectStream DAC Mark-II, doesnāt come with built-in Ethernet, as I believe it was designed to couple to an external unit like the Holo Red (or their own MIA āAirlensā).
If you think about it, some of these folks are sort of heading in the direction of what the dCS Vivaldi Stack does - disaggregation of functions into separate boxes.
Feature wise, this Holo Red really packs a punch though. Roon Bridge, Tidal/Spotify Connect, Airplay, and up to DSD1024 for those like that sort of thing 
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I think Urbanluthier is suggesting a Mac as an Ethernet Roon Server, not USB out machine which I agree wouldnāt be ideal. As a dedicated Server (over the network), itās a pretty compelling performer, and exactly what I use as my Roon Server.
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No argument with any of that. If one runs the mini, or any other reasonably efficient small computer over a network, the electrically noisy computer wonāt be as big a deal, and itās probably fine. Iāve run Roon on a NUC after trying it out on everything from a Synology NAS to a home-grown streamer to a PC to a Surface to a mini to an iMac. OTOH, if youāre connecting that mini via USB, thatās a different can of worms. And I certainly wasnāt talking about acoustic noise with respect to the mini. To me, the big issue is using something purpose-built for serving music, versus a general computer that could be doing so much else. I found running Roon on a general purpose CPU unsatisfactory. Roon has become much more polished over the years, and perhaps administering it on non-Roon hardware is now trivial. If so, your points are even more valid.
Ironically, of course, though maybe not surprisingly, buying something that only needs to serve/stream, seems to cost more than getting the significantly more muscular mini M2. And to your point, a used one is even more of a bargain. As I said, I never enjoyed the maintenance of a headless mini for Roon purposes. Zero headaches running my Nucleus+. 
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@anupc and @PaleRider - yes absolutely correct a Mac Mini as an Ethernet Roon server works great. as a USB device, not so much. And yes admin on the older Mac Miniās is a pain in the behind. One can side car an iPad as a display for the new ones.
Sound quality aside, part of what sold me on the dCS is the well thought out networking interface.
The Holo Red looks like a fantastic product and something Iād be looking at if I used a DAC without a streamer.
I love the knowledge sharing here by the way. I learn something new every time I visit. In fact, this forum played an important role in my purchasing decision.
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Likewise on all three counts.
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May I add that I use a downstairs kitchen iMac (always updated to current hardware version) for the past decade. IMHO no need to have a separate dedicated computer (ie Mini) for ROON. The kitchen iMac is used for general surfing and that is all - so it makes a perfect ROON Ethernet server.
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But, but, but . . . Noise, Ethernet cable, PSU, computer. No way! GDRFC.
Maybe I am thick however I remain confused.
If my kitchen iMac is connected to a downstairs network switch - which then goes to an upstairs Cisco switch - which then goes to another Cisco switch via fibre - which is only used to make the final connection to a Rossini - how will the substitution with a dedicated Mac Mini or Roon Nucleus change anything?
Winky face and internet acronym dictionary are you friends here. I was making fun.
Tried to Google GD and then RFC without any luck
Iām not up to date on internet slang. Still stuck with :-).
Grin, Duck, & Run For Cover. Itās all in fun.
I have to admit that Iām half-tempted to put my K50 on the other side of the listening room (so it sits before the optical fibre that feeds the HiFi switch) and see whether I can hear a differenceā¦
Not sure I follow exactly 
Is your Antipodes connected to your DAC via USB today? (Iām not overly familiar with them). If so, Iād definitely go network without hesitation.