I can’t thank you enough for the insightful suggestions and the article on ‘Value-based Pricing’.
Re: my Ethernet equipment setup, I use a Ubiquity UniFi Switch 8 60 watt switch (https://store.ui.com/collections/unifi-network-switching/products/unifi-switch-8-60w?gclid=CjwKCAjw_L6LBhBbEiwA4c46uj00s3V2_A6Qep0EhJXineeC6HkBGEenEpkPGoyqZid0yNIh43E_XhoC1qgQAvD_BwE) and a pair of TrendNet Fiber Media Converters to try to eliminate any electrical noise I may have coming from the 75’ CAT6 cable from on our upstairs office to my downstairs listening room. The second TrendNet Media Converter then connects to the Rossini via a certified BlueJeans CAT6 Unshielded cable. The Ubiquity switch and the pair of TrendNet Media Converters and all audio components are grounded to my Shunyata Everest power distribution box. The power supplies I use for the Ubiquity switch and TrendNet media converters are just the stock wall warts.
Your suggestion to experiment listening to the same albums via Qobuz and locally ripped albums makes a lot of sense. Just so I’m clear, are you saying that if I enjoy music using Qobuz more than my Synology NAS, then a music server may help. I assume the music server replaces the Synology NAS, correct? Does this also mean that a music server has no impact on the SQ of Qobuz and Mosaic?
@keiserrg You raise a topic that most of us have or will go through, the decision whether to go direct or use a pre-amp. For a long time I used my Rossini as a pre-amp and went direct to whichever amp I had at the time. There are some interesting benefits of going direct such as a slight improvement in details and less colored music. But I found I was less engaged as the music seemed a bit too sterile. I tried some high end pre-amps such as as AR Ref 5SE and even an AR Ref 10 and still preferred the direct from Rossini to amp option.
At the suggestion of a trusted friend I decided to give the pre-amp option another shot. This time I also took my friend’s advice to properly mate a pre-amp with the amp. My current amp is a Gryphon Antileon Evo Stereo so the obvious choice for a matching pre-amp is the Gryphon Pandora.
I couldn’t be happier with the results. I’ve never experienced sound from my system so life-like and engaging. With the pre-amp in place, I now look forward to listening sessions a lot more. The Pandora has another benefit in having a world-class phono section. I never knew my Project RM-10 turntable with an average cost Sumiko Blue Point Evo could sound so good.
Those are some serious electronics Brian, congratulations! I’ve heard great things about the Gryphon line but have never listened to it. What speakers are you driving?
I am wondering, did you ever try the Rossini direct to a tube amp, and if so, did some of the harshness you mention fade?
The speakers are Rockport Altair 2’s. I never tried a tube amp with the Rossini. The sound I experienced when going direct from the Rossini to an amp wasn’t harsh but it was just a bit lifeless. Some describe it as not having enough ‘meat on the bones’.
I’m truly happy that I can be useful in your audiophile journey.
Yes, exactly. When you listen to Qobuz using the Mosaic app the music flows from the Qobuz server through your Rossini’s Mosaic board into the DAC. When you listen to music from the Synology it gets processed there to be sent through your local network to the Mosaic board.
Yes. Both Innuos Statement and Aurender N20 have internal storage options. For data migration it’s a good idea to use a specialized software. This type of application handles hiccups and conflicts better than file explorer or finder. Also, this is a good moment to update or adjust the data backup strategy. Pete @PAR has a good cloud service in Britain. I’m using one in the US - Backblaze. Their backups are reliable, but retrieving a backup from them is a pain.
Yes, that is the case - no impact in that scenario.
I would add a good power supply to your TrendNet Media Converter that is connected to your Rossini.
The above article mentions optical media converters and the issues with them. Hence my recommendation to get a good power supply for your converter. A number of other community members use these converters too and they work just fine for them. I would speculate dCS has seen too many support cases in their inbox that have led back to such devices. Also the article is dated 2018 - whatever that might say…
Just for the record I do not use a cloud service as my main backup. Relying upon a single source is not recommended as none are 100% reliable. I use USB HDDs to keep a minimum of 2 backup copies on site. I kept a third copy off-site should I suffer fire, flood or burglary. Eventually I replaced that off-site HDD copy with cloud storage. This has run into technical difficulties in maintaining it and I have temporarily reverted to another HDD copy which is held by a friend. I am currently reassessing my needs which may mean a change of cloud storage supplier.
BTW my existing cloud service is not in Britain, I use one elsewhere in Europe from Britain .
My two cents here, recognizing that Pete and others have far more expensive gear:
In my world view the goal of any music server or storage mechanism is to feed a file to my dCS box as quickly and cleanly as possible. That’s ostensibly, is why we are here, for dCS’s DSP.
For this same reason, I do not have any lossy music formats in my digital signal chain, like MQA. To me it makes no sense to serve a lossy file to $20k+ of highly resolving electronics.
As such, I also disagree with the need for expensive devices like the Innuos Statement, which, to my simple mind, is just a very expensive single purpose computer, to send files to dCS. I would much rather invest such $ in a better DAC, upsampler, or clock.
You can buy a Roon Nucleus or Nucleus+, with 4TB SSD for $2-3k, (or build your own for even less) connect this to any NAS or external music service and the Rossini via Ethernet, keep any DSP inside the Nucleus turned OFF, and thereby have a fine pipeline of unlimited music to cleanly feed your dCS device.
With respect to cloud storage, I recommend companies highly likely to be around for your lifetime. Google has some fine, and very cheap, cloud storage options and, call me crazy, I believe they will be here for a while.
Marco, thanks for the recommendation to get a good power supply for my TrendNet mdeia converters. Is there a website that sells various audiophile-grade power supplies? Do I also need a good power supply for my Ubiquiti 8 port switch?
Yes, @keiserrg the Roon Nucleus is a viable option. Just not for me. Among other reasons I stay away from things that nudge me into endless choice. It’s hard enough already to live a distraction free life. I prefer to find music by doing online research and reading paid music magazines (Uncut, Mojo, Gramophone).
I believe @PaleRider uses a Nucleus and sent other expensive servers he tried back. That rhymes with your observation but does not give us a universal rule. @glevethan mentioned above some friends of his use Innuos servers.
With all upgrade paths, they need to fit our individual listening dispositions and budgets. The Innuos fits into my overall system investment and I really enjoy listening to it. It opens up the music like it should with dCS. The Synology failed in this regard in my ears.
I tested an Aurender N20, an Antipodes K50, failed with a Pink Faun Ultra and then listened to the Innuos. It might well be that the less costly models from Innuos would have given me almost the same result. It was time to settle on a solution however. Enough time spent already.
Yes, Pete @PAR , I agree, three backups are the way to go.
If I may? A cloud solution for off-site backup can work in the background and needs no attention except for maybe an occasional consistency check. I have not used it in a while, but Acronis has been around a long time and their user interface looks up to date. They appear to have their own data storage centers for their customers’ backups.
Power supplies are a cottage industry. I am not aware of a dealer who has a greater selection. Some pointers to manufacturers:
Just sharing, I am just like you in this regard : ) I use Roon but keep the recommendation engine off, and don’t (yet) stream, so it is just a music server of my own collection at this point.
I desperately wanted to enter the Roon ecosystem but my Aurender N100H was never going to help. Toward the end of last winter, I bought dCS Network Bridge. I now have the use of Roon, the influence of the superb Network Bridge and use the Aurender as a high quality server. Lots of boxes but they collaborate to produce very fine music.
@keiserrg Unless your local music server contains 40M tracks, you owe it yourself to try out Qubuz. I believe they still have a free 30-day trial. It’s the best $15/month investment I ever made. I haven’t purchased a CD in several years as Qobuz has so any titles in hi-rez that sound better than Redbook CD tracks I have ripped on my NAS. I also take Qobuz with me in my car and Bluetooth to my JBL car audio system. Hi-rez SQ in the car is amazing.
There is no provenance problem with tracks on Qobuz. All tracks are as supplied by the record label. Qobuz does not interfere with them in any way beyond loading them to its servers.
The only substantive issue was the appearance of a very limited number of files encoded with MQA some time ago. Qobuz was unaware of them until some users with MQA equipped DACs spotted the green or blue tell tales illuminating. This seems to have been a case of the record label sending Qobuz the same files as Tidal in error. These have been corrected and the full hi-res file uploaded. Yes, with such a vast repertoire such things will happen from time to time. I came across one new release album where the label had allowed Qobuz an MP3 copy pre-release as a taster. On the day of release the MP3 version was replaced by a 24/96 one. Well , that was the intention but the record label sent them a file where only track 1 had been changed to 24/96 and all of the rest were still MP3. Qobuz had this fixed within 24 hours.
Of course when you are talking about hi-res in any setting there always was and always will be a problem over the ultimate provenance. Just like with SACD you cannot usually tell from the disc or a file or accompanying booklet or .pdf whether that e.g 24/96 was drawn from an original 24/96 master or is a 16/44.1 master that has been upsampled. That will affect you wherever you access the file as it is the record label or the production studio on instruction from the label that has carried out the sample rate conversion. Bluntly I am sure that with a repertoire of ( now) 60 million tracks and adding < 10,000 a month Qobuz hasn’t the time or resources to be involved in such things. No, should anyone imagine this, there isn’t a room full of people ripping CDs or SACDs ( some people on other audio forums seem to think that there is ). In fact you would be amazed at how few employees Qobuz has worldwide.
Oh, there was a fair amount of ill-informed speculation about this on the forums at what used to be Computer Audiophile in the earliest days of Qobuz coming to the USA.
As you mention HD Tracks and as that means download purchases it is worth pointing out that if you get a Qobuz Sublime+ account you are entitled to what are often significant discounts on most downloads.
I am now into my 6th year of membership and would in no way want to get rid of it.
Thanks for these details Pete. I’ve heard great things about Qobuz and look forward to checking it out.
Separately, and very randomly, in going digital I wasn’t able to rip one of my most treasured SACDs: Dire Straits, Brothers in Arms. To my ears that recording is just magical. Does anyone know a good source for DSD download/purchase?
To add to the value of Qobuz that Pete mentions; there are 2 personal positive experiences I’ve had with Qobuz.
One of my long standing ‘go to’ albums is Andreas Vollenweider’s ‘Book of Roses’. The variety of songs are terrific and unique and the recording quality is very good. I’ve had the Redbook CD for over 25 years and recently discovered it on Qubuz in hi-rez format. Wow, not sure if it’s an upsampked Redbook like Pete points out can happen but it sounds noticeably better than my ripped Redbook CD.
Every Qobuz subscriber receives a weekly email from Sebastien at Qobuz. He keeps us informed about new hi-rez titles and provides best practice tips on ways to enhance Qobuz listening experience. Last year I sent Sebastien an email about adding some Lyle Lovett titles. Some of Lovett’s releases are very well recorded, even in Redbook CD quality which I believe are the only available format for streaming. A few days later Sebastien replied to let me know Qobuz was working on my request. About a week later Sebastien let me know that the releases I requested were online. I also noticed that within a month the complete collection of Lyle Lovett titles were available.
I used HDTracks for several years before subscribing to TIDAL and now Qobuz. I purchased many so called Hi-rez titles from HDTracks only to find out by their own admission they were upsampled from Redbook CD (44.1kHz/16 bit) files. In some cases the Redbook CD version sounded better.
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). In fact you would be amazed at how few employees Qobuz has worldwide.