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General thoughts, cost/benefit of Roon Nucleus and Nucleus+
#21
(16-Feb-2019, 16:44)Axel Wrote:
(16-Feb-2019, 15:33)awkaplan Wrote: So I built the NUC running ROCK—very turnkey, had some issues getting the RAM seated properly but smooth otherwise.  Went for an 8th-gen i3.  Totally silent. 

As predicted, it took a major load off of my wireless network. Experiencing zero dropouts or aberrations now with the Devislet connected wirelessly over 5ghz.  I have the radio set aside exclusively for the Devialet.  The soundstage feels slightly less holographic.  It’s been suggested that I upgrade my ethernet cable—any suggestions?  I was told to get the Wireworld Starlight, but I don’t know how much of a difference it will make plugged into my modem/router.  Perhaps it just needs some time to burn in.  Any thoughts?

Supra Cat8 have a good reputation. I use them myself and think they offer very good value for money. 
You can get them here if you’re in the U.K.  
https://www.futureshop.co.uk/brands-cate...les#page=1

I’m going to see if I can do a lend of the cable before I buy.  Monoprice makes an inexpensive and well-shielded CAT8 I may try.  Not sure where to buy Supra in the US.  Thank you!
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#22
(16-Feb-2019, 21:02)awkaplan Wrote:
(16-Feb-2019, 19:20)Sailor4W Wrote: Sorry to chime in this late, but I was abroad.

I deliberately bought a Mac Mini 2018 for use as a music server. The MacMini is an i7 with 16 GB RAM, a 1 TB internal SSD ans a 2 TB external SSD and is hard wired via Cat 7a Ethernet to my Devialet. At first, I quite liked the sound from the Mac Mini, but after a while I noticed that it was a bit shrill and started to get quite fatiguing with long listening sessions.

So I asked my local dealer for a Nucleus loan. When connected to my system, the shrillness was immediately gone and the sound was pleasing right from the start! So quite some improvement compared to the Mac Mini.

The Nucleus is dead quiet, fast, and absolutely reliable. I was also debating whether I should buy a Nucleus +, but with my simple setup (no simultaneous streaming to several zones at a time) and given my smallish library (about 400 albums, about 30% High Res), the Nucleus breaks no sweat.

I am streaming my music to a WiFi repeater via Ethernet, and from there on via WiFi to my Devialet. I find the sound a bit more detailed than going straight Ethernet to the Dev.

So all in all, the Nucleus is definitely a plus for my system!

The next step will be to upgrade my Expert 120 to the 220 Expert Pro to make my system Roon Ready ?

Thanks for the response!  I’m wondering if I would notice a difference between the Nucleus and my ROCK NUC.  It doesn’t sound shrill at all to me, and seems to be breaking in a bit.  Wondering how different the NUC board is in the Nucleus.  I am using an 8th gen which has a different ethernet chipset.

My guess is there‘s not much difference, if at all, between the Nucleus and a NUC. I just didn’t feel like playing about with a NUC and transferring it to a fabless case. According to Roon, the Nucleus is basically an i3 NUC. 

Using an 8th gen NUC is exactly the point: some of the 7th gen NUCs are being phased out, while the 8th gen NUCs aren‘t approved by Roon yet. So I wanted to go the safe route.

Pretty pleased with my Roon/Nucleus setup!
SonicTransporter i5 - AirPort Extreme - Devialet Expert 120 - ATC SCM 19 v1
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#23
How should a better ethernet cable like the Supra Cat 8 bring positive effects, when I need to connect the NUC to my ethernet network, which is complete installed by industrial Cat-7 cables in my house ?

The NUC has only one ethernet port, so there is no possibility to connect the NUC with second (better cable) to the Devialet.
Formerly Devialet 220PRO CI, Magico A3, 2 Gold Phantoms, Dialog/Raspberry PI2 Digi+, ROON Rock NUC8i3, Bluesound Powernode 2i, B&W 607, Audirvana
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#24
(17-Feb-2019, 00:16)midi Wrote: How should a better ethernet cable like the Supra Cat 8 bring positive effects, when I need to connect the NUC to my ethernet network, which is complete installed by industrial Cat-7 cables in my house ?

The NUC has only one ethernet port, so there is no possibility to connect the NUC with second (better cable) to the Devialet.

In your case, it probably won’t. Has someone told you differently?
Project Eperience X Pack with Ortofon Rondo Red MC, Oppo BDP 105D, 2 x Sonos Connect, QNAP HS251+ NAS with 2 X 6TB Western Digital Red, Mac 5K 32GB running Lifetime Roon, iPad Pro 12.9" for remote control.  Etalon Ethernet Isolator, Devialet 440 Pro CI, Sonus faber Olympica ll with Isoacoustics Gaia ll feet, Auralic Taurus Mkll headphone amp.Denon AH-D5000, Sennheiser HD600 and HD800 with Cardas cable,  Van Den Hul The First Ultimate and Crystal interconnects, Furutech power cables, GSP Audio Spatia speaker cable.
South Coast England
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#25
(17-Feb-2019, 01:37)What’sAxel Wrote:
(17-Feb-2019, 00:16)midi Wrote: How should a better ethernet cable like the Supra Cat 8 bring positive effects, when I need to connect the NUC to my ethernet network, which is complete installed by industrial Cat-7 cables in my house ?

The NUC has only one ethernet port, so there is no possibility to connect the NUC with second (better cable) to the Devialet.

In your case, it probably won’t. Has someone told you differently?

Yes, I’ve been told to get the Wireworld CAT8 to link my NUC to my wireless router.  Monoprice has a sturdy-looking CAT8 I might want to try.  I think the NUC is breaking in—have about 100 hours on it.  Alleviated the problem of WiFi interruptions.  I’d like to explore putting both the NUC and the router on a LPS. Any other upgrades suggested?  I definitely won’t be hardwiring the NUC to my Expert Pro.
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#26
(17-Feb-2019, 09:29)awkaplan Wrote:
(17-Feb-2019, 01:37)What’sAxel Wrote:
(17-Feb-2019, 00:16)midi Wrote: How should a better ethernet cable like the Supra Cat 8 bring positive effects, when I need to connect the NUC to my ethernet network, which is complete installed by industrial Cat-7 cables in my house ?

The NUC has only one ethernet port, so there is no possibility to connect the NUC with second (better cable) to the Devialet.

In your case, it probably won’t. Has someone told you differently?

Yes, I’ve been told to get the Wireworld CAT8 to link my NUC to my wireless router.  Monoprice has a sturdy-looking CAT8 I might want to try.  I think the NUC is breaking in—have about 100 hours on it.  Alleviated the problem of WiFi interruptions.  I’d like to explore putting both the NUC and the router on a LPS. Any other upgrades suggested?  I definitely won’t be hardwiring the NUC to my Expert Pro.

I could connect the NUC with a CAT8 to my access point, which is near the Devialet. The AP is connected to the house-network/Router via Cat7. Then I could use The Devialet via WLAN. If this would be a better solution ?
Formerly Devialet 220PRO CI, Magico A3, 2 Gold Phantoms, Dialog/Raspberry PI2 Digi+, ROON Rock NUC8i3, Bluesound Powernode 2i, B&W 607, Audirvana
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#27
(17-Feb-2019, 10:42)midi Wrote:
(17-Feb-2019, 09:29)awkaplan Wrote:
(17-Feb-2019, 01:37)What’sAxel Wrote: In your case, it probably won’t. Has someone told you differently?

Yes, I’ve been told to get the Wireworld CAT8 to link my NUC to my wireless router.  Monoprice has a sturdy-looking CAT8 I might want to try.  I think the NUC is breaking in—have about 100 hours on it.  Alleviated the problem of WiFi interruptions.  I’d like to explore putting both the NUC and the router on a LPS. Any other upgrades suggested?  I definitely won’t be hardwiring the NUC to my Expert Pro.

I could connect the NUC with a CAT8 to my access point, which is near the Devialet. The AP is connected to the house-network/Router via Cat7. Then I could use The Devialet via WLAN. If this would be a better solution ?

I’m not sure.  Some argue that that WiFi is a poor option, but I don’t think it ought to be dismissed.  I’m just curious as to whether I will hear an improvement using the Wireworld cable (or equivalent) between my NUC and my router/modem.  The wired NUC certainly has a signature to it, possibly more resolving as opposed to WiFi on both ends.  My main motivation for getting a wired CORE was 5ghz radio stability — the router simply didn’t play well over long time spans when dealing with the handoff between both my laptop as the CORE and the Devialet.  Now my system has been running for two days straight with no drops requiring the radio to be reset.  I’m just concerned now about maximizing the quality of the NUC output.
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#28
@midi & @awkaplan
I guess the best option for both of you would be to borrow the cable if your choice and see if you can hear a difference, or maybe two cables and do a comparison test.
Project Eperience X Pack with Ortofon Rondo Red MC, Oppo BDP 105D, 2 x Sonos Connect, QNAP HS251+ NAS with 2 X 6TB Western Digital Red, Mac 5K 32GB running Lifetime Roon, iPad Pro 12.9" for remote control.  Etalon Ethernet Isolator, Devialet 440 Pro CI, Sonus faber Olympica ll with Isoacoustics Gaia ll feet, Auralic Taurus Mkll headphone amp.Denon AH-D5000, Sennheiser HD600 and HD800 with Cardas cable,  Van Den Hul The First Ultimate and Crystal interconnects, Furutech power cables, GSP Audio Spatia speaker cable.
South Coast England
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