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Roon and Sonicorbiter SE = The Spark Killer
#1
I have been using Roon and the Sonicorbiter SE connected directly to my Dialog and have successfully eliminated the need for the Spark App. altogether.  With Roon you not only get all of your files in one place and super organized but you get TIDAL integration as well.  The Dialog / Phantom set up has a max sampling rate of 24/192.  With use of the Sonicorbiter SE and the various apps it comes with you can effectively play all DSD file (DSD64, DSD128, and DSD256) over your Phantoms at 24/192.  The result is stunning.  The connection of the Sonicorbiter is directly to your network and optical out directly into the Dialog.  Within the Spark app, check the box for optical signal present to play and your done.  Happy to discuss with anyone looking to eliminate the Spark app.  Andrew at Sonicorbiter SE is awesome.  He regularly updates the firmware and keeps it current with Roon as it is a Roon Ready device and is plug and play.
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#2
Are you from Europe ? I see problems to buy it from Sonore without getting trouble with customs ...
Would it be possible to connect the Sonicorbiter directly optical out with the Dialog and usb out to the Expert ? How could I change on the Sonicorbiter between Optical an USB ?
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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#3
There is already a ROON thread here http://devialetchat.com/showthread.php?tid=2648
Devialet Silver Phantoms pair + Dialog, will be connected through DSPeaker 2.0 ( DSP / Room-Correction) and hopped-up G-sonos. ( thinking of ROON) "Retiring" Goldmund / JOB225 Amp, Antony Gallo Reference 3.5. Keeping Active Bang & Olufsen Beolabs in different rooms connected to Sonos.
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#4
(15-Feb-2016, 23:15)McChicken Wrote: There is already a ROON thread here http://devialetchat.com/showthread.php?tid=2648

However, that is not specifically about Sonicorbiter SE.  I found this thread useful.  Just FYI
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#5
I ws browsing the Roon forums about the Sonicorbiter and came across this - https://community.roonlabs.com/t/connect...antom/6215

Turns out the Sonicorbiter does not support bit rates other than 44.1, 48, 96, 192

So if you play DSD files or any files other than those with the above bit rates, they will be passed at 44.1 to the Phantom/Dialog optical ports. This is in the RoonReady Mode

In Squeezeplay mode, it'll upsample to whatever is closest. The upsampling is done by the Sonicorbiter (which is a Cubox-i with special software, not some bespoke hardware)

All this adds more processing and cannot be good for sound quality

The Raspberry Pi 2 solution in the other thread here thet McChicken referenced above, is probably a better bet for a Roon/Phantom solution as it passes along the audio as it is received, upto 192 (which is all the Phantom/Dialogue supports). Any processing is done by Roon before sending it.

This is the way it should be.

And then there is the price : € 270 + shipping + VAT + Duty OR € 60 No brainer really - I've just ordered the Pi solution from Hifiberry.

There is also the point to be considered that Roon will release software for the Raspberry Pi 2 to make it RoonReady in the near future.
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#6
(16-Feb-2016, 08:34)Atter Wrote: I ws browsing the Roon forums about the Sonicorbiter and came across this - https://community.roonlabs.com/t/connect...antom/6215

Turns out the Sonicorbiter does not support bit rates other than 44.1, 48, 96, 192

So if you play DSD files or any files other than those with the above bit rates, they will be passed at 44.1 to the Phantom/Dialog optical ports. This is in the RoonReady Mode

In Squeezeplay mode, it'll upsample to whatever is closest. The upsampling is done by the Sonicorbiter (which is a Cubox-i with special software, not some bespoke hardware)

All this adds more processing and cannot be good for sound quality

The Raspberry Pi 2 solution in the other thread here thet McChicken referenced above, is probably a better bet for a Roon/Phantom solution as it passes along the audio as it is received, upto 192 (which is all the Phantom/Dialogue supports).  Any processing is done by Roon before sending it.

This is the way it should be.

And then there is the price : € 270 + shipping + VAT + Duty OR € 60  No brainer really - I've just ordered the Pi solution from Hifiberry.

There is also the point to be considered that Roon will release software for the Raspberry Pi 2 to make it RoonReady in the near future.

Just to clarify (as a regular Roon forum member and having participated on that particular topic)

SonicOrbiter is only limited on its optical output - due to a hardware limitation on the device (its the built-in optical).  USB can do all rates of DSD on supported devices.

Also, if you read Brian's post (Roon CTO) further down - here - he explains the quirks of why this happens in this very rare situation.  You could run it in squeezelite mode, but as he says that is actually up-sampling to 192 (without telling you), since we know the Sonore hardware cannot output 176.4K it display.  It seems Roon also plan to update their sampling pathways at some point to get round these situations and provide more flexible sampling.

Cost-wise, its hard to ignore the Pi combo, but it does require some DIY and not everyone wants that- the Sonore is plug and play with their custom OS and web interface, and support, so I guess thats also what you're also paying for.

I have a Pi but don't use it due to the hassle of getting the various players to run, and the pops and crackles that often plague it due to having shared bus for USB/NIC, but then I was using USB connection to DAC.  With the digi+ optical the latter wouldn't be an issue….

I plan to try it again with my D200 when RoonSpeakers comes out, but if there's a hint of pop and crackle, I'll be getting a cubox/SoinicOrbiter/microrendu.

RoonReady is the terminology they reserve for certified hardware - the Pi will run their forthcoming RoonSpeakers software (which we think will be called 'RoonBridge' when released). Same thing, but different. Wink

>>> 1st Place Award: Devialet, last decades most disappointing technology purchase.  <<<

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#7
There are so many ways to skin this cat. I am using a USB bridge based on XMOS chip (Breeze DU-U8) to connect the server to Dialog. Breeze comes with a Talema transformer and is only $100 when directly ordered from Aliexpress.  So it's a cheaper alternative but sound quality is superb. JRiver license costs $75 including iphone app.  But you can never stop spending if you are addicted to Hi-fi music.  USB filter is justified when using USB output from server (USB regen is $175). When using external hardware, linear power supply is costly but well spent investment for maintaining sound quality.  Another source of artifacts is power lines. Power line conditioner for phantoms, dialog and external devices significantly helped to eliminate cracks  (Furman PL-PLUS C is about $150).
Remote >> 2x Silver Phantoms << Eth << Dialog UPNP << JRiver MediaCenter 24 - Ubuntu 18.04 x64 [VMWare] << File server - Windows 10 x64 [Supermicro X11SSH-LN4F, Xeon E3-1425 v5, 46 Tb, 16Gb DDR4 ECC]    * Spark is only used to update firmware *
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#8
Just as an update - apparently, according to Roon forums, Sonore updated the OS for the SonicOrbiter yesterday, and it has been confirmed as supporting 176.4K output on the optical - so the issue above would probably not occur now.

>>> 1st Place Award: Devialet, last decades most disappointing technology purchase.  <<<

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#9
(17-Feb-2016, 10:59)Hifi_swlon Wrote: Just as an update - apparently, according to Roon forums, Sonore updated the OS for the SonicOrbiter yesterday, and it has been confirmed as supporting 176.4K output on the optical - so the issue above would probably not occur now.

Interesting that they've been able to enable it via a software update.  I thought it was a hardware limitation of the imx6 processor used in the Cubox.
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#10
I'd read that too - sorry I don't have any more specifics. Maybe they worked around it, or its a fudge?

>>> 1st Place Award: Devialet, last decades most disappointing technology purchase.  <<<

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