Auralic- recommended?

This, unfortunately, is fast becoming my opinion also. Studio may well offer superior audio quality, but that’s not much use when you’re constantly restarting the software/hardware.

It does indeed, although as I already own 2 X300 Mono sigs I think I’ll get far more out of the Pre-XR.

Is this the case? They do have an ethernet port which, as we all know, offers superior networking stability.

Sometimes I wonder about individual system platform issues, are part of the problem, rather than just Audirvana Studio being the focal point in these scenarios, because, I’m sure you folks do not represent every user of network distributed audio… I’d want to hear from those folks that don’t have the problems you folks are experiencing and how they have managed to solve the problem and maintain noise-free, jitter-free playback…

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@Agoldnear Agreed. I’m sure there are far more satisfied than disgruntled users out there.
Perhaps being able to include our hardware as a signature to our username would assist in recognising any commonality in faults encountered?

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Useful to a degree

Every location/installation will have inherent gremlins that cannot be easily quantified, without diligent assessment… such as trying the test that I recommended in a prior post, to eliminate potential gremlins…

It plainly obvious to me, that employing an optical interface conversion to isolate the target device is going to provide the highest potentials for noise-free and jitter-free digital audio reproduction from a networked device.

Agree to a point. Unfortunately higher quality recordings (anything above 192k) will then be rendered obsolete :frowning_face:

Sorry, my mistake! It does have an Ethernet port!

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It’s my opinion, network distribution of digital audio is a compromise, unless you have the resources to overcome the obstacles to DXDxxx and DSDxxx.

@Agoldnear
Unfortunately my Cyrus streamer/DAC doesn’t have the capabilty to play DSD content so that’s never been an issue. However it’s striking, to me at least, that certain software solutions appear to navigate the network (UPnP) streaming minefield substantially better than others. This, in my opinion, is a shortfall of the software. In this instance Studio.

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Yeah, I’m not paying more for a network bridge than I did for my DAC. :slight_smile:

It puts the responsibility on one, to qualify this presumption through experimentation and testing… I can’t imagine that every user of a Cyrus streamer/DAC using Audirvana Studio is experiencing your issues, but maybe they do?… What do the Cyrus folks say about this?

I’m honestly not sure if other Cyrus users are experiencing the same problems as I appear to be. I haven’t checked on the Cyrus forums tbh. Each user scenario is different, as you’ve correctly mentioned previously.
However, it would appear that users of OTHER hardware manufaturers equipment are also having problems.
I think @brlawyer (although I may be wrong, apologies to @brlawyer if so) has a Cambridge Audio streamer that hasn’t worked correctly since day one of Studios inception. This is utilising the basic UPnP ‘protocol’.
When one purchases/loans (as we users are with the subscription model currently in place with Studio) an item that is purportedly ‘fit for purpose’, I would suggest the problem lies with the supplier of the product loaned/subscribed, to remedy the problems encountered. So far this hasn’t proven to be the case.
In my opinion, Studio has taken a leap too far. The basic problem of UPnP integration should have been the FIRST order of priority. It was, afterall, present in 3.. There are those amongst us that have paid decent money (albeit NOT a Kings ransom) in the assumption that the item we’ve paid for will actually work as expected, especially 6 months after the launch of Studio.
I still feel that some of us are Beta testing the product. Constant submittal of de-bug logs aren’t actually producing remedies, at least in my case.

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This troubleshooting doc from Cambridge Audio may shed some light on the issue of UPnP gremlins: Support Hub - | Cambridge Audio EU

From the above linked Cambridge Audio support page:

  • Check that your network’s firewall is not blocking any outgoing ports. A firewall is a dedicated appliance, or software running on a computer or router, which inspects network traffic passing through it, and denies or permits passage based on a set of rules. It is a software or hardware that is normally placed between a protected network and a non-protected network and acts like a gate to protect assets to ensure that nothing private goes out and nothing malicious comes in.
  • As a minimum, our product needs access to UDP and TCP ports 80, 5 54, 1755, 5000, 6000 and 7070. You will need to enter your router’s setup to check these firewall settings and also the settings in any additional firewall software running on your computer will need to be checked. For troubleshooting purposes temporarily remove any port blocking / open all ports.
  • Check that your router or access point does not restrict connections to a particular MAC addresses. You can view the streamers MAC address using the menu item ‘Settings → Network Config → View Config → MAC addresses.
  • If you have an encrypted Wi-Fi network, check that you have entered the correct key or passphrase into the streamer. Remember that text-format keys are case sensitive. If, when attempting to connect to an encrypted network, your streamer displays: ‘Wireless error’ followed by a 5-digit number, then please ensure that you enter the correct passphrase for the network. If the problem persists, then you may need to consult your network configuration.

The following is from the Audiophile Style article:

“UPnP audio playback requires a Media Server, Media Renderer, and Control Point in addition to a solid network infrastructure. The bare minimum requirements for UPnP playback will not lead to a successful or satisfying UPnP implementation. Computer audiophiles could squeak by with something as simple as a wired PC acting as the Server and Control Point sending audio to the Renderer of their choice. This type of configuration doesn’t take advantage of UPnP’s capabilities and doesn’t invite one to use the system frequently. Stepping up to a high quality wired and wireless network and using separate UPnP devices when needed can increase one’s enjoyment of his UPnP based audio system greatly. Selecting solid hardware and software, and configuring both correctly can eliminate most of the ills associated with UPnP audio such as pops, ticks, dropouts and unintended gapped playback. The following non-exhaustive list contains examples of Media Servers, Media Renderers, Control Points, and UPnP software. Readers should keep in mind that Media Servers and Control Points require both software and hardware. In addition, not all hardware and software are compatible with each other due to support for specific operating systems or serving and rendering hardware…”

(EDIT)–
This will be my last input on the subject… My friend is using the network node/endpoint linked below, in concert with optically isolated Ethernet from his router and optically isolated USB to his DAC, apparently these are Audirvana certified:
http://www.sonore.us/ultraRendu.html

From the product page:
SOFTWARE FEATURES

  • Supports the following PCM sample rates up to: 44.1kHz, 48kHz, 88.2kHz, 96kHz, 176.4kHz, 192kHz, 352.8kHz, 384kHz, 705.6kHz, and 768kHz
  • Supports the following DSD sample rates up to: DSD64, DSD128, DSD256, DSD512
  • POP free DSD/PCM transitions
  • Not all USB devices or output modes support the maximum sample rate of the unit
  • RoonReady certified
  • Audirvana Plus certified
  • Running Logitech Media Server locally allows playback of local radio stations and streaming service
  • Logitech Media Server allows you to use the unit as a UPNP server in combination with Drive Mounter
  • The Software Manager that allows you to install and uninstall apps as needed
  • BubbleUPnP Server app allows any renderer to take advantage of the OhMedia - OpenHome protocol
  • OhMedia - OpenHome protocol allows the Linn Kinsky and Linn Kazoo Apps with playlist support to be used as controllers
  • Supports Tidal and Qobuz lossless streaming via thrid party applications
  • Native DSD supported
  • The unit is controlled via third-party apps on your mobile device and on your computer
  • Based on Sonicorbiter, closed source and open source (GPLv2)
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Thanks for the Audiophile Style link!

Many thanks @Agoldnear

No, not me, @Ironz - mine is a Technics integrated amp (SU-G30); it works fine with both Audirvana and Roon (I just had it replaced once, under warranty, because my original unit was defective).

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My apologies @brlawyer, honest mistake.
Although I’m reasonably certain someone on here had a problem with their CA/Studio set-up.
The old memory isn’t what it used to be :smiley:

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Was it @MikeO ?

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Hi @padraic

Ah yes, you could be correct :+1:

The best thing you could do, if you want to stay with AS and to be sure it will work properly, is to buy a more standard UPnP player (bridge), like the SOTM, Ultrarendu, Limetree and so on…

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