|
Audio Asylum Thread Printer Get a view of an entire thread on one page |
For Sale Ads |
24.167.222.192
I defended this product, as it was marketed as being audio specific. Below is the review I wrote for my beta test, as I had said I would share the results. I suggest you go over to the PS Audio forum and read the various posts. It seems that Apple Mini's when they worked [there were some issues with various players like Roon, HQ Player, and a few others] had some very positive results. Not everyone had those issues, so very system dependent. Rather than write it twice, here is my final review, posted At PS Audio. I link below to page 2, as that is where reviews and updates start to be posted.
My review:
Ok, I got the LANRover on Thursday July 28th. The receiver has remained powered up the whole time, and I put many hours on the first unit. So, definitely it has been burned in. Lots of listening, and swapping it in and out.
My system is [used in review]:
Conrad Johnson CT5 preamp
Toshiba Laptop running Windows 10 with JRiiver 21 [used mostly with battery only, charger not plugged in]
Benchmark Dac2 HGC
Legacy Audio [Coda] High Current Stereo Amp
Legacy FOCUS speakers
PS Audio P300 [preamp,dac]
I was very excited and pleased to be part of the beta test, as I am on a tight budget, and improving my PC front end was something I could do now. I used a variety of music, CD rips, downloads of various resolutions, including DSD, also LPs digitized through a HRT Linestreamer+ at 24/96. I really wanted to be gobsmacked by the LANRover.
First of all I will say I had no problem with it linking up. After first install, I could remove and replace, only having to stop JRiver, hit the play arrow, and it worked.
I used the supplied cables, at times using an AQ Jitterbug in line or plugged into a second usb port. My output cable was an AQ Carbon 1.5m.
At it's best I heard no change to the sound, and sometimes heard what I can only describe as less,the music just didn't sound as complete as I hear with just the Jitterbug and Carbon feeding the dac.
I think I have a pretty good, highly resolving system, I hear all the "audiophile" detail, and I hear enjoyable music.
Wanting to be sure, I took the LANRover over to a friend's who has an Audio Research Reference 6 preamp, Reference 75SE power amp, Vandersteen Treo CTs, and a Moon380D DSD dac. For the source we used his Aurender NT10. For reference we used three songs, A Jerry Jeff Walker he picked, Johnny Hartmann and John Coltrane's "Lush Life" and Crash Test Dummies "Superman", my choices. We started with the stock cables, and an AQ Diamond. At first I heard little difference, but he knows his system and pointed out that it flattened out the depth and with Coltrane the sax seemed locked to the left speaker with the LANRover in place. Once pointed out I heard it too, it was than obvious. We then tried swapping in better cables first replacing the stock usb cable with an AQ Carbon, a little better, and finally a AQ Vodka ethernet cable. With cables costing two to three times the cost of the LANRover, it got a little better, but never sounded as good as the system with just the Diamond in. On "Superman" the backing vocals were distinct, in there own space, with the LANRover they kind of blended together.
I think with all components, most everything is system dependent, and my system is where a LANRover is likely to end up. It seems that when the Apple sources worked, people heard improvement. With the Aurender and my PC it wasn't an upgrade. I would say to anyone using the stock cables and happy, benefits should come from upgrading the stock cables.
Monday I will be calling PS Audio for a return authorization number.
___
So there you have it.
Follow Ups:
Thanks as well.
As it's nice to be able to read between the lines, on how each of these types of devices might add to ones hopes improving their computer sources. And in the end, it seems that some work better then others in allowing for a certain sense of fidelity to come through much clearer then others........., the quest continues.
Thanks for the review.
After reading many of the reviews on the PS Audio website, it appears that on Mac JRiver 21 22 and Roon can be problematic with the LANRover. On the other hand at least two other Mac users say it's working perfectly with Roon+HQPlayer.
Another two users report problems with Windows 10 and JRiver 21. Esoteric ASIO driver appears to be presenting a problem for two users. Another user reports that it works but has collapsed his soundstage. Others report quieter background or less grunge.
Overall, the LANRover setup appears a little finicky, lots of computer reboots, DAC reboots, cable connecting/disconnecting, etc., and very system / software dependent. This is surprising to me. I expected it to be a totally 'transparent' plug n play sort of thing.
After reading through several dozen beta postings, most of them appear to be issues with getting the LANRover to work. A few have actually gotten it to work to the point where they can post an actual review of how it SOUNDS.
I am also a beta tester and was also a bit surprised that it was not plug and play for me either.
It did not work with my (old) Airport Express at all, probably because the latter seems to only do half-duplex with its ethernet port.
It worked with my Eclipse TD-M1 speakers (with built-in DAC), but not at the max resolution.
It worked with iTunes into the DAC in my Marantz SA14A1, provided I remembered to set the resolution correctly using the Audi Midi set up.
It gave me problems with Audirvana into the Marantz DAC. It seems to work with some oversampling rates but not others, in an incomprehensible way. (For example, it does not work with no oversampling, but it does with oversampling into DSD.)
I don't think I will be able to make a worthwhile listening comparison. My goal is to get decent sound out of my computer into my main system without too much trouble and I think it will do that.
(The computer is too far from the DAC for a direct USB connection, and I had been looking for such solutions before the LANRover came out.) I expect that my main sources will continue to be vinyl and silver discs played through the Marantz. (SACD's, the few I have, sound very good, comparable to vinyl, to me.)
I would like to add that PS Audio has been a pleasure to deal with: professional, honest, prompt to reply, and helpful where they can be. Also the price difference between the LANRover and what I take to be the computer product(s) on which it is based is very reasonable indeed.
Yes, I saw that Paul and the PS team have been very interactive and helpful in addition to users helping each other.
What I'm not quite understanding is how Audio MIDI Setup is involved. With players like Audirvana Plus, Pure Music, and others, I thought those programs did the sample rate switching.
Just wanted to drop a note to thank you for the nice write-up!I'm sure we have different opinions on what likely can/cannot make a significant difference to the sound of a hi-fi system given the excellent DACs you guys are using. Nonetheless, it's great hearing about your system and methodology...
Also +1 for using "Superman" - awesome song and a fantastic choice :-).
Cheers...
-------
Archimago's Musings: A 'more objective' audiophile blog.
Edits: 08/06/16
.
Post a Followup:
FAQ |
Post a Message! |
Forgot Password? |
|
||||||||||||||
|
This post is made possible by the generous support of people like you and our sponsors: