I just picked up a used Discrete DAC yesterday, with two power supplies and both the Network Renderer V2 and the Pro-ISL input modules. I’m trying to compare the sound quality of the two input options today but ran into an issue. My source is a Roon Core running on a NUC computer, feeding a Wiim Ultra streamer for USB input, and of course directly through my home network to the Renderer. I have Roon set up with a group to both the Wiim and to the Discrete.
I just checked, and updated the Discrete firmware to 27.14, and have the Switch option set to “ManuaL”. I selected the ISL input (actually now says “USB” on the display), but every time I start playback from Roon the Discrete switches to the Renderer. I can certainly either ungroup in Roon, or unplug the ethernet cable from the Renderer, but I was under the impression that when in Manual mode I could force the input selection. Not a long term issue, as I plan to at some point replace with the Renderer or the Pro ISL module with the I2S module to allow playback from an SACD transport, but for now I want to evaluate the sound quality between the two and would be easier if I could just switch the input on the fly with the remote.
Have I missed something, or will it always automatically switch to the Renderer?
OK - thanks for the response. I would have thought that setting to manual would allow me to force the input. As I stated, this is a minor hiccough in what I’m trying to do in assessing which input I prefer. My workaround is to set my Roon to the USB streamer, and then either switch to the Discrete Renderer for comparison or, more likely, add it to a Roon group to preserve the playback queue. This is only temporary anyway, and once I determine which input I think is better I’ll eventually replace the other input module with the I2S module.
Hi Brett, do you mind share what’s the result f the comparison? I have been using Renderer V2 and I like it, but I am curious whether ProISL combined with cheap streamer can bear that. I think moving digital processing outside of the chassis might be a good idea in principle, and sometimes I feel my SACD transport connected through I2S sounds better than Renderer V2. Thanks!
Honestly, I didn’t feel there was any significant difference. Bear in mind, however, that everyone’s ears are different, and each system is different. In my case I’m using a Wiim Ultra as the streamer, though the USB cable is a fairly expensive one from Transparent. As they sounded (to me, in my system) to be equivalent in sound quality I prefer having the album art displayed on the streamer’s screen. It’s a shame if you don’t have a way to give a demo of the ProISL module so you can decide for yourself before buying it outright.
Thanks! Presumably, the theory is that the processing of Renderer V2 itself inside the chassis generates some kind of noise right next to the core DAC architecture, while Pro USB/ISL removes that entire digital processing outside of the chassis. But I guess it might really be system dependent or just marginal difference. I have only used Renderer V2, never tried the Pro USB/ISL path.