Bricasti M1 Ethernet upgrade

[lasercd]

I'm one of the early adoptees of the Bricasti M1 and for some time I've been a bit of their guinea pig with firmware updates and hardware upgrades. I am currently using what is now the SE version of the M1. It has all the bells and whistles.

One of the things I like about Bricasti as a company is they are always updating the M1 and often these are free or at a minimal cost to the consumer. I recently called Brian Zolner to find out if there is anything new. He told me that there is now an ethernet card for the M1 that when put on a network elevates playback. According to Brian, USB is the bottleneck.

I went for the upgrade and damn he was right. I can only speak in terms of cliches because they all apply - there is more "there there". Everything is fuller, richer, real. Redbook playback is insane.

There is a downside. First you have to be on a network. I have a Synology NAS with all my music files on the network. That part is easy for me. I'm controlling with an iMac but the software you need to use at the moment is JRiver and if you want the corresponding JRemote for your mobile device. That's the only option for Mac users at the moment. I find the interface to generally suck and its a bit convoluted. On the other hand its $70. Bricasti is in the process of getting approved for Roon which I understand is gorgeous and also quite a bit more expensive.

I've been spending so much time with my analog setup that I've really not been doing much listening to digital lately. I think that's going to change...

[mep]

I'm one of the early adoptees of the Bricasti M1 and for some time I've been a bit of their guinea pig with firmware updates and hardware upgrades. I am currently using what is now the SE version of the M1. It has all the bells and whistles.

One of the things I like about Bricasti as a company is they are always updating the M1 and often these are free or at a minimal cost to the consumer. I recently called Brian Zolner to find out if there is anything new. He told me that there is now an ethernet card for the M1 that when put on a network elevates playback. According to Brian, USB is the bottleneck.

I went for the upgrade and damn he was right. I can only speak in terms of cliches because they all apply - there is more "there there". Everything is fuller, richer, real. Redbook playback is insane.

There is a downside. First you have to be on a network. I have a Synology NAS with all my music files on the network. That part is easy for me. I'm controlling with an iMac but the software you need to use at the moment is JRiver and if you want the corresponding JRemote for your mobile device. That's the only option for Mac users at the moment. I find the interface to generally suck and its a bit convoluted. On the other hand its $70. Bricasti is in the process of getting approved for Roon which I understand is gorgeous and also quite a bit more expensive.

I've been spending so much time with my analog setup that I've really not been doing much listening to digital lately. I think that's going to change...

Uh oh. The digital devil is trying to steal your analog soul and turn you into yet another DCP.

[Alex Siufy]

Yep, that will happen once Roon is available. That thing is a like a rabbit hole into your music collection...

[tdimler]

I'm also very curious about this network card available in the M1. When it is "Roon Ready," can the M1 be connected directly to the network and subsequent NAS for playback of local files, or do you still need a computer running as a Roon "Core"?

[lasercd]

I think you will need a computer.

[Alex Siufy]

You can install the Roon Core on suitable NAS devices, no computer necessary. This is the way to go, IMHO, if you have a large collection and wants to use Roon.

[lasercd]

Alex assuming this is correct, how do you control Roon?

[Ritmo]

I've like the Bricasti M-1 since its debut. Looks good, sounds terrific, well supported and not terribly expensive. Glad you are happy with yours!

[Alex Siufy]

Alex assuming this is correct, how do you control Roon?

With an iPad, iPhone or from your actual Mac.

Roon is a three piece system: Core, Player and Control. Core manages your music (files), and does the heavy lifting. Player will, ermm.. play, and this is the bit that needs to be physically connected to your DAC, externally via digital connection (USB, SPDIF, etc) or internally, via a streamer card (Ethernet). And Control will show you the beautiful UI and let you pick stuff to play.

You can have all three parts in one device, say, your Mac. Just install the entire Room thing, and you have the three bits, hook your Mac to your DAC, and voilá. This is less than desirable, of course.

Now, you can install just Roon Core on your NAS, and point your Mac to use THAT as Core. So now your Mac is doing two out of three jobs. Better, but still not quite there.

Enter the Ethernet-based streamer module. Once made Roon-compatible, this will effectively turn your Mac into a remote control, doing just one of the duties, while the NAS will do Core, and your streamer module will do Player. Now *this* is what everybody wants.

Of course, if you don't have a ton of music (like I do, 16Tb and counting), you can make do with a Roon-compatible music server, such as the Innuos (http://innuos.com) line. These will work both as a Roon Core, substituting a NAS, as well as Roon Core + Player, hooked up to your DAC via USB.


cheers,
alex

[lasercd]

Thanks for that detail. Makes sense. I now understand that Roon compatibilty for the M1 imminent.

[DavidZ]

I'm one of the early adoptees of the Bricasti M1 and for some time I've been a bit of their guinea pig with firmware updates and hardware upgrades. I am currently using what is now the SE version of the M1. It has all the bells and whistles.

One of the things I like about Bricasti as a company is they are always updating the M1 and often these are free or at a minimal cost to the consumer. I recently called Brian Zolner to find out if there is anything new. He told me that there is now an ethernet card for the M1 that when put on a network elevates playback. According to Brian, USB is the bottleneck.

I went for the upgrade and damn he was right. I can only speak in terms of cliches because they all apply - there is more "there there". Everything is fuller, richer, real. Redbook playback is insane.

There is a downside. First you have to be on a network. I have a Synology NAS with all my music files on the network. That part is easy for me. I'm controlling with an iMac but the software you need to use at the moment is JRiver and if you want the corresponding JRemote for your mobile device. That's the only option for Mac users at the moment. I find the interface to generally suck and its a bit convoluted. On the other hand its $70. Bricasti is in the process of getting approved for Roon which I understand is gorgeous and also quite a bit more expensive.

I've been spending so much time with my analog setup that I've really not been doing much listening to digital lately. I think that's going to change...

I am a relatively new Bricasti fanboy, having purchased the M12 last month. I can verify from my 9 years of futzing around with computer-based playback that the LAN and the LAN card approach are definitely the wave of the future in terms of connecting computers with DAC's. I view all the D-to-D conversion devices (Microrendu, dCS network bridge, etc.) as wonderful, but transitional technology for all the DACs out there that need USB or spdif interfaces. I am also a fan of Roon, and am eagerly awaiting it for the Bricasti."Roon readiness" has allegedly been in the "any day" mode, according to Brian, since early July. I'm not sure what the issue is (the M5 external player already is Roon Ready), but I hope it gets resolved soon. I agree JRiver is a suboptimal GUI and a flakey playback interface. It is, however, very good for file tagging and library management. Fortunately, with a Windows 10 server, I also have the option of Bubbleupnp and Minimserver, which I am using until Brian gets the Roon thing through. -- David

[lasercd]

Audirvana 3.1 beta is working with the M5 at the moment but not my M1. Bricasti, Audirvana and myself are trying to sort out the issue. Hopefully its a simple fix. I was told it sounds fantastic with the M5. Audirvana is my preferred software so I'll stick it out until they get it working.

[MylesBAstor]

I am a relatively new Bricasti fanboy, having purchased the M12 last month. I can verify from my 9 years of futzing around with computer-based playback that the LAN and the LAN card approach are definitely the wave of the future in terms of connecting computers with DAC's. I view all the D-to-D conversion devices (Microrendu, dCS network bridge, etc.) as wonderful, but transitional technology for all the DACs out there that need USB or spdif interfaces. I am also a fan of Roon, and am eagerly awaiting it for the Bricasti."Roon readiness" has allegedly been in the "any day" mode, according to Brian, since early July. I'm not sure what the issue is (the M5 external player already is Roon Ready), but I hope it gets resolved soon. I agree JRiver is a suboptimal GUI and a flakey playback interface. It is, however, very good for file tagging and library management. Fortunately, with a Windows 10 server, I also have the option of Bubbleupnp and Minimserver, which I am using until Brian gets the Roon thing through. -- David

Hi David!

Glad to have you aboard!

[DavidZ]

Thanks Myles. Nice site.

[Dave Clark]

http://positive-feedback.com/audio-d...etwork-player/

[RandyRobinson]

This thread convinced me to try the M5. I currently use an Audio Note DAC with a usb/spdif converter. I'm looking forward to the comparison.

[RandyRobinson]

The M5 arrived Friday. Since I did not want to use an app to control it, I set it up as a zone in JRiver running on my desktop. The difference - wow - increased clarity, tonal accuracy, greater involvement and I thought it was good before. I did not realize the noise added by the computer until it was not there.

[lasercd]

Pretty dramatic isn't it? Finally got Audirvana working with the M1. JRiver is in the trash.

[RandyRobinson]

Pretty dramatic isn't it?

Yes it is. I was using a battery powered converter and cable without the 5v power carrier and thinking I was isolated.