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[Bazza]

I have scoured this site for topics on this subject without success so please bear with me. I have used Windows MC for a number of years to send files from a NAS to my PS Audio DAC with the Bridge II input.  I have now replaced the PS Audio DAC with a USB media server running Linux and a new USB DAC. The NAS has been replaced by a USB HDD storage device that connects directly to the server.  The manufacturer has installed an SD card in the server that makes Volumio available to me. It works fine however I miss MC.  He says that I can use Roon by installing their bridge.  Can you advise me on a way to use MC in this circumstance without purchasing anything else. Thank you in advance for your guidance.

[RoderickGI]

You had better share the brand and model number of the new devices you have installed.

Also explain how you have all this connected up, in terms of the network, location of devices with respect to each other, etc. Specifically where the Windows PC running MC is situated with respect to the USB Media Server, and how those two things are connected.

Do you only play audio with MC, or is this used for video, TV, etc. as well? I assume the PC has a screen, but is that visible when you are using MC, or do you use a remote such as JRemote or Gizmo to control the output of MC?

Basically, if you want to run MC, then Volumio can be run as a DLNA Renderer, I believe, if the PC is in another room and you are playing media via DLNA. So that may be what the manufacturer was trying to achieve by installing Volumio. I don't know why you would need a USB Media Server if you have a MC Server running, which is why you need to share the brand and model. You certainly don't need Roon.

So, tell us more about your situation.

[Bazza]

You had better share the brand and model number of the new devices you have installed.

Also explain how you have all this connected up, in terms of the network, location of devices with respect to each other, etc. Specifically where the Windows PC running MC is situated with respect to the USB Media Server, and how those two things are connected.

Do you only play audio with MC, or is this used for video, TV, etc. as well? I assume the PC has a screen, but is that visible when you are using MC, or do you use a remote such as JRemote or Gizmo to control the output of MC?

Basically, if you want to run MC, then Volumio can be run as a DLNA Renderer, I believe, if the PC is in another room and you are playing media via DLNA. So that may be what the manufacturer was trying to achieve by installing Volumio. I don't know why you would need a USB Media Server if you have a MC Server running, which is why you need to share the brand and model. You certainly don't need Roon.

So, tell us more about your situation.

I have scoured this site for topics on this subject without success so please bear with me. I have used Windows MC for a number of years to send files from a NAS to my PS Audio DAC with the Bridge II input.  I have now replaced the PS Audio DAC with a USB media server running Linux and a new USB DAC. The NAS has been replaced by a USB HDD storage device that connects directly to the server.  The manufacturer has installed an SD card in the server that makes Volumio available to me. It works fine however I miss MC.  He says that I can use Roon by installing their bridge.  Can you advise me on a way to use MC in this circumstance without purchasing anything else. Thank you in advance for your guidance.

Thanks for your suggestion Roderick.
Firstly, I should tell you that I have eliminated wi-fi in my system so my laptop computer and media server are connected to a D-Link hub, in my listening room, via ethernet cables.  I have utilized power line adapters to connect everything to my modem/router on a different floor in my home.
The media server is a Space Tech EMS-200 and my DAC is a Space Tech DA - DSD1024 - 8X.  Space Tech is a boutique designer and manufacturer located in Vancouver Canada.  My storage device is a 5TB Toshiba Cavio, powered by an external linear power supply, that is connected to one of the USB ports on the media server

[RoderickGI]

Okay, it looks like the Space Tech EMS-200 basically replaces the functionality of JRiver Media Center running on a Windows PC. Hence, MC is now redundant.

If your Windows PC is located in an appropriate place, close to your Amp, speaker connections, etc., then you could either put your music on the PC, or plug the 5TB Toshiba Cavio drive into the PC so that it is available for MC to use, then plug the Space Tech DA-DSD1024-8X into the PC via USB, and play from MC to the DAC directly like that. Which means you will not need the Space Tech EMS-200 or Volumio.

If the Windows PC is located away from your music playing area, then it looks like the Space Tech EMS-200 may be able to act as a DLNA Renderer, so that MC could stream your music from the PC to the Space Tech EMS-200 using DLNA, and hence to the Space Tech DA-DSD1024-8X. It could be that Volumio running on the Space Tech EMS-200 is required to act as a DLNA Renderer, which is probably why the manufacturer recommended installing that. If using Roon, I suspect that it would send audio to the Volumio installation, and hence out to the DAC, in the same way. But that solution means that you are hardly using any of the capabilities of the Space Tech EMS-200.

As the manufacturer is saying this can run with Roon, it sounds like he doesn't know what JRiver MC is. I assume he was saying you could install Roon on your PC?

So part of my reason for asking about the location of devices was to answer whether you should ditch the Space Tech EMS-200 and just connect the Space Tech DA-DSD1024-8X and the 5TB Toshiba Cavio drive to the PC, and then use JRiver MC as before. The alternative, if devices are separated and need to be connected via the network, is to run MC on the PC and stream to Volumio on the Space Tech EMS-200 using DLNA.

I know that several people do use Volumio running on various devices to act as a DLNA Renderer for MC to stream to. But I also know a few of them have had issues with their configuration, because of Volumio. So getting a DLNA solution working with the Space Tech EMS-200 may not be straight forward.


Over to you really. Or maybe someone with more knowledge of the Space Tech products, and Volumio, (I have never used either) can speak up and provide better advice.

[Bazza]

Thanks for taking the time to help me. The manufacturer now tells me that it is not possible to run MC on his server unless I can configure things to work through a web browser.

[BryanC]

Thanks for taking the time to help me. The manufacturer now tells me that it is not possible to run MC on his server unless I can configure things to work through a web browser.

This is possible with a lot of work, but your whole setup is redundant. You should either use the Space Tech solution as-is (eliminate MC) or eliminate one or more Space Tech devices. Assuming you spent $7k+ on the Space Tech products I would just use them as-is and forget about MC.

If I was attached to MC (as I am) and could not get a refund, I would hook the DAC up to an MC Id (renderer) and try to install Debian on the EMS-200 so I could run MC for Linux (server) on it. In this setup you will have replaced the 'boutique' software with MC while still using the Space Tech hardware. In this scenario even the EMS-200 is still redundant because you could also just attach your USB drive to the Id ( Id as your server) and control it from your phone (JRemote/Panel) or PC (MC client (controller)/Panel).

[Bazza]

Thanks Bryan.  I don't hear a sonic difference between Volumio and MC so it is just the thumbnails of MC that I am missing.  My server has a dual regulation linear power supply so is dead quite.  I will just stick with the free Volumio.  At least I don't have to wonder "what if" anymore.  Thanks again for the advice!