Sonnet Hermes User manual

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Hermes owner’s manual
Updated 11-03-2020

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Introduction
Introduction
At Sonnet Digital Audio we are fanatic about building the best Digital to Analogue converters. Because of this dedication to perfection we can
truly appreciate listening experiences like Roon. Roon looks at your music and finds photos, reviews, lyrics, and concert dates, and makes
connections between artists, composers, performers, conductors, and producers. What you get is a searchable, surfable magazine about your
music. And as we believe a Digital to Analogue converter is the heart of your music setup, what else can we do than to build a ROON end point
which will allow you to direct your digital music through our device in order to get the most sublime sound available!
The HERMES comes with a dedicated I2S output which is based on impedance matching. This approach makes it possible to use standard
UTP cable over lengts of 30 meters without loss or interference. Standard ouputs like AES/EBU, Coax and Toslink are available as well. The
hardware platform in HERMES enables you to stream high res music files from network attached storage, online streaming services through the
powerful ROON platform or others, outputting bit perfect audio direct to your DAC. The HERMES By Sonnet Digital Audio comes with all the
connections an audiophile can wish for, and when hooking it up to your network it is a plug and play device.

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Safety Instructions
IMPORTANT SAFETY INSTRUCTIONS
1. Read Instructions.
2. Keep these Instructions.
3. Heed all Warnings.
4. Follow all Instructions.
5. Do not use this apparatus near water.
6. Clean only with a dry cloth.
7. Do not install near any heat sources such as radiators, heat registers, stoves, or other apparatus (including amplifiers) that produce heat.
8. Unplug this apparatus during lightning storms or when unused for long periods of time.
9. Refer all servicing to qualified service personnel. Servicing is required when the apparatus
has been damaged in any way, such as a power-supply cord or plug is damaged, liquid has
been spilled or objects have fallen into the apparatus, the apparatus has been exposed to
rain or moisture, does not operate normally, or has been dropped.
10. The Hermes must be placed on a firm, level surface where it is not exposed to dripping or splashing.
11. Before making connections to the Hermes, ensure that the power is off and other components
are in mute or stand-by mode. Make sure all cable terminations are of the highest quality,
free from frayed ends, short circuits, or cold solder joints.
12. THERE ARE NO USER SERVICEABLE PARTS INSIDE THE "Hermes".
Please contact Sonnet Digital Audio if you have any questions not addressed in this guide.
13. Sonnet Digital Audio cannot be held accountable and/or responsible for any form of damage or health issues inflicted to you, other people,
pets, companies and non-living objects, that are caused by any form of usage of the product which is not described in this manual.
14.By actually using this product and turning it on for the first time, you agree to these terms

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Connecting
Caution! Please connect your interconnects first before connecting the mains power cable!
Power requirements: The Hermes is made for global use so can be used for mains voltages between 100 and 240 VAC.
Use the supplied power cable to a grounded power outlet.
Optical output: Use an optical (Toslink) cable to use the optical Output. The optical Ouput can be used for sampling rates up to 96 kHz.
Coaxial Ouput: A 75 Ohm coaxial cable should be used to connect the Hermes to your dac. To avoid ground loops it has a galvanic isolation
and can handle a maximum sample rate of 192 kHz

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Connecting
XLR digital output: Standard digital XLR cables having a impedance of 110 Ohms should be used to connect the Hermes to your dac. To avoid
ground loops it has a galvanic isolation and can handle a maximum sample rate of 192 kHz
I2S Output: The I2S output is a dedicated interface to connect the Hermes with other Sonnet digital products like our Morpheus dac for
instance. New technology is used to make the I2S data format more reliable. Actually this format was made for internal use and not able to drive
long data lines. Sonnet is using a kind of data transport based on the typical impedance of a standard UTP cable. By using this technology it is
important that both transmitter and receiver is made for this quite heavy load of 100 Ohms. As a result lengths of 30 meters between source and
receiver can be used without any loss or jitter.
In case of I2S Sonnet Digital Audio cannot guarantee the correct behavior in conjunction with other systems. If you have any
doubts about the correct match with other products don't hesitate to contact us.
Lan connection: Connect an UTP cable with your local network. The Hermes is made as a Roon end point and cannot work as a standalone
device. The Hermes expects a working Roon music server on the same local network.

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Operating
Remark: When the Hermes is fully connected and switched to ”on” for the very first time, it can take quite a long time before the
Hermes is operational as the latest updates should be installed. During this update period of the Hermes it should avoided to switch
the device “Off” as it can harm the software. Wait until the display shows “System ready”.

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Operating
On/Standby switch
When connected to mains by default the Hermes will go into standby mode. In standby mode the red led on the front panel will lit.
Remark: The Hermes is not visible in your local network or by the Roon server when switched to standby!
Starting up procedure
 When the Hermes is switched to “On” the display will show you “Initializing” This indication means that the system is booting and is
trying to make contact with the network .
 The next indication is “Network Active” By default the Hermes is getting an IP address based on DHCP. As mentioned above during
the very first time it can take a long time before the Hermes is operational as it is looking for updates and should never switched Off.
 The latest indication of the boot process is “System ready” It tells you that the system can be used now as a Roon endpoint.

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Operating
How to make the Hermes visible in Roon
When the Hermes is connected and ready for use and shows you “system ready” it should be visible in Roon
Roon settings
 Start your Roon control interface (Windows, Mac or tablet)
 Go to menu / settings / audio . The following picture will be visible:

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Operating
 The current presentation is just an example but can be different. It shows all available Roon systems in your network
 Enable the Hermes in your Roon network and give it a name for the area in use like for instance “living room” or “kitchen”
 The last step is to select the right streamer device for the specific room. Go to the right bottom in your Roon user interface and select
the right source by clicking on the icon.

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Operating
 You are now able to play music by selecting an album or track
 The indication on the display will change from “System ready” to “Playing Music”
 The sign “Playing Music” will also be visible between two tracks. Only in those cases that the gap between two tracks is longer than
15 seconds the display will show ”No music data”

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Menu options
Like our other products it is possible to switch off the display after a certain time. When set in this mode , the display only will show you the
startup cycle but will be blank after 15 seconds in case of playing music. Only when there is a real error like for instance a network problem or
that there is no music playing for long time the display will tell you.
 Push the power button for three seconds and release it. Now you are in the display menu.
 By pushing the power button very shortly you are toggling between display “On” or “Off” mode
 If the right display setting is done push the power button for three seconds again to leave the menu

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Technical specs.
Working principle: Linux based Roon ready end point
Power supply: 10 VA
Power consumption: Standby < 1 Watt
Full operation 6 Watts
Power requirements: 110-240VAC 60/50Hz
Inputs: Lan (local area network) max. 100 Mbps
Outputs: 1x optical Toslink, 1x RCA coax, 1x AES/EBU and I2S.
Sampling frequency: Optical : 44.1 - 96 kHz sampling.
Coaxial: 44.1 - 192 kHz sampling.
AES/EBU: 44.1 - 192 kHz sampling
I2S: 44.1- 192 kHz sampling.
Dimensions hxwxd: 19 x 6 x 25 cm
Weight: 2500 gram.

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Company info.
Sonnet Digital Audio BV
Daviottenweg 9-11,
5222 BH 's-Hertogenbosch
The Netherlands
Phone: sales office: [phone]
Email: [e-mail]
Website: https://www.sonnet-audio.com
Chamber of commerce s'Hertogenbosch: 75452081
BTW / VAT: NL860288110B01