Article: Aurender W20 Review

[The Computer Audiophile]

You can view the page at http://www.computeraudiophile.com/content.php?r=573-Aurender-W20-Review

[calloway]

Did you do a comparison,from a sound standpoint, to the Lumin Network Music Player..? i realize they are different ....

[The Computer Audiophile]

Did you do a comparison,from a sound standpoint, to the Lumin Network Music Player..? i realize they are different ....

Yes and no. The players are so different a true apples to apples comparison can't be done. I know what the Lumin sounds like and what the W20 sounds like when connected to numerous DACs. I would have to use the Lumin as a digital to digital converter connected to the same DAC as the W20 to even get close to a real life comparison.

[Quest]

Hi Chris, I believe you also have the Aurender X100 or X100L with you. Would greatly appreciate any comparison between that and the W20 in terms of SQ if we only use the USB outputs, and have no need for word clock in/output.

[cjf]

This is certainly one beautiful piece of kit that appears very well laid out and isolated.

 

I can see that great pains were taken in the creation of the W20 to limit and or lessen to whatever extent possible the amount of electrical interference or possibility of cross contamination between components within the chassis. The fact that the unit runs of batteries without the need for a power cable being connected to the wall no doubt helps in this area in addition to the modular / containerized layout .

 

I'm curious how an even "Greener" low powered Linux based media server stacks up against this giant. Something like a Beagle Bone Black which only needs 5V to operate would seem to have even less noise output then the W20 assuming that the lack of noise in and of itself is accounting for a large portion of the SQ the W20 is providing.

 

The CAP's servers are very nice purpose built systems but they are still limited in how "Green" they can be due to being based on motherboards which were not designed with an eye towards limiting electrical contamination..etc.

 

Chris, I'm not sure if you still use any of the lightweight Linux based systems in your home but I would be interested in hearing your take on how they compared to the W20, even if only going by what you remember at the time .

 

Thanks and nice review.

[Quest]

The fact that the unit runs of batteries without the need for a power cable being connected to the wall no doubt helps in this area in addition to the modular / containerized layout .

 

I believe that the W20 still needs a power cord because it runs via SMPS for the motherboard and main components. I believe only the audio board is run off battery power.

 

There is a small temporary battery for UPS function for the motherboard and main components, but I'm uncertain if that is active in normal usage. Maybe some elaboration by Chris would be good.

[The Computer Audiophile]

I believe that the W20 still needs a power cord because it runs via SMPS for the motherboard and main components. I believe only the audio board is run off battery power.

 

There is a small temporary battery for UPS function for the motherboard and main components, but I'm uncertain if that is active in normal usage. Maybe some elaboration by Chris would be good.

Correct.

[monteverdi]

Very interesting review. Chris in terms of output you seem to have no preferences or is it more dependent on the DAC?

I am also looking forward to your comments/review of the X100(L).

[The Computer Audiophile]

This is certainly one beautiful piece of kit that appears very well laid out and isolated.

 

I can see that great pains were taken in the creation of the W20 to limit and or lessen to whatever extent possible the amount of electrical interference or possibility of cross contamination between components within the chassis. The fact that the unit runs of batteries without the need for a power cable being connected to the wall no doubt helps in this area in addition to the modular / containerized layout .

 

I'm curious how an even "Greener" low powered Linux based media server stacks up against this giant. Something like a Beagle Bone Black which only needs 5V to operate would seem to have even less noise output then the W20 assuming that the lack of noise in and of itself is accounting for a large portion of the SQ the W20 is providing.

 

The CAP's servers are very nice purpose built systems but they are still limited in how "Green" they can be due to being based on motherboards which were not designed with an eye towards limiting electrical contamination..etc.

 

Chris, I'm not sure if you still use any of the lightweight Linux based systems in your home but I would be interested in hearing your take on how they compared to the W20, even if only going by what you remember at the time .

 

Thanks and nice review.

Hi cjf - I have plenty of tiny Linux systems here. Be careful not to confuse motherboard size and amount of power required with the amount of electrical noise that can seep through to something like a USB DAC. For example the Intel NUC PCs are very small, but can emit some serious noise that can be heard through the speakers. It doesn't take much noise to be very audible.

 

As far as being green, nothing will beat the tiny ARM based boards that run on a trickle of power. I love those as well.

[The Computer Audiophile]

Very interesting review. Chris in terms of output you seem to have no preferences or is it more dependent on the DAC?

I am also looking forward to your comments/review of the X100(L).

Very dependent on the DAC.

 

The X100L was going to be part of this review as well, but at over 6000 words I just couldn't add anything more to this review. I'll publish more on the X100L at a later date. In terms of iPad software it's identical.

[The Computer Audiophile]

Hi Chris, I believe you also have the Aurender X100 or X100L with you. Would greatly appreciate any comparison between that and the W20 in terms of SQ if we only use the USB outputs, and have no need for word clock in/output.

The X100L is a great buy, but it's not as good as the W20 even when only considering the USB output. The final sound quality also depends on the DAC used. Some DACs like the Ayre QB-9 DSD may perform identically connected via USB to either Aurender model because it's completely immune to power signals from the server.

[extracampine]

This unit does look very good, would love to hear it in my system. I see that it was felt to sound better than the CAPS servers. In some ways this is a disappointment for all those who bought or made a CAPS thinking that it was the pinnacle of a computer-based source component. Maybe they are still correct, as the Aurender isn't computer-based I suppose.

 

The thing that still makes me lean towards a computer-based component like a CAPS is the flexibility, in terms of hardware (and upgradeability) though more in terms of software. With the Aurender we are 'forced' to use their own interface, which may not be what people want to use. I for one like to see the rear cover art displayed next to the front cover, as I don't think it's "just about the music" as you often hear, but the whole package - the artwork, sleeve notes and general context from which the music came. Of course the sound quality is the main issue, but a barely discernible difference at the expense of a host of benefits? I'm not so sure. Maybe in a £100k system the difference would be more discernible, though I would be surprised if I heard a difference in my £12k one.

 

Also, I think I am correct in assuming that it doesn't have firewire out, only USB. Not much use for those with firewire DACs like the Weiss!

 

Don't mean to be negative about it, just balancing the debate.

[bernardl]

It seems like a great piece of kit, but I still unsure why it should have any impact on sound quality with asynchronous USB solutions equiped DACs.

 

Using a Devialet 240 over USB costing less than the music server reviewed here, I am getting pretty amazing sound quality from a cheap Mac mini running audirvana that enables me to use my iPad and Remote.

 

Cheers,

Bernard

[Mthorpe]

Earlier i read the review by Reviewer: Srajan Ebaen from 6moons,

6moons audio reviews: Aurender W20

 

It makes my wonder how to interpret reviews

[Urs]

In case that one of these 3TB or 4TB drives crashes... could I replace the (spinning) drive myself? e.g. Just order a silent WD 3TB drive, open the case and replace it (without loosing warranty). Or would I have to send the unit back to the dealer?

[labjr]

There is hocus pocus. Watching your bank account disappear!

[The Computer Audiophile]

Earlier i read the review by Reviewer: Srajan Ebaen from 6moons,

6moons audio reviews: Aurender W20

 

It makes my wonder how to interpret reviews

Hi Mthorpe - I highly recommend reading a few reviews from specific reviewers, especially when they review equipment you know well. That way you can decide if you like the same things as the writer and if you agree with the writer's opinions in general.

[The Computer Audiophile]

In case that one of these 3TB or 4TB drives crashes... could I replace the (spinning) drive myself? e.g. Just order a silent WD 3TB drive, open the case and replace it (without loosing warranty). Or would I have to send the unit back to the dealer?

You can physically replace the drive yourself. I'm not sure about warranty, but I'll assume there would be no issues. The drive has to be formatted once replaced. This has to be done by a dealer or the Aurender team. The dealer can do it from a special version of the iPad application and the Aurender team can do it remotely.

[DanRubin]

Chris,

 

Have you heard or do you have plans to review either of the current Antipodes servers? More pedestrian than Aurender, and priced accordingly. For those of us without the means to consider Aurender, it would be interesting to get a sense of whether these are a meaningful step up from our Mac Minis or even from CAPS servers.

[Elberoth]

Just curious - did you compare the Dual AES output (with clock connection) to USB output on the dCS stack ?

 

You can connect the W20 via USB to the upsampler or the DAC directly as an alternative to AES.

[The Computer Audiophile]

Just curious - did you compare the Dual AES output (with clock connection) to USB output on the dCS stack ?

 

You can connect the W20 via USB to the upsampler or the DAC directly as an alternative to AES.

I'm sure I did but it has been quite a while. You can also connect via coaxial S/PDIF (RCA), coaxial S/PDIF (BNC), and TosLink if you so choose.

[Elberoth]

That is understandable. I was curious how does the SPDIF (be it Tos, AES/Dual AES or BNC) + clock interface compare to USB.

[The Computer Audiophile]

That is understandable. I was curious how does the SPDIF (be it Tos, AES/Dual AES or BNC) + clock interface compare to USB.

The Vivaldi is going to make its way back here in the not to distant future. I'll give it a shot again and let you know.

[all300b]

Is this going to drive the computer audiophile mad to further perfect the sound quality of CAPS v4 and beyond? Maybe there are some new lessons lurking inside that $16,000 case?

[Elberoth]

Is this going to drive the computer audiophile mad to further perfect the sound quality of CAPS v4 and beyond? Maybe there are some new lessons lurking inside that $16,000 case?

 

Custom MoBo, optimised for minimum noise.

 

Amare Musica is coming with their Diamond serwer, I believe as early as next month, which also uses custom MoBo and linear PSU (no SMPS). It would be interesting to compare the two.