Auralic Aries (Hardware) - Impressions and Information

[mikey8811]

I went back to firmware 3.3 cause i like the sound of the old FW more, 4.03beta is a bit to much high resolution in my system.

For me, i hope, the work for the sound is still in progress till FW4.0

 

Too hi res as in strident and bright?

[hornytoad]

Too hi res as in strident and bright?

 

Someone else said smoother and more natural and he says too resolute . I guess it could depend on your system.

[JDOz]

I agree with smoother and more natural. Timbre is improved; the decay of instruments sounds more natural. This comes from improved overall resolution and a lower noise floor. Bass is also tighter/faster and extends a bit deeper. YMMV.

[Leeuwarden]

How about the soundstage?

[eintom]

Too hi res as in strident and bright?

 

yes, i have "S" tones with voices and a little too much brighness in the sound, air and natur sound was good for me with 3.3

I do believe that it depends a lot on the system. Mine was prepared so, that voices are short before the S-tones (hope you understand my bad english, do not know the word for that ;-) )

[JDOz]

yes, i have "S" tones with voices and a little too much brighness in the sound, air and natur sound was good for me with 3.3

I do believe that it depends a lot on the system. Mine was prepared so, that voices are short before the S-tones (hope you understand my bad english, do not know the word for that ;-) )

 

"S tones" = Sibilance? I didn't listen for that but I agree about system dependent.

[atletico]

I have also tested the beta 4.03 version. What happened was: The Aries will not play any hi-rez files through usb to my Mark Levinson 585 amp/DAC. 96/24 and 192/24 files just produces hi noise in my speakers. My DSD files come out with no sound at all.

 

The only files thats now will play from Aries are my 44,1/16 files , but the display on my amp/DAC says t DSD files are now playing !! (and the sound seems very nice ). Looks like some up-sampling or re-sampling of all my files are taken part in the ML DAC when receiving the files from Aries beta 4.03. I´m now back on version 3.3 and have sendt a notice on this issue to the Auralic theme.

[mikey8811]

Anyone else have the same problems with hi res PCM? I haven't tested it yet - just downloaded and updated.

 

How did you roll it back to Version 3.3?

[Jay Tee]

I didn't encounter any issues last night, but only listened for a short while.

 

I will listen again this evening and see if I notice any issues.

[atletico]

Bump

[atletico]

Anyone else have the same problems with hi res PCM? I haven't tested it yet - just downloaded and updated.

 

How did you roll it back to Version 3.3?

It's very easy. The same way you you checked the "receive beta testing firmware" tag for receiving the beta 4.03. Just uncheck this tag and reboot your Aries and you're back on version 3.3.

[markwb]

OK, I've had some time to really listen to 4.0....

 

-Grouping is really really good. I've heard Sonos and Blusound many times and the Aries timing is amazing. I can stand exactly in the midle of 2 sources are the playback between the two is exactly the same. With the Sonos/Blusound it was always slightly off.

 

-Sound. It does seem there is more 'space' in the music. I agree with anothers comment it might sound a bit 'brighter'.

 

-Only problem I detect is a audible 'click' when manually switching from song to song. This doesnt happen during regular playback.

[Jay Tee]

OK, I've had some time to really listen to 4.0....

 

-Grouping is really really good. I've heard Sonos and Blusound many times and the Aries timing is amazing. I can stand exactly in the midle of 2 sources are the playback between the two is exactly the same. With the Sonos/Blusound it was always slightly off.

 

-Sound. It does seem there is more 'space' in the music. I agree with anothers comment it might sound a bit 'brighter'.

 

-Only problem I detect is a audible 'click' when manually switching from song to song. This doesnt happen during regular playback.

 

I've also had some more time to listen to v4.0.3 and I find the sound smoother, more open and refined, with much more space between instruments, so that it's easier to follow the various strands in the music.

 

I haven't yet noticed any unusual 'clicks' or other peculiarities.

 

Hope one of us with both the Aries and the microRendu does a comparison now that the Aries firmware has been upgraded. It would be interesting to hear how the new firmware v4.0.3 lines up with the mR.

[hornytoad]

I've also had some more time to listen to v4.0.3 and I find the sound smoother, more open and refined, with much more space between instruments, so that it's easier to follow the various strands in the music.

 

I haven't yet noticed any unusual 'clicks' or other peculiarities.

 

Hope one of us with both the Aries and the microRendu does a comparison now that the Aries firmware has been upgraded. It would be interesting to hear how the new firmware v4.0.3 lines up with the mR.

 

The problem I have with the microRendu and I have not listened to it , is it is USB only . Some dacs simply sound better using coax or Aes .

 

That's why I'm sticking with the Auralic Aries.

[Doak]

The problem I have with the microRendu and I have not listened to it , is it is USB only . Some dacs simply sound better using coax or Aes

It is impossible to plausibly make this not having heard the mRendu.

BTW: Have you or are you using the Uptone Regen with the Aries and your DAC?

I thought the coax input on my Lampizator DAC sounded better (PCM, USB is required for DSD) until I inserted the Regen with a good PSU.

IMO that completely leveled the playing field - at least.

mRendu contains an improved Regen and much more..

[pl_svn]

just given 4.0b3 a try and immediately reverted to 3.3: attempting to play hi-res (tried a 24-96 track) results in static noise only :-/

[Jay Tee]

It is impossible to plausibly make this not having heard the mRendu.

BTW: Have you or are you using the Uptone Regen with the Aries and your DAC?

I thought the coax input on my Lampizator DAC sounded better (PCM, USB is required for DSD) until I inserted the Regen with a good PSU.

IMO that completely leveled the playing field - at least.

mRendu contains an improved Regen and much more..

 

Doak: Have you tried the new Aries beta 4.0.3?

[Doak]

Doak: Have you tried the new Aries beta 4.0.3?

No, not part of Beta program. Holding onto my Aries though. Want to hear the new firmware! ;-)

[Jay Tee]

just given 4.0b3 a try and immediately reverted to 3.3: attempting to play hi-res (tried a 24-96 track) results in static noise only :-/

 

One question: before reverting to v3.3 did you try powering down the Aries (i.e disconnecting the power) for a minute or two and starting it up again?

[pl_svn]

... hhhmmm... no, I didn't

(Auralic says one should never do it because of the femto clocks taking a long time to "catch up again" after turning the Aries off)

 

does doing it fix the static noise issue?

[hornytoad]

It is impossible to plausibly make this not having heard the mRendu.

BTW: Have you or are you using the Uptone Regen with the Aries and your DAC?

I thought the coax input on my Lampizator DAC sounded better (PCM, USB is required for DSD) until I inserted the Regen with a good PSU.

IMO that completely leveled the playing field - at least.

mRendu contains an improved Regen and much more..

 

I have the Regen and it works well with sabre Dacs but doesn't make a difference with R2R Dacs like the Schiit Yggy I have. That's my opinion.

 

A network renderer without output options is not for me .

[Jay Tee]

... hhhmmm... no, I didn't

(Auralic says one should never do it because of the femto clocks taking a long time to "catch up again" after turning the Aries off)

 

does doing it fix the static noise issue?

 

I haven't tried it because I did not notice a problem when I updated, but, remember the Aries is a computer after all and from time to time they get into a bit of a tailspin and need to be righted, so to speak.

 

I agree though that after a power cycle it takes several hours before the clocks "catch up again;" but that's a small price to pay if it gives you early access to what I and others perceive as improved sound from v4.0. Beta3.

[Jay Tee]

No, not part of Beta program. Holding onto my Aries though. Want to hear the new firmware! ;-)

 

Doak: since you are one of fortunate few with both the Aries and the mR (and multiple power options) aren't you curious to compare what you are now hearing from the mR with the firmware-upgraded Aries?

 

The Auralic beta programme is free, painless to join and if you don't like the beta you can always revert. How about it! Help those of us dying to hear someone with real experience - and the hardware - sound off on these two important bits of kit (in your system of course).

[Doak]

Doak: since you are one of fortunate few with both the Aries and the mR (and multiple power options) aren't you curious to compare what you are now hearing from the mR with the firmware-upgraded Aries?

 

The Auralic beta programme is free, painless to join and if you don't like the beta you can always revert. How about it! Help those of us dying to hear someone with real experience - and the hardware - sound off on these two important bits of kit (in your system of course).

Yes, I do want to know and will do what's necessary.

Honestly didn't know it was so straightforward. Expect to do this shortly.

Thanks for the info and for the push.

[mikey8811]

I've tried out the beta firmware now.

 

In my system it's more open sounding and smoother. Musical lines are easier to follow, the flow is better as a result and there's more air around the instruments. It's a good improvement but I wouldn't call it dramatic like the blurb says.

 

No problems wiith hi res PCM at all. Didn't try DSD.

 

Something that I never figured out and don't know if it's important. Under "Available Inputs", I have AirPlay and Roon ticked or on. I don't use either. Does it make a difference if they are on or off?

 

Also, what is DAC Delay and what should the time setting be for that if it is turned on?

 

It would be interesting to see a comparison with the microRendu.