Auralic Aries (Hardware) - Impressions and Information

[Cornan]

1 hour ago, pl_svn said:

with my Aries static is there always, as soon as it boots after a fw update: no need to play anything :-/

when something is playing can barely hear it but it's there

never tried upsampling

 

it's a constant "trrr-trrr-trrr-trrr" pattern that repeats every 5-6 seconds

 

I also tried, as Chris from Auralic support suggested, using the stock LPS and I have static with it either so... it's not the PS

(btw: Vinnie Rossi's Mini, with its 2.5A continuous 5A max, is way over specced than stock PS)

 

as soon as I revert to 4.1.0 goes immediately away

I have experienced cracking noises in the past that was there with wireless and direct copper ethernet, but completely dissapeared with a ac wireless extender and/or a ethernet Gbit switch close to the streamer. If you have any laying around it can be worth a shot to see if the problems goes away atleast! ?

[pl_svn]

what I'm hearing sounds "similar" to the interference I've heard in the past (probably because of my all tubes setup) when I turn Aries' wi-fi on

 

in fact my first (still unanswered) question to Auralic support has been: "Are you sure wi-fi is completely off, in fw 5.0 betas, when Aries is set to wired only"?

 

Gigabit switch: yes, I'm using one but it's... 50-70cm away. though, again: the issue disappears as soon as I revert to fw 4.1.0 

[Cornan]

26 minutes ago, pl_svn said:

Gigabit switch: yes, I'm using one but it's... 50-70cm away. though, again: the issue disappears as soon as I revert to fw 4.1.0 

I feel your pain! ?

70cm is close enough. If you have a D-Link switch try input on port 1 (first port) and output (to Aries) on the last port. QoS will ensure the last port have the highest priority. If it does'nt cure your issue it will atleast sound slughtly better when there is no cracking! ?

[scan80269]

27 minutes ago, pl_svn said:

what I'm hearing sounds "similar" to the interference I've heard in the past (probably because of my all tubes setup) when I turn Aries' wi-fi on

 

in fact my first (still unanswered) question to Auralic support has been: "Are you sure wi-fi is completely off, in fw 5.0 betas, when Aries is set to wired only"?

 

Gigabit switch: yes, I'm using one but it's... 50-70cm away. though, again: the issue disappears as soon as I revert to fw 4.1.0 

Is your gigabit switch in a metal box?  If plastic box, your Aries may be picking up interference from your switch, and it's hard to say whether this susceptibility is directly related to the Aries WiFi or some other circuitry within the box.  Aries itself is in a plastic box...

 

As to why the FW makes such a difference in this noise, I'm afraid only Auralic can provide a proper technical answer.

 

 

[Cornan]

2 minutes ago, scan80269 said:

Is your gigabit switch in a metal box?  If plastic box, your Aries may be picking up interference from your switch, and it's hard to say whether this susceptibility is directly related to the Aries WiFi or some other circuitry within the box.  Aries itself is in a plastic box...

 

IME an externally grounded network switch sounds better than one in a plastic box. I guess interferences can be trapped inside the box as well! 

[pl_svn]

Netgear GS105v2: all metal (and powered by an HD-Plex LPS)

 

QoS and Flow Control both disabled (FC was causing issues with tracks above 176.4 in Roon)

[scan80269]

Just now, Cornan said:

 

IME an externally grounded network switch sounds better than one in a plastic box. I guess interferences can be trapped inside the box as well! 

Many electronics devices rely on a metal box to shield outgoing EMI in order to gain regulatory compliance like FCC Class B (USA).  Devices that have a plastic box will require more careful circuit board design, and may employ metallic shields over parts or all of the board.  A device must pass both RF emissions and susceptibility requirements before it can be sold.

 

Grounding of a metal box can be effective as this helps prevent the box from becoming an antenna in some form.

 

I personally prefer devices with metal boxes over plastic ones.

 

[scan80269]

3 minutes ago, pl_svn said:

Netgear GS105v2: all metal (and powered by an HD-Plex LPS)

 

QoS and Flow Control both disabled (FC was causing issues with tracks above 176.4 in Roon)

Do you have an Ethernet isolator at your disposal (e.g. EMO Systems EN-70HD or Baaske MI-1005)?  Such a device can help troubleshoot whether the interference is conducted over the Ethernet cable or radiated over the air.

 

[pl_svn]

no, no ethernet isolators

 

switch is connecting just the Aries, NAS and Mac mini (all on LPS) then optical isolation is in place towards the router

 

but again: never had this issue in more than 1 year I have the Aries and... just reverting to fw 4.1.0 fixes it 

 

 

oh... almost forgot: also tried replacing the USB cable (from Aries out) and while it was disconnected... static noise was still there. definitely sounds as an RFI caused by fw 5.0 only

[scan80269]

2 minutes ago, pl_svn said:

no, no ethernet isolators

 

switch is connecting just the Aries, NAS and Mac mini (all on LPS) then optical isolation is in place towards the router

 

but again: never had this issue in more than 1 year I have the Aries and... just reverting to fw 4.1.0 fixes it 

 

 

oh... almost forgot: also tried replacing the USB cable (from Aries out) and while it was disconnected... static noise was still there. definitely sounds as an RFI caused by fw 5.0 only

FW 5.0 sounds like a wholesale change vs. 4.1.0, so troubleshooting down to the culprit can be a royal pain...

 

Perhaps Auralic should have advertised a free AM radio as a bonus feature of Aries coming with FW 5.0...

 

[Cornan]

7 hours ago, scan80269 said:

Many electronics devices rely on a metal box to shield outgoing EMI in order to gain regulatory compliance like FCC Class B (USA).  Devices that have a plastic box will require more careful circuit board design, and may employ metallic shields over parts or all of the board.  A device must pass both RF emissions and susceptibility requirements before it can be sold.

 

Grounding of a metal box can be effective as this helps prevent the box from becoming an antenna in some form.

 

I personally prefer devices with metal boxes over plastic ones.

 

 

You might be interested in my latest grounding tweak for my network switch in my low budget setup. It gave me truly great results, so I will for sure do the very same thing on my Aqvox switch in my primary setup!

You can read my post here! ?

 

 

[Cornan]

7 hours ago, pl_svn said:

oh... almost forgot: also tried replacing the USB cable (from Aries out) and while it was disconnected... static noise was still there. definitely sounds as an RFI caused by fw 5.0 only

 

Interesting! I guess the ethernet was still connected right? For sure 5.0 is a part of the problem, but likely in combination with something specific in your setup. Still sounds like a ethernet thing to me. Especially since you had issues with it before. Problem like faulty ethernet cables are are also plausible with similar symptoms. The problem can also come from the NAS or Mac Mini. These problem tend to appear when you've got a very good isolation in some part of the system and less good in other parts. The new beta 5.0 might just prove to isolate things better? Try to play music without Roon & Mac Mini to see if the problem still appears? Evaluating this crack, pops, hums etc could be a pain, especially if it is a faulty cable! ?

[hannoy63]

After installing 5 I've had a crackling noise during playback either via the usb hd, nas or streaming Tidal. Reinstalled 4 and the issue has disappeared,

[Duke40]

Been doing more listening , I'm getting static, but only in certain situation (when upsampling), also for some reason it takes about 10 minutes before the static occurs, and it get progressively worse. Also hear more in the left channel on my headphone rig.  The sound of the static is like scratched vinyl record static, I fear that I am not articulating myself very well here, but the link below is similar to what I hear.  

youtube vinyl static

 

Not a biggie for me, I actually find the option to choose different filters to have more of a positive effect on SQ, than the upsampling is providing,

so I just turn off the upsampling (which gets rid of the static).

 

So the static that I am hearing is different to pl_svn , and not as critical (at least I can get rid of it by turning upsampling off).

Also, I am using my Aries with WiFi, not ethernet connection. Also using Toslink, not USB.

 

My setup is completely isolated, end to end.

1) D-Link DSL-4320L Cable Modem / WiFi Router which has 3 wifi bands; 1 band 2.4ghz (for most devices), 2nd band 5 ghz for iphone or ipad as a control point (stream Tidal iOS app via Airplay or access Tidal in Lightning DS), 3rd band 5 ghz dedicated to the Aries only. No NAS or local storage, I only use Tidal exclusively.

Power is ; 300W Isolated Power Supply > HD-Plex 100W LPS > iFi Audio DC iPuriifier > D-Link 4320L

2 ) Auralic Aries > Lifatec Glass Toslink optical cable > Auralic Gemini 2000 > Audeze LCD-X

Power is ; Both Auralic devices have their own VR Mini power supply.

 

Just posting in detail, so their is another data point regarding the static.  

While mine is a minor nuisance which I can get rid off,   what pl_svn is experiencing is much more concerning.

Good on Cornan and Scan80269 for making suggestions.

[Duke40]

pl_svn     Do you get static if you use Airplay (rather than Lightning DS) to the Aries ?  

 

I never get static when using my iPhone to stream Tidal via Airplay to the Aries ... static only happens while I am in Lightning DS and trying to upsample.

[pl_svn]

3 hours ago, Cornan said:

For sure 5.0 is a part of the problem, but likely in combination with something specific in your setup. Still sounds like a ethernet thing to me. Especially since you had issues with it before. Problem like faulty ethernet cables are are also plausible with similar symptoms.

 

issue I had in the past was a constant and very strong interference when activating Aries' wi-fi network to set it up from scratch after performing a factory reset

 

ethernet cables are... AQ Vodka 

[memota]

I'm a bit worried about this new firmware with reports of crackling etc. I hope they're on top of it but by beta 4 I'd have hoped they would be already

[pl_svn]

2 hours ago, Duke40 said:

Do you get static if you use Airplay (rather than Lightning DS) to the Aries ?  

 

never tried and... not going to: I use my Aries as Roon endpoint and Lightning DS only to stream Qobuz

[pl_svn]

2 hours ago, Duke40 said:

Also hear more in the left channel on my headphone rig.

 

here it starts from the right (speaker) and moves to center (with just a very tiny hint of it going to the left)

[Cornan]

3 minutes ago, pl_svn said:

 

issue I had in the past was a constant and very strong interference when activating Aries' wi-fi network to set it up from scratch after performing a factory reset

 

ethernet cables are... AQ Vodka 

 

Since AQ Vodka is a shielded ethernet cable you could actually try to perform an easy test to see if it helps or not. Just cover the metal parts on one side of the plugs with electrical tape (one thin layer) to prevent shield coupling  (AC/DC currents & ground interferences) or change to a unshielded UTP ethernet cable (Cat5 or Cat6/6a UTP) to see if the promblem still persist or not. Even if you do not want to keep it there it will tell you if it is a likely noise path or not. Unfortunately there is a lot of different reasons for static noises, hum, coupling noises etc. It will require a lot of investigation by changing cables, settings, improve isolation (AC/DC & ground) etc to find the root to the problem. Static noises can even appear on over-isolated setups (biult up static noises which could take long time of listening before it ignite/cracks) and from malfuctioning battery supplies. A tip is to start checking the cables. Let it be your first suspect so to speak!  

 

Auralic might have a clue to why this is happening, but it could take a while for them to solv it, since not everyone is experiance the very same problem. Luckily I have no issues what so ever with my Aries Mini and opposed to other posters the new 5.0 sounds better than ever before in my setup.

[pl_svn]

ok, will try later this afternoon an unshielded (cat 5 or 6, not sure what I have here)) ethernet cable and report

 

thanks

[pl_svn]

44 minutes ago, pl_svn said:

issue I had in the past was a constant and very strong interference when activating Aries' wi-fi network to set it up from scratch after performing a factory reset

 

oh... now I recall... that was when trying to "revive" my Aries after it was bricked by a (... 4.0?) beta fw 

[2string1]

I guess I'm going to have to unsubscribe from this topic. My wife is giving me a lot of Static because it's filling up my inbox!  

[Doak]

No problems with static here. 

All is working smoothly.

I am not using any upsampling while playing my own library.

As has been my prior experience, all upsampling changes the sound IMO not for the better.

Maybe if something is of very poor quality it would be in order.

OTOH, Tidal can sound very, very good. MQA is "enabled" and MQa upsampling set to "auto" for best sound. I have tried upsampling all to 24/192 and felt it robbed the music of some "soul."

The only filter I use is precise. IMO other choices alter the sound not for the better. Again, could be occasionally useful for poorer quality material, which I tend not include in my listening.

[memota]

9 minutes ago, Doak said:

No problems with static here. 

All is working smoothly.

I am not using any upsampling while playing my own library.

As has been my prior experience, all upsampling changes the sound IMO not for the better.

Maybe if something is of very poor quality it would be in order.

OTOH, Tidal can sound very, very good. MQA is "enabled" and MQa upsampling set to "auto" for best sound. I have tried upsampling all to 24/192 and felt it robbed the music of some "soul."

The only filter I use is precise. IMO other choices alter the sound not for the better. Again, could be occasionally useful for poorer quality material, which I tend not include in my listening.

Does the MQA upsampling sound bad too?