Auralic Aries (Hardware) - Impressions and Information

[austinpop]

Hi all. Three quick questions about firmware 4.0.

 

1. Specifically to Aries Mini users: Do you hear SQ improvements, like big-brother Aries users are reporting?
   
   • With an external USB DAC?
     
   • With the internal Mini DAC?
     
   • Both?
     

 

[*]Are the SQ improvements only when running the Lightning server, or should you expect similar SQ improvements when running MinimServer externally? Based on the description, I would expect to.

[*]Do the parameters for DAC Output Delay, i.e. DAC Delay, and Delay Time, have any impact on SQ? Honestly, I can't really tell if these parameters only apply to the internal Mini DAC, or the general Aries streamer part.

 

Thanks in advance.

[austinpop]

Hi austinpop!

 

Yes, the SQ improvements with Firmware 4.0 are on Aries Mini as well. I am using external DAC but know that the improvements are also on the internal DAC. You can expect similar improvements with Minimserver. DAC delay does'nt improve the sound...but could cure latency issues with external DAC. I personally put it OFF.

 

/Micael

 

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Computer Audiophile mobile app

 

Thanks - that is good to know. I appreciate your answers.

 

I picked up the 4.0 update while in the midst of other changes in cables, optical network isolation with LPS, etc, so it's hard to know how much of the improvement I'm hearing is due to the 4.0 FW!

 

Let me follow up with a different question. I've been really pleased with the impact of optical isolation on my network, so I'm now wanting to tackle galvanic isolation on the USB.

 

Is the Uptone Regen still the best answer to improve the USB link from Aries Mini to my Coded DAC?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

[austinpop]

Thank you for your suggestions wrt Regen and Recovery.

 

I admit I have some homework to do, as I do not really follow the whole 5V and GND point yet, as well as the 3-wire USB.

 

My DAC is the Ayre Codex, and my USB cable is a Cardas Clear.

 

So I need to check if the former needs to see 5V, and if the latter is 3-wire? Given your description, I suspect the Cardas is just a regular, shielded cable. Not sure about the Codex. I'll also look into the Vbus2.

 

 

 

 

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[austinpop]

Cardas Clear is a regular shielded USB cable...but a very good one though! Buying a Sbooster Vbus2 Isolator is a very good starting point. With it you will be able to know if you present DAC or any future DAC will require 5v or not...plus hear what a difference it makes. On top of that Vbus2 actually improves 2-wire USB cables as well (in my case)...which I assume (ei. I do not know for sure why) is due to it shields the plugs and isolates from the USB bus. I own two...and use one between Aries and Regen and one between Regen and my DAC/HPA/PRE. I know one thing for sure. Removing or isolating both GND and 5v is extremely awarding. It is like buying a much better DAC!

 

I will definitely start with the VBus2. That makes total sense.

 

The frustration I have with active tweaks like the RUR, Regen etc, is that while you gain from the reclocking/regeneration, you have to pay the piper by added noise from the power supply! I notice some of you are fortunate to have spare taps on your expensive LPSes, which can solve the problem, but I don't have a spare LPS. I have the Auralic LPS for my Aries Mini.

 

Is there a good LPS option for the RUR at a reasonable cost (say $50)? I've seen mixed reports on the iFi iPower. On the network side, I used Jameco supplies for my FMCs, which sound very good. But not sure there's a Jameco solution for the Regen/RUR.

 

And BTW - I feel like I may have taken this Aries thread OT, so maybe we should move this to a more appropriate thread?

[austinpop]

That noise is the whole reason why I power my Aries Mini and Regen by battery supplies...having only one device (my DAC/HPA/PRE) powered by AC mains via a power filter. My router input (using F plugs) is galvantic isolated and I am using strong 5G wireless to my Aries Mini. I also ground my DAC/HPA/PRE plus my Aries Mini externally and are trying to figure out how to ground the Regen externally as well. Since I am not a RUR user I cannot say what works best for that device...but for me personally battery supply for Regen is outstanding...but ONLY if you have the possibillity to change ALL DC powered devices to battery and remaining devices powered by AC. Just my 2 cents.

Let me know if you descide to start a new thread. Otherwise you can just PM me. :-)

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Computer Audiophile mobile app

 

You are way past my threshold for tweaking!

 

I'll start with the Vbus2, and see how it goes. Of course I first have to find it - none of the Sbooster dealers in the US I've checked even have it, and Sbooster doesn't ship direct to the US.

 

Will keep looking.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

[austinpop]

I've been looking at LPSes in the context of my recent discussions on RUR and Regen. The problem is the high cost of LPSes in general, especially good ones.

 

I may have found a solution that is cost-effective. The HDPlex 100. It's $395, but it has 4 simultaneous rails, that may help me kill 4 birds with one stone, as it were.

 

But first let's backup to what I have:

1. Auralic Aries Mini with Auralic LPS (LPS cost $299)
   
2. 2 x TP-Link MC200CM Fiber Media Controllers for optical isolation, with Jameco power supplies
   

 

And to this I want to add:

1. Wyred 4 Sound Recovery
   

 

I exchanged emails with Larry at HDPlex, and for $395, he can sell me a custom HDPlex, with a 16V tap for the Mini, 9V for the Recovery, and 2x 5V for the FMCs.

 

Assuming I could sell my Auralic LPS for $225-250, this would be fairly cost-effective, and it gives me the bonus of getting LPSes on my FMCs. The Jamecos are nice, but hardly LPSes.

 

Any flaws in my logic? Any views on the HDPlex as an LPS?

[austinpop]

I have no comments about the HDPlex except that many people is speaking highly about them. Never tried it myself and do not know how it compares to Auralic LPS.

If I were you I would'nt want to power the FMCs with the same LPS as your audio gears. You might end up with more noise since network gears tend to pollute the mains. I would treat them separate and connect them to a different mains outlet to your audio gears or run them on battery supply (5v BPS is very easy to find) and the Aries and W4S Recovery via HDPlex. Just my personal point of view.

 

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Computer Audiophile mobile app

 

Hmm good point.

 

I haven't even been considering battery PSes. Any recommendations for 5V/1.2A?

 

 

 

 

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[austinpop]

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/juiced-external-battery-charger

 

(This is inactive right now on Massdrop, but I assume it's available elsewhere.)

 

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

I will research BPSes. Some questions I hope to answer are:

• Operating mode: do you leave the BP charging when not in use for audio, and then disconnect during actual audio operation, to provide isolation from the power line? Then reconnect power after audio use to recharge?
  
• This unit only has 500 charge cycles, which seems low to me. Need to see what the ranges are.
  

[austinpop]

^^ Thanks for the suggestions!!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

[austinpop]

Very good points!

 

The testing was done with the "native" UPnP server selections: MinimServer for the NAS, Lightning Server for locally attached USB disk. I didn't try getting MinimServer running on my NAS to support the music collection in the local USB disk, as I have assumed this is impossible or at least not supported by Auralic. This would leave UPnP server options viable only for the music collection stored in the NAS, but I have not done a UPnP server comparison with such a setup.

 

I once asked Auralic whether they can implement an enable/disable switch for Lightning Server running in Aries, as it may help to reduce electrical noise to deliver better SQ, for setups pairing Aries with a NAS running MinimServer or similar UPnP server. Auralic responded by saying that Lightning Server code is too deeply integrated within Aries firmware so a enable/disable switch is non-trivial to implement. Too bad.

 

With my Aries setup, my colleague and I detected significant SQ uplifts by doing the following:

 

* Use a 3-radio wireless router and dedicate one of the 5GHz radios exclusively to Aries for wireless streaming

* Configure the iPad running LDS controller to a different radio/band, e.g. 2.4GHz

 

Overall concept is to give Aries a private wireless channel for streaming only, free from network interference from any other wireless device inside the home. It makes sense to keep even the UPnP control/housekeeping traffic separate from the streaming traffic between wireless router and Aries.

 

I just bought an EMO Systems EN-70HD Ethernet isolator, and plan to use it for another round of WiFi vs. Ethernet streaming comparison for Aries. In the previous round the Ethernet lost to WiFi, but admittedly the Ethernet was nowhere as optimized as the WiFi, so another round is needed for the sake of fairness.

 

Thanks for your thoughtful experiments!

 

i will be very interested to learn your wifi vs Ethernet findings. What cable do you plan to run from the output of the Emo to the Aries? The consensus on CA appears to be to a short run of Cat 6a.

 

I recently did a wifi to Ethernet Camparo on my Aries Mini. In my case, I felt that I got an uptick in SQ going from wifi to Ethernet, and then another uptick with fiber isolation on the Ethernet immediately upstream of the Mini.

 

Granted, I did not optimize my wifi setup, although I was using a 5ghz 802.11ac channel.

[austinpop]

Does this happen at DSD64, or only at higher resolutions like DSD128 or DSD256?

 

As you may have noticed in the Lightning DS display, the throughput requirements for DSF files, at 5.6, 11.2, and 22.4 Mbps, are higher than (losslessly) compressed FLAC files. Even DXD 24/352.8 tops out at about 10Mbps, if I remember right.

 

If it is a DAC interaction issue, can you swap in a different DAC, so you can confirm, and also rule out the network?

 

Finally, I've not played with the DAC output delay settings, but wonder if they might have an effect?

 

Of course, you could also rule out the network by hanging a USB drive off the Aries and running Lightning Server. Just temporarily to see if the same DAF files still drop out.

 

I don't have the answers, but laying out how I'd approach it.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

[austinpop]

Tried the USB drive, same thing happened

 

Hmm, I guess it is a DAC interaction then. You should contact Auralic support as well as your DAC manufacturer.

 

Unless you luck out and someone here has this same combination and has solved it somehow.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

[austinpop]

From Auralic Facebook:

 

MQA is now live on TIDAL!

For those who has a MQA certificated DAC and want to try it out, please log off and log in TIDAL account in Lightning DS (to enable MQA content) and set volume in Lightning DS to 100 (to disable signal process) then try those MQA content, you will see some magic there.

 

To those who do not have MQA certificated DAC, dont worry, we are also working on a private software based MQA decoder to send signal to your DAC using AURALiC's latest upsampling algorithm. (Disclaimer: this is not going to use any MQA property software code.)

 

I've confirmed that my Aries Mini is passing through the MQA stream from Tidal, because I see tracks displayed as 24/48 and 24/44.1.

 

What I can't make sense of is their last sentence. It sounds like they would take the folded MQA stream at 24/48 and then upsample that?? That sounds silly. What would make more sense is to unfold, i.e. decode MQA in software.

 

They're touting this as a great service, but it makes no sense to me. Who wants upsampled, undecoded MQA?

 

Or am I reading this wrong?

[austinpop]

I would give it a few days/weeks for HW vendors to decide what the economics of MQA support are.

 

It will depend on what the size the MQA catalog on Tidal will be.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

[austinpop]

Just ordered the Aries! Can anyone recommend a good AC power cord? I've never really messed with upgraded cables for any of my audio equipment, so I'm not very familiar with what is out there. Thanks!

 

I'm a big fan of upgrading to modestly priced, but better quality cables. I use Pangea cables, and have been very pleased with them. I like the AC-14XL ( Pangea Audio AC 14 XL Power Cable-Audio Advisor ), which happens to be on clearance sale right now. They'd be perfect for the Aries - technically for your Auralic LPS, really, unless you have a different LPS.

[austinpop]

Hi Mike,

I am using SBooster linear power supply for my Aries, highly recommended!

Anyway, i can send you my original Aries LE supply (EU 230V version), as i dont need it anymore. For free to you, just postage. If interested, send me PM.

Not sure if he took you up on it, but I just wanted to say thanks for making this offer.

 

This is yet another example of the amazing, generous people one encounters on CA.

[austinpop]

Curious

I currently use Curious. Length matters too. The shorter the better. Unlike in other areas of life.

 

I haven't done extensive comparisons, but I preferred the short Curious 0.2m to my previous Cardas Clear 2m. More recently, as part of a component comparison at another CA'er, he preferred my Curious cables to his Oyaide Neo d+.

 

FWIW.

[austinpop]

@auralic @Wang Xuanqian

 

 

This is an amazing upgrade of features! Kudos, and thanks very much.

 

Since I have the Aries Mini:

• I was able to confirm the Roon Ready feature. Works great so far.
• I got MQA encoded flac files to get decoded. It will take some time to determine if this approach has any sonic value, compared to true MQA decoding. A couple of clarifications though:
  • There doesn't seem to be a way to toggle this MQA decoding in the control app - i.e. it is always ON. I think it would be good to have control.
  • I have FLAC to WAV transcoding on by default in my MinimServer, and that seems to defeat the MQA decoding. I.e. the WAV stream does not trigger the decoding. It has to be FLAC. For now, this is a nice way to toggle the MQA decoding, but not quite apples to apples, since I have found the WAV stream to sound better in general.
• I did not see any control for Processor Engine, or Resampler plug-in, which may be due to my being on the Mini, as the release notes say: "All streaming device an now upsampling to 384K except for ARIES MINI (down sampling only)."

[austinpop]

Just now, austinpop said:

• I was able to confirm the Roon Ready feature. Works great so far.

 

I particularly like the fact that Roon Ready mode can coexist with DLNA. I could quickly switch between playing a track via Roon from the Roon app, to the same track via DLNA from the Lightning DS app.

 

This is distinctly less clunky than the microRendu or the sMS-200, where you have to toggle the mode of the endpoint - i.e. switch between the DLNA/MPD or the Roon Ready "app."

 

To be fair, in actual operation, people usually just pick the mode they want and use that, but for reviewing and comparisons, this is very nice.

[austinpop]

And... just confirmed the MQA decoding kicks in with Tidal Masters tracks.

 

Again, no comment on the sonic qualities of this ersatz, or faux-MQA decoding, but hope to do some critical listening tonight.

[austinpop]

Here are my impressions of the Aries Mini MQA decoding feature. Note - I do not have an MQA DAC.

 

Background

When Tidal Masters first came out, I created a small test library of 10 FLAC files, which were captured from the output of the Tidal desktop app. This gave me a small collection of SW MQA decoded files to compare with the original (undecoded) files from Tidal. This allowed me to hold the HW chain completely constant - i.e. listen to everything through my Aries Mini.

 

Note - this was purely for the purpose of evaluation. I'll delete those files when I'm done evaluating.

 

Aries Mini MQA decoding Listening Impressions

 

I listened to 4 tracks:

1. Carmelita - Linda Ronstadt
2. Ventura Highway - America
3. Really don't Mind - Jethro Tull
4. Killing me softly - Roberta Flack

For each song I compared:

1. the original Tidal Masters track, by setting the Aries Mini control to MQA Passthrough.
2. the same Tidal track, with Aries Mini MQA decoding, by setting MQA Passthrough to Off, and Decoding Method to Auto
3. the captured track with SW unfolding, played back through MinimServer

In all cases, I preferred them in the order 3 > 2 > 1

 

The Aries Mini MQA decoding certainly seems to improve over the undecoded version, sounding a bit more detailed. However, compared to the SW unfolded version, there is a bit of brightness. This is most apparent in female vocals. In contrast, the SW unfolded version renders voices much more naturally, has a smoother midrange, and overall sounds more relaxed and open.

 

All in all - the Aries Mini MQA decoding is a promising start, but as of now, no cigar. However, reading the excerpt below from DAR_KO's article, it looks like AURALiC is still working on their algorithms, so it's perhaps not surprising what I'm hearing.

 

“There is a MQA pass through function which allows you to output an untouched signal to an MQA-certificated DAC. I suggest you compare our decoding and MQA decoding but only after the final firmware release. The current version is only a test version as we are still optimizing its sound quality, especially the resampling plug-in.”

[austinpop]

24 minutes ago, rickca said:

I love this quote from Xuanqian Wang.  Bob Stuart must be really pissed.

 

This pretty much means we at AURALiC are saying no to MQA. We are no longer interested in their technology. We want to keep everything open but they want to keep it closed. We are not in the same boat. I don’t believe the very High End will benefit from MQA as it only degrades sound quality, not improve it.

 

 

 

There is history there. MQA pulled the rug out from under AURALiC at the 2016 CES, which understandably did not sit well with them. 

[austinpop]

2 minutes ago, mozes said:

Thanks @austinpopfor sharing your impressions.

In my case eventhough I have an MQA DAC (Brooklyn) I have decided to ignore MQA for now as I stream Tidal via BUbble DS Next to Jplaystreamer which to my ears sound much better and easier to control than playing from the native Tidal app.

 

If Bubble DS Next ever start supporting MQA then that will be a warm welcome. My locally stored music on the SSD still sounds better despite all the tweaks I have done to my streaming chain.

 

Try Roon.  

 

BTW - I was very skeptical about Roon, and it took me a while to see the value, but now I'm sold. I just coughed up the lifetime subscription.

[austinpop]

Just now, rickca said:

I remember the whole messy situation.  Kind of like getting pulled off an overbooked United flight.

 

Yes, they were re-accommodated. Looks like they're returning the favor.

[austinpop]

2 minutes ago, mozes said:

It install smoothly on my Nimitra and was too lazy to follow up on it. I could get Keetakawee to do it for me but I decided that it's not worth the trouble for me now given my comfort level with Jriver. I had to choose my battles, you know I have too many right now

 

I can relate! Too many irons in the fire...