Auralic Aries (Hardware) - Impressions and Information

[austinpop]

All these comparison of 4.1 with 5.0 beta are confusing, because there are so many devices and modes. Going forward, may I suggest you preface your remarks with this information:

1. Aries Model
2. Operation Mode - Lightning device, uPNP renderer, Roon endpoint
3. DAC (Mini) - internal or external. If internal, what DAC settings
4. MQA playback - passthrough, auto, or 2x, 4x, 8x
5. DSP or Upsampling: if not defaults, specify changes.

[austinpop]

11 minutes ago, atletico said:

I can understand this is confusing..but my comparison of 4.1 with the 5.0 beta 2 is done this way:

Tested  44.1/16 bit, 96/24 bit , 192/24 bit and DSD 64 all some of my"reference" music files from my NAS and  played also from my favorite music saved in TIDAL, all in 44.1/16 bit Hi-Fi.

1. Aries femto clock wifi mode.

2. Using Lightning Server , wifi 60 Mb/sec ,  all my music on NAS. TIDAL on my wifi.

3. External usb dac (Mark Levinson connected with Curious usb cable)

4. No MQA playback used for testing

5. No up sampling, but the 5.0 beta 2 filter "smooth"

 

 

Thanks! Much clearer.

 

Just one caveat: the Filter Mode setting only applies to internal DACs, so is a no-op for external DACs. But this is true on both 4.1 and 5.0 beta n.

[austinpop]

6 minutes ago, Doak said:

Not my experience here:

Aries

Directly attached USB HD

via USB to Lampizator DAC

 

I can and do use the filter modes in this setup and they absolutely do work.

 

 

I stand corrected then. Perhaps that is a feature of the Aries over the Mini.

 

Certainly on the latter, there is a group of parameters called  Internal DAC Settings. These comprise: Filter Mode, Output Phase, and Channel Balance.

 

Is it different on the Aries?

 

 I'm really not sure what these settings would do for a renderer that is not doing DAC?

[austinpop]

8 minutes ago, pl_svn said:

yup: I believe filters are applied when up/downsampling

(... and I do hope *only* if/when up/downsampling  )

 

Ah thanks for the clarification. I do see it now in the Resampler section, even on my Mini.

 

I still believe, and sincerely hope, it only applies when up/downsampling. ?

 

Since the resampler and the web UI are new in 5.0, am I correct in saying this filter didn't exist in 4.1?

 

 

[austinpop]

3 hours ago, Doak said:

I am NOT resampling and definitely DO have access to use the filters. 

Mine stays on Precise unless I need to Smooth something out.

 

Hi @Doak

 

This is only since the 5.0 beta, right? Or did you do this on prior releases?

 

If you did this on 4.1, where a web UI did not exist, can you pinpoint which parameter exactly you are referring to?

 

Until the Resampler engine came along in 5.0, I thought the Aries/Aries Mini passed through bits without any DSP or modification. The only Filter settings I'm aware of in 4.1 are in the Internal DAC section of the Mini, which only apply to the analog outputs of the Mini.

[austinpop]

If you guys want to discuss comparisons of endpoints, you might want to refer to 2 existing threads:

 

This one, started by @scan80269

and then this one started by moi:

 

[austinpop]

6 minutes ago, Doak said:

Correct. all new in 5.0 beta.

 

Here is what my screen shows:

 

 

So let's take a particular case - 96 kHz.

 

 

To me, this is saying perform no DSP, since the source and target sample rate are the same. In that case, I can't see how the filter setting would have any effect.

 

Can you clarify when you heard the difference between these settings, what sample rate was the input track, and what was the target setting?

 

If they're the same, then I'm with @pl_svn that is a BUG. No way should DSP kick in. Or - they need to provide a way to express the user intent of No DSP - I MEAN IT!

 

[austinpop]

25 minutes ago, Doak said:

I am doing precisely as you illustrate and the filter settings remain available and operative.

Agree that this is a bug and should be reported as such.

 

Thanks for checking. I sent them a note - both to @Wang Xuanqian and their support email.

 

I will report back anything I learn.

[austinpop]

Well, the plot thickens.

 

Here is what Wang responded to me with:

 

The filter mode inside Processor setting only effect resampling process, if the original sampling rate and destination sampling rate are the same, the resampling plug-in is bypassed and the output is bit-perfect (without any change).

[austinpop]

Just now, pl_svn said:

honestly... I can't see why/how it could be otherwise

 

Moi aussi - me too!

[austinpop]

3 minutes ago, mikey8811 said:

Austinpop, are you still using the Aries?

 

Your signature shows you as having switched over to the SoTM SMS 200. If so, how does the sound differ?

 

 

 

Sharp eyes!

 

Yes, I am transitioning to the sMS-200, but I still have my Mini.  This came after an evaluation I did a couple months ago, that I wrote about at the link below. It also answers your question.

 

BTW - my Aries Mini, along with the accompanying Auralic LPS are going to be for sale soon!

[austinpop]

33 minutes ago, 2string1 said:

OK Thank You so how do you tell the Aries to upsample?

 

Go to the web UI, and to the Processor Setup pane.

 

Notice the table of sample rates in 2 columns. This is where you tell the Aries to upsample. You need to know the sample rate of the source - i.e. the track or file you want to play. Say it is 16/44.1 - i.e. normal CD quality.

 

Find the row with 44.1 on the left column. Or the right column, set to 88.2 or 176.4, or 352.8 up to the capability of your DAC. I think with PCM Auto-Detect on, you will only be presented with choices that are valid for your DAC. When upsampling, it is always preferable to upsample by integer multiples of the original, so for a 44.1 source, 88.2 is preferable to 96.

 

This should get you started.

[austinpop]

25 minutes ago, pl_svn said:

 

PCM Auto-Detect is enabled here, I'm using USB out to an Audiophilleo SE then to a Chord 2Qute and... both are reporting track's original sample rate -> nothing gets upsampled

 

Same here - PCM Auto-detect does not alter the sample rate of the source.

 

But a caveat - I'm on a Mini, which does not upsample. so the behavior may be different on an Aries - although I doubt it. I think the autodetect helps to pre-populate the defaults on the sample rate table, but the actual upsampling has to be opted-in by adjusting the pull-downs on the right column.

[austinpop]

8 hours ago, alice said:

So update now or wait ?

 

Since you just got your Aries, I suggest you first stay on the 4.1 version and enjoy it for a few weeks. Then, try the beta - or it may actually be GA (generally available, aka officially released) by then.

 

Many people tend to forget that trying out betas is inherently prone to glitches, failures, and other bugs, so I always laugh when I hear complaints. The point of a beta is not to complain, but to report back to the vendor so they can fix it before official release.

 

8 hours ago, alice said:

Also what power cables are you guys using something plain like the standard computer cable.

 

I assume you mean for the Auralic PSU? Or in general? Either way, I like to upgrade to modestly-priced but well-made cables. I've had no complaints with the Pangea AC-14MkII SE and AC-9MkII SE cables.

 

[austinpop]

33 minutes ago, 2string1 said:

and black... would not match up with my silver Vega... I'll have to see a better photo also.. To me it could sound 10 times better but if it doesn't look cool I don't want it.lol

 

They want you to upgrade to the black Vega II as well!

[austinpop]

I have moved on from my Aries Mini, but in all the time I had it, up to and including firmware 5.0b4, I had zero issues with rescans taking inordinately long.

 

The notable difference I see between my config and what you guys seem to be doing, is in the choice of music server. I have never used the built-in Lightning Server for my local music. Rather, I've used MinimServer, running both on my NAS and a PC, and more recently Roon Core, once the Mini received Roon Ready support in 5.0.

 

I understand that adopting Roon is a big decision with many considerations, but have you guys considered using MinimServer? The only thing I can see you losing is some of the sorting options in Lightning DS will be greyed out - like sorting by sample rate and file type, for example - but there are advanced options in Minim that allow you to do that too.

[austinpop]

If you don't resample, then by definition you want pass through behavior. Digital filter controls are a form of DSP, so it makes sense they'd be inoperative in pass through mode.

[austinpop]

I seem to post this periodically, but it's worth repeating.

 

I no longer have an Aries Mini, but did until 5.0, both beta and GA. For me, it was flawless. I never experienced anything like you guys are describing. My library size is 1250 albums, ~10k tracks.

 

I never used Lightning Server to manage my library. I tried it once, and found it to be hopelessly slow. My library resides on my Synology NAS. The 2 music servers I ran, either on my NAS directly, or on a separate Windows 10 box were:

• MinimServer (DLNA/UPnP)
• Roon Core

With these, everything just worked. I realize Roon is not for everyone, but why don't you guys try MinimServer?