Auralic Aries (Hardware) - Impressions and Information

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50 minutes ago, MarkyRotterdam said:

Has 5.0 beta 2 been pulled? My Aries is still on beta 1 and doesn't update to beta 2, although it is set to receive betas. It says I have the latest firmware.

 

try turning it completely off (pulling the power chord too) then reboot: had to do it myself as I was in your very same situation and a plain reboot was not helping 

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afaik it was a known issue with earliest firmware version(s) but was fixed afterwards

 

never heard it on mine, though... when, last year, I *had to* send my Aries to the factory (because a fw update bricked it ) I noticed, once I got it back, a protective sheet on the display which makes me think that, whilst at it, they replaced it

or, maybe, they just placed a protection to avoid scratching the display while working on the unit. who knows? 

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Aries femto's stock LPS is waaaaaay better than that one

 

anyway: http://support.auralic.com/hc/en-us/articles/206600207-What-is-the-specificaion-of-ARIES-power-input

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Aries "femto" comes with a true Linear Power Supply, not a switching one, and poster I replied to has an Aries femto

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6 hours ago, vlomdmdiv said:

Thanks all, I'm planning to use my Aries Femto abroad and didn't want to modify my U.S. true LPS

 

https://www.amazon.com/Seven-Star-F200-Travel-Converter/dp/B0045RU68U/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1493372791&sr=8-2&keywords=220%2F120v+transformer

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4 minutes ago, vlomdmdiv said:

 The unit I have is a 120V LPS, so I would need an up-converter to 230V instead.

 

no: you need a step-down transformer as the one I linked

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still having the static noise issue on 5.0 betas 

(goes away as soon as I revert to 4.1.0)

 

all I have been told is it may be due to using an "unqualified power supply" so I tried pulling Vinnie Rossi's Mini Pure-DC-4EVR and using Aries' stock LPS: static noise still there. reported and never heard back

 

if, as I am fearing, this won't be taken care of... my Aries will become unusable as soon as 5.0 is pushed to everyone (since there's no way to opt-out of automatic updates) 

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still having the static noise issue on 5.0 beta4

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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

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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 

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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)

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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

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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 

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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

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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)

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

 

thanks

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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 

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3 hours ago, Cornan said:

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

 

ok then: just tried and...

- with ethernet disconnected static is still there

- with an UTP cat5 cable instead of the Vodka... static is still there too

 

 

 

btw: USB too was disconnected (only power chord plugged) so it definitely is an RFI, not EMI, issue with fw 5.0 beta

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@Cornan I may be wrong but...if static noise is always there even when my Aries is totally disconnected from everything (wi-fi too is disabled) but the LPS (and, btw, Vinnie Rossi's Mini also isolates it completely from the power line)... doesn't this mean it's the Aries itself emitting, *only under fw 5.0*, some RFI that gets picked by my tube pre or amplifier? (I recall the day I placed a RaspberryPi close to the preamplifier, with the HDMI port towards it... plenty of *loud* static)

 

what I should, probably, try is moving the Aries away from my tubes stuff (at the moment it is some 40cm away, on a lower shelf) but... it's not easy

 

... or shielding it with... aluminum foil, will that do for a shielding? 

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got a reply from Chris (Auralic support) just now, asking me (once more ) if this is happening with stock LPS or Vinnie's

 

so... looks they are investigating

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performed today some more tests and found... definitely it's the Aries emitting, under fw 5.0 beta only, some sort of RFI which gets picked by my tube preamplifier 

 

in fact static noise becomes stronger (louder) if I move the Aries very close to my preamplifier and goes away by placing it on a lower shelf, underneath the one where a Metrum Hex is (DAC's big metal box acting, probably, as a shield. placing instead the Aries 1mt away, but still "in sight" of the pre, does not help)

 

hope they can fix this

 

 

oh, and... with the Aries placed where I usually keep it... static, using stock LPS, is a little louder than when using instead Vinnie Rossi's Mini to power it

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try signing out of beta, from Lightning DS, then sign in again

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please also report issues to Auralic (that's what betas are for ) as... I was told I am, so, far the only one reporting static noise  

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one more beta 4 issue (already reported to Auralic for beta1 ):

 

my NAS is set to sleep every night at 3.00AM

if I forget to turn the Aries off (never had to with previous firmwares) then the library is emptied (Total Tracks -> 0), Path Name reverts to default "SMB" (I had it renamed to "Qnap HS-251") and I must re-scan my whole music collection from scratch 

oh... wait... I also have to reboot the Aries first, else re-scan takes *forever* 

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26 minutes ago, Tuning said:

I only set it to sleep after 30 mins without operation. I have not noticed the symptom. Will check it out.

 

not the HDs (mines are set to *never* spin down): the NAS itself (must use WakeOnLan command, or briefly press power button, before using it, afterwards)