Auralic Aires: Optimizing sound quality

[TCB]

I too am coming to the Aries from the Squeezebox environment (10 nodes including 1 Transporter, 2 Touches, 4 SB3s, 2 Radios and a Boom) and am curious why one would want to use USB as an interface with a DAC, given all of the problems with drivers, operating systems, etc. I'm using S/PDIF without any problems. While I've tried the SB Touch with the ECO patch into my DACs via USB, I don't see any improvement in sound quality.

 

Just wondering what I'm missing by not embracing USB.

 

You are missing playing DSD and DXD files.

[InfernoSTi]

I've always had dropout with my Vega on Exact mode. This is with two different CAPS and Aries (the better one). I recently did two things:

 

First, I got an PI Audio Uberbuss for my front end (all Auralic: Aries, Vega, and Taurus Pre Amp). All three are plugged into the Uberbuss ensuring they get clean power and are a "closed loop" since I use the Aries on WiFi and there is no other way for dirty power to come in (my amp is on an Uberbuss, too).

 

Second, I isolated all three under the Barry D recommended practice. I use roller balls and bicycle inner tubes to address single digit vibrations (same thing under the speakers).

 

Now I am playing my Aries through my Vega on Exact mode with zero dropouts.

 

John

[Doak]

Dave Clark on Positive Feedback is playing with his Aries and talking about it:

Positive Feedback

[Distinctive]

Waiting in suspense for part 2!

[JDOz]

Dave Clark on Positive Feedback is playing with his Aries and talking about it:

Positive Feedback

 

Thanks very much for posting that. I look forward to part 2. I've improved SQ by using better PSUs and I'm currently trialling Uptone Regen and SOtM USB-hubEX. Not sure on them yet and always hoping for new ideas to try.

[DanRubin]

Waiting in suspense for part 2!

 

Me too. He says, or implies, that he's managed to get the Aries to equal the performance of the Antipodes. Seems hard to believe.

[Distinctive]

I think Clark's statement 'just around the corner' must be a mirage...

[wanta911]

I think Clark's statement 'just around the corner' must be a mirage...

 

Part 2 is up:

 

Positive Feedback

 

...if you are looking for some simple tweaks you're out of luck

[Doak]

Part 2 is up:

 

Positive Feedback

 

...if you are looking for some simple tweaks you're out of luck

 

Thanks.

Yep you're right, alright: "SOL" as we used to say.

[Distinctive]

So I guess running my NAS containing SSD's and wifi (adviced by Auralic opposed to running the Aries wired) should produce even better results.

The NAS mentioned could not cope with DSD either.....

[kennyb123]

...if you are looking for some simple tweaks you're out of luck

 

Audio Ramblings? Yeah he sure has named his column appropriately.

 

Definition of rambling: (of writing or speech) lengthy and confused or inconsequential

 

These kinds of reviews are exactly what's wrong with many online audio magazines today and with Positive Feedback in particular. Compare and contrast with orderly job done in this review on AudioStream where efforts are made to describe exactly what's heard with each step. I can actually make an informed buying decision based on the latter.

 

Sorry about the rant. I just can't believe that I actually looked forward to his follow up. I should have known better.

[FIndingit]

Audio Ramblings? Yeah he sure has named his column appropriately.

 

Definition of rambling: (of writing or speech) lengthy and confused or inconsequential

 

These kinds of reviews are exactly what's wrong with many online audio magazines today and with Positive Feedback in particular. Compare and contrast with orderly job done in this review on AudioStream where efforts are made to describe exactly what's heard with each step. I can actually make an informed buying decision based on the latter.

 

Sorry about the rant. I just can't believe that I actually looked forward to his follow up. I should have known better.

 

Yes, this was more like a parody, " A day in the life of an audiophile".

[kennyb123]

Yes, this was more like a parody, " A day in the life of an audiophile".

 

Day in the life of an editor seeking more ad revenue or review samples? He just name-checked as many products as he could lump into a post tangentially referring to the popular Aries. Shrewd move the way he got more eyeballs to view this by building anticipation in part 1.

 

Just who is he trying to serve with part 2? Manufacturers seeking greater attention for their products? Or readers looking for ways to get better sound from their systems?

[McMaly]

I always have had the idea that switching from the stock PSU of the Aries to a more refined solution could better the sound.

 

Coming from the Linn corner originally I know what difference to the LK1 preamp the Dirak PS made in those days. Naim Audio still offers a wide range of PSU upgrades for their current products.

 

I came across the HiFiWERKSTATT hoer-wege PSU for Aries.

 

Stephan Horwege offered me to try his PSU for two weeks on a money back basis if I wouldn’t like what I hear.

 

Already after the first three hours of initial listening, it was clear to me that the PSU would not find its way back to Mr. Horwege….

 

Here are my final impressions after 2 weeks of 24/7 burn in time.

 

The slight artifacts in the high frequencies that I have been able to hear before (but did not know, they were there, before the switch), now all have gone. The whole presentation is a lot more musical (natural) than before, not losing any details on the other side.

 

The bass is tighter and shorter and goes deeper down. The soundstage is more stable and more fine details are recovered from the source material. The background is darker and more quiet.

 

Last, but not least comes the most obvious difference: The musical presentation is a lot faster and more lively than before.

 

One tends to think the power amp has a lot more watts on hand to control the loudspeakers now.

 

With ongoing burn in time the whole presentation smoothes out and becomes more fluid.

 

I did attach a few pics.

 

3 comparisons

 

 

 

 

2 pics from the inside

 

 

 

 

More infos to the PSU can be found here: hoer-wege AURALIC Aries Medien-Player

[sydlow]

I always have had the idea that switching from the stock PSU of the Aries to a more refined solution could better the sound.

 

Thanks for the writeup - what DAC are you feeding from the Aries?

[McMaly]

Thanks for the writeup - what DAC are you feeding from the Aries?

 

 

I am using a Resonessence Concero HD. Did feed the dac with an AQVOX PS before. Now it sounds better using the Aries to feed the Concero with power.

[sydlow]

...Now it sounds better using the Aries to feed the Concero with power.

 

Cool - I looked up the German site, but there wasn't a price for the power supply.

How much is it?

[McMaly]

Cool - I looked up the German site, but there wasn't a price for the power supply.

How much is it?

 

 

its 550 Euros.

[scan80269]

I recently made some changes to my Aries setup that yielded some sonic benefits:

 

1. Removed USB flash drive with music from Aries and switched to wireless streaming from fanless NUC box running MinimServer

2. Replaced USB connection with Toslink optical

3. Used MinimServer/MinimStreamer in NUC box to transcode FLAC to WAV

 

#1 reduces Aries power consumption since it does not need to power the USB flash drive.

#2 along with #1 helps keep the Aries internal USB controller quiescent.

#3 reduces the computational workload of the Aries ARM processor. My wireless router can support streaming DXD (24/352.8) in PCM format to Aries over the 5GHz band, and my NUC box with i5 CPU is more than powerful enough, so offloading FLAC decoding from Aries works well.

 

It appears that Aries delivers better sound when it has the least amount of electrical work to do. The sonic improvement is primarily in a denser and more three dimensional sound stage.

 

The vast majority of my library is redbook 16/44 saved in FLAC. My DACs are Auralic Vega and a recently acquired Schiit Yggdrasil.

[Jimmypowder]

I recently made some changes to my Aries setup that yielded some sonic benefits:

 

1. Removed USB flash drive with music from Aries and switched to wireless streaming from fanless NUC box running MinimServer

2. Replaced USB connection with Toslink optical

3. Used MinimServer/MinimStreamer in NUC box to transcode FLAC to WAV

 

#1 reduces Aries power consumption since it does not need to power the USB flash drive.

#2 along with #1 helps keep the Aries internal USB controller quiescent.

#3 reduces the computational workload of the Aries ARM processor. My wireless router can support streaming DXD (24/352.8) in PCM format to Aries over the 5GHz band, and my NUC box with i5 CPU is more than powerful enough, so offloading FLAC decoding from Aries works well.

 

It appears that Aries delivers better sound when it has the least amount of electrical work to do. The sonic improvement is primarily in a denser and more three dimensional sound stage.

 

The vast majority of my library is redbook 16/44 saved in FLAC. My DACs are Auralic Vega and a recently acquired Schiit Yggdrasil.

 

I have found that the USB output sounds better than the other outputs and that a hard drive attached to the USB port sounds better than wireless transmission of my music library using minimserver.

 

There was extensive talk months ago that many felt the USB output was the Aries best sounding output .

 

I guess everyone can get different results with different setups .

[Cebolla]

I have found that the USB output sounds better than the other outputs and that a hard drive attached to the USB port sounds better than wireless transmission of my music library using minimserver.

 

There was extensive talk months ago that many felt the USB output was the Aries best sounding output .

Is it possible that firmware changes on the Aries for the provision of functions that may have not been present when those original audio output tests were done and talked about, such as the addition of the built-in Lightning UPnP media server, may have had an impact on sound quality (possibly by placing an extra burden on the Aries's existing hardware resources)?

[Doak]

I have found that the USB output sounds better than the other outputs and that a hard drive attached to the USB port sounds better than wireless transmission of my music library using minimserver.

 

There was extensive talk months ago that many felt the USB output was the Aries best sounding output .

 

I guess everyone can get different results with different setups .

 

Interesting.

My recent testing indicated, to my ears in my system, that the SPDIF/RCA output sounded even better than mu Regen optimized USB output. Hence, I use SPDIF for anything it will pass and reserve USB for DSD and PCM above 24/196.

[scan80269]

There's plenty of evidence that the best sounding Aries output can depend on the DAC being driven, so it's no surprise to me that different outputs get picked by different people. I've learned to jettison my preconceived notions and revisit the various outputs from time to time, especially after firmware updates.

 

The Toslink optical connection between my Aries and Vega is a Lifatec 20" Silflex Toslink cable. It delivers excellent results. I concur that the Vega DAC is sensitive to ground loops. Mine has its AC plugged through a balanced transformer.

 

A colleague recently switched music libraries from a 2-in-1 laptop to a fanless i3 NUC box connected to the wireless router over 100Mbps Ethernet. Both were running Windows 10 and MinimServer, so I predicted no change in sound, but he heard a difference, with the NUC delivering a better sound stage. He also has the 5GHz wireless band dedicated solely for Aries streaming, which has helped the sound.

 

Digital audio streaming can be full of surprises!

[scan80269]

One thing on my Aries wish list is the ability to shut down the LightningServer feature if it is not used. An option added to LDS app to enable/disable LightningServer would allow experimentation to determine if the sound can improve.

 

I currently prefer MinimServer due to its ability to offload FLAC decoding from Aries.

[Doak]

There's plenty of evidence that the best sounding Aries output can depend on the DAC being driven, so it's no surprise to me that different outputs get picked by different people. I've learned to jettison my preconceived notions and revisit the various outputs from time to time, especially after firmware updates.

 

The Toslink optical connection between my Aries and Vega is a Lifatec 20" Silflex Toslink cable. It delivers excellent results. I concur that the Vega DAC is sensitive to ground loops. Mine has its AC plugged through a balanced transformer.

 

A colleague recently switched music libraries from a 2-in-1 laptop to a fanless i3 NUC box connected to the wireless router over 100Mbps Ethernet. Both were running Windows 10 and MinimServer, so I predicted no change in sound, but he heard a difference, with the NUC delivering a better sound stage. He also has the 5GHz wireless band dedicated solely for Aries streaming, which has helped the sound.

 

Digital audio streaming can be full of surprises!

 

Understood, makes sense.

My DOT/DAC is a Lampizator L4 G5.