New streamers from Aurender!

[wdw]

Aurender launches two new streamers - the N100 and N10.

 

The N100 will be available in January followed by the N10 in March 2015. Both offers NAS connectivity with full cover art browsing etc. The N10 will also have internal storage capacity of 1TB (SSD).

 

Prices are not yet official.

 

Likely early days but can you tell us the primary difference between the N10 and 100? Is it the of addition the 1Tb SSD? (Which is a very desirable option to me)

 

Thanks

WDW

[wdw]

I'm seeing $2500 on the N100?

 

I'm told there is a N100S that will include a 1Tb SSD...this is the one that interests me the most....quiet and discrete...if your library is below that threshold (or swapped in and out to suit) it should be quite a little box of musical delight. Tired of pushing that ole mule, the Mac Mini, up the hill.

Wonder what price point this will land at?

WDW

[wdw]

Me too...the N100 with a Tb of SDD sounds just perfect...although, 2Tb would be the cat's you-know-what ....!

[wdw]

Your guesswork is accurate. All Aurender models will have Tidal streaming integration, accomplished by a firmware upgrade and an upgrade to the Conductor app on the iPad. All models also will be set up with the same NAS interface capability, enabling the user to browse music stored on the NAS the same way as on any internal storage. They're getting close. You will be very pleased with the upgrades.

Hello Brian,

Do you have the pricing for the N100 with the 1TB SSD and dates for availability?

Cheers,

Warren

[wdw]

Yeah, there are links. Not that tough to google, though, blaven (took me 45 seconds) I know, you are an hour behind me so coffee is still required. So I present:

 

Aurender X100L | AudioStream

Aurender S10 Music Playback and Storage Solution | AudioStream

 

"If all of this sounds a lot like my review of the Aurender S10, it should because they do. Although it has been a while, I would give the S10 the upper hand in delivering even greater clarity and ease, getting out of the way of the music even more than the X100L. But compared to my MacBook Pro, the X100L took things in more of a natural and resolved direction. It was simply easier to fall into the music."

 

The $ difference is 2X, though, so.....

 

I like my X100L a lot, but I have no S10 to compare it to.

Ted, a question if I may....you've had the opportunity to review both the Aurender and the Auralic Aries. I am considering both the N100 with the 1TB SSD and the Aries using an attached USB hard drive. Do you favour one over the other in this scenario?

I would use the AES out to my Berkeley for the Aries and USB out to an Alpha USB for the Aurender.

I would wecome your thoughts. I will never have the opportunity to hear the Aurender without hoping on plane (where have all our stereo stores gone?)

Thanks

Warren

[wdw]

Eric Shim of Aurender forked mpd-upnp, and when we asked for any GPL source code used in Aurender products, he took down this fork of mpd-upnp on github and did not even answer our mail. So even though open source means: customers can request access to the GPLv2/GPLv3 source code used and/or modified by Aurender, they will probably deny our request and remain in violation with the GPL.

 

So their platform has been designed with open source products (=benefit from the works of others, like the Linux kernel, the GNU system, the MPD music server) and closed down for users not to find out what's inside the product, which is against the whole idea of FOSS ....

 

So my point: we can use the GPL to open the Aurender platform so it becomes compatible with more than one APP, they will not like it, but to comply with the GPL, they have to ....

 

Otherwise they are in clear violation, as they already are: their product is also based on the linux kernel, which is GPLv2, meaning they have to include a written offer for users to get the code (and it's not restricted to Aurender customers, GPLv2 states any third party can request the code). I have not found any mentioning of the GPL license and/or written offer in their manual/website/brochures.

 

Competitors like SOtM use the vortexbox Linux platform and when asking the vortexbox team for the source code (like their MPD for vb 2.3), they just email back the source RPM, which contains the source coce + build script. That's how open source is supposed to work.

 

Aurender is a massive overpriced GPL violation

 

Sparky,

It's not code, It's hardware....Aurender has assembled a great set of parts that now define how a music server should be built....whatever your hysteria is ringing on about, it seems you don't understand that this is a high end audio music server.

Maybe you just want a hackable machine you can build at the local geek house but many of us want a very discreet (note: mechanically/electrically discreet) server. Purpose built, well built....

What is the issue?

[wdw]

I'm seriously considering the Aurender N100 or X100L, and also the Auralic Aries. I see that the Aurender models I can afford only offer USB output. That concerns me. My Bryston BDA-2 DAC has what is supposed to be an excellent USB input, but so far I have preferred music via S/PDIF or AES/EBU, which is why Aries interests me, because it has AES/EBU output. But maybe I've never fed the Bryston's USB input with a first-class source.

 

So, if I may ask you, HDgeorge, what DAC are you using, and did you ever compare the AES/EBU output of the Aries to the USB output of the Aurender? You seem very happy with the Aurender, so I assume you're satisfied with its USB-only output. Thank you for any insights you can offer.

 

Not HDGeorge but can attest to using an Aries with AES out to my Berkeley DAC....the guys at Berkeley are biased to AES digital and I prefer the connection (sold my Alpha USB when I got the Aries)..the Aries is amazing and easily bested my Mac Mini with all the goodies. The software is a joy to use and the level of resolution, bass extension and detail is quite thrilling. The customer service is exceptional, as well.

Highly recommended.

WDW

[wdw]

I was also deciding between the above but decided to get the Sonore Signature Rendu.

 

I have not yet received the SSR so cannot comment on the sound. I believe, based on the reviews here, that it has the best implementation of SPDIF among the renderers.

 

but isn't the user interface awkward at least implied by the reviews) ?...all of these appliances live or die by the ease of use offered by the remote interface. I have only heard extremely positive reviews of the Aurender IOS app. Same is true for the Lightning DS of the Aries.