The "Official" Aurender Discussion Thread

[jhwalker]

6 minutes ago, Mazza said:

 

EXACTLY!!!

 

I first considered and then bought an Aurender based on THEIR reputation and THEIR sound quality, not Roon’s. if I wanted Roon, I’d buy a Roon player.
 

I have serious misgivings that the adoption of Roon will lead to a reduction in Aurender quality because compromises will have to be made to software, firmware AND the culture of the business as a whole. 
 

It will be a dark day if Aurender flip that switch. 

 

Roon doesn't have a "sound quality". It's just a server that sends bit-perfect streams to whatever endpoint you are using.

 

If your endpoint somehow sounds different when rendering the same bit-perfect streams from different servers, that's a problem with the endpoint, not Roon (or any other server).

 

Sounds like all they're talking about here is enabling Aurender to be an endpoint for Roon; i.e., to accept incoming, bit-perfect streams via Roon's RAAT (again, bit-perfect) protocol 🤷‍♂️

[DancingSea]

1 hour ago, jhwalker said:

Roon doesn't have a "sound quality". It's just a server that sends bit-perfect streams to whatever endpoint you are using.

 

I wish this were true.  But Roon absolutely has a unique sound quality.  As does Audirvana, or HQPlayer or Amarra.  Software has perhaps an equal effect on SQ as hardware.  Both are equally important.  Part of Aurender's secret SQ sauce is Conductor software.

 

When I was comparing Conductor directly to Roon, I did feel that Conductor sounded better.  It was fairly obvious.  But for me, the Roon user experience and stability is a good 10 years more advanced than Conductor.  It just is.

 

Roon integration is coming.  Roon are like the Borg, resistance is futile.  But I don't think folks should get all worried that the presence of Roon's RAAT is going to mess up Conductor's sound quality.  It won't.  And adding the optional Roon capability will be a meaningful benefit to Aurender's market share.  It's a win win for everyone.

 

Perhaps one could argue that the switch from AMD to Intel has altered Aurender's sound signature for the worse.  But that ship has sailed with or without Roon.

 

The natives need not worry about lil' 'ol RAAT.  I'm confident Aurender is designing the implementation to be fully bypassed if so desired.  And Aurender will make Roon sound as good as it possibly can short of creating their own Roon Core device.

 

 

[jhwalker]

1 hour ago, DancingSea said:

 

I wish this were true.  But Roon absolutely has a unique sound quality.  As does Audirvana, or HQPlayer or Amarra.  Software has perhaps an equal effect on SQ as hardware.  Both are equally important.  Part of Aurender's secret SQ sauce is Conductor software.

 

I disagree, obviously. 

 

If the server is sending the bits unaltered, there is no mechanism by which they could conceivably sound different.  An Excel spreadsheet contains the exact same numbers whether stored on a NAS and retrieved via SMB or stored in the "cloud" and retrieved via HTTPS.  The bits are the same; therefore, the content is the same - same applies for music files: there's nothing special about them.

 

Again, if a specific software actually DOES sound different (or an endpoint handles that stream differently), that's a problem, not a feature.

 

NOTE: this is NOT to say that Audirvana (say) or Amarra is NOT doing something internally that "sweetens" the sound in some way, which may be difficult to detect if outputting directly to a DAC (e.g., via USB, etc.).  But if they're actually just sending the file to a renderer (e.g., via DLNA), then they WILL sound the same unless the renderer is mishandling the stream.

[The Computer Audiophile]

Let’s keep the discussion to Aurender. 

[DancingSea]

1 hour ago, jhwalker said:

Again, if a specific software actually DOES sound different (or an endpoint handles that stream differently), that's a problem, not a feature.

 

NOTE: this is NOT to say that Audirvana (say) or Amarra is NOT doing something internally that "sweetens" the sound in some way, which may be difficult to detect if outputting directly to a DAC (e.g., via USB, etc.).  But if they're actually just sending the file to a renderer (e.g., via DLNA), then they WILL sound the same unless the renderer is mishandling the stream.

 

In my experience, all music software, including the great sounding Aurender Conductor, has a different sound.  How they specifically get to the sound difference I'm not sure as I'm not a software engineer - and for me, the semantics of bit perfect vs "something internally that sweetens the sound in some way" does not matter.  I'm only interested in the end result.

 

Part of Aurender's selling point, from day one, and rightfully so, is their "bespoke software" and how it sounds better than the competition.  Aurender doesn't claim that Conductor sounds the same as any other bit perfect software, nor should they.

 

I have no issue with you seeing this differently and understand the school of thought from which you speak. 

[GJo]

I’ve heard clear differences in streaming software on the same devices, and they all sounded differently. 
 

- Innuos Pulse/Roon on an Innuos Pulse

- Roon/mConnectHD on Bricasti DACs equipped with Network Card

 

- LuminApp/Roon on two Lumin streamers

 

I have little doubt Conductor 4 will sound differently than Roon on Aurender devices.
 

The good news for most Aurender owners is the choice of streaming experiences.  

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Koso]

Information for all those who are not satisfied with current Conductor V4 iPad OS app. I was in touch with Aurender support for a minor issue and was advised to try the beta version of Conductor V4, which is said to be "much more stable" than the current public version. I tried it and it's in fact much more stable!

For me, all the repeated disconnections and constant loading of the database disappeared. Especially loading the application from the background is much faster and most importantly without losing the connection.

If you want a more stable version right away, I recommend switching to the beta. The procedure is simple and is on the Aurender website here: https://ask.aurender.com/hc/en-us/articles/19629437629335-How-to-Install-Conductor-V4-Beta-for-iPad-
Who doesn't want to mess with the beta version, at least there is finally real hope that the situation will improve significantly in the following public versions.

[DancingSea]

Is V3 of Conductor generally stable?  Are these lamentations of bugs limited to V4?

[The Computer Audiophile]

25 minutes ago, DancingSea said:

Is V3 of Conductor generally stable?  Are these lamentations of bugs limited to V4?

Yes.

[GJo]

10 hours ago, Koso said:

 

If you want a more stable version right away, I recommend switching to the beta. The procedure is simple and is on the Aurender website here: https://ask.aurender.com/hc/en-us/articles/19629437629335-How-to-Install-Conductor-V4-Beta-for-iPad-
 

Thank you for that info. I downloaded the latest Beta iteration of Conductor V4 and will test it later today.

[Koso]

43 minutes ago, DancingSea said:

Is V3 of Conductor generally stable?  Are these lamentations of bugs limited to V4?

V3 is stable indeed! I've spent more time on V3 recently just for that. I am testing current V4 beta now. So far so good.

[DancingSea]

Does anyone have experience with an Aurender A100?  How does it sound as a streamer/ server compared to the N100H or other lower end AMD models?  And how is the DAC?

[scoc]

Instead of all the latest Roon talk I would like to know how the earlier mentioned new AP20 is sounding?

[The Computer Audiophile]

38 minutes ago, scoc said:

Instead of all the latest Roon talk I would like to know how the earlier mentioned new AP20 is sounding?

Terrific! There are a couple little firmware bugs that I've reported, but the sound is excellent. 

[GJo]

Conductor V4 (4.6.18) Beta for iPad is reconnecting to the N30SA (1.23.424) automatically and reliably. 

[NTWrong]

On 6/28/2021 at 1:07 PM, AurenderAmerica said:

N200 runs a little leaner with 2 x 35W transformers as opposed to ACS10's 2 x 50W. 

I’m reading older posts so note that I’m reviving one of Ari’s from June 2021— 

 

Ari suggests the ACS10 has a more muscular power supply than the N200. But on the Aurender site, the ACS10 is described thus: 

Power Consumption

Play (16.5W), Peak (23.5W), Standby (6.5W)

And the N200 is described thus: 

Power Consumption

Play (15W), Peak (35W), Standby (5.1W)

So the N200 delivers more wattage at peak levels, and more than doubles its “play” wattage. Doesn’t that data suggest the N200 has a more robust power supply than the ACS10?
 

It’s part of the appeal of the N200 for me, since I expect more power = better SQ.

[DancingSea]

In any case, got a great deal on a 2 year old used A100 ($1285) from The Music Room.  Will keep my Roon/HQP rig for when a chic GUI calls.  Was surprised that Aurender will provide a full 2 year manufacture's warranty on a used unit from an authorized dealer.  Impressive.  Never heard of a company doing that.

 

Does Conductor V4 improve on the overall organization and GUI from V3?  I'm leery of diving into V4 if it's going to be buggy, at least for now.

[GJo]

32 minutes ago, DancingSea said:

Does Conductor V4 improve on the overall organization and GUI from V3?  I'm leery of diving into V4 if it's going to be buggy, at least for now.

Conductor V4 GUI is similar to V3.

 

The recently released Beta V4 is not buggy in my system. V4 has the benefit of vTuner internet radio, which V3 lacks.

[DancingSea]

8 minutes ago, GJo said:

Conductor V4 GUI is similar to V3.

 

The recently released Beta V4 is not buggy in my system. V4 has the benefit of vTuner internet radio, which V3 lacks.

 

What improvements do you experience with V4 over V3?  Is it just the Tuner internet radio?  Or is there more to it?

[GJo]

2 minutes ago, DancingSea said:

 

What improvements do you experience with V4 over V3?  Is it just the Tuner internet radio?  Or is there more to it?

Just vTuner for me. I use internet radio on a regular basis, so it's a nice added feature.

 

Otherwise, I don't notice much difference between the versions, but others who have drilled down deeper may have more to offer in that respect.

[DancingSea]

2 hours ago, GJo said:

Just vTuner for me. I use internet radio on a regular basis, so it's a nice added feature.

 

Otherwise, I don't notice much difference between the versions, but others who have drilled down deeper may have more to offer in that respect.

 

On the Aurender websites for V4 they list improvements as "New Settings Menu", "Play Action Commands" and "Internet Radio by vTuner".  Not exactly a large list.  But who am I to complain given I have no idea what's required to accomplish even that?

[The Computer Audiophile]

I think the key with v4 is that it sets up Aurender for the future. Up to now it’s mostly at parity with v3 on the front end, but behind the scenes it’s a different animal. 
 

One nice aspect is that you can run both v3 and v4 on the same phone or tablet. No need to jump in without a fall back. 

[cat3600]

I have a question for the N20 owners, as mine runs significantly hotter than the N10 and the ACS10. Not sure if this is normal, I mean it's amplifier level hot, not very comfortable to keep my hands on the top for long.

 

I dont want to bother Aurender support, if this is normal.

[Anonamemouse]

3 hours ago, cat3600 said:

I have a question for the N20 owners, as mine runs significantly hotter than the N10 and the ACS10. Not sure if this is normal, I mean it's amplifier level hot, not very comfortable to keep my hands on the top for long.

 

I dont want to bother Aurender support, if this is normal.

Wowsers... That's toasty!

I have a similar issue with my N100SC, it went into protection once when I installed a new SSD and uploaded my 3 TB of music in one go. It didn't appreciate that...

I bought a 4 inch server fan and connected the powerwires to the power connection of a USB connector which is plugged into my player (the amperage of those fans is minimal and WELL below what a player USB output can handle). Those fans are 12 volts and USB is only 5 volts, so it runs at 40% of it's capacity. If you look for a silent fan, you will never hear it unless you have it blow into your ear directly. Place the fan out of sight behind the player and it will keep your system nice and cool.

[edje]

On 1/8/2024 at 8:54 PM, scoc said:

Instead of all the latest Roon talk I would like to know how the earlier mentioned new AP20 is sounding?

I dont know if the sound signature is similar, but as al long time user (since 2017) of a A10 I can say that this is one of my best investments in audio. It is so good that I dont dare to upgrade to the next level Aurender with the risc of a different (and worst) sound signature. I can reccomend it wholehearted.