The "Official" Aurender Discussion Thread

[agladstone]

Hi just got an Aurender N100H - very pleased with the sound quality, Tidal Conductor etc, but having an issue. I set up the Aurender as a network drive on my Windows PC it worked straight off but I am now getting a message to say it's not accessible: I tried going in manually using the IP address of the Aurender but same result, access denied...

 

I realise this could be a setting on my PC but all my other network drives are accessible and I just wondered if anyone had had the issue and a possible solution. Thanks

This same issue and similar Windows (10) mapped drive issues keep happening to me constantly!

One day everything works perfectly fine (i.e. adding or tag editing within the mapped local drive), than all of a sudden, my Windows (10) PC cannot find the drive or will not give me access, etc.

Also sometimes anything I do within the mapped drive (add new album or tag edit, etc.) within the mapped drive will work but become extremely slow (like take 3 hours to copy and paste 1 new album)?

Last night, it would not let me delete an album, it kept saying I did not have administrative rights??

Any thoughts??

Also, I keep "losing" my playlists within the iPad App and onscreen display. The Title of the playlist remains, but there will suddenly be no songs remaining within the playlist ( this happens randomly to some of them, but not all of them)?

[agladstone]

Maybe you're using fixed IP addresses or expecting same on Windows systems. When the Aurender exports the drives are they being given unique and constant IP addresses? Any reboots on the Aurender side may cause IP address changes. When Windows attempts to mount a fixed address that's no longer there, that will certainly cause problems. Could be a crapshoot, especially if every system is using DHCP and allowing that server to dole out IP addresses. Just guessing...

I think it is something like this that is causing the trouble ( fixed IP address via windows for the mapped drive combined with restart / abrupt shutdown of Aurender N100H?)

I have been having daily shutdown/ reboots via my Furman 20 PF Power Conditioner for some unknown reason ( I think it must be high or low voltage because everything else stays on ( lights, etc)).

I did put in a request for tech support but I have not heard back from them?

Thanks for the input!

[agladstone]

The Aurender Composer app has what seems to me like a hidden feature: lyrics.

I say "hidden," because when I search the app's PDF guide for the term "lyric" nothing comes up.

 

Here's how it works:

• When a track is playing, tap the track's cover (small, on the upper left side) to make it full-screen on your iPad.
  
• Then tap the full-screen cover.
  
• If there are lyrics in the track's metadata, they will then appear over the full-screen cover image.
  

Pretty simple, yes?

 

And to get the lyrics into any track's metadata is a question of using your tagging-and-editing application to insert them.

For me, that's iTunes (which works well all the time for me for PCM music tagging and editing, but that's another post).

 

And I simply have searched for lyrics online, and then I do a copy-and-paste into the track's Lyrics field.

 

If you have more questions about this, just post them and I'll be glad to, will try to, help.

 

Smiles,

 

Dave, who has now given himself more music library editing work and will likely next add lyrics to his pretty much complete collection of Natalie Merchant songs since her website has the full lyrics and so that means they're easy to get

I did try this for a few albums as an experiment and it did work!!

It is definitely pretty cool, too bad it is such a tedious task ( all the searching online and cutting and pasting for each song), otherwise I would do it for my entire music library (except Jazz and Classical).

I wonder if there is an easier/ automated way to do this while ripping a CD via dbpoweramp???

[agladstone]

Abrupt shutdown and restart of the Aurender? Yeah, that could sure be it.

 

I highly recommend pulling the Furman from your system until you get it fixed or replaced. It's not doing the Aurender, the integrity of its firmware and any data you have on its internal drive, or the rest of your "protected" equipment any good to be subject to abrupt power loss.

 

You may have noticed the Aurender goes through a lengthy restart and recovery process every time it loses power like this?

 

Steve Z

I have noticed!!! .... about twice per day!!

Actually, the Furman is brand new and the top of the line 20Amp Furman they make for consumers. Thus, it is my electric that I think is not stable and the Furman is just "doing its job" and shutting down to protect everything.

That being said, this is great for the rest of my audio gear, but not for the Aurender which is really at the end of the day just a fancy / special purpose computer.

I did take my router and modem out of the Furman because it kept dropping my wifi.

So I agree m, I need to do something, I am actually thinking perhaps a battery backup type of protection unit for just the Aurender may be a wise idea??

Usually the Furman is only out for 5-10 seconds and then back up again I suspect I am getting a small quick amount of either too much or too little power?

Thanks for your input!

[agladstone]

I would recommend only things which may become unstable in the event of power loss be plugged into a UPS, such as the Aurender, NAS, and external USB drive, if present. The DAC and other components in the system shouldn't be a problem. UPSes are not good for sound quality. There's another wrinkle. When a power failure occurs, if the things plugged into the UPS haven't been shut down before the UPS runs out of juice, it isn't of much use.

 

Thus it appears the real solution is to fix the electrical system.

I recently bought 2 of the Furman PF20 Power conditioners, I have all my equipment plugged into them and I have noticed that they get "triggered" / shut down for a brief moment 1-2 times / day for the past couple of weeks.

The lights / all other power and all other power conditioners and/ or surge protectors I have do not get triggered.

Thus, without a call to Furman, my assumption is that they just must be more sensitive to voltage fluctuations.

On one hand, this is good because they are doing what they are supposed to, however on the other, it is bad because they seem to be hyper-sensitive, it is creating far to many shut downs to my gear!

I did remove my router and modem last week because I kept losing internet and that got annoying.

I do now think this has obviously been the cause to all my troubles w/ the Aurender/ losing the mapped drive via PC / losing all my playlists, etc.

So, is the consensus of this thread that it is best for me to:

a) Just plug the Aurender into the wall or lower end surge protector.

b) Purchase a UPS for either just the Aurender.

c) Put the Aurender on the same Power Strip w/ the Router and Modem?

I was thinking (that's always a problem:) ), that it was best to have router and modem on a separate strip on a different line than the rest of my gear due to noise??

Sounds like the UPS may have its own noise anyhow?

I have 3 isolated / direct lines behind my rack now, however 1 is for my Amp and it needs all 20Amps, the second is the Furman for all other gear, and the third line has two outlets in front wall and they have my 2 power hungry subs and 7 electrostatic speakers.

The power strip w/ the router and modem goes to an original/ pre-existing line in the room with several outlets and some in ceiling lights.

Many suggestions appreciated!!

( guess I should have bought the Shunyata Power conditioners instead of the Furmans, but too late now:( )

[agladstone]

RE: Furman PF20s

 

Did you check with your dealer?

 

The Furmans may not be your problem. You may have a power problem. I scanned the Furman literature and it seems that the power shutdowns occur when an overvoltage is sensed. Do you notice your lights dimming or getting brighter consistently? Is your abode in an apartment complex? Are there any factories nearby?

 

Check with your power company and complain. Most power companies will put a monitoring device on your meter. Are there any Furman support forums?

Definitely a power ( over or under voltage) situation!! However, I have a small shunyata Power Conditioner / strip and two large Trip lite Voltage Regulators/ power conditioners and a smaller Furman, and non of them "trip".

Thus, I assume the PF20's must be more sensitive (essentially better/ more accurate in a sense).

I live in a large Condo building and the are building huge condo complex on either side of my building and one behind me and one across the street, and these "trip's" are happening while the construction is going on, thus I suspect it is related and not much I can do.

Also, my building was initially built in 1707 (first "building" built in country apparently) and converted to condo's in the late 1970's, thus I do not have up to code electric and I have no ground wire in most of my electric ( I had 3 new dedicated / isolated hospital lines installed behind my rack, so they do have ground wires).

All of the above is related I am sure! I will call Furman tomorrow to see if they have any thoughts / advice.

[agladstone]

Hopefully Furman can be of some assistance. Perhaps you should consider safely shutting down the Aurender (or the entire system) when the construction is in action.

I have been completely shutting everything down for the past week since my "discovery" of the situation (the back and forth here really helped me have that ahaa moment as to what was causing my problems).

Oddly, since I have been completely shutting everything down (even my powered subwoofers) and not allowing anything to "sit" in standby mode I have had no more momentary shutdowns / protection triggers from the Furmans??

I may not understand everything completely, but I would think that would have no effect on the Furmans from being triggered via a voltage fluctuation causing a shutdown??

[agladstone]

Can anyone tell me how to delete a star rating? I gave Jonny Cash "Hurt" a 4 star rating. I'm able to change that to anything but no stars.

That song deserves 5 stars! (I'm personally a big fan of all of the American recordings).

I would suggest going into the network folder of the aurender via PC/Mac and editing the star rating via the metadata / iD3 tag and then just hit scan for new music / update song data via the Conductor app in settings.

[agladstone]

Yes the American Recordings are excellent. I like them so much I limit playing them so I don't burn out on them. I can access the file on my server with my Mac. . How do I find iD3 tag? I have tag editor but I don't see the star ratings.

I am using dBpoweramp, and that is one of the tagging options (star rating), what editor are you using?

[agladstone]

I'm using " Tag Editor". dbpoweramp looks to be a Windows app. I'm windowless. Did you convert everything to flac ?

I have FLAC files and DSF files (from SACD's ripped to ISO files).

DSF files and WAV files cannot be edited via dBPoweramp.

I also have a great program called Tag and Rename that can also tag DSF and WAV files (also Windows ).

For Mac I think the program people use is called EAD ? Also there may be a Mac version of dBPoweramp available?

[agladstone]

Yes WAV and DSF files can be edited in dBPoweramp. WAVs work fine have to add a DSF add on for those. I've edited all of my WAV and DSF files using dBPoweramp. There is a new version for Macs.

Mark

I did not know this, do you know how I can get / find these add on's? I was not able to find them before (I looked when I first bought dBpoweramp).

Thanks!!

[agladstone]

This is likely related to being able to return to the Conductor app and resuming at the same place in the playlist, which wasn't always the case before.

I noticed that the Aurender unit itself seemed to be updating when I did the update, not just the app, does anyone know if any updates to the Aurender also??

FYI, in my emails back and forth recently with Eric, he told me that DSD 256 was coming soon (I have been requesting it ) and he also said that he has created an update / fix to the Networking DHCP problem a lot of us have been "suffering" with.

Also, another FYI, I have also been asking him about Roon integration and from what he has told me, I doubt that we will ever see it.

He basically has stated that it is expensive to implement it for him and that the requirements of Roon to become an authorized Roon Ready device are time and cost prohibitive to him, etc. (he kept the door open with a "possibly re-visit in the future, but does not seem likely now / soon).

[agladstone]

I am very confused about the consume on and consume off and cannot really figure out what they do??

[agladstone]

Thank you! I did notice the aforementioned, but was never quite sure which one did which:)

[agladstone]

I would strongly suggest hardwiring the Aurender (and any other media devices). I actually thing it is pretty easy to run either RGB 6 (move Comcast modem) or Cat 6/7 (from modem to closet) through the wall and or ceiling so that you can have direct connection in the media closet.

Also, I recently bought the top of the line Arris Modem at Best Buy ( not a router or combo, but a stand alone modem) and I returned the comcast one (saves you about $15/ month - so in a year it pays for itself and in 3-4 years you really make out - should last and not be outdated for that long).

My internet (wired and wireless) speeds have quadrupled ever since and not one problem with Aurender IP since.

( I have consistently been getting 200 Mbps ever since from Comcast Blast - which is rated as 150 Mbps) and no more instability issues.)

Basically the comcast modems and routers are about 2-3 years behind in current technology and speed / throughput.

I did also but the top of the line Netgear Nighthawk X8 router which also has 6 Gigbit Ethernet ports on it, but a decent Netgear switch and a less expensive router would work just as well.

Just a suggestion, but I was amazed at what a difference the BYO modem has made (much more than the router, I could have continued using my apple time machine with the new Arris modem and an 8 port switch and have almost the same results

[agladstone]

Agalstone,

I like the idea of buying a modem. Have I mentioned lately I HATE Comcast? Of course, I also dislike IT stuff, and the one thing that Comcast seems to do pretty well is reliable internet.

 

Would I still need to hardwire the Aurender or move the modem?

 

Thanks!

AC

 

The Modem (Arris) gets connected to RGB6 ( cable wire coming from wall) then you need to connect that modem to a router and also a switch if the router does not have enough Ethernet ports (the one I bought has 6 Ethernet ports, so that was just enough for me - I use all 6) then you connect the aurender (and any other media devices) via an Ethernet / cat 6/7 cable.

That is definitely the best way to do it, wireless is not as good for media / streaming in my opinion.

You can also buy an arris modem router combo just like the Comcast one you have now, but buying a separate one of each is better and will give you more longevity from the Modem because the router will become outdated before the modem does.

FYI, I may be one of the least technical/ IT savvy members on Computer Audiophile, so let others chime in but I believe I am giving you the best advice.

[agladstone]

Me too, it was a fairly simple job to CAT6 the key rooms in our house myself, all leading back to a small HP Switch. I also have a wireless access point for the iPad and laptop, but almost everything else is CAT6 connected.

I have everything except iPads and iPhones hardwired Cat 7 myself.

With the purchase of my own "BYOB" Top of Line Modem ($199 retail vs. $15/mo rental from Comcast), I am getting 200 MBPS speed on all and have not had another one of the ip hdcp issues w/ aurender.

I ran the RGB6 and Cat 7 cables through the wall and ceiling where needed and added a 8 port switch and nice top of line Netgear X8 router.

Honestly worth the weekend project, a little drywall dust, and about $600 total investment all in!!

I should be set now for 3-5 years I hope before all tech gets out dated

[agladstone]

KunterK, Thanks for the info on upgraded SQ after upgrading the SATA cable to the SSD.

I have been wondering if it would be possible to swap out the stock 128 SSD cache with a 500GB one (this would allow for a larger cache and should improve performance for internal HD stored files). Since you have opened the box and tinkered, any thoughts on if this can be done? I'm assuming it can be even though Aurender told me no. (also thinking should be able to just clone existing SSD to the new one first, so that you will have all the propriety drivers, etc)?? I'm not very technical, so asking you and the rest of the community your thoughts?

I'm also thinking that upgrading the RAM and also the WD HD to an SSD would also further improve performance and possibly SQ???!

[agladstone]

I seem to have a new problem with my new A10

 

up to yesterday, I was able to control playlists via the iPad and switch songs, et al

 

now when I start a playlist, I cannot control it from the screen that says playlist editor (using 5.7.29.2 firmware which is latest): and if I cannot stop the playlist: if I try to switch to Tidal streaming, I cannot: I can go into the full album view and change songs in the playlist, and from the front panel of the A10

and when I press down on a song title, the play now button is breyed out on the popup

 

I have rebooted the A10 and the iPad: it works normally but as soon as I ener playlist editor, it gos back to this strange mode again: and the error is repeatable

very frustrating: my X100 never did this

any ideas?

tia

FYI,

Im having all the same similar issues and some others related too!!

They all started happening a few days ago.

We should both start tickets via the Aurender App So they are aware.

However, reading your post made me realize / remember that in the past week or less, there have been 2 updates to the iPad iOS, and since we are both having similar problems, I'll bet it has something to do with the updates, and perhaps now they (Aurender) needs to make updates to Conductor App now??

[agladstone]

Use an Anedio USB converter very good performance or better yet buy an Anedio D2 DAC and use the USB input.....I have a N10 and with the Anedio D2 the USB and spdif are very close I would recommend a Cardas clear USB cable...Marc

I use the Cardas High Speed USB (blue and the USB cables are split into two cables (I think this is the one you're referring to?) - with my N100H. I've tried about 10 USB cables and the Cardas is the best with the Aurender by a landslide!'

[agladstone]

I just did a hard reboot of the A10 and I think it resolved the issue: I also opened a ticket with Aurender

 

Funny Aurender is exhibiting at the New York Audio Show: today is last day. wish I had gone!

 

anyway lets keep in touch: I am sure they can fix this

I did a hard reboot too to try and see if that helped and now my network can no longer find the Aurender and my computer can. I longer connect to it via the mapped network connection! I guess I'm going to start a ticket!

[agladstone]

That's fine... I'm not saying it doesn't sound excellent and definitely not meant as a dig.

 

;-)

 

... but, I would invite you/them to do what I have done and then compare.

 

I'm as sure as can be that my USB signal path is unlikely to improve at any price (save for perhaps how it's powered).

 

If you think about it, galvanically isolating the source, making runs as short as possible and completely cutting the GND connection throughout has to be at least as effective than what any single piece of wire (regardless of materials or construction) is capable of doing.

 

Once the GND line is broken, the electrical relationship is completely altered - the Intona works wonders and is loved By a great many.

 

The point was there are many ways to achieve truly great results... but only one can be the most cost effective.

 

I have A/B with and without Jitterbug per your advice in Isolation thread and still think Jitterbug sounds better?? I wonder why??

Im going to just take your advice and follow consensus and remove it (I will put it in my router per Vincent suggestions).

Now I need to buy an intona !!

So the important question I have for you is,,, how much will you charge me to build me a few of your DYI USB 5V grnd lift cables??

i would need one out of Aurender, 1 into RUR and 1 out of RUR (that sounds correct?)

PM me if you would consider making and selling me 2-3 of these, I would really like to take you up on your "experiment with these" suggestion and I have zero capability of being able to make my own to try it!!

Allen

[agladstone]

Honestly it's so simple to do, just buy the USB connectors on ebay, a soldering iron, some solder and some good cable and make your own.

 

I'm happy to give you the instructions, but I'm not in the market of making cables.

 

Once you've done the first, you'll probably, like me, end up DIY'ing the rest of the system to perfect lengths.

 

... you CAN do this, it's probably the most basic entry level electronics possible - for me barely it even qualifies as electrical engineering.

Do you think that I could modify my curious cables full loom to accomplish the same thing? Either with switch or some other type of disconnect?

I would appreciate instructions ! My email is [email protected]

Ibe never soldered anything before, but I'm sure with some YouTube videos I could figure out how to solder properly?

Thank you!

Allen

[agladstone]

Brian.......Much appreciated. Fortunately, not being able to use the USB output on the Aurender N10 to the K-03 is not a deal breaker. I just wanted to know whether the N10 was capable of handling external USB drivers. My intent is to make use of the N10's coaxial output to the Esoteric K-03 DAC. This will work perfectly for me. Thank you for responding to my question.

 

Brian: How does playing Aurender (N100H in my case) via RCA Spdif Coax (or AES EBU) into DAC sound vs with async USB? I know there are limitations in regards to Native DSD and PCM above 24/192, but I'm wondering if there is an advantage by avoiding all of the USB issues? I've been contemplating trying it via an external USB to SPIDF converter.

If my DAC had IS2 (it does not), I would definitely go this route because IS2 does play DSD.

Thanks

[agladstone]

I just saw this. In my experience USB vs. SPDIF coax is close; some prefer AES over SPDIF. A good USB cable works quite well.

Thanks! I suppose I'll stick with the USB for now. I keep throwing more and more money at my USB connection trying to correct all its limitations (Intona Isolator, split USB cables, W4S Recovery, multiple LPS for each device, etc.), however since my DAC does not have a IS2 input, I don't want to sacrifice native DSD.

Thank you and others for responses!!