The "Official" Aurender Discussion Thread

[AurenderAmerica]

Greetings Audiophile Style Community!

 

My name is Ari Margolis and I am the Technical Support Manger for Aurender, North America. 

 

We decided it was time we start actually chiming in on this and other Aurender related threads in order to avoid confusion. 

 

I'm not here to answer questions related to specific technical support incidents (that will be done via email at [email protected]), but I will be happy to help answer any general questions that you all might have about current Aurender products. 

 

Thanks for you support and enthusiasm for Aurender. Cheers!

 

 

 

[AurenderAmerica]

Hi Russ,

Thanks! Glad to hear that.

 

Aurender's software team is always hard at work on updates. While I can't say too much or promise timelines for future software updates, I can say that there is a really exciting aesthetic overhaul (new skins) which will be ready for universal for release very soon. Be on the lookout for more partnerships with other streaming services soon, too! 

 

At this time Aurender has no immediate plans for Roon integration. There are a few reasons for this:

Roon Core is a beast of a software program (I mean that in a good way). It demands some pretty intense processing horsepower to do everything it does. Aurender servers, on the other hand, are intentionally designed to be lean and minimalistic. They are equipped with a processor that is only powerful enough to meet the requirements of our platform. This is "by design" and a big reason why your Aurender sounds so good! Less powerful processors generally produce less heat and less electromagnetic interference , both of which are enemies of high-end audio components.

 

Aurender playback software is custom engineered/tailored to go hand-in-hand with Aurender hardware. This is how we manage our characteristic solid state caching and the entire playback engine. That synergistic link between the custom engineered software and hardware would be broken if we enabled Roon playback software. As music lovers, everyone at Aurender appreciates and respects the powerful discovery engine (among other things) that Roon is. But, the company is not willing to forfeit control over the sound and software on our players in favor of a third party user interface.

 

Since Aurender servers are Airplay enabled, you can "cast" music to your Aurender with Roon but it is not as versatile and doesn't sound as good as Roon's RAAT lossless network transport.

 

I hope this helps!

[AurenderAmerica]

Just now, rickca said:

So something other than brown after all these years?

Sounds a little like a Paul Simon song?! Or was that the Garfunkle version?  

 

Anyway...YES! It's true.

[AurenderAmerica]

Thanks, everyone, for the warm welcome. @Foxman50 - the existing user interface will be the same in terms of functionality. But there will be some different color schemes IN ADDITION to the beloved 😉 brown.

 

@rwwjr44 Bob, yes, we will be transparent as always and I will try to remember to keep you all in the loop any time we have news to share!

 

@biosailor yes, you are correct below. It is theoretically possible. However, due to the other reasons I stated, I don't think this will happen.

On 1/12/2019 at 3:35 AM, biosailor said:

 

Good to hear that Aurender plans a few upgrades for the near future! I do understand that Aurender's software has evolved to cater their own products. But with respect to Roon: wouldn't it be possible to turn the Aurender's into a Roon endpoint? I presume this would use much less CPU resources than a full fledged Roon integration.

 

@Blakcloud Awesome! Glad you are enjoying them. 

On 1/12/2019 at 10:00 PM, Blakcloud said:

So I am a proud owner of a N100H and a N100C.

 

Thanks again!

[AurenderAmerica]

On 1/11/2019 at 8:40 PM, Stiv said:

Was wondering.  I have an Aurender N10 and and an Ayre Q5 20 Dac.  Anyone have this combo and of so, anyone tried out the digital connections to figure which they prefer? USB, spdif or Aes/ebu? 

@Stiv - a lot of people have this same question. There's not really a clear universal answer because every DAC is different, every system is different, and there are a whole lot of variables involved. Some DACs have major differences in sound/presentation/features/sample rate limitations from input to input. Others are more input agnostic. 

 

There are some fundamental differences in how USB and SPDIF/AES/EBU transmit signal:

 

In a USB audio connection, the DAC is the "master" - the DAC pulls information packets from the server at intervals defined by the DAC's word clock. This is known as "asynchronous" USB. 

 

In SPDIF & AES/EBU connections, it is the opposite: the server/player pushes digital information out to the DAC as defined by the server's clock. Historically, inexpensive A/V sources are not equipped with super precise clocks. So, jitter is introduced. Jitter results in a "phasey" soundstage lacking differentiation of instruments/voices. Timing is extremely important to creating a realistic sonic image, and, obviously, the clock plays an important role. 

 

This ^ is why Aurender makes such a stink about the OCXO (oven controlled crystal oscillator) clocks on board the N10 and W20...the quality and precision of those clocks is a big part of what makes these players so special. 

 

So, certainly give it a try with AES/EBU or Coax vs USB, and see what you think! I know with my Chord QuteHD DAC, switching to the N10 coax bnc output was a total game changer.

[AurenderAmerica]

6 minutes ago, Stiv said:

Last week I switched to SPDIF using a Nordost Tyr 2 cable and it was too a game changer.

Thanks for sharing this feedback. Very good to know! 

[AurenderAmerica]

Hi @edje - please send me an email at [email protected] and I will help answer your question.  I just need a little more info to make sure I understand what you're asking. 

 

To clarify, there's not really a "sleep" mode, per se. It's either on or off. It can be on and idle, with the screen dark, and it will respond to commands from the app in that state. If it is off/shut down, you need to turn it back on before you can communicate with it via the app.

[AurenderAmerica]

@marslo @Ponzi it is true that some (many or even most) DACs will only do DSD over USB. However, this is not a general limitation of SPDIF or AES/EBU protocol. In fact, the cables themselves and the general technology is capable of transmitting DSD64 and beyond. It just depends on whether the DAC implements this functionality or not.

 

Aurender servers can output DSD64 (DoP) out of all outputs. 

 

Don't take my word for it, you can read the open standard if you're extremely bored (actually it's pretty interesting in a really geeky way): https://dsd-guide.com/dop-open-standard#.XEaF41xKiUk

 

 

[AurenderAmerica]

Regarding @Noushy's HDD/SSD swap, I just want to clarify that the Aurender does not support, encourage or endorse hardware/electrical modifications. The Aurender product is conceived and and sold as a finished product when it leaves the factory. Aurender provides the best product we can for the price. End-users are, of course, free to do perform whatever after-market modifications they want to their personal property, but doing so does void the 2-year warranty. 

 

Hard drive replacement must be done by an authorized dealer or by Aurender's own Irvine, CA service center.

[AurenderAmerica]

@Emm thanks for your question. The hard drives are hardly ever actually spinning unless you are actively playing “DJ” and adding songs to the queue. 

 

A few minutes after the last songs have been added and cached to the SSD, the HDD spin back down.

 

The screen will go dark after 5 minutes of inactivity, at which point the unit is in an idle state. It is ok to leave it on and in this state as long as you want.

[AurenderAmerica]

@merge03's approach is, of course, correct. Please don't think of the Aurender (or any music server) as the "master" copy of your library. It is essential to have a separate master copy of your library, and recommended to have another backup of that in ADDITION to your Aurender.

 

@justubes can you please send a remote support request email from the Conductor app? This will allow our software engineers to check the internal temperature and see if there is anything wrong.

[AurenderAmerica]

3 hours ago, AriMargolis said:

@Emm thanks for your question. The hard drives are hardly ever actually spinning unless you are actively playing “DJ” and adding songs to the queue. 

 

A few minutes after the last songs have been added and cached to the SSD, the HDD spin back down.

 

The screen will go dark after 5 minutes of inactivity, at which point the unit is in an idle state. It is ok to leave it on and in this state as long as you want.

^ I'm not sure what caused the strike through above...please ignore the strike through.

[AurenderAmerica]

@Emm @Vincent1234 - We'd need some more information to be sure what's going on. For technical support, please send us an email to [email protected].

 

You can also send a remote support request email straight from the Conductor app. This automatically opens your Aurender for our software engineers to view the logs/diagnostics and diagnose/fix any software issues.

 

[AurenderAmerica]

1 hour ago, Noushy said:

This should be something that Ari could chime in on. 

 

Guys, just a friendly reminder that this is NOT a technical support forum! 

 

Aurender technical support is available via 3 different channels for your convenience:

 

1. Send a remote support email request directly from the Conductor app (Settings>Help>Send Remote Support Request Email)

2. Email directly to [email protected]

3. Telephone Support +1 (888) 367-0840 (monday-friday 9am - 6pm MST.)

 

[AurenderAmerica]

@Noushy the way the db update process works is: 

 

3 minutes after the last "write" activity on the local HDD is detected, the system re-scans the contents of the HDD and creates a new library db which then gets pushed to the iPad. When you get that "downloading data" message on the iPad, it means the app is downloading a new library database as prompted by the Aurender scanner. 

 

I hope this helps to understand.

[AurenderAmerica]

17 minutes ago, Emm said:

@AriMargolis Hi Ari, I have sent a remote support email request, and Pablo reverted back asking a couple of questions. However no response since then.

@Emm I can see that Pablo has been discussing this with the software team internally. I assure you they will get back to you shortly.

[AurenderAmerica]

4 hours ago, rwwjr44 said:

I think modifies it sometimes.

The Aurender platform does not ever modify your files or metadata. The way it displays whatever metadata is tagged to your files may vary slightly from your expectations depending on circumstances, but it doesn't actually touch the files themselves. 

 

Also, with the exception of ripping CDs on the new-ish ACS10,  the Aurender platform does not retrieve any metadata that is not already tagged to your files. So, whatever's in the file is what you get. 

 

There are a number of great tools available (JRiver MediaCenter, mp3Tag, dbPoweramp, bliss, etc.) for editing metadata. You can make edits to the files already stored on your Aurender directly and upon re-scanning, the changes will be reflected in your library.

[AurenderAmerica]

On 2/15/2019 at 5:52 PM, Deyorew said:

I was curious on the ACS10 how you use the "folder" function. For instance it says it has a "Music 1" as the first folder.

If you wanted to use one folder as device ripped cds and a separate once as imported from an HDD and label it "Music 2" is it just in the background how the files or stored? Or when using the App do you have to go between "folders" for your different libraries?

 

Also still curious how it handles dsf files. On the website it looks like it handles them natively without any issues or conversion...

@Deyorew folder browsing on ACS10 works the same as it does on other Aurender servers. The first 10 folder names on the root of your Music1 and Music2 HDDs show up as browsing tabs. So you can get really creative about how you organize your library. 

 

Additionally, you can always dig deeper into the folder structure (beyond those first 10 folders) in Folder browsing mode.

[AurenderAmerica]

Many of you have already read about the new A30. It will be officially launched at AXPONA (where it will be shown in active demo and also as static display for those of you who want to see it with its top off  )

 

In the mean time, here's some more info. We are VERY excited about this awesome new machine!

 

And, in addition to the A30 at the very highest end of the spectrum, Aurender has also recently launched a new entry-level product to the "A" (analog) series: The A100. 

 

Brochures attached for your reading pleasure.

aurender_A100_brochure.pdf Aurender_A30_brochure.pdf

[AurenderAmerica]

@rwwjr44 

A30 - Reference

A10 - Mid-Level

A100 - Entry Level

 

Any model with a “100” is a smaller chassis size and more budget friendly. 10/20/30 models are full size chassis and generally higher end offerings.

[AurenderAmerica]

@Emm I just sent you a direct message. I see that you've been working with Pablo on this and that he had requested some troubleshooting info 25 days ago with no response from you and no mention of this new issue you're encountering where the song only plays for a few seconds. Very strange. Probably a network-related issue that we may be able to fix on the Aurender side via a firmware update to your machine. We'd like to reopen the case with your cooperation and figure out what's going on!

[AurenderAmerica]

@agladstone please address your question to [email protected] where we will more efficiently troubleshoot the problem.

 

Just a friendly reminder to all: this is not a tech support forum. 

 

Thanks.

[AurenderAmerica]

59 minutes ago, agladstone said:

AriMargolis I did send a support email and I did not get any response yet. 

Alan, confirming that we received your support email at 6:38 pm.

 

We do our very best to respond within 24 hours mon-fri. 

[AurenderAmerica]

44 minutes ago, Mgperdices said:

Hi Vincent, i mean that I prefer the sound of the W20 “served” by the ACS over playback from its internal drives.

 

I find that the ACS provides an increase in resolution and soundstage vis-a-vis the W20 (solo). I haven’t compared its rips to alternative solutions (eg dbpoweramp) but I’d be surprised if these were inferior. Thanks!

Hi @Mgperdices - thanks for sharing your experience. Of course, this is the desired effect! By using the ACS10 as the workhorse/utility player, W20 has less computing responsibility. With fewer demands on the system, it should perform that much better. Also, the 2X isolated LAN port effectively isolates the downstream W20 from the noisy-ass network! Ethernet picks up a lot of noise which can be introduced into the system without proper isolation. I think we're going to start seeing a lot more LAN isolation gadgets hitting the hi-end market.

 

Regarding Nimbie rips vs. ACS10 rips...I can't say we have made any aural comparisons. Of course, on paper, the results are exactly the same and in both cases (nimbie transport or ACS built-in TEAC transport), the ripped files are checked and re-checked for accuracy. But, we all know that other factors can make a difference. Performance-wise - it is literally "plug-and-play." Connect the Nimbie to ACS via USB (use the USB port on the front panel), and the ACS automatically recognizes the Nimbie. Put a stack of discs on the Nimbie and get ripped, so to speak.

[AurenderAmerica]

@Mazza actually ACS10 connects to another Aurender via ethernet, not USB. The other Aurender's connection to the network is via the ACS 2X isolated port.

 

So, ACS does all the "server" activities including storage, scanning, library management etc. And the other Aurender is still the renderer (or "player").  Think of the ACS as an Aurender "super-NAS"  or "mothership" for use with another Aurender satellite player. The other player streams content from the ACS.