The "Official" Aurender Discussion Thread

[rwwjr44]

15 hours ago, JS21 said:

 

https://www.notion.so/Aurender-System-Software-53facc705e3a48e8a91e42f598b7e7e2

 

THANK YOU! I did notice that a DSD ambient album from Cookie Marceno is now playable. It was too large to play before. DSD up to 512 (well 256 for me), I'll have to try it out and see if these aging ears can hear any difference.

[tdimler]

I apologize in advance if this has been covered somewhere else in this thread...

 

Does anyone have a rundown on the differences between the ACS-10 and ACS-100?

 

Thanks

[AurenderAmerica]

On 4/19/2020 at 1:19 PM, tdimler said:

Does anyone have a rundown on the differences between the ACS-10 and ACS-100?

@tdimler

 

2 significant differences:
 

1. ACS10 ships with 2 8 TB HDDs installed and pre-configured in a RAID configuration. Larger HDD configurations are available via special order. On the other hand, ACS100 ships with no storage pre-installed but there are 2 slots for user-installable HDDs or SSDs. You can use any 2.5" internal drive, max height 7 mm. They are easy to install on your own and there are instructions here: SSD/HDD Installation Guide

 

2. ACS10 has a very nice/quiet linear power supply and a filtered/isolated USB Audio port. It also has a 2X Isolated LAN port. ACS100 omits all of those audio performance features and it uses an external switch mode power supply. 

 

ACS100's best use is as a CD ripping/library management/storage companion piece or an "add-on" to use with another Aurender as the primary player. ACS10 has all the CD ripping/library management/storage features + it has really excellent audio performance thanks to the nice power supply and usb port. 

 

 

[rwwjr44]

The update seems to be working well.

[tdimler]

On 4/21/2020 at 2:40 PM, AriMargolis said:

@tdimler

 

2 significant differences:
 

1. ACS10 ships with 2 8 TB HDDs installed and pre-configured in a RAID configuration. Larger HDD configurations are available via special order. On the other hand, ACS100 ships with no storage pre-installed but there are 2 slots for user-installable HDDs or SSDs. You can use any 2.5" internal drive, max height 7 mm. They are easy to install on your own and there are instructions here: SSD/HDD Installation Guide

 

2. ACS10 has a very nice/quiet linear power supply and a filtered/isolated USB Audio port. It also has a 2X Isolated LAN port. ACS100 omits all of those audio performance features and it uses an external switch mode power supply. 

 

ACS100's best use is as a CD ripping/library management/storage companion piece or an "add-on" to use with another Aurender as the primary player. ACS10 has all the CD ripping/library management/storage features + it has really excellent audio performance thanks to the nice power supply and usb port. 

 

 

Thank you Ari.  That clears it up for me.

[blugosi]

Quick question,

There is an option PH + or PH - in Aurender, right next to the input selection, bottom of window.

What is it for?

[JS21]

4 hours ago, blugosi said:

Quick question,

There is an option PH + or PH - in Aurender, right next to the input selection, bottom of window.

What is it for?

It’s a phase inverter to correct out of phase recordings. 
“+” is default setting. 

[blugosi]

5 hours ago, JS21 said:

It’s a phase inverter to correct out of phase recordings. 
“+” is default setting. 

 

Thank you! 

I couldn't find this information in the manual.

[rwwjr44]

Anyone know how to delete a playlist? I've been having problems with them since the last update.

[rwwjr44]

7 hours ago, rwwjr44 said:

Anyone know how to delete a playlist? I've been having problems with them since the last update.

Duh! Figured it out.  Slide it to the left.

[Koso]

18 hours ago, rwwjr44 said:

Duh! Figured it out.  Slide it to the left.

Haha, I was just in the middle of replying what to do! Simple, isn't it?

[Tip Tansley]

New to this group & have scanned the articles.  Good discussions - much to read.   However, in my scanning I didn't notice comments regarding support and I desire to comment on that topic.  I have both an A10 and an ACS-10.   My experience with Aurender has been post sales support is first class and, for me, is a major reason why I'm staying with Aurender.  (Products have worked great - I've just had lots of questions and have always been responded to).  

[The Computer Audiophile]

7 minutes ago, Tip Tansley said:

New to this group & have scanned the articles.  Good discussions - much to read.   However, in my scanning I didn't notice comments regarding support and I desire to comment on that topic.  I have both an A10 and an ACS-10.   My experience with Aurender has been post sales support is first class and, for me, is a major reason why I'm staying with Aurender.  (Products have worked great - I've just had lots of questions and have always been responded to).  

Your comment is timely.
 

The last few days I’ve been trying to figure out some technical challenges behind the scenes of this site. The first one was caused by Amazon. The company offers no real explanation for what it does. There are no people there willing to help either. It’s all forum based “support.” Frustrating to say the least. 
 

Your comment about Aurender’s support made me wish I was dealing with them and made me realize how nice a real support team can be. Aurender has connected to my servers remotely over the years. Fixed the issues without me doing a thing. Very nice. 

 

 

[smdb01us]

Howdy, with the latest code on N100s, has anyone been able to successfully enable native DSD playback? When I enable this option I get a message saying that my DAC does not support native DSD but according to the specs, the DAVE does. Ari is looking into this but I was wondering if anyone had this working. Any sonic differences between DoP and native DSD playing? Cheers!

[AurenderAmerica]

3 hours ago, smdb01us said:

Howdy, with the latest code on N100s, has anyone been able to successfully enable native DSD playback? When I enable this option I get a message saying that my DAC does not support native DSD but according to the specs, the DAVE does. Ari is looking into this but I was wondering if anyone had this working. Any sonic differences between DoP and native DSD playing?

This is a really good question and I have been meaning to post something here about the Native DSD roll out that Aurender is doing right now.

Aurender is enabling Native DSD output model-by-model, because, well, it is just plain tricky. It is now enabled in the latest software updates for W20SE, ACS10, N10, N100H/N100C/N100SC, and X100L,

so that’s pretty much everyone (W20 “classic” is coming too at some point soon)
 

A little background on “Native” DSD vs. DoP. What the hell does it all mean?

DoP (DSD-over-PCM) remains the industry standard DSD transmission protocol. It involves the player/output software “re-packing” a DSD file into a PCM container along with a special flag or marker that alerts the DoP-compatible DAC to “un-pack” that file and process it as DSD. It is totally lossless and the file is processed by the DAC as true DSD. At no point is the actual digital information converted from DSD to PCM. It just puts on a PCM jacket for a second to get into the club, and takes it off when it’s ready to party. This is NOT to be confused or conflated with DSD to PCM conversion, which is a less desirable transcoding of DSD to PCM, from which there’s no going back. 
 

Now, some DACs, for example Chord Electronics’ amazing DAVE from the post quoted above, can actually process DSD input without this clever DoP repacking. However, unmarked or “Native” DSD transmissions nearly always require a custom driver to facilitate communication between the player and DAC. Chord has a custom driver for Windows to enable Native DSD input to the DAC from Windows. So, yes, the DAC technically supports Native DSD, but ONLY ON WINDOWS (for now). This is not to pick on Chord at all...it is true for the vast majority of DACs that claim Native DSD compatibility. Very few work with Linux right out of the box.

 

In many cases, Aurender’s SW team will be able to achieve Native DSD compatibility even if the DAC doesn’t explicitly support this functionality with a Linux source. But, it is not guaranteed. We cannot test every DAC on the market, so we need your help!

 

This is important: if you own a DAC that claims to support Native DSD, but it is not working with your Aurender, we would love to hear from you! Please send a remote support email from the app (Settings>Help>Send Remote Support Request Email) to let us know. Aurender is committed to enabling Native DSD support with as many DACs as possible, and the DAC manufacturers, including and especially Chord, have also been very cooperative. 

We have reached out to other Linux audio manufacturers to request sharing source codes in case they have added Native DSD support for DACs that we haven’t gotten to yet, and vice-versa. 
 

I hope this helps to understand.

[marslo]

Very useful information, thank you Ari.

Now it’s clear why my W20 „ classic” does not support for time being the native DSD playback even though I updated SW to the last version. I hope it will be available soon.

Already with DoP protocal good recordings in  native DSD sound spectacular using unpowered usb to my Pacific.

[agladstone]

10 hours ago, AriMargolis said:

This is a really good question and I have been meaning to post something here about the Native DSD roll out that Aurender is doing right now.

Aurender is enabling Native DSD output model-by-model, because, well, it is just plain tricky. It is now enabled in the latest software updates for W20SE, ACS10, N10, N100H/N100C/N100SC, and X100L,

so that’s pretty much everyone (W20 “classic” is coming too at some point soon)
 

A little background on “Native” DSD vs. DoP. What the hell does it all mean?

DoP (DSD-over-PCM) remains the industry standard DSD transmission protocol. It involves the player/output software “re-packing” a DSD file into a PCM container along with a special flag or marker that alerts the DoP-compatible DAC to “un-pack” that file and process it as DSD. It is totally lossless and the file is processed by the DAC as true DSD. At no point is the actual digital information converted from DSD to PCM. It just puts on a PCM jacket for a second to get into the club, and takes it off when it’s ready to party. This is NOT to be confused or conflated with DSD to PCM conversion, which is a less desirable transcoding of DSD to PCM, from which there’s no going back. 
 

Now, some DACs, for example Chord Electronics’ amazing DAVE from the post quoted above, can actually process DSD input without this clever DoP repacking. However, unmarked or “Native” DSD transmissions nearly always require a custom driver to facilitate communication between the player and DAC. Chord has a custom driver for Windows to enable Native DSD input to the DAC from Windows. So, yes, the DAC technically supports Native DSD, but ONLY ON WINDOWS (for now). This is not to pick on Chord at all...it is true for the vast majority of DACs that claim Native DSD compatibility. Very few work with Linux right out of the box.

 

In many cases, Aurender’s SW team will be able to achieve Native DSD compatibility even if the DAC doesn’t explicitly support this functionality with a Linux source. But, it is not guaranteed. We cannot test every DAC on the market, so we need your help!

 

This is important: if you own a DAC that claims to support Native DSD, but it is not working with your Aurender, we would love to hear from you! Please send a remote support email from the app (Settings>Help>Send Remote Support Request Email) to let us know. Aurender is committed to enabling Native DSD support with as many DACs as possible, and the DAC manufacturers, including and especially Chord, have also been very cooperative. 

We have reached out to other Linux audio manufacturers to request sharing source codes in case they have added Native DSD support for DACs that we haven’t gotten to yet, and vice-versa. 
 

I hope this helps to understand.

Have you gotten to Mytek DAC’s yet? 

Do you know if they require custom drivers? 

[agladstone]

It’s the Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ that I’m specifically inquiring about, I expect the model makes a difference. 
From what I’ve just read online, seems like the Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ does require custom patch / code to play native DSD via linux. 

[bsinc]

I am confused about the software notices. I upgraded the Conductor app which now provides a toggle in Advanced Settings to use DoP or native DSD. Aurender 's site shows a newer version for my machine, however the app keeps telling me I have the latest update which is lower than the version shown on their site, nor does the toggle work. I get a pop-up saying I need the latest software,  to be released in May. Aurender site says it was released in April.  Anyone else seeing this too?

[smdb01us]

20 hours ago, bsinc said:

I am confused about the software notices. I upgraded the Conductor app which now provides a toggle in Advanced Settings to use DoP or native DSD. Aurender 's site shows a newer version for my machine, however the app keeps telling me I have the latest update which is lower than the version shown on their site, nor does the toggle work. I get a pop-up saying I need the latest software,  to be released in May. Aurender site says it was released in April.  Anyone else seeing this too?

Yup, I have always been a bit confused by their releases and how it applies to the Conductor and the system and all the hardware they support. I stopped reading searching for the release notes and and blindly upgrading 🤷🏽‍♂️.

[rwwjr44]

21 hours ago, bsinc said:

I am confused about the software notices. I upgraded the Conductor app which now provides a toggle in Advanced Settings to use DoP or native DSD. Aurender 's site shows a newer version for my machine, however the app keeps telling me I have the latest update which is lower than the version shown on their site, nor does the toggle work. I get a pop-up saying I need the latest software,  to be released in May. Aurender site says it was released in April.  Anyone else seeing this too?

 

They need to fix this. 

[bsinc]

Well,  yes. Hate to complain.  My DAC allegedly does native and I'd like to exploit all of its features if possible.  I sent a service request via the app but I had to install a mail app on my iPad first. It might be on me that it wasn't received although it shows "sent".  Hence my confusion since I thought it would happen automatically when I asked Conductor to check latest version.....

[AurenderAmerica]

So, there’s system software and then the conductor app...they are different and need to be updated separately. 
 

If you’re unable to download the latest system software for your Aurender, check that your conductor app is up to date. If it’s still saying software is up to date even though the website reports newer software is avail, send a support request to [email protected].

[bsinc]

I only discovered the existence of new system software by way of updating the app, however Conductor via app store is 1 digit off software version listed on Aurender site. Mine ends in point "4" from Apple- Aurender site indicates a point "5". There was no toggle prior to last week's updating of Conductor, nor notice of new system software until then. Two different versions of system software are what i was trying to resolve.  My device shows version # from last October,  reporting that it is the latest version.  Aurrender site shows newer version released in April. Newest Conductor  download indicates i need a version  of system software i cannot download. I did send a service request.  I hope it gets there. I am not "out" anything by not adding newer,"free" features.  Probably have a lower tolerance for frustration due to the lockdown. Thanks for weighing in Ari. I shall wait and see what becomes of my service request 

.

[bsinc]

Ok, I’ve got the ball rolling. Aurender has updated my N100.  As I mentioned earlier, the conductor app was already updated (although some missed that part). I am running into an Ayre Qb-9 Twenty which allegedly does native DSD.  It doesn’t work, although frankly I did not expect that initially it will.  Computers, software, different designers, what could possibly go awry? I am ,however, quite confident that it will work  .  Since I heard about the native DSD capabilities from Aurender I was anxious to begin this process. So service request was duly dispatched to Aurender, I am reaching out to Ryan at Ayre, and between all involved I am looking forward to more and better from my system.

I’ll let ya know!