The "Official" Aurender Discussion Thread

[rwwjr44]

I also use AWS Deep Glacier. It is inexpensive and reliable. The only problem is that retrievals can be slow.

[rwwjr44]

I also use AWS Deep Glacier. It is inexpensive and reliable. The only problem is that retrievals can be slow.

[rwwjr44]

Duplicate

[rwwjr44]

Duplicate

[rwwjr44]

Duplicate. Sorry the system was very slow and I repeatedly depressed the save button.

 

[michaelD]

5 hours ago, wjt3 said:

How do I save the playlists? thanks

I’m not by the app right now but in one of the options you can select to save playlist.  It then stores it on the Aurender.   I always make a copy of that.  Also note it only saves the last copy also.  
 

[SirAtilla]

23 hours ago, rwwjr44 said:

I also use AWS Deep Glacier. It is inexpensive and reliable. The only problem is that retrievals can be slow.

 

This is true and google does not have this restriction on retrieval time.  For my use case of Disaster Recovery (DR) I would only retrieve or restore in case of a castrophic failure.  Any normal restore will come from my in-house infrastructure.  This is essentially a cheap insurance policy.

 

Thanks

Carlin Smith

[SirAtilla]

On 5/24/2020 at 10:50 AM, wjt3 said:

How do I save the playlists? thanks

In Conductor use Settings->Backup & Restore.  When you click backup a set of files will be placed on file system of your Aurender that you then have to copy/move to some place for safekeeping.

 

I wrote a blog on how to edit this and even create playlists on the computer here https://www.sound-lab.com/blog/aurender-playlists.

 

Thanks

Carlin Smith

[ct545i]

On 5/7/2020 at 12:11 PM, 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.

Hi Ari, I sent a message to the Aurender support team - it seems Nagra HD DAC X should be added to the native DSD capable DACs list, as Nagra verified for me that the DAC does decode Native DSD, but my N10’s Conductor app states that it does not.  Thank you.

[ct545i]

Aurender support team has set up Native DSD functionality for Nagra HD DAC X. Thank you, Ari!

[jon2020]

Just to pen a note of special thanks to Ari and team for enabling my dac to be native DSD capable following today's firmware and Conductor update.

What a welcome surprise!

My dsd collection now sounds better than it has ever been.  

 

Well done, Aurender! 

Cheers! Jon. 

[NordicBob]

DROP OUT PROBLEM
 

I’ve owned an Aurender N10 for a few years and never had any problems with it until recently over the past few weeks where the music will occasionally drop out for 1-2 seconds.  I use it with 2 DACs utilizing USB, XLR, coax, and BNC connections. It happens with both DACs and all outputs.  I’m do not use it with Qobuz or Tidal, but with mainly my 16/44 ripped CDs and a few HiRez recordings. 
 

During a typical listening session of several 3-4 hours, it will occur up to 4 times, but sometimes not at all.  I’ve tried rebooting it and also clear the cache, but neither have helped.  I’ve not made any changes to the settings.  
 

Does anyone have any ideas what might be the cause?  My fear is that the hard drive might be starting  to fail?   
 

 

[kilroy]

I just joined the Aurender party with a N100H. It's just at 50 hours now in the break in. Humbled by all these guys with W20s and N10s. 

The Aurender replaced a custom built server which I always considered to be neutral sounding. No other system changes. 

 

Anyway there's no doubt this thing is on the warm side. So much so that with my Pass class A amp it's like a double whammy of warmth and darkness. Does this seem right? It's really too much and I'm looking for ways to decrease the warmth. I'm actually thinking of swapping the Pass for a more neutral amp but only if I have to. Maybe there's another solution?

 

Rest of system is Auralic Vega DAC, AR pre, various cables which are generally neutral sounding.

[JS21]

On 6/15/2020 at 10:02 PM, kilroy said:

I just joined the Aurender party with a N100H. It's just at 50 hours now in the break in. Humbled by all these guys with W20s and N10s. 

The Aurender replaced a custom built server which I always considered to be neutral sounding. No other system changes. 

 

Anyway there's no doubt this thing is on the warm side. So much so that with my Pass class A amp it's like a double whammy of warmth and darkness. Does this seem right? It's really too much and I'm looking for ways to decrease the warmth. I'm actually thinking of swapping the Pass for a more neutral amp but only if I have to. Maybe there's another solution?

 

Rest of system is Auralic Vega DAC, AR pre, various cables which are generally neutral sounding.

 

 

Maybe give it another 200 or so hrs of break-in. My A10 sounded best around the 300 hr mark, FWIW.

 

Yeah, I TRY to skim over the posts with W20s and the N10s. Don’t need the temptation these days 😰.

[bbosler]

On 6/15/2020 at 9:02 PM, kilroy said:

It's really too much and I'm looking for ways to decrease the warmth. I'm actually thinking of swapping the Pass for a more neutral amp but only if I have to. Maybe there's another solution?

 

go back to the server you had before.,, if it was neutral why change it? .. or try a different server...  why change a bunch of other stuff because you added a server that doesn't seem to suit your system?

[Koso]

On 6/16/2020 at 4:02 AM, kilroy said:

I just joined the Aurender party with a N100H. It's just at 50 hours now in the break in. Humbled by all these guys with W20s and N10s. 

The Aurender replaced a custom built server which I always considered to be neutral sounding. No other system changes. 

 

Anyway there's no doubt this thing is on the warm side. So much so that with my Pass class A amp it's like a double whammy of warmth and darkness. Does this seem right? It's really too much and I'm looking for ways to decrease the warmth. I'm actually thinking of swapping the Pass for a more neutral amp but only if I have to. Maybe there's another solution?

 

Rest of system is Auralic Vega DAC, AR pre, various cables which are generally neutral sounding.

N100H is on warm side, thats true. What usb cable do you have? I've tried 5-6 decent cables until I found neutral one. (I have Siltech Anniversary usb cable now). Additional way to reduce warmth is using good anti-vibrating footers, but not soft types. Finite Elemente Ceraball (new version) worked under mine N100H exactly the way you are seeking. It is fine tuning though, but audible difference towards more neutral sound. 

[kilroy]

On 6/17/2020 at 3:07 PM, Koso said:

N100H is on warm side, thats true. What usb cable do you have? I've tried 5-6 decent cables until I found neutral one. (I have Siltech Anniversary usb cable now). Additional way to reduce warmth is using good anti-vibrating footers, but not soft types. Finite Elemente Ceraball (new version) worked under mine N100H exactly the way you are seeking. It is fine tuning though, but audible difference towards more neutral sound. 

I have some cables on order. Also have some better isolation footers on the way. Thanks for that tip.

[jon2020]

On 6/18/2020 at 3:07 AM, Koso said:

N100H is on warm side, thats true. What usb cable do you have? I've tried 5-6 decent cables until I found neutral one. (I have Siltech Anniversary usb cable now). Additional way to reduce warmth is using good anti-vibrating footers, but not soft types. Finite Elemente Ceraball (new version) worked under mine N100H exactly the way you are seeking. It is fine tuning though, but audible difference towards more neutral sound. 

I would not characterise the N100H as warm. In my system,  it is actually rather neutral, and can be as warm or as cool as the ancillaries that it is partnered with.  Footers indeed make a big difference and so does the usb cable.  

 

I recently switched to the Shunyata alpha usb cable and what it reveals is the truly substantive high end performance of  the N100H. The N100H need make no apologies for its lowly status in the hierarchy of Aurender servers.

 

I have brought home the N10 for audition and I can confidently say that the much smaller investment in a usb cable vs the price gap between the 2 units, brings the N100H to a much higher  level than the N10 without the Shunyata. Although the Shunyata is about half the price of the N100H, the musical enjoyment quotient has increased 10-fold for me.

 

Cheers!

[kilroy]

On 6/20/2020 at 9:43 AM, jon2020 said:

I would not characterise the N100H as warm. In my system,  it is actually rather neutral, and can be as warm or as cool as the ancillaries that it is partnered with.  Footers indeed make a big difference and so does the usb cable.  

 

I recently switched to the Shunyata alpha usb cable and what it reveals is the truly substantive high end performance of  the N100H. The N100H need make no apologies for its lowly status in the hierarchy of Aurender servers.

 

I have brought home the N10 for audition and I can confidently say that the much smaller investment in a usb cable vs the price gap between the 2 units, brings the N100H to a much higher  level than the N10 without the Shunyata. Although the Shunyata is about half the price of the N100H, the musical enjoyment quotient has increased 10-fold for me.

 

Cheers!

Can you talk about that Shunyata cable? Not out of my range if the quality is worth it. Maybe compare with any others? Thanks.

[jon2020]

5 hours ago, kilroy said:

Can you talk about that Shunyata cable? Not out of my range if the quality is worth it. Maybe compare with any others? Thanks.

 

 

I can only compare with the cables that I had in the past which aren't many.  Just 2 - the ifi Audio bihedral cable which separates usb signal from power, and the Oyaide Continental 5S. 

 

I will get the ifi cable out of the way in that it is to be used with the ifi USB which is not appropriate for further discussion here. Anyway, the SQ is a big step down from the Oyaide. Which goes to show that cable design and construction entails a lot more than separating usb signal from power.  

 

On to the Oyaide comparison. The step up in SQ with the Shunyata is huge on so many levels.

What the Shunyata brings to the table are :-

lower noise floor, better focus, deeper and wider soundstage,  more air and space around instruments(xylophones never sounded so good), better separation and delineation of instruments, more body, greater urgency to leading transients, better bass and slam(kick drums), silkier highs with no loss of edge (trumpets, violins). 

 

Listening to full orchestral symphonies is indeed a revelation. The strong bass foundation and expansive soundstage with all instruments clearly imaged and positioned makes me want to just listen over and over again. Bernstein's Mahler never sounded so coherent. And the same goes for piano, violin and cello concertos.  Cellos sound as woody as they should.  

 

Albums that I thought sounded lean with the Oyaide are now more fleshed out and balanced with the Shunyata. 2 come to mind - Fred Hersch's Dancing in the Dark and Bill Evans' Waltz for Debby.  

 

Female vocals are a joy, silky or raw with more breathiness as they naturally are.  

 

A solid cable for all genres of music. Music ebbs and flows with greater ease, as near as can be to analog.  

 

The Shunyata apha usb cable has made a very clear statement that the transmission of digital bits from server to dac is the single most important link to digital heaven.

 

No regrets, no guilt. 

[Noushy]

I have both the alpha and the sigma and I can say they are the best USB I have owned so far, far better than the AQ Diamond.  More detail and soundstage.  Going from alpha to sigma is much more subtle unless you have a high end DAC it isnt worth it.  I am running a fully optioned MSB premiere with upgraded clock.

 

Noushy

[kilroy]

Good feedback on the Shunyata gents, thank you.

[Noushy]

Absolutely.  Most of my system is Shunyata Sigma NR and my dealer sent me both USB to try and ended up keeping both to use on my main and office system.  Best way is to audition it yourself.  I knew within 10 minutes the Sigma NR USB belonged in my setup.  The DAC feeds the pre with Sigma NR balanced cables and the amps have Sigma NR speaker cables and power cables along with Denali/Hydra power conditioning.  I will be evaluating the v2 power cables soon.

 

Noushy

[kilroy]

I came to Aurender after running JRiver on a server for many years. Even though I see everyone talking about how good the app is, compared to JR I'm not impressed. Not enough to give up the Aurender though. With JR I can see all my tags and also can access a (sometimes limited though) biography of the artist. Not to mention all the filters, settings and other options in JR. But then, JR's main product is JR, with Aurender it's the device first, and the software might just be the necessary evil part of the product, so to speak.

[Mazza]

@kilroy welcome to the Aurender experience.
 

You are correct, Aurender are about hardware, that’s where they make their money and the software is a support function whereas it’s the total opposite for Jriver. 
 

the control app is a considerable improvement on earlier iterations and filtering is there but limited. You can get to biographies and album info through the app. It uses Wikipedia but you can also branch off into web searches. Not the same I know. But I have the iPad on my lap when using the Aurender so if I want more info I just call up safari and go from there. 
 

hang in there, you will grow to love the Aurender convenience, logical architecture and sound. If you ever need it , the Aurender tech support is very good