The "Official" Aurender Discussion Thread

[The Computer Audiophile]

6 minutes ago, cat3600 said:

not sure I needed it but

 

That has never crossed an audiophile's keyboard / lips until now. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Tidal Max now available. 
 

[The Computer Audiophile]

6 minutes ago, Anonamemouse said:

But... Does it actually inform you what the source of the music is?

I know of no streaming service that informs you the source of the music, because the services are never given this information. Plus, in many cases the labels have no idea. 

 

7 minutes ago, Anonamemouse said:

Do they tell you if you are listening to the Mobile Fidelity remaster which generally is the best a recording will ever sound, or is it the DR4 remaster which will give you a headache after 4 songs?

 

I've never seen a Mobile Fidelity release on a streaming service. 

 

 

8 minutes ago, Anonamemouse said:

Because many audiophools only look at numbers and don't actually do some research or even just sit in the dark and *listen*.

 

Happy holidays to you too.

[The Computer Audiophile]

Using v4 more today. I’d love to see an option to open Conductor in the last view I was using when the app closed. 
 

I use this Albums view most, with the Atmos tab selected. Would be awesome if the app started up in this view. 
 

[The Computer Audiophile]

It would also be nice if the view remained selected after switching between apps, without even closing Conductor. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Not sure what’s going on with this. I’ve disabled vTuner in the settings, but when launching Conductor it’s clearly doing something vTuner related and the icon never goes away. 
 

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

18 minutes ago, golfugh said:

I have no problems at all with latest update!  Tidal Max now available.

 

N200 through MW Oppo 205.

 

Mark

Nice to hear. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

The Aurender AP20 has landed!

 

This thing is a beast to carry up the stairs!

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

7 minutes ago, jrsub said:

Sweet, will be looking forward to hearing your impressions.  Especially how the class D amp performs.   

I have it connected to the Wilson Audio TuneTots right now and will move it over to the Alexia V after a while. This is a different class of Aurender product than I've seen previously. The analog volume control is really nice. I'm even trying the analog inputs right now. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

9 minutes ago, AudioDoctor said:

 

This is an interesting device.

I just listened to a Bill Evans Live at the Village Vanguard and Miles Davis Kind of Blue, both start to finish. The sound is really something. AKM DACs, analog volume control, purifi amps, linear power supply. Really great. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

10 minutes ago, agladstone said:

How do you feel the value proposition is? Seems like at $22K you’re paying a lot for the built in amplification? Any idea or experience on how it would compare with an A20 and a separate amplifier equally power rated? 

 

This is my first day with the unit :~)

 

The analog volume control, lack of interconnects, convenience, support, etc… must also be considered, along with everything else that goes along with an Aurender product. In other words, I believe there’s much more to the comparison than adding amps to an A20. Such a simplified comparison could also go the other way and say what if the DAC section was removed and we paired an N Series with a DAC and an amp etc…

 

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Let’s keep the discussion to Aurender. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

25 minutes ago, DancingSea said:

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

Yes.

[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. 

[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. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

14 minutes ago, NTWrong said:

One quick question, assuming you see this—Is the N200 still Linux based? Or does the use of Intel tech mean it’s now a Windows OS? I plan to use mine with a Bryston BDP-3, which is Linux based.

All Aurenders are Linux based. Linux works on almost any platform, so that matters not. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

I think we should also look at things from a different perspective. I once asked Aurender if the company would ever consider licensing its software to other manufacturers. The answer was a quick, “no.” The reasoning is what’s important to this discussion. I was told the people at Aurender like to make things and be creative coming up with solutions to problems. 
 

Using that as a guidepost, one can see why Aurender resisted implementing Roon for so long. It isn’t all about money and market forces. It’s about being satisfied in one’s work as well. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

4 minutes ago, GJo said:

In the end, it’s always about money.

No. 
 

As an example, I could make much more money by covering different topics in audio. However, I have zero interest in that. I like what I do and want to enjoy it. I’ll happily forgo increased revenue and I think many people are the same (while many aren’t). 

[The Computer Audiophile]

6 minutes ago, DancingSea said:

 

I appreciate your reflections and I have no doubt in what you're sharing.  However, Aurender's adoption of Roon in no way interferes with Aurender's desire to "make things and be creative coming up with solutions."  They can still create away with Conductor, or anything else.  The Roon implementation does not hinder that creativity.

 

Therefore, especially given for how long Aurender has staved off Roon adoption, its ultimate implementation is almost certainly about customer pressure to have Roon as an alternative to Conductor rather than Aurender suddenly falling in love with Roon.

 

If we follow your line of thinking, then Aurender's new found friendliness for Roon must likely be because adding Roon is now (not before, but now) opening some new creative door for the Aurender team.  Perhaps it is.  But I can't imagine that was the straw that broke the Aurender Roon camel's back.  The primary reason, not only, but primary reason is that Roon is getting more and more popular in the high end market and has become the standard bearer for library management software.  Conductor sounds great, but it's not even competitive with Roon on the library management/ music discovery front.  Conductor is a good 5 year behind Roon.  And it's for those reasons that market forces have pushed Aurender into adopting Roon, something they obviously have never been enthusiastic about.

 

Nearly every meaningful competitor to Aurender has their own proprietary software and Roon as an option.  Aurender has been the outlier.   And it's those market forces that have ultimately caused Aurender to, smartly, bring Roon aboard.

 

The decision itself to bring Roon aboard is Aurender being creative and coming up with solutions. 

No. I’m just giving people a little perspective that they likely didn’t have. Those who like to create often don’t want to use other peoples’ creations. It’s unsatisfying. That’s all. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

3 minutes ago, DancingSea said:

Yes, which is precisely why the decision to add Roon was born out of financial realities rather than the need to be creative.  The Aurender's team was creative prior to Roon, and will remain creative after Roon's integration.  

 

Aurender has admirably remained true to their vision of low power processors and undemanding software, all in the service of audio quality.

 

Therefore the integration of Roon is likely more out of resignation rather than creative inspiration.  They rightfully realized the financial health of the company is enhanced by the Roon option.

 

All of which in no way interferes with their creative flow!

 

The Roon software engineers have simply come up with a significantly better library management product than Conductor will likely ever be.  If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.  And that's the bottomline.  

 

Creativity & Conductor still intact and unhindered ;)

I guess we’ll just disagree on this one. No worries. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

7 minutes ago, DancingSea said:

 

We're actually not disagreeing.  But rather talking about two different aspects.

 

I'm agreeing with you about Aurender's desire for creativity and then adding observations about the marketplace.  There's no conflict between the two.  Just two different parts of a complex issue.

No. I said nothing about why Aurender is including Roon. I also don’t believe Aurender would ever want an interface just like Roon. But that’s another story. 
 

Your comments are all about why you think Aurender is implementing Roon. I never said anything about that. I just provided perspective as to why the company does some of the things it does, irrespective of Roon. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

11 minutes ago, DancingSea said:

 

Well, you wrote:

"The reasoning is what’s important to this discussion. I was told the people at Aurender like to make things and be creative coming up with solutions to problems. 
 

Using that as a guidepost, one can see why Aurender resisted implementing Roon for so long. It isn’t all about money and market forces. It’s about being satisfied in one’s work as well. "

 

Then GJo wrote:

"in the end, it’s always about money.

Follow the money and it will lead to the reason Aurender is working to partner with Roon."

 

To which you responded:

 

"No"

 

 

It's reasonable to conclude from what you've written that you are taking the position that something other than market forces are the primary motivation for Aurender adopting Roon.

 

If that's not what you're saying, then ok, feel free to clarify your opinion.

 

For me,  it doesn't take a Harvard MBA to conclude that market forces are certainly a significant reason why Aurender has adopted Roon.  Not the only reason, but a significant one.  

 

The desire for creative independence may very well be a reason why Aurender resisted assimilation, but it's hard cash that has motivated them to relent.

 

Otherwise we'd have to come up with a logistical flow that explains how adopting Roon is aligned with their need for creative independence 🤗

 

I don’t get you guys. 
 

All I did was offer some background perspective on the company and the people. 
 

 

11 minutes ago, DancingSea said:

It's reasonable to conclude from what you've written that you are taking the position that something other than market forces are the primary motivation for Aurender adopting Roon.

 

 

With all due respect, NO :~)

 

I'm fully capable of writing my own conclusions. If I meant that I would’ve said that. 
 

 

13 minutes ago, DancingSea said:

For me,  it doesn't take a Harvard MBA to conclude that market forces are certainly a significant reason why Aurender has adopted Roon.  Not the only reason, but a significant one.  

 

I don’t disagree with you, but that isn’t really what I was talking about. Which is why I kept saying no in my responses. 

 

You guys are drawing conclusions and making educated guesses, like everyone does. Nothing wrong with that, but that isn’t where my head was at. 
 

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

4 minutes ago, DancingSea said:

When GJo wrote:

"in the end, it’s always about money. Follow the money and it will lead to the reason Aurender is working to partner with Roon." and you responded "no",  it's reasonable to conclude, at least by the rules of the english language, that you have expressed a very clear opinion.  We're not making anything up, it's your words

Then he agreed with me that it isn’t always about money, even if he believes it is in this case. 

 

8 minutes ago, DancingSea said:

Your background information of why Aurender resisted Roon for so long was very interesting.  What do you believe are the primary reasons why Aurender implemented Roon?  Not resisted, but implemented?

Thank you for stating that’s what my information was about. The resistance to things not created by them and of their own making. 
 

I can only speculate on reasons for Aurender implementing Roon. I haven’t asked the team this specific question. However, people should realize there are many forces at work with a global company, involving customers, dealers, distributors, etc… We can all speculate, which is fun sometimes, but it may not be accurate. 
 

For example, a large electronics manufacturer put a Toslink input on a product solely because one audio personality wanted it and this would enable him to talk about the product without complaining about the lack of such input. The truth is often stranger than fiction. 

 

By the way, I’m reading a book by Gerry Spence, in between posts. Your comments are very similar to his deposition questioning of a doctor on the witness stand. I understand it in his case, but not here. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

1 minute ago, GJo said:

The manufacturer recognized that positive comments from the audio influencer would likely result in more sales of their product. Adding a toslink input was a relatively small price to pay for higher net return. 
 

A wonderful example of following the money. 

How did I know your hammer would strike what you thought was a nail. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Just now, DancingSea said:

 

Ultimately you, me and GJo are essentially in agreement.  There was a misunderstanding about what you were trying to say in terms of why Aurender resisted vs why they acquiesced , but in the end we all agree that Aurender is a team dedicated to creative pursuits and market forces, among other things, brought about the need to adopt Roon.

 

Once again, we're all just one big happy Audiophile Style family 😇

We can be passionate about this stuff sometimes 🙂