The "Official" Aurender Discussion Thread

[rwwjr44]

On 7/12/2021 at 6:53 PM, AudioCyclist said:

I am reposting my question. Due to inexperience on this forum it did not end up in the Aurender thread as I had intended.Sorry.

 

I have an Aurender A10 and would like opinions regarding benefits/risks of leaving it on 24/7. Other than concerns re Aurender startup delay (which makes no difference in my system due to a tube amp which auto delays on start-up anyway) I am wondering if there is a sound quality enhancement from "always on" which would outweigh the concern of an improper shut down due to a sudden  power grid issue. I know this could vary from system to  system but it would be helpfull to know what others are doing. Issues with power interruptions are beginning to occur with more frequency as the grid gets stressed by heat and drought in my locale.

I warm mine up for about 2 hours. I play a break in track in a continuous loop. IMO, that is sufficient since it reverts to "standby" mode after being on for sometime, The only reason I wait 2 hours is because my amplifier seems to need about that amount of time to sound best.

 

YMMV

[Patrick Case]

On 7/12/2021 at 11:02 AM, bobfa said:

Thanks Ari,

 

I am really pleased with the operation and SQ of the N100SC.  It surpasses my expectations by quite a bit.  The Conductor App is really nice!  This is tamping down my upgrade-ITIS. (Of course the N200 with the large display is so interesting). 

 

 I am excited to see what Conductor 4 brings.  

 

I have changed too many things at once as usual so I have to listen some more.  Time to upgrade diagrams, etc..

 

Bob

 

Gosh, I’ve just moved in the opposite direction. I just turned my N100H into a dedicated NAS to serve a dCS Network Bridge. I got a taste of Roon with my KEF LS50 Wireless II system and I just couldn’t look back. Since the N100H is 5 years old, I didn’t imagine that I’d get much for it on resale, then I’d have to get a NAS anyway. The N100H works as a fabulous NAS.

[bobfa]

3 hours ago, Patrick Case said:

Gosh, I’ve just moved in the opposite direction. I just turned my N100H into a dedicated NAS to serve a dCS Network Bridge. I got a taste of Roon with my KEF LS50 Wireless II system and I just couldn’t look back. Since the N100H is 5 years old, I didn’t imagine that I’d get much for it on resale, then I’d have to get a NAS anyway. The N100H works as a fabulous NAS.

Patrick,

 

Everyone has different feelings about sound and system operations.  I am very glad that you are happy with what you are listening to!  And if nobody welcomed you to the forum, I will.  Welcome, enjoy the banter here, but most of all enjoy your music listening!

 

Bob

 

[agladstone]

On 7/30/2021 at 4:38 AM, Patrick Case said:

Gosh, I’ve just moved in the opposite direction. I just turned my N100H into a dedicated NAS to serve a dCS Network Bridge. I got a taste of Roon with my KEF LS50 Wireless II system and I just couldn’t look back. Since the N100H is 5 years old, I didn’t imagine that I’d get much for it on resale, then I’d have to get a NAS anyway. The N100H works as a fabulous NAS.

How did you accomplish this? Wipe the internal drives and install linux and a NAS SW? 

[sfseay]

On 8/1/2021 at 4:49 PM, agladstone said:

How did you accomplish this? Wipe the internal drives and install linux and a NAS SW? 

You just need to have your streamer (in has case the dCS Network Bridge) connect to the N100H.  The N100H looks just like a NAS or shared drive on your network.  No changes to the N100H need to be made for other devices to access its data.

[Patrick Case]

1 hour ago, sfseay said:

You just need to have your streamer (in has case the dCS Network Bridge) connect to the N100H.  The N100H looks just like a NAS or shared drive on your network.  No changes to the N100H need to be made for other devices to access its data.

I wish that it were so easy. On my iMac, thé Aurender had to be nudged into behaving as a NAS. If I had to do it again, I’d have to figure it out again. I’ll backtrack and post the steps here. I’m very busy so it’s going to take me a week to get to it. Does the OP need to know in order to replicate my steps or just as a matter of interest? One thing that I can tell you, there was absolutely no wiping involved. If I’d had to wipe and reinstall, I’d have paid the cash and bought s Nucleus + or something like that.

[Mauidj7]

On 6/29/2021 at 6:33 AM, agladstone said:

Thanks @AriMargolis ! 
besides the differences you mentioned, my biggest curiosity is do they have the same or very similar sound quality? 
As you mentioned , different flavors for different folks. 
At same general price point, I personally see the advantages of all the additional features and capabilities of the ACS10, but I would want to know they have same general sound quality before making that statement:) 

I can definitely see how and why another person would prefer a larger screen and case size  and maybe they don’t have or want they’re own collection and only intend to stream via Qobuz and Tidal, N200 is for them:) 

I am also very interested in hearing your response @AriMargolis I am looking at these two streamers and am most interested in SQ.

[marslo]

After the last update of firmware and Conductor App my W20 finally plays native DSD instead of DoP and DSD 512 fs too.

Thank you Aurender team, it works seamlessly:)

 

 

[KenCyclingNYC]

Hey all- first this isn’t a battle royal conversation to determine who’s mightiest  in the land; just a simple question- why does Roon sound better than my N10?

 

roon: MacBook Pro (Nas wirelessly containing flac files> ayre qx5 twenty> audio research la28> ayre amp> Vandersteen quatro’s

 

aurender: n10> AES balanced cable> sure qx5 twenty and the rest is the same. 
 

all cables are audioquest diamond

 

so same music, the Roon has more punch and a greater range, same soundstage

 

aurender seems smoother but duller. 
 

thoughts?

ken

[The Computer Audiophile]

16 minutes ago, KenCyclingNYC said:

Hey all- first this isn’t a battle royal conversation to determine who’s mightiest  in the land; just a simple question- why does Roon sound better than my N10?

 

roon: MacBook Pro (Nas wirelessly containing flac files> ayre qx5 twenty> audio research la28> ayre amp> Vandersteen quatro’s

 

aurender: n10> AES balanced cable> sure qx5 twenty and the rest is the same. 
 

all cables are audioquest diamond

 

so same music, the Roon has more punch and a greater range, same soundstage

 

aurender seems smoother but duller. 
 

thoughts?

ken

Try the same interface on both devices. I’m guessing you use USB from the MacBook Pro. Use USB from the Aurender to test. 

[KenCyclingNYC]

Sorry.. forgot to mention that the macbookpro(Roon core) is communicating  to the ayre via WIFi so no cables. 

[The Computer Audiophile]

If anyone is interested in using convolution and/or upsampling in HQPlayer with Aurender, like I am, here's an article I jus published on how to do it. 

 

P.S. It isn't for the faint of heart.

 

 

[The Computer Audiophile]

Anyone know which version of SMB Aurender ACS10 uses (SMB 1, 2, 2.1, 3 ...)?

 

I'm getting a message on a Linux machine that connects to it and I'm not sure which version I may need to specify. 

[SirAtilla]

22 hours ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Anyone know which version of SMB Aurender ACS10 uses (SMB 1, 2, 2.1, 3 ...)?

 

I'm getting a message on a Linux machine that connects to it and I'm not sure which version I may need to specify. 

 

I think any version will work but would recommend 2.1 or higher assuming V1.21.345 firmware.

 

Just looking at a W20SE connected to a macOS machine 

 

smbutil statshares -a 

 

shows it capable of SMB 3.1.1 - see attached screenshot.

[The Computer Audiophile]

9 minutes ago, SirAtilla said:

 

I think any version will work but would recommend 2.1 or higher assuming V1.21.345 firmware.

 

Just looking at a W20SE connected to a macOS machine 

 

smbutil statshares -a 

 

shows it capable of SMB 3.1.1 - see attached screenshot.

Awesome. Thank you. 

[kilroy]

I have a N100C, which is yeah, at the bottom of the pile. How far do I have to go up the line to get a noticeable improvement in sound quality? I don't need a DAC model. I see the new N200, and at a pretty big jump pricewise over the 100, but haven't heard anything about it. And what kind of differences will I hear at that next level? My system is pretty resolving. Also I didn't feel like looking through 165 pages to see if this question has already been asked lol. Thanks.

[The Computer Audiophile]

27 minutes ago, kilroy said:

I have a N100C, which is yeah, at the bottom of the pile. How far do I have to go up the line to get a noticeable improvement in sound quality? I don't need a DAC model. I see the new N200, and at a pretty big jump pricewise over the 100, but haven't heard anything about it. And what kind of differences will I hear at that next level? My system is pretty resolving. Also I didn't feel like looking through 165 pages to see if this question has already been asked lol. Thanks.

Which DAC do you have and how is it connected to the N100C?

[kilroy]

11 hours ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Which DAC do you have and how is it connected to the N100C?

Auralic Vega, the original. I like it for it's fairly neutral signature.

[kilroy]

On 8/17/2021 at 12:35 PM, The Computer Audiophile said:

If anyone is interested in using convolution and/or upsampling in HQPlayer with Aurender, like I am, here's an article I jus published on how to do it. 

 

P.S. It isn't for the faint of heart.

 

 

Has anyone figured out if there's an easy way to feed the Aurender into another server so I can go back to using JRiver. I have a strong dislike for Conductor. Chris' solution here is too complex. And I hate network stuff anyway, it's like having to learn another discipline just to listen to music. I don't stream at all, just files loaded on the Aurender.

[The Computer Audiophile]

14 minutes ago, kilroy said:

Auralic Vega, the original. I like it for it's fairly neutral signature.

How do you connect the N100C and Vega?

[kilroy]

25 minutes ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

How do you connect the N100C and Vega?

Hey Chris, thanks. USB connection, with decent cables. 

 

The total connection is Aurender > Audio Sensibility Signature Silver > ISO Regen  > SOtM txUSBultra > Shunyata Alpha > DAC. Regen and SOtM powered by UltraCap LPS-1 power supplies.

 

Pass amp, ARC pre. Everything balanced.

[kilroy]

10 hours ago, kilroy said:

Hey Chris, thanks. USB connection, with decent cables. 

 

The total connection is Aurender > Audio Sensibility Signature Silver > ISO Regen  > SOtM txUSBultra > Shunyata Alpha > DAC. Regen and SOtM powered by UltraCap LPS-1 power supplies.

 

Pass amp, ARC pre. Everything balanced.

Typo. Actually, the ISO Regen is upstream of the SOtM, at the DAC input.

[scoc]

I have a brand new test N200 test unit a at home to compare with my N100H.

Brand new out of the box performance is quite poor I’m afraid as it sounds flat, boring and missing drive. So, I have internet radio on repeat now to burn-in the N200 but it has to improve quite a lot to get me interested. Now after 15 hours of burn-in it is already a bit better but … I have the impression the new Aurender puts more focus on resolution and openness and by doing that some of the charm of the N100H organic sound is a bit lost. The new sound is more clean and pure but looses on the natural organic flow. I was not expecting that and I hope it improves after 50+ hours of burn-in.

[Ponzi]

All I can say is that, when I went from one Aurender (N 10), to another (W20 SE), my experience was quite the opposite.  Well, actually, maybe "opposite" is not quite the right word.  As I've said before here, Glen Gould's piano went from sounding like a harpsicord to sounding like a piano.  I have been listening to him for so long, I am afraid the experience was jaw dropping for me.  Even so, I liked the N 10 very much, and could not help missing it.  But now, so many months after the divorce, its charms have mostly worn off. We humans are by nature suspicious of the new and other.  Sometimes that's because the new and other deserve not to be like, but sometimes not.   

[scoc]

Whilst running in the Aurender N200 I'm also going to check its spdif output to compare. Even after 50 hours of constant burn-in of the N200 I'm not convinced about the sound improvement vs cost difference (N100H). The N200 sound is quite different from the N100H, although it is more precise and cleaner it seems Aurender decided to somewhat change its house sound sort of speak. Is it because other vendors focus so much on increasing resolution they felt they had to follow suit?

Also, on the N200 no info is shown on the display when playing internet radio. No radio info or metadata, no logo or anything. The screen just says 'Select a Song ...'. The only indicator is that it shows 'Radio Stream' in the right bottom corner. So, the whole 6+ inch screen is unused in that case. Weird, since it works fine on N100H. I have raised a support ticket for this. It is also a pity Aurender did not put an Oled screen in the N200. When looking from the side or from above you can clear see it is an LCD.