Auralic Aries Mini

[Joe Fonebone]

And now Chris C.

 

Add Michael Lavorgna to the list.

Landed: The AURALiC Aries mini | AudioStream

 

From my somewhat narrow perspective, if the Auralic app (or some other third party app) does not let you sort by the "album artist" tag, which is key for large collections that include soundtracks and compilation albums, I'm keeping my SB Touch. It is connected by an Ethernet cable to a Wireless Access Point, and I output to a Wyred Remedy Reclocker and then on to my DAC. I guess that I will be able to ask about this when more people get their hands on the Mini.

[Joe Fonebone]

Congratulations. When can we start pestering you with questions? (:

[Joe Fonebone]

My questions has to do with the way the Mini uses tag information.

 

Are you able to do either or both of (1) browse by the "album artist" tag (not "artist" or "artist-album") and play an entire album with one click and (2) browse your collection by folders and play an entire album with one click (with the songs in the correct track number order)? Album artist and folder browsing are very important to me because I have a very large library with many compilations (e.g., complete Stax Records collection) and browsing by artist results in 100's of artists with only 1 or 2 songs in the list.

 

Thanks, and happy listening!

[Joe Fonebone]

I am hoping someone else pipe's in, cause I have just switched back to using Lightning Server as opposed to Miniserver with the Auralic Aries Mini ( before that it's big brother).

 

Using the latest version of Lightning DS and Lighting Server I can see the Warren Hayes Benefit concerts which per track lists the respective artists all sorted under Warren Haynes, so it is reading the Album Artist tag.

 

If I use Folder view rather than the default library view I can browse the compilations folder which has all my compilations but if I choose one compilation each track is listed individually.

 

I can however use Library view, and search by artist or album and locate compilations.

 

To play an entire album, select an album by tapping it, then just click the album title to play the entire album.

 

Oh and setup was a breeze, aimed Lightning Server at the NAS my music is on and it pulled it all in.

 

Issues related to album covers are as previously noted.

 

Now enjoying music via coax to the Devialet.

 

Using wireless, no hiccups.

 

Thanks Dog. I appreciate the info and that hope other folks share their experiences with the Minimserver (or something else) and Lightning DS. I saw Warren Haynes play and give a talk at the Grammy Museum (Los Angles, CA) last week. It was great. Just him and the violin player from his current touring band.

[Joe Fonebone]

1 I'm not sure, maybe someone else can answer this.

2 As far as I found out you need two clicks to play an entire album.

 

As you might notice I'm still in the exploring stadium myself.

 

Two clicks is good. I have a Bluesound node and, when trying to play an album from folder view, you must click each song to create a play list.

[Joe Fonebone]

Lucky you getting to see Warren, he is quite the musician! Must have been a great show.

 

Lots of Minimserver expertise with the Aries on this forum as well, maybe Jason will chime in, I believe he can confirm your question in regards to AlbumArtist as it relates to the Aries Mini, and Lighting DS software.

Yes. Very lucky. My brother got the tickets. We arrived very early and got great seats. That is my foot directly in front of the stage!

[Joe Fonebone]

I asked the same question over at their Facebook site a while ago, having my library attached at the back of the Aries - It's a no go.

- Ignoring the added expense, maybe adding something like this (Asus travel router) would allow the Mini to have its own little network for iPad control purposes. https://www.asus.com/us/Networking/WL330NUL/ - You might also need a powered hub to power the router (or a wall wart usb power supply that you have sitting around) because the Mini only has one USB port (I think).

[Joe Fonebone]

Has anybody in the US obtained a mini and, if so, where did you get it?

[Joe Fonebone]

TIDAL Question - About how long does Auralic take to send back the TIDAL log-in information after you contact them? I set up my mini and sent them the required info last week and haven't heard anything.

[Joe Fonebone]

Why did you have to send this off to Auralic? You should be able to log into TIDAL right in LDS.

Thanks to you and Bruce for the replies. Its been more than a day for me, but maybe people are out for vacation given the time of year. As far as logging in in LDS, you need an account to log in and Auralic gives the following instructions to get the free one-year subscription:

How to Obtain 1 Year TIDAL Subscription (U.S only) – AURALIC LIMITED

[Joe Fonebone]

I forgot that Auralic was doing this. Sorry for chiming in.

No worries. All help is appreciated. So far I really like the Mini, which I use in my headphone rig that allows me to tune out the wife and kids . I'm connecting to my network (and QNAP NAS - minimserver) via a Netgear AC1900 range extender and an Ethernet cable to the Mini, then outputting by coax into a Wyred4Sound reclocker (previously used with my now-retired SB Touch) and into an Oppo HA1. I think that its quite an improvement over the SB Touch and is a decent IOS app away from being great. [i'm using Kazoo on an iPad and Kinsky on an iPhone, but Tidal will require use of the LDS.] I suggested that Auralic hire the iPeng guy to do an app for them. Why reinvent the wheel? We'll see.

[Joe Fonebone]

Hi,

Thanks for you report. You are the first person that I've heard of who has compared the Mini to the Touch. Did/do you have a LPS on the Touch, and defeat the screen and install the USB output plugin on the Touch? Just curious... The Mini forcing Tidal, not capable of UpNP, and very limited Internet radio makes it "not ready" for one's main audio system: IMO.

SB Touch - No LPS, but the wall wart PS was plugged into a Furman power conditioner. I used the coax out and the only mod was the Enhanced Digital Output applet.

Auralic Mini - I also purchased the Auralic LPS, which is connected the same Furman power conditioner, so its not a totally fair comparison with the SB Touch.

[Joe Fonebone]

I get disconnected from my aries mini (connected to a wireless access point by an Ethernet cable) about every other day, i.e., Lightning DS on my iphone does not see the mini, and then have to redo the set-up process to reconnect. Anybody else having this problem?