mentt Posted December 17, 2015 Share Posted December 17, 2015 If someone could compare the aries mini analogue output to digital output into chord Hugo at some point that would be tremendously helpfull...With all the hugo hype its the only upgrade i would consider. But at the moment im smitten with the internal dac of the aries. Thx Sam I have Hugo and on Monday my Mini should arrive. I will report back in a week or two. Link to comment
mentt Posted December 21, 2015 Share Posted December 21, 2015 I've got a Metrum Octave and a Pioneer N-30 streamer. Thinking of upgrading the N-30 to Aries mini or Octave to Musette. What upgrade will improve sound quality most? Good rca cabel will do also huge difference. For example Cardas clear. Link to comment
mentt Posted January 4, 2016 Share Posted January 4, 2016 If someone could compare the aries mini analogue output to digital output into chord Hugo at some point that would be tremendously helpfull...With all the hugo hype its the only upgrade i would consider. But at the moment im smitten with the internal dac of the aries. Thx Sam Hugo is better in everyway, but due to price difference it was expected. Link to comment
mentt Posted January 5, 2016 Share Posted January 5, 2016 Has internal HDD any sonic advantage over files played from NAS? Link to comment
mentt Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 I visited a good friend today, and took my RPI2, running RuneAudio, with me. My friend has a high-end set-up very similar to mine (Quad Electrostatics, decent power amps, MDAC, etc.), together with his new recent addition, his Auralic Aries Mini. We connected the Pi to the DAC via coax (Digi+ output) and the Aries Mini via USB. I covered the DAC display so neither of us knew what was playing then we both played the same track on our respective equipment and swapped sources. The remote control cycles through the inputs so, after several quick presses, neither of us knew which was selected. Then we started listening. The difference was clear. One was flatter and dull, the other had more life and vitality and a wider frequency response. "That'll be mine then", stated my host. I removed the DAC display cover and, to his surprise and my delight, the Pi was the selected source. I've agreed to build my friend a Pi. Have you tried Aries mini with linear power supply? I had M-DAC for sometime. From the memory Aries minis internal DAC with BOTW P&P ECO linear power supply sounds better. I have also tried RPI2/battery power supply and with USB output I wasn't impressed ... What power supply did you used for the RPI2? Link to comment
mentt Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 Good question. Both were using independent high-quality linear power supplies. Can you list links, Brands ext.? Any special Maine power cables? Link to comment
mentt Posted January 18, 2016 Share Posted January 18, 2016 As it happens, there was a mains conditioner involved for both units too. But, with respect, you're over-analysing this... Only interested what kind of linear power supplies were used. Original linear from Auralic? In the end it is great that you find RPi2 sound better. Somebody can save lots of money and they should know what linear PS they should buy for their RPi2 :-) Link to comment
mentt Posted January 25, 2016 Share Posted January 25, 2016 I have a 2Qute with Aries Mini, and there is a noticeable improvement in sound compared to my MacBook Pro with Audirvana +. I am wondering whether an LPS would be beneficial with the external DAC. Is it worth the outlay? I have Chord Hugo DAC and BOTW P&P ECO improved the sound noticeably. Atlas EOS 4dd cable was also big improvement … Link to comment
mentt Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 mentt: On their website the S Booster folks say that the BOTW P&P ECO is not suitable for powering the Aries Mini if it has a hard drive installed. Do you have any experience with this style of a set-up using the BOTW, or are you streaming from a NAS? (Maybe an SSD be okay with the BOTW, rather than a spinning HDD? The S Booster website mentions only an HDD.) This should be case only when you will use "ultra" upgrade for the BOTW P&P ECO. Please double check this with vendor. I am using BOTW P&P ECO without "ultra" upgrade as to me it sounds better without it. Tried USB disk with external power supply and it worked fine, but files from NAS sounds better to me… I have never tried internal SSD disk Link to comment
mentt Posted June 23, 2016 Share Posted June 23, 2016 raspberry pi 3 with spdf out board or aries mini? I will be using external dac Link to comment
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