Auralic Aries Mini

[pvanosta]

Aries mini lightning server will not scan/add the music files from my NAS.

i completed the setup of the Aries mini and the next step is to add the music. I point to the NAS music folder and either I get 'unable to connect to your device or it starts scanning but never leaves 0% before getting the same error. For the record, the Aries mini is connected to my LAN via Ethernet . Help anyone?

update: when I back out of the setup to the point where I choose lightning server versus own Dlna and select own dlna, the system goes through a full scan of the music directory on the NAS . Once finished, it is clear that not all my music is listed (including the high Rez files and sacd dsd files none of which show up).

[pvanosta]

follow up to my earlier post. I seem to have Lightning DS / Lightning Server somewhat started. The problem is speed. It is reading / indexing approx 1 file per minute. I have over 130,000 files, which would mean it would take my library 45 days to index. That can't be right surely? Any ideas what I am doing wrong?

 

The network is stable and fast (even on wifi I am getting 190 Mbps on speedtest), the Mini is connected via ethernet and the NAS is a 5-bay Synology.

It should not be this slow, should it?

 

UPDATE

 

The activity logs on the NAS show a Guest login request from the Aries Mini before accessing every single file / music track.

 

Is that normal? Could that explain the slow-as-molasses progress?

[pvanosta]

Thanks, I tried using lightning server and it only scanned 1100 tracks at a rate of one per minute. I have over 130,000 tracks, so I am asking for help on what I must be doing wrong.

[pvanosta]

Thx mrpete. How do you have your music stored and how is the Aries mini accessing it (shared folder on a Nas, ...)?

[pvanosta]

I'm just trying to establish the differences between a working system with a large library and mine, so I can troubleshoot further

[pvanosta]

Thanks. The scan is at 15.000 after a quick first 4000, then crawling at 1 track per second since. I think I will give up on Lightning server, which is a shame because of the ability to search by sampling frequency etc. I too run Synology with music as one of the root directories and inside there are dirs for flac , hd flac, dsd, etc. So back to the drawing board and restart again from scratch but using Synology audio station this time. We'll see. I am disappointed at the unusability of the software.

[pvanosta]

I backed out again and restarted th scan using the Synology dlna audiostation . The scan appeared to complete quickly and without errors. But: whenever I try to launch the app on the iPad, it changes DNS for a while then tries to display a list and then kicks me out of the app. Time after time. So now I am still left with nothing and no way to play anything. This is turning into an expensive doorstop. Help?

[pvanosta]

It does not change dns> It churns for a while. Then it kicks me out of the app altogether. Damn autocomplete on the iphone...

[pvanosta]

Thanks Austinpop,

Can you do me (and my brother who has similar issues) a big favor and elaborate a bit on the parts you skipped over (the Lightning DS setup on your Ipad is where we are having major problems)?

 

Also: running Synology with LMS. What is LMS?

 

Thirdly, it seems like those of you who are playing without problems, all have Minimserver installed on your Synology. What is it that Minimserver does, that DS Audiostation (from Synology) or Lightning Server (from Auralic) does not do?

 

I am currently stuck with no music playing at all, because the Lightning app on the Ipad kicks me out as soon as I launch it. And this is after the third install and scan of my music library.

[pvanosta]

My installation nightmare continues and gets worse. Broke out a SECOND Aries mini and started from scratch. Now my Ipad Air 2 will not even connect to the Auralic-Lightning wifi anymore, despite 50-plus attempts to join, while sitting right next to the Aries Mini. I even told the ipad to forget the main wifi network, thinking that signal may be stronger and may direct the Ipad towards that instead. Nothing.

 

Tip to Auralic: if proprietary wifi is your only means of connecting during the crucial initial setup, PLEASE make sure your wifi is iron-clad and guaranteed to work.

 

I am going to keep playing with this for the rest of today and then I will find out what the return policy is at the store I ordered them from.

 

One dud box is possible, but two? I don't understand how all the people in this forum and in the reviews have managed to get this thing to work so easily. Nothing and I mean NOTHING works right now, as I cannot even access the Auralic Wifi to go through the setup....

Frustration levels mounting rapidly. This is now 4-plus hours I have spent on this and gotten nowhere.

[pvanosta]

Thanks for the tips and questions. The router is a top of the line net gear latest model. We have tried with two iPad Air two, same results. I deployed minimserver on the Synology and that now crashes too (some out of memory error in Java). This should not be this hard! I think I'll just end up going back to my Oppo 105 . It plays almost everything and I can pull the files straight off the Nas using the Oppo media control app on my IPad. Simple and it works! All I want is to be able to browse my library, puck a file and click play. The two weak points in the AURALIC install for me are: the need to access a crap wifi before you can start setup and the fact that it needs to build your whole library onto your iPad instead of just browsing what is already on the Nas. Both of these inconveniences I could live with if they actually worked...

[pvanosta]

Started again from scratch with the first Aries mini and my Ipad air 2 (which has 128gb instead on the 16gb on my brother's).

 

Side note: Minimserver keeps crashing on my brother's NAS as well with the following error:

Unexpected exception java.lang.OutOfMemoryError: Java heap space

 

Ran through the Lightning Server file scan. Got up to 135,000 tracks after 10 hours and went to bed. This morning found qn error on the Ipad saying it could not reach the server (there have been no power disruptions or network switchoffs that I can find). Clicked 'dismiss' on the message and now the scan is back at 15.500 tracks.

[pvanosta]

Two days into things. Kicked off another scan with Lightning Server 26 hours ago and currently scanning around the 140,500 track mark. Tried installing Minim Server on the NAS and Minimwatch on the laptop. Minimserver crashes after 6-7 minutes running out of memory while scanning the same set of files. Increased memory 300%. Still crashes at the same set of files. Unfortunately, the set of files are not descriptive enough to know exactly which ones they are (CD1, CD2, etc.).

I think my Auralic Aries Mini is going back tomorrow. Especially if the difference between the Aries mini DAC and the OPPO 105 dac is either zero or in the Oppo's favor. The Oppo works flawlessly, regardless of the library size.

Very disappointed.

[pvanosta]

I appreciate the help. The files are all DSF. The issues are just a combination of things that I am reluctant to troubleshoot further.

- My OPPO 105 plays everything I have without a hitch, using a number of apps on my Ipad (Synology DS Audiostation, OPPO Media Control, to name but two).

- New library additions (virtually daily in my case) take minutes or less to show up in the search.

- Minimserver is an unwieldy piece of software aimed at technogeeks with virtually no GUI or guidance. On top of that, it will not run on my system, even though my brother's Sonos reads the library just fine, in a matter of minutes.

- The Aries Mini user experience has so many flaws and problems I don't even know where to begin. As we speak, my Ipad is still scanning, at 140,900 now. I could not even get the second Aries to connect to either Ipad (mine or my brother's). The proprietary wifi just does not work properly and there is no other way to start the configuration of the system.

 

I'll look for a more expensive solution that actually works when I plug it in. This has now eaten up almost 24 hours of troubleshooting with no end in sight. If nothing else worked on my network, I'd be looking at my setup. But the Aries mini is the only thing that does not work (besides Minimserver, but I never got that to work on my old system either).

 

RMA is tomorrow. Two Aries Mini plus two SBooster LPS. Hope I get my money back.

[pvanosta]

@Ajax:

I agree with your assessment. And if you had issues with 40,000 tracks, you can imagine our experience with 140,000-plus tracks on my brother's NAS. In a way I am sorry I had to RMA both Aries mini's before returning home and trying one of them on my own system. Even though my library is 191,000 tracks, I was able to install Minimserver relatively easily (something which also failed on my brother's NAS), so perhaps the Aries mini MIGHT have worked in my network, even if I had to wait 2 days for it to complete the scan

In the meantime, I am back listening to my Oppo 105 as a streamer without any issues, waiting for the box that will provide an upgrade and that actually works with my library.

[pvanosta]

@misterdog,

If your dig about walking before you run was aimed in my general direction, the Aries mini in my brother's house was hooked up to Ethernet as he has his whole house properly wired with gigabit. There is nothing visibly weird about his setup and I am now clearly no longer the only one reporting issues with network connections and reading medium to large libraries.

As to the other question about how I acquire this size library: I have been collecting music for over 30 years .

[pvanosta]

You have my sympathy... based on that result it sounds like the MDAC is limiting what you can actually hear with a digital source which is not surprising with a DAC whose design is 6 years old. I find I have to upgrade DAC's about every 2 years to stay current

If one sounds better than the other, IN THAT SYSTEM, is that not the only thing that matters? Pointing the finger at the MDAC as being less than cutting edge and therefore producing a tainted result, seems irrelevant if the listener is 1. not looking to replace the dac and 2. looking to evaluate his options of streaming sources without changing the rest of his system (I am in a similar position / search). The result of blind side by side listening while only changing one variable (the source) may be unexpected, but it is what it is.

An additional comparison might have been interesting: the MDAC-RPi2 combo side by side with the Aries Mini (with its current-gen dac chip) on its own (as streamer AND DAC). This should show the user once and for all whether he just likes the sound of his DAC in his system (always the qualifier) or whether the new kid on the block brings something of interest to the table.

[pvanosta]

That would be the philosophy of the audio salesman who just wants to take your money and not help you avoid a mistake. I couldn't do that 30 years ago when I sold audio... I'd take the risk of losing the customer rather than have them make an uninformed mistake. The OP has excellent speakers, in the mid range Quads can perform better than mine. So if I can hear an order of magnitude difference between the Aries mini and the other streamers I have or have owned (Raspberry Pi IIB, Beaglebone Black, SoTM SMS-100, Oppo103) that tells me something is choking fidelity in the OP's system. The biggest differences are made by starting closest to source then working down the signal path for A/B swaps and a 96khz DAC is a red flag for obsolescent technology.

I agree 100% with the premise. The new SHOULD sound better and in your system I have no doubt that it does. HOWEVER, if you are right, switching the Aries Mini into his known system as both streamer and dac should prove your theory, when comparing it to Aries mini as streamer + Mdac as dac . There, the only variable remains the dac (old vs new) plus the possible impact of the cable between streamer and dac (scenario 'old' ).

[pvanosta]

I too would like to know the library size of happy users. I know it didn't like my brother's at 145,000 tracks, which worried me enough to return mine before hooking it up to my 193,000 tracks (we live in different countries and these were Xmas presents).

[pvanosta]

Hello,

 

English review of Aries Mini available on the Hans Beekhuyzen Project :

Auralic Aries Mini network player, Reviews, The Hans Beekhuyzen Project

I can't get past page 1 of the review. Anyone else able to view this?

[pvanosta]

Backed out to home page and went back in. Was able to read the whole thing in Dutch ( fortunately one of my languages ). Positive review and using a large library as well (128,000 tracks without issues).

[pvanosta]

That is what I've been wondering. What in my brother's library was tripping up both Minimserver and Lightning server but worked fine with Sonos?

[pvanosta]

It seems here that it should!

 

https://community.roonlabs.com/t/announcing-roon-server-packages-for-qnap-and-synology/11910

 

Your mileage may and will vary. My Synology 1513+ with RAM upgrade to 4GB will NOT run Roon without dropouts. But DS Audio, MinimServer, LightningServer all work and give you plenty of control options on your IOS device (:umin App, DS Audio app, Lightning DS app, ...).

[pvanosta]

+1 on the 'view all dates' view. This is my most used view of my library as I add items during the week and in the weekend I listen to the newest stuff, served up at the top of the list. I only ever use album or artist view to search for a specific item. Which is why it has been frustrating on occasions where I was forced to rescan/rebuild the library and its index, which effectively lumps all of the albums into today's date.