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Auralic Aries Mini


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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've just ordered one of these:

HDPLEX Fanless Linear Power Supply for PC Audio and CE device

I'm having the 19v output reduced to 16v for my Aries mini.

Then you could use the 12v output for your Chord dac.

 

once you've heard what a decent LPS can do for the Aries you'll want one for the dac as well! This way you only have to buy one :)

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I have Chord Hugo DAC and BOTW P&P ECO improved the sound noticeably. Atlas EOS 4dd cable was also big improvement …

 

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.)

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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

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Has anyone any experience with both the Sbooster BOTW P&P ECO LPS and Auralics own LPS if so could you please say which you think is the better. Thinking of getting one but unsure which to go for.

 

Please check out these reviews:

 

Dave Clark's review of the Auralic Aries and our 15-16V BOTW P&P ECO; Audio Ramblings - The Auralic Aries and SBooster Linear Power Supply - Positive Feedback

 

Hifi Statement - Test: Auralic Aries und SBooster BOTW P&P eco; HIFISTATEMENT | netmagazine - Auralic Aries und SBooster BOTW P&P eco

 

Hifi Statement - Test: Auralic Aries Mini, SBooster BOTW und Tidal Streaming; HIFISTATEMENT | netmagazine - Auralic Aries Mini, SBooster BOTW und Tidal Streaming

 

Kind regards,

 

Karin

 


Sbooster, enjoy more music.........

 

Meet us at the Montréal Audio Fest 23-28 March 2018

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Please check out these reviews:

 

Dave Clark's review of the Auralic Aries and our 15-16V BOTW P&P ECO; Audio Ramblings - The Auralic Aries and SBooster Linear Power Supply - Positive Feedback

 

Hifi Statement - Test: Auralic Aries und SBooster BOTW P&P eco; HIFISTATEMENT | netmagazine - Auralic Aries und SBooster BOTW P&P eco

 

Hifi Statement - Test: Auralic Aries Mini, SBooster BOTW und Tidal Streaming; HIFISTATEMENT | netmagazine - Auralic Aries Mini, SBooster BOTW und Tidal Streaming

 

Kind regards,

 

Karin

 

Karin:

 

While you're checking in, could you answer the question I posed above about using Sbooster with an internal drive in the Aries Mini? I asked about the chart on your website that indicates the BOTW P&P ECO is not suitable for powering the Aries Mini if it has a hard drive installed. Would this apply to both an HDD and an SSD? I gather that SSDs use less power.

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Hi all. I have a problem that I have not found here, does anyone know a solution to this? Auralic already notified but no solution at the moment:

 

The LAN cable connection is lost after a few minutes when backup folders of the internal hard disk to my Windows 10 pc.

1) Only failure with LAN cable (~25MB/s), no fault with wifi (~12MB/s)

2) Failure with 1Gb LAN, not fail with 100Mb.

3) LD version 2.4, Firmware 3.0, Internal HDD Sansumg Momentun 1TB

4) Tested Manual IP, other LAN cables and various connection.

5) I tried another router, Netgear R7000

6) I tried other switch 1Gb.

7) Do not fail with Mac

8) LAN connection again past few minutes or removing / placing the LAN cable.

 

Anyone else happens?

 

 

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Karin:

 

While you're checking in, could you answer the question I posed above about using Sbooster with an internal drive in the Aries Mini? I asked about the chart on your website that indicates the BOTW P&P ECO is not suitable for powering the Aries Mini if it has a hard drive installed. Would this apply to both an HDD and an SSD? I gather that SSDs use less power.

 

Hello Storytime,

 

The BOTW P&P ECO 15V - 16V is suitable for the Aries Mini with all options installed or connected. For the additional Sbooster Ultra upgrade the options are limited. For background information, please check our post #264

 

Kind regards,

 

Karin

 


Sbooster, enjoy more music.........

 

Meet us at the Montréal Audio Fest 23-28 March 2018

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But here its is, 38000 tons of coastal tanker. I'm a bit constrained regarding speaker placement etc, but considering I'm on a bloody ship the Aries Mini sounds really nice with these little Danish Tangent E4i active bookshelves.

I'm using my MacBook Air with Plex/Lightning DS and a 5TB ext WD drive.

It's quite flawless both in terms of reliability and SQ.IMG_20160128_195032.jpg

Once I get off this crate I'll eagerly pit the Mini against my Squeezebox Touch and Antipodes DS server.

Really though, AURALiC have quite the audio streamer here!

20160112192544.jpg

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I've been interested by all the replies to my initial observation. Given that both players were playing through the same DAC, and I've stated that the Pi sounds the same on all output options, the clues are there to arrive at a sensible conclusion; disappointingly, some haven't.

 

I have nothing further to add, but it would be good to hear from someone with a Pi who has 10 minutes to configure it to run on RuneAudio (with the ACX profile...). No point in just taking my word for it, is there? ;-)

 

All the best.

 

Tried the Pi2 with Rune, no joy there, sounded like my system was being played outside the room and the Beaglebone black handily beat it. Then researching this, realized the OP is using a Digipete+ add on board which would add another $50 in cost. Given the low fidelity of the stock Pi2 and the better fidelity of the stock Beaglebone, I'm disinclined to pursue this but may seek like option for the Beaglebone Black. I did find this review of the Pi2 w/ Digipete+ , its

well written and basically says you can get decent streaming but not the stability/perfomance of spending more on a streamer

 

RaspberryPi 2B, HifiBerry Digi+ and RuneAudio, Reviews, The Hans Beekhuyzen Project

 

Believe same author is already quoted in this thread, they really liked the Aries mini as an audiophile product but cautioned its not suited to someone with a casual collection of MP3's

 

Regards,

Dave

 

Audio system

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RE - Power supply.

 

What is the Specificaion of ARIES MINI Power Input

 

It is 16V in 1A as standard.

The lowest acceptable input voltage is 14V(1.2A) and the maximum is 18V(1A).

 

Though the supplied SMPS is rated at 15V 1A.

 

 

 

 

 

Product Specification – AURALIC LIMITED

- Auralic Aries Mini +SB LPS | Chord 2Qute +SB LPS | Cavalli Audio Liquid Carbon | Sennheiser HD 800

- Apple TV 4 | Oppo BDP 105 | Marantz SR7008 | Polk LSIM 703 | Polk Audio LSiM 704c | Martin Logan Subwoofer | Sony Bravia LCD

- Rega Planar 3 | Audiomods Series V micrometer | Dynavector 20X2L | Aurealis Cinemag CM-1254 | Audio Alchemy PPA-1/PS-5 | Parasound Halo P 5 | Parasound Halo A21 | KEF LS50 | Rythmik Servo Subwoofer

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Sounds effective to me; use the better streamer section in the Aries mini with the better DAC section in the Oppo 105.

 

I'm trying to figure that out - is the DAC better? Not sure yet. I can say this:

 

Aries Mini pulling Tidal or NAS files and DAC'ing them is better than

Oppo pulling Tidal or NAS files and DAC'ing them

 

Haven't tried yet Aries Mini pulling Tidal or NAS files -> Oppo105d for DAC vs Aries Mini for both.

 

I think the Aries DAC (DAC only section) may be better.

 

What I see on Oppo105d-only vs AriesMini only is better detail, and more importantly, less high-end sheen (noise?) on certain classical passages that really makes a big difference. Going back and forth it makes the Oppo105d hard to listen to. Example: Telarc 1. Piano Concerto No. 5 'Emperor' - Serkin/Ozawa. First 30 seconds. I mention it specifically because I can play 5 othe tracks and basically not hear a difference so it depends.

 

I think the DAC on the Aries may be a lot better than people think.

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I'm trying to figure that out - is the DAC better? Not sure yet. I can say this:

 

Aries Mini pulling Tidal or NAS files and DAC'ing them is better than

Oppo pulling Tidal or NAS files and DAC'ing them

 

Haven't tried yet Aries Mini pulling Tidal or NAS files -> Oppo105d for DAC vs Aries Mini for both.

 

I think the Aries DAC (DAC only section) may be better.

 

What I see on Oppo105d-only vs AriesMini only is better detail, and more importantly, less high-end sheen (noise?) on certain classical passages that really makes a big difference. Going back and forth it makes the Oppo105d hard to listen to. Example: Telarc 1. Piano Concerto No. 5 'Emperor' - Serkin/Ozawa. First 30 seconds. I mention it specifically because I can play 5 othe tracks and basically not hear a difference so it depends.

 

I think the DAC on the Aries may be a lot better than people think.

 

Made me sell my Nad M51.

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Thanks, Karin.

Chiming in here. I use the SBooster LPS with Ultra. I have an Aries Mini with internal SSD (Samsung 850 Evo). It works like a charm. Just contact Karin directly to make sure you get the correct LPS - Ultra combi.

Audio

Auralic Aries Mini > SBooster Vbus Isolator > Clicktronic USB 2.0 cable 0.5m > UpTone Audio REGEN (amber) > Curious USB REGEN link > Wadia 121 Decoding Computer > inakustik Reference NF-102 (RCA) > PrimaLuna Prologue Premium Integrated Amplifier (EL34 tubes) > AH! DLS Direkt KB10 Speaker Cable > Sonus Faber Liuto Tower

~ and ~

Wadia 121 Decoding Computer > Belkin male 3.5-3.5 stereo jack iPod cable (with 6.3 adapter) > Sennheiser RS180

 

Powerline

Dedicated power group > Oehlbach Powercord OFC 1.5mm2 Schuko-C13 > Furman AC-210A E Power Conditioner > Powerline 1 to PrimaLuna, Powerline 2 to Brennenstuhl Premium Powersocket

 

UpTone Audio REGEN is powered by Meanwell SMPS with SBooster Ultra for REGEN

Auralic Aries Mini is powered by SBooster BOTW P&P ECO 15/16V with SBooster Ultra 15V

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I'm trying to figure that out - is the DAC better? Not sure yet. I can say this:

 

Aries Mini pulling Tidal or NAS files and DAC'ing them is better than

Oppo pulling Tidal or NAS files and DAC'ing them

 

Haven't tried yet Aries Mini pulling Tidal or NAS files -> Oppo105d for DAC vs Aries Mini for both.

 

I think the Aries DAC (DAC only section) may be better.

 

What I see on Oppo105d-only vs AriesMini only is better detail, and more importantly, less high-end sheen (noise?) on certain classical passages that really makes a big difference. Going back and forth it makes the Oppo105d hard to listen to. Example: Telarc 1. Piano Concerto No. 5 'Emperor' - Serkin/Ozawa. First 30 seconds. I mention it specifically because I can play 5 othe tracks and basically not hear a difference so it depends.

 

I think the DAC on the Aries may be a lot better than people think.

 

So caveat 1: LPS essential to get good results out of the Aries Mini DAC

 

Comparing the Mini to the Metrum Octave

 

Both provide the same music details, the difference is in resolution.

Metrum Octave in the mid range digs out more nuance, tone color richness, a "Haagen Daz" vs "Bryers" difference

in audio taste treat.

 

Possible I suppose since both 105 and Aries Mini use sabre DAC that you wont hear a difference. But my suspicion would be a

less than optimal interconnect solution with the Oppo is blocking you from hearing it's full potential. USB cables do matter, I found

the Wireworld Starlight a good purchase for use with asynch USB converters vs 3 or 4 like cost others I bought and quickly discarded.

The AQ Diamond coax works even better in my setup but that could be random synergy.

Regards,

Dave

 

Audio system

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Hi all. I have a problem that I have not found here, does anyone know a solution to this? Auralic already notified but no solution at the moment:

 

The LAN cable connection is lost after a few minutes when backup folders of the internal hard disk to my Windows 10 pc.

1) Only failure with LAN cable (~25MB/s), no fault with wifi (~12MB/s)

2) Failure with 1Gb LAN, not fail with 100Mb.

3) LD version 2.4, Firmware 3.0, Internal HDD Sansumg Momentun 1TB

4) Tested Manual IP, other LAN cables and various connection.

5) I tried another router, Netgear R7000

6) I tried other switch 1Gb.

7) Do not fail with Mac

8) LAN connection again past few minutes or removing / placing the LAN cable.

 

Anyone else happens?

 

 

 

It's a network problem and not an Aries problem if you lose connectivity when sending big files across Gigabit hardwire LAN but not on FE or wifi... that's called network congestion. Please verify you have cat 5e or cat6 cables first, then seek help on your router manufacturer's site. Many residential routers come with GigE hardware that can't actually support the sustained throughput

Regards,

Dave

 

Audio system

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It's a network problem and not an Aries problem if you lose connectivity when sending big files across Gigabit hardwire LAN but not on FE or wifi... that's called network congestion. Please verify you have cat 5e or cat6 cables first, then seek help on your router manufacturer's site. Many residential routers come with GigE hardware that can't actually support the sustained throughput

 

Ok, my error, I see you are only pushing 25mbps. One thing that may be happening is a frame size issue, a... on a dedicated connection they usually scale to the bandwidth of the connection. Ask Auralic what the optimal Ethernet frame size is for their device and see if in the router config you can limit the GigE port to that size.

Regards,

Dave

 

Audio system

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Hi all. I have a problem that I have not found here, does anyone know a solution to this? Auralic already notified but no solution at the moment:

 

The LAN cable connection is lost after a few minutes when backup folders of the internal hard disk to my Windows 10 pc.

1) Only failure with LAN cable (~25MB/s), no fault with wifi (~12MB/s)

2) Failure with 1Gb LAN, not fail with 100Mb.

3) LD version 2.4, Firmware 3.0, Internal HDD Sansumg Momentun 1TB

4) Tested Manual IP, other LAN cables and various connection.

5) I tried another router, Netgear R7000

6) I tried other switch 1Gb.

7) Do not fail with Mac

8) LAN connection again past few minutes or removing / placing the LAN cable.

 

Anyone else happens?

 

 

 

7) Do not fail with Mac

 

Maybe it's a windows problem if anything works fine with a MAC, so like david256 says, maybe an MTU issue.

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Guys, has anyone compared streaming from a NAS against using a SSD in the Aries, and noticed a difference in SQ?

 

More specifically, I'm streaming Tidal HiFi to an external Dac and I'm really pleased with the results. Tidal also has every CD I own (and likely to) ! so I see an opportunity to abandon all other digital sources for the sum of £20 a month.

 

But I can't help wondering that maybe there's the potential to squeeze a bit more SQ out if I use the SSD facility in the Aries to put all my CDs on ?

 

I know I can test this myself ! but would appreciate some opinion before risking £200 on a SSD.

 

I'm not sure if this is really just a general "Streaming vs Hard-drive" question, but either way I'd be grateful.

 

Thanks a lot, Steve

 

I recently bought a Mini.

I have tried streaming from my NAS and using an SSD connected to the USB port.

With the later I did power the SSD from a Clean Stabilized Linear supply.

In order to get a reasonable sound quality from the Mini I had to use an external stabilized supply. I used a supply with 16v and 5v outputs. Using an internal SSD means that the 16 v supply has to dropped to 5v within the mini and I didnt think that the additional current flow and power dissipation within the small box would be desirable.

 

I did not hear any improvement in audio quality, which is in stark contrast to doing the same excercise with my CAPS.

As I listen to the mini I hear a slight harshness in the sound noticeable in the treble end and very obvious on 24/96 files.

This reflects, to my ears, into a slight loss of detail all round with a looseness in Bass - again to me, a tiring sound to listen to with little musicality.

Has anyone else tried Streaming from NAS and internal external SSD

 

I am still evaluating the Mini but so far my CAPS is way ahead and it looks like my trusty Squeezebox is going back into service

Ianmac

 

Engineered.ch NMR renderer/ JRiver/Benchmark DAC2HGC/Hypex Ncore/ ATC scm40.

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