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Thoughts on 3 music server implementations (aurender, sonare, ps audio), help please


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Hi guys. First time poster, long time lurker. A couple of years ago, I purchase an Olive 06HD. Beautiful piece of equipment that is now currently a brick. Quite bitter, but you live an you learn. Anyway, I'm considering alternatives. I currently have my music collection ripped to flac via J River. I am going to move the collection to a NAS. With that backdrop, I'm considering 3 similar, but different options.

 

1. Aurender N100H ($2695)+ DAC ($???) - The Aurender has a 2TB hard drive, which I could use for my core collection. But, can also access NAS. Since I use J River, would like to leverage that, unsure how that would work, though I think it is possible. The music app for the aurender seems quite robust, (though I would be using android and I understand the app is still beta there). Additionally, this would require a USB dac.

2. Sonare Signature Renu ($2895, though website says contact them for a deal) + DAC ($???) - Can leverage J River via the NAS. Would require SPDIF or i2s dac.

3. PS Audio Directstream Junior DAC ($3999) - Can leverage J River and NAS. Only piece of equipment needed.

 

Also, I think I would like to leverage tidal in the future, but currently don't. I know a lot depends upon the DAC that accompanies the Aurender and Sonare and I'm currently considering Shiit Yggdrasil and Chord Hugo TT, but am open to other suggestions. Anyway, what are your thoughts on these three approaches, particularly on costs, flexibility, future-proofness, and most importantly, sound quality (again, I understand DAC is key here, but I've given you some thoughts on what I am considering). On dacs, unclear on how important usb, spdif, or i2s connection type is to the equation.

 

thanks,

Gary

 

Gary, at the AXPONA show here in Chicago a little over a week ago we demo'd the Aurender N100H with the new Resonessence Labs Veritas DAC ($2850). Reviewer comments included Herb Reichert of Stereophile's report on our room and Andy Quint of TAS here (1/3 down) and here.

 

You can simply copy the contents of your JRiver music library to the Aurender or to your NAS. If using the NAS you need to run Aurender Media Manager (AMM) to scan the NAS to populate the database stored in the iPad with cover art and metadata.

Brian Walsh

Analog Expert / Showroom Manager

Music Direct

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The Veritas is a new model, and the one we showed is the first one in the US. The press release (PDF) is on the manufacturer's website here, and photos and some basic information may be viewed here.

 

Thanks Brian. I actually demoed the Aurender with the Chord Hugo and it was my initial choice of options. I think it is the most versatile of the three. But I've come across these other options and am interested in the pros and cons of each approach. Interesting that each of the main implementation components are different ( a streamer, a renderer, a dac), yet I believe all approaches would satisfy my needs. Thanks for the info on J River usage.

 

Not familiar with Resonessence, but I'll do some research.

 

Gary

Brian Walsh

Analog Expert / Showroom Manager

Music Direct

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  • 3 weeks later...
One other suggestion is the lumin S1 and t1. They combine a music server and a dac in one and have received excellent reviews including here by Chris. They start at $5,000 for the t1, and $12500 for the s1. Be careful of DAC's with the Aurrender, I borrowed the N100h from my local dealer only to find it is not compatible with my DAC 8. It is Linux and my dac only works with a pc or Mac. Here is the link for the review of the A1 which is almost the same as the t1. Only difference is the chassis and no hdmi on T1.

Computer Audiophile - Lumin Network Music Player Review

 

Aurender tends to work with most DACs that work with a Mac, no special software driver, so I think your statement may be inaccurate, and there is no need to fear its use of Linux given the way it is locked down and very secure.

 

One Lumin model has a DAC built in, while another doesn't. So the best advice is compare Lumin and Aurender, assuming your DAC doesn't limit your choices, which is unlikely.

Brian Walsh

Analog Expert / Showroom Manager

Music Direct

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