Auralic Aries & Sonore microRendu listening impressions

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I had an opportunity to listen to my Sonore microRendu connected to my friend's system, and to do a mini shootout with the Auralic Aries.

 

 

HW setup:

* Music server: Intel NUC5i3MYBE board in Akasa fanless chassis, 500GB M.2 SSD, Windows 10 & MinimServer/MinimStreamer (FLAC-to-WAV decoding enabled)

* Wireless router: TP-Link Archer C3200 (one 5GHz radio band dedicated exclusively to Aries wireless streaming)

* DAC: Auralic Vega (clock mode: exact, filter mode: 1)

* Digital Crossover: Behringer DC2496 (crossover, EQ & time alignment settings in effect)

* XLR isolation transformers: Jensen PI-2XX x 3

* USB isolator: Intona USB Isolator (industrial edition)

* Power amplifiers: Benchmark AHB2 x 2

* Power conditioner: Furman Elite-20 PFi

* Balanced transformer: Furman IT1210

* Power supply for microRendu: Teradak 9V 30VA linear power supply, adjusted to 6.1V, modified with Panasonic & Nichicon caps and Cree SiC Schottky rectifiers

* Ethernet cable: CAT5e 10m

* USB cables: Wireworld Ultraviolet & Platinum Starlight

* XLR cables: Benchmark Studio&Stage

* Speaker cables: Benchmark Studio&Stage

* Controller: Apple iPad2

* Controller SW: Auralic Lightning DS (for Aries), Linn Kazoo (for microRendu)

 

 

* Streamer/Renderers:

* Auralic Aries (w/ Auralic LPS, wireless mode)

* Sonore microRendu

 

 

Aries/mR > [intona] > Vega DAC > Jensen #1 > DCX2496

> Jensen #2 (L) > Benchmark #1 (L) > KEF LS50 (L) & Lyngdorf Sub (L)

> Jensen #3 ® > Benchmark #2 ® > KEF LS50 ® & Lyngdorf Sub ®

 

 

* Balanced (XLR) connections from DAC output to amplifier inputs

* Amplifiers powered through Furman power conditioner & Furman balanced transformer

* Aries, Vega & DCX2496 powered through Furman power conditioner & individual DIY 100VA toroidal balanced transformers

* Only redbook CD (16/44.1) content was played

 

 

Observations:

* With Aries: Outstanding dynamics, micro details and realistic soundstage with expansive width, height and depth and accurate instrument & vocal sizes. Very smooth yet detailed and lively sound. Airy treble, solid & full midrange, engaging bass. Emotions of instrumental and vocal performers come through nicely.

 

 

* With mR: Very good presentation, no digital harshness, soundstage relatively flat & 1-dimensional, larger instrument & vocal sizes, treble slightly veiled, thinner vocals. Emotions of instrumental & vocal performers more difficult to perceive.

 

 

The mR did quite well in this setup, but was bested by the Aries. My friend commented that the mR sound reminded him of his Sony ES CD player of late 80's vintage.

 

 

With the Intona USB isolator inserted between the mR and Vega DAC, the sound characteristics improved and pulled closer to the Aries. The same Intona made no perceivable sonic difference for the Aries. I believe this is a testament of the excellence of the Aries USB output.

 

 

What's notable is how much sonic difference the streamer/renderer made driving the same DAC over the same interface and cable. This is possibly an example of the significance of synergy among components.

 

 

I will likely continue to evaluate the microRendu using different power supplies.

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Yes, full Aries with femto clocks. Both AES and USB links to Vega DAC were tried. With the XLR isolation transformers on the analog side of the DAC, the USB sounded better than the AES.

 

I set 6.1V for mR to help lower its power consumption. I suppose I can try 7.5V to compare. Thanks for the Fidelizer recommendation; been thinking about it and will tell my friend.

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There are setup differences between Aries and microRendu, that may account for the sonic differences:

 

* Aries streamed wirelessly; microRendu streamed over an Ethernet cable

* Aries has been in the system for months; mR is new without extensive break-in

* Aries configuration has been optimized: no USB HDD attached, wireless streaming over a dedicated 5GHz radio band (no other wireless device connected)

* The Teradak LPSU for mR was not plugged through a toroidal balanced transformer (no spare available)

* The Teradak LPSU may not be the best power supply for mR, despite my HW mods; the 6.1V output I used may not yield optimal sound

 

I wonder if it would help to uninstall all unused apps from the microRendu. I generally believe better sound is achievable when the processor has less workload.

 

Anyway, it was a fun afternoon of listening and playing with all this stuff.

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Just did round 2 of Aries Femto vs. uRendu. The changes relative to last time:

 

1. Aries firmware updated to 4.0.0, which defaults to RAM playback of files streaming from NAS.

 

2. uRendu configured in NAA mode. Control PC running HQPlayer & Windows Server 2012 R2 OS is based on a Gigabyte GA-H170TN thin mini-ITX motherboard with i7-6700T 35W CPU & 16GB of DDR3L memory and a Samsung 850 EVO 1TB M.2 SSD acting as both OS & music disk. A Netgear GS108v2 gigabit Ethernet switch connected this PC to the uRendu and the home network. LAN cable between uRendu and Control PC was a 1m CAT7 STP. uRendu USB output was run through an Intona USB isolator (industrial model) using a short USB A-to-B adapter. uRendu was powered with another modified Teradak 8.5V 1A LPSU adjusted to 6.25V output.

 

Played content was exclusively ripped-to-FLAC RedBook 44.1/16 just like last time. There was limited time to experiment with PCM oversampling filters, so only "none", "poly sinc", "IIR" and "FIR" were tried.

 

Similar to last time, the uRendu delivered very respectable sound with no discernible digital harshness.

 

With the Aries Femto, we (being my retired colleague and myself) perceived a more dynamic sound, wider soundstage and smaller individual instruments. The distinction between direct sounds and hall reverb sounds was easier to hear. What's striking is that compared to last time (Aries w/ 3.3 firmware), Aries delivered more micro details AND more smoothness at the same time. The sound did not come across as being smeared, in fact quite the opposite. Realism was stepped up another notch and we did not get the impression of the sound being overly dynamic, just more engaging and pleasurable to listen to. We believe the improvements are largely attributed to the memory-based playback. Having owned the Aries Femto for well over a year, it was quite shocking to hear extent of SQ improvement with just a firmware update. We have to give the folks at Auralic a big nod, for their amazing combination of great engineering and excellent ears.

 

Relatively speaking, the uRendu may be disadvantaged since it does not implement memory-based playback in any supported mode, as far as I can tell. During playback the activity lights on uRendu and the Ethernet switch blinked continuously. I'm not sure which of the uRendu player modes would be amenable to implement memory-based playback, but this should help get it to a more level playing field with the Aries Femto.

 

One tweak that I did not apply to the uRendu for this session was Ethernet optical isolation, as I encountered some audio playback cutoffs during its setup just before the session. I had wanted to achieve galvanic isolation on both Ethernet and USB side of uRendu, but held off on the Ethernet side due to concerns of the sessions getting wrecked. Today, the same optical isolation setup based on a pair of TP-Link MC210CS is performing flawlessly with no cutoffs, though I did update the Realtek LAN driver on the Control PC and adjusted its advanced settings. Thus, Ethernet optical isolation and a better linear power supply are at least two things that I can apply to the uRendu setup, though these will need to be queued up for the next audition at the same venue.

 

One possibility of the sonic differences between these two setups that haven't been discussed extensively is equipment synergy. The Aries Femto appears to have excellent synergy with the Vega DAC used for these auditioning sessions. The Vega DAC is supposed to have a high degree of incoming jitter immunity but in practice, the quality of the incoming USB signal still impacts the SQ significantly, and the Vega has sensitivity to the quality of AC power coming into it. The Aries femto clocks appear to support Vega operating optimally, with great sonic payout as a result. I think this is an example of the renderer and DAC both being capable of influencing the sound.

 

I have very high regard for uRendu, as it is very good out-of-the-box, and was hoping I could get it to match or exceed the Aries Femto in SQ. I don't contest others hearing better sound from their uRendu vs. the Aries, as this is distinctly possible given different HW setups. Being a newer product the uRendu has perhaps a greater prospect of achieving tangible improvements in synergy and thus SQ with a variety of setups.

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I now have an UpTone LPS-1, EMO Systems EN-70HD Ethernet isolator and a SBooster VBus2, so these will be used with the microRendu for the next listening session.

 

At my friend's place, the wireless router and music server are some 30 feet away from the audio gear. I'm contemplating how to get a good Ethernet connection of that length to bring the microRendu close to the DAC. Options:

 

* 30 feet BJC CAT6a cable + EN-70HD isolator + 1 foot CAT7 cable

* Dual TrendNet TFC-1000MGA FMCs + 30 feet of fiber optic cable + UpTone LPS-1 (for downstream FMC) + 1 foot CAT7 cable

 

The only part I currently don't have is the 30 feet BJC CAT6a cable, so I should place an order with BJC...

 

I also have a Baaske MI 1005 Ethernet isolator on order to compare with the EN-70HD.

 

Another experiment would be to hear how Aries Femto handles streaming over Ethernet instead of over dedicated 5GHz wireless, using one of the above Ethernet setups intended for the microRendu. I also picked up an Sbooster 15V LPSU that can be compared with Auralic's LPS.

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Hi Scan,

 

WRT using a optical bridge: It is recommended that you DON'T use gigabyte optical, this can overload the mR and according to Mr Swenson is noisier. I am using TP-Link 10/100 boxes.

 

M

 

I think my TrendNet FMCs can talk at 100Mbps, but since just about everything talking Ethernet in the house is gigabit, I'll need to insert a 10/100Mbps switch between the microRendu and the gigabit switch it is hooked up to, to force the link speed down.

 

Thanks for the note. This will be yet another experiment to sonically compare microRendu being fed at 100Mbos vs. gigabit.

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My next listening session with the microRendu will be set up with the following:

 

* Power: UpTone SuperCap LPS-1 power supply (set to 7V), with iPower iFi 9V or Teradak 30W LPS (set to 7.5V) as energizing supply

 

* USB: Intona USB isolator (industrial edition), Sbooster VBus2, Wyred4Sound Recovery powered by second LPS-1

 

* Ethernet: EMO Systems EN-70HD or Baaske MI-1005 Ethernet isolator, Netgear FS105 switch (to force microRendu to 100Mb/s), BJC CAT6a cables

 

This is about as much isolation and signal conditioning I can think of to apply to the microRendu. Suggestions on alternatives are welcome, but the above should make it an interesting session.

 

If time allows I plan to try a Sbooster BOTW 15V LPS with the Aries Femto. I hope to schedule this session with my friend within a week or two.

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I think you are missing the most obvious setup. UpTone SuperCap LPS-1 power supply (set to 7V) -> microRendu -> DAC. Nothing before and nothing after.

 

Are you comparing USB outputs on both devices.

 

Yes, this is the cleanest setup and I should start this way. I do want a good 30-feet Ethernet cable to link the microRendu to the wireless router at my friend's house, so I have ordered a CAT6a cable from BJC. Using the LPS-1 will be the main difference vs. the previous session.

 

And yes, the comparison will be using USB output on both microRendu and Aries Femto, just like last time, feeding the same DAC: Auralic Vega.

 

Per the microRendu design, USB isolation/signal conditioning and Ethernet isolation are built-in so external isolation should not be needed, but since I have these isolators on hand, it would be educational to try them and confirm no incremental SQ benefit with the microRendu.

 

By the way, I need to apologize for calling the UpTone LPS-1 "SuperCap". The correct name is "UltraCap". I keep thinking about the super capacitors sitting inside...

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Any plans of powering the LPS-1 from a battery as a test alternative?

 

I don't have a battery suitable for powering the LPS-1 and won't get one in time for the next session which may be this Friday.

 

The energizing supply for the LPS-1 will be plugged into a balanced transformer at my friend's place, so the effects of this supply contaminating the wall AC should be minimized.

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OK. Round 3 of Aries Femto vs. microRendu is in the bag.

 

This time it ended up being less of a direct shootout than an experimental tweak session for the Aries Femto.

 

microRendu setup:

 

* Power: UpTone UltraCap LPS-1, fed by included Mean Well 7.5V 2.9A SMPS

 

* Ethernet: HDPlex H1.S thin mini-ITX fanless silent PC (running WS2012R2 & HQPlayer, music library on M.2 SSD) <> 3' BJC CAT6a cable <> Netgear FS105 switch <> 3' BJC CAT6a cable <> EN-70HD isolator <> 1' BJC CAT6 cable <> microRendu (NAA mode)

 

* USB: microRendu <> VBus2 isolator <> 2' Supra USB cable <> Vega DAC

 

Overall sound was vastly improved over last time, and became very similar to Aries Femto streaming over dedicated 5GHz wireless. Gone were the lower perceived level of dynamics, lesser sound stage depth and shorter & weaker reverb tails heard previously (vs. Aries). This time the microRendu sounded beautifully, being much more alive and engaging. This may be the first time we heard the microRendu at or near its full potential.

 

I did uninstall Roon, SqueezeLite and Drive Mounter apps from the microRendu prior to this session.

 

My friend and I then went on to experimenting with Aries Femto. The following is listed in increasing SQ order:

 

0. Baseline: Aries in wireless mode, using dedicated 5GHz band of wireless router

 

1. Aries changed to wired mode, ~50' CAT5e cable (crimped by my friend) to TPLink AC3200 router in AP mode

 

2. EMO Systems EN-70HD isolator added going into Aries with 1' BJC CAT6a cable

 

3. Netgear FS105 Fast Ethernet switch added with 3' BJC CAT6a cable (between EN-70HD and router)

 

4. Removed 50' CAT5e cable, connected to D-Link 802.11n wireless bridge (actually router in bridge mode):

 

Final setup evaluated: NUC-based NAS (Win10, MinimServer/MinimStreamer, music library) <> CAT5e cable <> TPLink router <wireless> D-Link wireless bridge <> 1' BJC CAT6a cable <> Netgear FS105 switch <> 30' BJC CAT6a cable <> EN-70HD isolator <> 1' BJC CAT6a cable <> Aries Femto

 

Despite the higher complexity, this last setup yielded the best sound with Aries Femto we have ever heard at this venue! The improvement over the wireless baseline was substantial: stronger & tighter bass, deeper & rock solid soundstage, longer reverbs, more micro details, better tonal balance and improved integration of direct and hall sounds.

 

From 0 to 1 there was a sonic character change, but it was a bit hard to judge whether wireless or wired was the better sounding. The biggest SQ jumps were from 1 to 2 and from 2 to 3. The EN-70HD made a very noticeable improvement, same with the FS105 forcing Aries down to 100Mbps on Ethernet. 4 resulted in another small improvement, but was done mainly to get rid of that long 50' Ethernet cable running across the living room that I'm sure my friend's wife would never approve as permanent setup!

 

I wanted to power the FS105 switch with the LPS-1 but did not have a DC power cable with the right plug for the FS105, so the FS105 was powered by the included Netgear wall wart, plugged through a LC filter box.

 

We also compared the EMO Systems EN-70HD isolator with the Baaske MI-1005, swapping back and forth between the two. The EN-70HD slightly edged the MI-1005 in SQ, and both were superior to having no isolator.

 

We even tried a Sbooster BOTW 15V LPS replacing the Auralic LPS for Aries, but the sound immediately became less punchy and the bass oomph lessened noticeably. We could not explain this, other than perhaps the Sbooster wasn't at its best due to lack of break-in time, but we quickly went back to the Auralic LPS to restore the sound.

 

The Sbooster LPS was not outfitted with the Ultra, as Ciamara shipped me the wrong Ultra model and the replacement ordered separately has not arrived.

 

Thus some findings today:

 

* Ethernet isolators (like EN-70HD) can improve SQ!

 

* Ethernet at 100Mbps can deliver better sound than at gigabit

Observed with both microRendu and Aries Femto

 

* Uptone UltraCap LPS-1 works great with microRendu!

 

* microRendu with appropriate isolation measures sounds fantastic!

 

* Aries Femto in wired mode with Ethernet isolation can outperform wireless mode

Wireless can still be part of the audio streaming network, but Aries delivers better SQ receiving from Ethernet

 

One gratifying part of this hobby is in hearing tangible sonic improvements from a system with just tweaks as opposed to a major or complete overhaul. The Aries Femto / Vega DAC combo continues to impress us. We were all smiles at the end of this session.

 

My friend will be acquiring an EN-70HD isolator, some BJC CAT6a cables and a Fast Ethernet switch. I will be acquiring a router (as wireless bridge) to run Ethernet into my Aries downstairs.

 

I did not describe the rest of my friend's excellent system (amps, speakers, power conditioner, isolation transfomers, etc.) but can do so if anyone is interested.

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@scan80269

 

I want to be the first to thank you for your write up. Clearly, you did a very careful assessment, although it sounds you had fun doing it - as it should be!

 

A few observations:

 

a. You don't talk about USB tweaks, like Intona or Regen/RUR. I assume you didn't have any on hand to try? The reason I bring this up is that in my experiments with the Aries Mini (a close relative of your Aries Femto), I found the effect of network isolation was less noticeable in the presence of USB isolation. I would have been curious if you had seen the same.

b. Since you don't mention fiber or optical isolation on the network, I assume you didn't try this approach? Again, just curious how the fiber approach compares to the Emo/Baaske idolaters. In my setup, I felt the fiber outperformed.

 

Finally, with all tweaks at your disposal in place for both, would you say Aries Femto and mRendu were neck and neck?

@austinpop

 

I actually did bring an Intona and a W4S RUR, but didn't end up using either. In a previous session, an Intona inserted between Aries Femto and Vega DAC yielded no discernible SQ change, so we concluded the Intona does not benefit the Aries/Vega combo. I suppose I should have tried adding both Intona and RUR this time around, with a second LPS-1 powering the RUR, but the setup got rather complicated as it was, and we ran out of time for more experiments.

 

I have a pair of TrendNet and a pair of TPLink FMCs, but didn't bring them this time. The box of stuff got pretty heavy with my H1.S fanless server and Sbooster BOTW in it, and I barely got it hauled to my friend's place. I do agree a comparison between Ethernet isolator and FMCs would be meaningful, so hopefully one of these days. I may run out of LPS-1 units to power things like the downstream FMC though.

 

With this session, the mRendu did a fantastic job essentially equaling (or perhaps slightly exceeding) the Aries Femto in wireless mode. Changing the Aries Femto to wired mode and adding tweaks like Ethernet isolator and forcing 100Mbps Ethernet speed brought this renderer to a level of SQ that was totally unexpected. Wireless mode has been delivering SQ well beyond good for a long time, but wired mode as set up with this session was really something else. I now understand why davide256 suggested trying Ethernet for Aries.

 

I mentioned last time that I think the mRendu may be disadvantaged architecturally vs. the Aries Femto/LE/Mini with their 4.0.0 firmware having implemented memory playback. The Aries SQ step-up with memory playback was enormous as reported for the previous session. In contrast, the mRendu in NAA mode receives a continuous network stream from the HQPlayer PC. Even if HQPlayer can buffer part or all of a post-processed track in a PC with lots of RAM installed, I suspect that is not the right place for the buffering, as it won't help quiet down the network traffic streaming into the NAA. IIRC the mRendu doesn't have as much onboard RAM as Aries. so it may be more difficult to implement memory playback in the same way as Aries does, and track buffering may not make sense for NAA either (it may have no concept of track boundaries).

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I'm curious about this particular aspect of 100Mbps vs gigabit, what would be the reason for this?

My take on this is that at 100Mbps the Ethernet receiver (PHY) on the Aries has to work less hard (and generate less electrical noise) than at gigabit speed to retrieve the digital bitstream. 100Mbps (100BASE-TX) operates with only two wire pairs and at one bit per symbol vs. gigabit (1000BASE-T) operating with all four wire pairs and at two bits per symbol. In my experience, better SQ results when the electrical noise level on the Aries circuit board(s) can be reduced, for example by lowering processor workload, using 100Mbps wired instead of wireless, no USB storage attached and so on.

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I do have two LPS-1, but won't attempt to wire them in series to power my Aries Femto. One LPS-1 is dedicated to my microRendu. The Vinnie Rossi Mini PS at 12V is much more suited to powering the Aries Femto, and I'm tempted to invest in one myself.

 

One experiment I may do next is to insert a pair of TrendNet FMCs and fiber optic cable between the Aries Femto and Netgear FS105v3 switch, to compare with the EMO Systems EN-70HD Ethernet isolator. I can power the downstream FMC with an LPS-1 for the ultimate isolation.

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Hi, great thread.

 

Just an open question for all: Since the microRendu's ethernet input is already galvanically isolated, what may be the technical reasons or causes for further sound quality improvements when adding even more ethernet isolation?

 

Many thanks in advance

In theory, Ethernet is always galvanically isolated by its use of pulse transformers, so no additional isolation is needed. However, galvanic isolation means DC currents getting blocked. AC currents at a certain frequency range can still jump through the pulse transformer due to capacitive coupling between transformer primary and secondary windings. Also, common-mode noise rejection at the receiver on each end may be good but not perfect, and waveform distortion by the cable is a reality depending on the quality of the cable (e.g. consistency of differential impedance, susceptibility to external interferences, etc.). Anything that causes the differential signal waveform as seen by the receiver to deviate from the ideal will cause the receiver to work harder to retrieve the digital bitstream, create more electrical noise and thus impact the SQ.

 

My friend and I distinctly heard the SQ improve when an EN-70HD isolator was inserted just before the Aries Femto. I also believe the SQ can vary by the Ethernet cables used, though we have not done any listening tests to investigate. These days I'm a fan of BlueJeansCable CAT6a UTP cables as they use cable stock with bonded pairs for impedance consistency and ship every cable ordered with a test report. I don't use CAT7 since the shielded cables defeat galvanic isolation. I don't use cheap Ethernet cables from local store either. These may be good enough for general purpose networking use but are often not optimal for digital audio transportation.

 

My digital audio experiences in the past few years have made me a believer of:

 

"In theory there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice there is."

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scan80269

 

Good thread, I salute your work.

 

... as an aside, have you compared the Aries/Vega combo with USB vs AES-EBU?

My friend has spent considerable time comparing USB with AES-EBU for the Aries/Vega combo. For many months he has preferred AES-EBU, but things changed after one tweak: adding a Jensen balanced transformer to the Vega balanced analog outputs. USB used to sound brighter along with a bit more treble harshness vs. AES-EBU but not after the Jensen transformer was added. One hypothesis is that Vega analog outputs have a bit of ultrasonic frequency left in it due to use of gentle low-pass filtering after the D-to-A conversion at 1.5MHz. The ultrasonic content may be affecting the Benchmark AHB2 amps that apparently have wide bandwidth inputs.

 

As to why USB would benefit more than AES-EBU with transformer insertion on the analog side of the DAC, I can only guess it has something to do with a leakage current loop getting broken by the transformers. By the way, my friend heard a small but definite SQ improvement when an SBooster VBus2 isolator was added to the USB cable between Aries and Vega. What appears to be counterintuitive is that adding certain pieces of equipment to the system can improve the SQ, often contradicting "less is better". There are more and more devices within my friend's system (Fast Ethernet switch being one of the latest additions), but the sound has been steadily improving...

 

As if this is not confusing enough, we tried adding an Intona USB isolator between Aries and Vega but there was no discernible SQ difference. One would think that if USB was somehow involved in a leakage loop that isolation by Intona would help but it didn't. The SQ didn't get worse with Intona but there was no improvement either.

 

Experimentation is what my friend and I enjoy doing with our digital audio systems. Every time we started thinking the SQ cannot possibly get much better, along comes a tweak delivering astonishing results.

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Did you test EN-70HD with MicroRendu ?

Also I suppose you will do the FMC test vs EN-70HD with MicroRendu in addition to with Aries?

I think the only option is to power the FMC by a Y-split from LPS-1 [emoji3]

 

In the previous listening session the EN-70HD was part of the microRendu setup, though we didn't evaluate removing the EN-70HD.

 

I can look into the EN-70HD vs. FMC comparison with the microRendu. The Aries setup is easier to experiment with as I don't have to bring my silent PC to run HQPlayer which is required for microRendu in NAA mode. I can't make any promise for this evaluation, as my friend is more interested in tweaks for Aries being part of his current setup. The microRendu has not bested the Aries Femto in three sessions, so I have to convince my friend to go for another round with microRendu. To be fair, Aries and microRendu should stream from the same music source, but the silent NUC I built for my friend running MinimServer and carrying his music library for the Aries may not be powerful enough to run HQPlayer, unless upsampling is disabled or set to integer multiple with a light algorithm. Music source is therefore one aspect that has not been equalized between Aries and microRendu. I may want to try this anyway just to experience how the SQ changes. I can also change the microRendu to DLNA mode and run Kazoo on the iPad. Comparing SQ between DLNA and NAA modes of microRendu is yet another experiment.

 

I do have two LPS-1 so can use one for microRendu and another for the downstream FMC.

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Scan:

 

Why involve HQPlayer at all? Why don't you just run mRendu in MPD/DLNA mode, pulling from the same MinimServer? That would also isolate the comparison to exactly one variable - Aries vs mRendu.

The first listening session described in post #1 was with the microRendu in MPD/DLNA mode, since back in July I was not an HQPlayer user. So it was actually a more fair comparison, with both Aries and microRendu playing from the same NUC/MinimServer source. The SQ difference between Aries & microRendu was by far the largest with that first session though. I also did not have the LPS-1 back then (for obvious reason) or the EN-70HD isolator or FMCs or BJC CAT6a cables.

 

I suppose another session between Aries & microRendu (in DLNA mode) with 100Mbps Ethernet streaming and all the isolation tweaks is called for.

[scan80269]

Thank you! Does the point about AC currents jumping through the pulse transformers still apply to ethernet cables that have a floating shield design? Or am I confusing two totally different issues? Many thanks again

 

Any AC noise jumping through the Ethernet pulse transformer would get carried by the twisted pairs of the cable to the other end. I believe this can occur even with cables that have a floating shield or no shield. CAT5e and CAT6 cables are typically U/UTP (i.e. no outer shield & no individual twisted pair shields, just 4 twisted pairs). The noise can run over the twisted pairs. The differential receiver in the Ethernet PHY is designed to achieve common-mode noise rejection, but any noise not coupling equally to the two wires of a differential pair will not get perfect attenuation. Common mode noise will still be normally reduced by quite a lot of dB by the differential receiver, but it may not be completely eliminated. These hypotheses are based on listening observations showing the EN-70HD isolator can improve SQ when all the Ethernet cables involved are of the unshielded type.

 

I suspect the Ethernet isolators offer an additional amount of AC noise reduction. Putting an EN-70HD just before the Aries can help attenuate noise picked up by the Ethernet cable run that is not optimally cancelled by common-mode rejection. I would guess the lower the cable quality (in terms of upholding signal integrity) the more effective an Ethernet isolator may be.

 

One thing I'll likely do in copying my friend is to use a wireless bridge to connect my Aries (downstairs) to the NAS (upstairs) thereby changing Aries from wireless to wired and eliminating the need for a long Ethernet cable run between the Aries and my wireless router (which I'm sure my wife would object to). I'm seriously considering replacing my Netgear R8500 router with a Netgear Orbi router/satellite pair. The Orbi router would sit upstairs next to my NAS, and the satellite (in wireless bridge role) would sit near the Aries downstairs, with a Netgear FS105v3 Fast Ethernet switch to force Aries to talk at 100Mbps. If I get such a setup going some time after Thanksgiving I'll post a follow-up report.

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Wow, cool thread! I'm late to this party.

(Been too busy building more LPS-1 units to keep you gents satisfied Have not had time to look for new threads to subscribe to.)

 

I might finally try one of those EMO EN-70HD isolators on my BJC/Belden CAT6A now that there seems to be consensus that it is the best of them.

 

Best,

--Alex C.

 

There seems to be some agreement that the EN-70HD can deliver slightly better SQ vs. the Baaske MI-1005 (I have evaluated both), but there's also the Etalon isolator that I've been reading rave reviews about. The Etalon is quite expensive and apparently difficult for folks in the US to get theirs hands on.

 

My friend and I plan to entice two other audiophile buddies also with Aries to switch from wireless to 100Mbps Ethernet and to adopt the EN-70HD isolator and good Ethernet cables e.g. BJC CAT6a. I'm also becoming more eager to do a shootout between EN-70HD and FMC pair with an LPS-1 powering the downstream FMC.

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Thanks for that.

 

It's too bad that another (powered) step is required to force 100mbps though, it is one of the reasons I haven't gone the fiber route due to the powered FMCs, preferring to go passive wherever possible. If it was a dedicated listening room then it wouldn't be so bad but my living room is already starting to look like an electrical sub-station

 

I have a Netgear switch but of course it's the GS gigabit model so I'll have to hunt for the FS or similar. I've got an EN-70HD on the way so I will do some testing on my own setup in the next couple of weeks.

 

It should be possible to force 100Mbps speed without using a Fast Ethernet switch. An Ethernet cable can be modified by disconnecting at least one of the cable twisted pairs used at gigabit speed but not at 100Mbps. If done correctly this should prevent successful gigabit negotiation between switch and device so the link speed becomes 100Mbps. Insulating some of the contacts at the RJ-45 connectors of a cable may be easier than actually cutting the twisted pairs. I may try this myself to see how well it works.

 

I'm planning to experiment a bit with power sources for my FS105v3 switch. I have on order a Teradak Teralink X1/X2 8.5V 1A linear power supply that I will modify and adjust. This is a cheap LPS alternative to the included SMPS, and should deliver some degree of SQ improvement on top of what the EN-70HD provides.

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I have followed this thread with great interest.

I'm currently running my Aries femto in wireless mode, connected to the dac via USB / Regen. As I understand it Aries downloads the whole file from the NAS or Tidal/Qobuz into the memory and plays it from there.

How can the EN70HD have annimpact on the SQ?

The file transfer must use some sort of check sum to guarantee the file integrity...

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

It's not a matter of data integrity of the audio stream going into Aries, as it is assumed to be error free thanks to the Ethernet TCP protocol with packet retransmission mechanism. EN-70HD isolator can affect Aries SQ as I believe Aries is susceptible to at least two types of noise: (1) noise conducted into Aries from the Ethernet cable, (2) noise generated internally on the circuit board by chip activities. Best SQ can be achieved when both types of noise are reduced to their minimum possible levels. The EN-70HD helps reduce noise type (1).

 

Even though Aries with memory play feature will preload a whole track (or part of a big track) into memory, which generates a big lump of network data transfer whenever a new track is called up, during the times in between tracks where Aries is playing from memory, the Ethernet port is still far from being completely quiescent. Even though the noise generated by the Ethernet PHY with no music payload transferring should be much less than when Aries is reading a track into memory as fast as the Ethernet can deliver, there is still a baseline level of PHY related noise that exists unless the Ethernet cable is physically unplugged.

 

The SQ difference between Aries streaming wireless and wired is determined empirically. Wired streaming sounding better suggests the combination of Ethernet PHY noise & cable conducted noise can be less than the noise generated by the wireless module. One thing that I haven't done but probably should do is to measure Aries power consumption between wireless and wired modes during streaming. I want to see whether the better SQ can be correlated to lower device power consumption.

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Actually, I found wireless ac for the Aries better sounding than ethernet. But I was using two 2m lengths Cat 5 patch cable joined by a connector from my router for ethernet connection.

 

A year ago my friend and I also concluded that wireless sounded better than wired with Aries. We used a 50-foot CAT5e cable between router and Aries back then with no tweaks whatsoever.

 

I only realized recently that even the Ethernet connection can be tweaked to improve SQ. For example, 100Mbps instead of Gigabit, inserting EN-70HD Ethernet isolator, better quality cables, etc. My friend is using a combination of wireless and wired. There is a wireless connection between his router and a wireless bridge, which cables to a Fast Ethernet switch (to force 100Mbps link speed) then an EN-70HD isolator before finally running into Aries. This setup may have an advantage as it eliminates the need for a long Ethernet cable which can have worse signal integrity and noise susceptibility issues. I'm planning a similar setup for myself, based on Netgear Orbi to implement a wireless link between upstairs and downstairs, and will use BJC CAT6a cables as short as 1 foot to complete the connectivity.

 

I forgot to mention that my friend and I discovered that changing the power supply for the FS105v3 switch from the included small SMPS (wall wart) to a linear power supply can improve the SQ. I think this is similar to the scenario with a pair of FMCs & optical cable where the downstream FMC is powered by LPS to obtain better SQ. It really is best to avoid using SMPS to power any device involved in transporting the audio stream.

 

As usual, YMMV.

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Just out of interest, if I am using wireless but still have the ethernet cable plugged into the Aries, does the noise you outlined in (1) still come into play?

I would say yes. I don't believe Aries actually cuts power to the internal Ethernet chip when in wireless mode, so noise type (1) coming in from the cable is still a factor. Even noise type (2) may be relevant, as many modern Ethernet chips will enter low-power mode only when the cable is unplugged (i.e. no link partner detected), so even an idling Ethernet connection (to switch or router) can be a source of noise. If you are using Aries in wireless mode it's best to avoid connecting to the Ethernet port.

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I'm currently running my Aries femto in wireless mode, connected to the dac via USB / Regen. As I understand it Aries downloads the whole file from the NAS or Tidal/Qobuz into the memory and plays it from there.

By the way, per Auralic:

 

Memory Cache function does not work under Internet Radio, AirPlay, Songcast, Bluetooth and Roon input method because of the data is streamed in real time from host device.

That leaves just music files stored in a NAS or an attached USB storage device playing from memory for Aries.

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Not necessarily - the list from Auralic did not mention online music services, which are not the same as internet radio stations. For example, the audio file streams from Qobuz & Tidal are not real time and should be able to be streamed in a similar fashion to audio files from a UPnP/DLNA media server running on a NAS.

Thanks for the clarification. That would be cool.

 

I don't have a subscription to Tidal or Qobuz. It would be good if someone can verify Aries supporting memory playback with these music services. With Aries in wired mode, an Ethernet switch can be inserted between Aries and the internet source (router, etc.) and the buffering action of Aries memory playback can be observed on the switch via its activity LEDs. Depending on the internet service downstream speed and the music stream format (MP3, FLAC, etc.) there should be at least a few seconds of continuous network activity for each new track being buffered into Aries memory in memory play mode. The difference between a continuous real-time stream (e.g. internet radio) and an audio file stream (e.g. Tidal) should be quite easy to observe on an Ethernet switch.