ZENITH or NEW G2??

[longsufferingaudiophile]

There seems to be a bit of confusion about the Vega G2 which is a DAC but also has an ethernet port and can also function as its own streamer.

 

I have now been running a G2 Aries and G2 Vega for about 2 weeks and I hope to provide some insight for those who are interested in buying the Auralic G2 components.

 

I was originally intending to use the G2 Aries to replace my 1st generation Aries which feeds a Chord Dave.  The G2 Vega was meant to be used as a stand alone player for my other system and a replacement for my 1st generation Vega DAC.  

 

However, I noticed that when the G2 Aries and G2 Vega were used via their L-link (HDMI), playing high resolution files from a NAS drive was significantly better than using Roon streaming directly to the G2 Vega for the same music.  It did not however make any difference if I was to use Roon as my controller fed to the G2 Aries first or directly to the G2 Vega.   This was later confirmed by Mr Wang himself that if Roon is being used, then the G2 Aries does not add to the G2 Vega in terms of sound quality.  The logic apparently is that Roon then controls the software handling and negates any advantage the G2 Aries has over the built in ethernet streamer in the G2 Vega.

 

Just a quick word.  I liked the sound of  the combination G2 Aries and G2 Vega so much, I am now using them together.  Which leaves my Chord Dave without a streamer for now, so now feeding it via USB.  Sound wise, the G2 series outguns the original Vega by a lot.  I thought that when the 1st generation Vega was first realeased, it was to me overrated by most reviews.  The G2 is a different kettle of fish.  It is vastly superior to the original Vega and comes very close to the Chord Dave in terms of retrieving spatial cues especially depth and width of the soundstage.  With just casual listening, the difference between the Dave and the original Vega was obvious.  Now with the G2 components, I am still deciphering the subtle differences and wondering which I prefer. 

 

Can't wait to see what the Leo will add to the mix.