Article: AURALiC VEGA G1 Full Review

[Ajax]

Hi Chris,

 

I have the Auralic Mini, in fact I have 3 of them, all with 500G SSD drives installed. I get immense pleasure using the lightning DS software (after a shaky start) and would jump at the G1, if I could install an SSD Drive. Reason being you can't always have an internet connection and its good fun to browse your favourites in hi res.

 

It would be silly to ask your thoughts on the sonic improvement of the G1 over the Mini as the price divergence is about 8 times. I am very happy with the convenience and sound quality of my minis, as I have local files on the SSD, plus Tidal and Spotify Connect, and I enjoy controlling them from my phone and iPad.

 

I am tempted to upgrade to the G1 for my main system but have two reservations, the lack of SSD and lack of galvanic isolation. In my research CA contributors such as Barrows stress the importance of having the streamer and DAC in separate boxes.

 

The alternative to me is a separate streamer and a second hand Benchmark DAC 2 or equivalent.

 

Anyone care to comment - am I on the wrong track?

[Ajax]

20 hours ago, The Computer Audiophile said:

Hi Ajax - You're in a good situation, even though there are questions and concerns about improving performance. The Mini is a wonderful product. I've even heard that Auralic made a mistake by releasing that product because it was so inexpensive (no money could be made on it) and it performed so well for the money. Anyway, the Mini is wonderful, but not the "height of living" as they say. 

 

For a main system in your environment I would look at the Vega G1 and Aries G1. It accomplishes everything you need and keeps you in the familiar Lightning DS ecosystem. I know it's substantially more money, but going from a Toyota to a Porsche is also quite a bit more money. Toyotas are wonderful cars by anyone's definition, but they are no Porsche. 

 

 

Hi Chris,

 

Thanks for your thoughts. I agree 100% that the Auralic Mini is most probably the best $ for $ product produced in the last few years. For some explicable reason they went on sale he in Aus and were selling for the equivalent of only US$300. Such a versatile piece of kit and absolutely ideal for a second system.

 

The G1 is looking very attractive to me but is selling for over A$5k in Aus while it is available for only A$3.5k in the US. Allowing for 0.7 exchange rate we (as always) are getting taken to the cleaners and I'll source my from the US or UK.

 

Thanks again for your comments and insightful review.

 

All the best,

 

Ajax