What DAC Do Aurender Owners Use?

[Jeff_N]

Hi All,

 

I wasn't sure if I should put this here or in the DAC forum. I have an Aurender N100C. I used it with an Yggdrasil with Analog 2 for a year or two and was happy with the combination. Then I added the Unison USB upgrade. Big mistake. When using the Yggy’s USB in port my stereo started emitting the occasional loud buzzing noise when I hit the fast forward button to advance from one track to the next. Aurender went out of their way to try to fix that issue, and they more or less did, but since then more trouble has popped up. Now, when I switch directly from internet radio to an internal HD or Qobuz track, I get the buzz again. It’s doubly frustrating because I can’t reliably reproduce it on demand.

 

Aurender recommended that I hit pause in between switching tracks, and that does stop the buzz, but sometimes I forget to do it, and it’s so damn loud I’m worried I’m gonna damage my speakers. I could use the SPDIF connection but I prefer the way USB sounds. Furthermore it drives me nuts that my stereo doesn’t work the way I want.

 

What DACs do you Aurender owners use? My system is N100C -> Yggy -> Plinius 9200 integrated amp -> Gallo Reference 3.1 speakers. I listen mostly to Dream Pop and Alternative, but also some jazz. It’s hard for me to say if I prefer digital or analog, but I bought a Yaqin MC-13S tube amp to play around with and I eventually went back to the Plinius solid state. Most of my owned files are Redbook FLACs, but I do have a few high res too. I have no DSDs. No interest in MQA. No interest in Roon. I don’t have a NAS, all my files reside on the Aurender’s internal HD. I’d like to stay below five or six thousand bucks.

 

I’ve been researching DACs like the PS Audio DirectStream, Matrix X-SABRE Pro, DAC 8 DSD, the cheaper LampizatOrs, etc., and if I see one more review that compares a DAC unfavorably to the Yggdrasil I’m gonna scream.

 

Finally, if I can’t find a DAC that’s equal to or better than the Yggy within my budget I’ll look to replace the Aurender. I’ve looked at Lumin, Innuos, and Auralic products, but that’s a whole new overwhelming can of worms I’d rather not open if I can avoid it. Thank you for looking.

 

Jeff

[Jeff_N]

7 hours ago, wklie said:

If it worked before the USB module upgrade, is it possible to get it downgraded?

I thought about that, but UPS charged me around sixty bucks for shipping and insurance to send the Yggdrasil to Schiit, then Schiit charged me $240 for the upgrade and shipping back. When I include the taxi fare to lug the thing to the UPS office I've already sunk over $300, and to get it downgraded I'd probably end up spending another hundred. Just thinking about it my blood pressure is going up.

[Jeff_N]

19 hours ago, MarkusBarkus said:

@Jeff_N does changing the time interval between tracts in Conductor have any effect? I had a loud sound changing tracts, but changed that time interval from 0 to 1 and it worked for me. There is fade in/out too, but I have never used it. 

 

 

Thanks Markus, Ari and I tried that but it didn't help.

[Jeff_N]

Just want to thank everyone for their suggestions. I went with the Matrix X-Sabre MQA Pro DAC. I have no interest in MQA, but this DAC sounds great. I haven't had time to do an ABX test, and I may never do one, because I could never get all the variables (volume matching, cables, having someone else do the swapping, etc.) done properly. But my initial impressions are that the Matrix, to me at least, has a cleaner, sharper, brighter sound than the Yggdrasil.