N100H to N200 or N10?

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scoc

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Belgium
Since January I am using an Aurender N100H as my main source and use it purely for streaming (Tidal + Internet radio).

I have been playing with the idea of going back to a Roon setup which I used to have before for several years as I had some trouble adjusting to the Aurender app. The past 3 months I have been going back and forth between a Roon setup and my Aurender N100H. And in the end I always revert to my Aurender N100H. I lose a bit on a resolution and openess when using the N100 (compared to Roon) but gain a more natural flowing sound with the Aurender which is much nicer to listen to for long period of time.

So, Aurender it is …

Now I am thinking of potentially upgrading to the next model up. Which used to be the N10 but now the new N200 comes in the picture as well. I have not heard the N10 yet but my dealer is a big fan and he is doubting to take in the new N200 since he assumes customers still want to go for the N10. I am not so sure on the other hand. First of all the N10 is 2000€ more expensive than then a N10. I also do not need the local storage of the N10. Furthermore the N10 platform is getting a bit old going on for more than 5 years now.

I also asked the same question to Aurender and although they admit the N10 is getting a bit old it will remain in the line-up for now and will not be replaced soon since they feel they have covered the price range well with the new N200 and N20. They also told me the N200 would be a nice upgrade from the N100 also since I do not need local storage and stream all my music etc.

A long intro to finally ask my question to the experts here :) … what would you do? Go for a new N200 or wait for a 2nd hand N10 to pop-up? Since a new N10 is too expensive in my view (8500€ over here new list price).
 
I have a brand new test N200 test unit a at home to compare with my N100H.

Brand new out of the box performance is quite poor I’m afraid as it sounds flat, boring and missing drive. So, I have internet radio on repeat now to burnin the N200 but it has to improve quite a lot to get me interested. Now after 15 hours of burnin it is already a bit better but … I have the impression the new Aurender puts more focus on resolution and openess and by doing that some of the charm of the N100H organic sound is a bit lost. The new sound is more clean and pure but looses on the natural organic flow. I was not expecting that and I hope it improves after 50+ hours of burnin.
 
scoc said:
I have a brand new test N200 test unit a at home to compare with my N100H.

Brand new out of the box performance is quite poor I’m afraid as it sounds flat, boring and missing drive. So, I have internet radio on repeat now to burnin the N200 but it has to improve quite a lot to get me interested. Now after 15 hours of burnin it is already a bit better but … I have the impression the new Aurender puts more focus on resolution and openess and by doing that some of the charm of the N100H organic sound is a bit lost. The new sound is more clean and pure but looses on the natural organic flow. I was not expecting that and I hope it improves after 50+ hours of burnin.
Click to expand...

Keep putting the hours on it. Also, remember to listen in “Critical Mode”.
 
Whilst running in the Aurender N200 I'm also going to check its spdif output to compare. Even after 50 hours of constant burnin of the N200 I'm not convinced about the sound improvement vs cost difference (N100H). The N200 sound is quite different from the N100H, although it is more precise and cleaner it seems Aurender decided to somewhat change its house sound sort of speak. Is it because other vendors focus so much on increasing resolution they felt they had to follow suit?

Also, on the N200 no info is shown on the display when playing internet radio. No radio info or metadata, no logo or anything. The screen just says 'Select a Song ...'. The only indicator is that it shows 'Radio Stream' in the right bottom corner. So, the whole 6+ inch screen is unused in that case. Weird, since it works fine on N100H. I have raised a support ticket for this. It is also a pitty Aurender did not put an Oled screen in the N200. When looking from the side or from above you can clear see it is an LCD.
 
The below are just my personal findings in my room and hifi setup (Aurender N100H/ Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ / Norma IPA140 / ATC SCM11 / Tellurium Ultra Black II cabling)

N200:
- More neutral sound and most likely more honest than N100H.
- Increased resolution and openness.
- Different sound flavour compared to N100H.
- Drops the ball a bit with lesser quality internet radio streams compared to N100H.
- N200 is tuned differently. I wonder if Aurender caved to the latest hifi flavour in being much more transparent and honest to the source?
- Considering N200’s price tag they should have used an Oled display and not LCD. It is really obvious when comparing to N100H display the N200 is less quality and harder to read from an angle etc.

N100H:
- Sound is more relaxed and smooth. Much nicer to listen to for long period of time.
- Lesser quality streams (internet radio) sounds good.
- Resolution drop and less open compared to N200.
- I know the N100 most likely is less true to the source but I do not mind that when it plays so fluent and smooth.

So, the N200 is packed up and will be returned to my dealer. I will audition the N10 this Fri, hoping that keeps the sound signature of the N100H.
 
Look for an used N10. I have recently sold an used N10 to France for ~5200 EUR. Just make sure you upgrade the onboard memory to 8GB, as this is what all the newer Aurenders have. 8GB DDR3 laptop stick will cost you ~25 EUR. You can replace it yourself.

The HDDs can also be easily upgraded. The cheapest option (~300 EUR) is 2x 5TB Baraccuda HDDs, which will give you a handy 10TB storage space.
 
scoc said:
The below are just my personal findings in my room and hifi setup (Aurender N100H/ Mytek Brooklyn DAC+ / Norma IPA140 / ATC SCM11 / Tellurium Ultra Black II cabling)

N200:
- More neutral sound and most likely more honest than N100H.
- Increased resolution and openness.
- Different sound flavour compared to N100H.
- Drops the ball a bit with lesser quality internet radio streams compared to N100H.
- N200 is tuned differently. I wonder if Aurender caved to the latest hifi flavour in being much more transparent and honest to the source?
- Considering N200’s price tag they should have used an Oled display and not LCD. It is really obvious when comparing to N100H display the N200 is less quality and harder to read from an angle etc.

N100H:
- Sound is more relaxed and smooth. Much nicer to listen to for long period of time.
- Lesser quality streams (internet radio) sounds good.
- Resolution drop and less open compared to N200.
- I know the N100 most likely is less true to the source but I do not mind that when it plays so fluent and smooth.

So, the N200 is packed up and will be returned to my dealer. I will audition the N10 this Fri, hoping that keeps the sound signature of the N100H.
Click to expand...

I couldn’t disagree more. The N200 absolutely smokes the N100H and it beats the N10 in our store. We have them all. The N200/N20 has more transparency, resolution and far more musicality. Even the N100H gets pummeled by the N10.

If you love your N100H so much, keep it. You must have a very bright system. The N100H is quite veiled compared to the N10/N200/ACS10/N20/W20SE/N30SA. We have them all.

OLED display? The cost would be much higher. You should be turning it off anyway in critical listening model. OLED or LCD will create NOISE. Turn it off. Engage critical listening mode if you want the purist sound.

My guess is you will love the N10. But we’ve done several A/B’s and prefer the N200. Just saying…
 
Yes the N200 is more transparent and has more resolution but in my setup is not more musical. And my system is not very bright. My ATC SCM11 speakers are quite honest and neutral.
 
After upgrading my speakers from ATC SCM11’s to SCM40’s I am now retesting the same Aurender N200 thx to my dealer. And … it seems I have to correct my earlier statement. The N200 has only been playing a few hours but the differences are now more profound. The N200 has a considerable darker background and the sound is much tighter and direct. Increased drive and better timing combined with better bass control. I’m pretty sure this N200 is not going back.
 
Once you get some time on it be sure to try the critical listening mode.


scoc said:
After upgrading my speakers from ATC SCM11’s to SCM40’s I am now retesting the same Aurender N200 thx to my dealer. And … it seems I have to correct my earlier statement. The N200 has only been playing a few hours but the differences are now more profound. The N200 has a considerable darker background and the sound is much tighter and direct. Increased drive and better timing combined with better bass control. I’m pretty sure this N200 is not going back.
Click to expand...
 
scoc said:
After upgrading my speakers from ATC SCM11’s to SCM40’s I am now retesting the same Aurender N200 thx to my dealer. And … it seems I have to correct my earlier statement. The N200 has only been playing a few hours but the differences are now more profound. The N200 has a considerable darker background and the sound is much tighter and direct. Increased drive and better timing combined with better bass control. I’m pretty sure this N200 is not going back.
Click to expand...

This helps me decide. I have the same choices . Thank you
 
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