Aurender ACS10

Mike

Mike

Audioshark
Staff member
Joined
Apr 2, 2013
Messages
30,486
Location
Sarasota, FL
New Model - Aurender Content Server ACS10

The long awaited ACS10 is almost here! Now in production, product will be begin arriving stateside in October. The ACS10 is a unique device designed to eliminate the reliance upon computers and other IT products in your file-based audio playback system. Its primary functions are what every audiophile needs to create and manage their media consolidated within a conventional looking audio component. Great attention was given to the ACS10’s simplicity and ease-of-use when performing the tasks at hand. Highly flexible, It can be used as a companion to an existing Aurender music server where it expands its feature set, or it can also be used as stand alone server / streamer. In this case its high-performance Audio 2.0 USB output just needs to connect to an external dac. For users seeking the functions of cd ripping, expanded library storage, RAID 1 mirroring and app-based metadata editing, the ACS10 is the ideal solution. ACS10 can be ordered in your choice of three configurations: 2 X 4TB / 240GB SSD caching, 2 X 8TB / 240GB SSD caching or 2 X 12TB / 480GB SSD caching. Please review the attached data sheet to learn more about this first-of-its-kind product from Aurender.

Pricing: $5600/$6000/$7500
4TB/8TB/12TB

https://youtu.be/XI0EcHEyo94
 
More info:

If you have the 4TB, you can upgrade the drives to 8TB (dealer/user swap). But the 12TB drives require more caching, so unless the drive specs change, if you want a 12TB, best to get it now with double the cache memory that the 12TB unit has now.

The ACS has its own app for editing meta data, moving files, etc.

The chassis is the same size as the N10 and comes in silver or black.

You can move files from the N10 to the ACS for safe keeping with the RAID 1 (mirroring) protection or move files from the ACS to the N10.

The media player is a little better sounding than the N100H as it features the latest USB isolation, etc. from Aurender.

The ACS rips to Wav, FLAC, etc.

The ACS works seamlessly with the Nimbie CD Loader:

https://www.amazon.com/Acronova-Nimbie-USB-AutoLoader-NB21-DVD/dp/B00HQOOQCG


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Seems unnecessary, unless they can rip SACD.

I’ve ripped the vast majority of my digital library with my MacBook and db power amp. Then I use Yate to make sure all the cover art, and tagging is perfect before putting it on my NAS and Aurender. And my NAS gets backed up to the cloud once a week so I’ll never lose anything.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
Phishphan said:
Seems unnecessary, unless they can rip SACD.

I’ve ripped the vast majority of my digital library with my MacBook and db power amp. Then I use Yate to make sure all the cover art, and tagging is perfect before putting it on my NAS and Aurender. And my NAS gets backed up to the cloud once a week so I’ll never lose anything.
Click to expand...

Kyle.......I would wager the vast majority of digital disc libraries consist of redbook CD's. My CD library totals around 1650 and growing. My SACD library totals 56. My High-res download files total 71. My preference for spinning SACD's is to use my Esoteric K-01X. The performance when played directly from the SACD is outstanding. I have a number of friends with even larger CD libraries but similar size SACD libraries. They have SACD players in their sound systems just like me and are not unhappy with that playback option. Ripping SACD's is not a simple task and involves jumping through hoops to get it done. It is far easier to simply download DSD files from websites that offer such recordings. By and large there is no where near the music selection available on SACD when compared to CD. This is exactly why my CD library is over 26 times larger than my SACD library. I believe this is true for the majority of those with compact disc collections. It makes perfect sense that Aurender would offer a specialized music server that simplifies populating the hard drive with CD's. The option to use the ACS10 as a music bank in conjunction with Aurender's full line of music servers is icing on the cake.

To me the new Aurender ACS10 is far from unnecessary. The fact that it does not rip SACD's is essentially a non issue for me. It's design purpose is clearly to make fast and simple the chore of ripping CD's, providing enormous storage space for the largest of CD libraries, while at the same time offering RAID 1 mirroring. Additionally, the fact that the ACS10 can be used in a sound system as a stand alone music server is an additional plus for someone who may not already own an Aurender music server. I think the Aurender ACS10 is a remarkable product from a company with a solid reputation of developing astonishing music servers with an amazing control app, and delivering fast and friendly customer service. Honestly, what's not like about that?


Aurender-acs10.jpg
 
This is very intriguing for me. I LOVE the simplicity of ACS ripping new CDs to my collection which resides on a N10 (8TB). I also love the easy, worry free mirroring of everything currently on my N10 as well as all future additions. A really really nice product. I’m glad to see this finally come to fruition after what seems to be couple years in development since I first heard about it. My only wish is that it was about half the asking price to make it a no brainer! At $6k, I have other priorities but it doesn’t stop me from wanting it! About 98% of my collection is already ripped using a iMac w/ external Super drive and XLD software. The one thing that might push me over the edge is IF there is any way the ACS10 rip would actually sound better than my iMac made rips, unlikely but one never knows in this hobby.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
What is the purpose of the two non-isolated LAN ports on the back of the unit? I have looked at Aurender’s documentation and it doesn’t mention them
 
I believe they are there to daisy chain multiple ACS10 together for those with really large collections (?!)
 
I read on a site the following: "Three LAN Ports (one double isolated, two isolated) allow connection to a router, to an Aurender music server, or to daisy-chain another ACS10". I wonder if you can connect an N100H to the ACS10 using a direct LAN connection. The Aurender website is no information on this.
 
I emailed Aurender regarding the two extra LAN ports and if I could connect a LAN cable directly to either my Aurender X100L or N100H - their reply was 'Yes, that’s exactly what it means. And, it will sound a little better vs. if it were connected to a router with noisy power supply'
 
Looks like a nice gadget, but for my own purposes I feel it might be hitting the market a bit late. This is as my digital collection is already ripped since a decade ago.

What would add something new, would be vinyl ripping capability and inclusion of better audio ripping formats like DSD.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
 
I have received a barely used ACS-10. Got a very good deal on the 2X8TB version from a guy that bought it new, but decided he needed to down size. I have been copying files to it using a direct network connection from my Aurender X100L to the ACS-10. I did listen to some tracks briefly, but didn't listen enough to determine anything other than it sounded at least as good as my N100H and X100L. The original owner had maybe 10 hours on the unit, so some burn in may be required.

You can't listen to music on the ACS-10 when copying files so I will have to wait to do more listening, but first listening impressions are I can sell either my N100H or X100L to recoup some of the cost of the ACS-10.

I will report back in a couple of days with more initial thoughts. I'm not an audiophile, nor do I have golden ears so my review of the sound of the ACS-10 won't probably be helpful to most.

The unit is well built, the ripping functionality is fast, but there are issues with copying files and the smart sync functionality. I have started the copy process from the ACS application multiple times and the process of copying files from my X100L has either locked up, paused with a "waiting" message, or displays copy complete when it didn't complete. I have sent a couple of messages to Aurender yesterday outlining these issues, but haven't heard back.

You would think that copying files would be a core set of functionality that would work out of the box. Again, I have the X100L connected directly to the ACS-10 via a CAT6 ethernet cable. The ACS-10 has one LAN port for connection to your router, and two additional LAN ports for connection to additional ACS-10s or other Aurender devices. I tried switching out the ethernet cables to no avail.

I tried the Smart Sync option initially where the contents of an external Aurender device's library/database are supposed to be incorporated into the ACS-10's database. It didn't seem to work on the first attempt. It does it in the background supposedly, but there is no indication anything is happening and the library on the ACS-10 didn't seem to display much of what was on the X100H.

Lastly, the ACS-10's standalone application leaves a lot to be desired. It needs work, it needs to be more user friendly when it comes to the system's status when copying files, syncing to other Aurender databases, and the processes that are running. Several times when using the Conductor application I could see the ACS-10, X100L, and N100H as available Aurender devices, but I couldn't connect the ACS-10. I would get an error that the IP address couldn't be found (even though a status message in Conductor quickly displayed showing the ACS-10 IP address). The ACS-10 was on my network, the ACS-10 was displaying the IP address on its display, and I could ping the ACS-10. I had to do a soft shutdown (hold the button on the front of the device) and want 2-3 minutes while it shutdown, then push the button again to restart the ACS-10, then wait 2-3 minutes while it started back up. I could then connect to it via Conductor. By the way the startup/shutdown process is very slow!

The above problem and the others I have mentioned above make me hesitant to recommend the ACS-10 and gives me some buyer's remorse. Hopefully Aurender will work to fix the problems quickly as it has a lot of potential, especially if the streamer sounds better than the N100H and comes close to the N10.
 
I reached out to Aurender about the file copy problem mentioned in a previous post. They said the X100L I was copying from had issues as the result of being powered down improperly. Not sure I remember doing that, but they were able fix it remotely and I was able to resume copying files to the ACS with out issue.

As for as the network connectivity issue it seems to have gone away for the most part after Aurender recommended I delete the app from my iPad and reboot the iPad. I have gotten a connection failed error a couple of times since while using the Conductor app, but the second attempt to connect works. I have never seen a connection problem connecting to the my N100H or X100L from the Conductor app.

In regards to the ACS application, unless I’m missing something the ACS10 doesn’t seem to allow you to remove files, move files or search for duplicates. I would think these functions would be part of the core functionality available on a content server. Am I crazy for expecting this?

The library sync function with a connected Aurender device is confusing and doesn’t seem to be implemented well. And any Aurender user knows that Aurender’s documentation often leaves something to be desired.

After saying all that, and after 100 hours of playing time it is sounding very good and is equal to or better than the N100, but the ACS Manager application looks like it was thrown together quickly. Again, why can’t I delete files, why is the ACS interface so slow, and don’t get me started on the ACS application’s design.

i hope Aurender gets it together before one of the reviewers gets one. I can’t imagine in its current state it would be reviewed favorably, although I’m not above believing that my expectations don’t align with reality.

Aurender has developed a platform with great potential, but I was expecting more. Sometimes more might be unrealistic, but I can hope.
 
Last edited:
I had and ACS on loan from a friend for about a month and really liked it, but agree on most of your points. It is being sold as a standalone server, but the inability to delete files etc. from the actual folder structure is a major, major flaw...especially if you are want to re-rip albums that are already in your library. It ultimately still requires a computer on the network to be a complete solution. Not a problem for me, but definitely a problem if that's not what you were expecting. Beyond that, the next biggest problem, unless it has been corrected by the most recent update, is that you can't store your files on an N10 and ACS at the same time or all your albums appear twice. So much for the ACS as a backup, if you have to wipe out your N10 or other Aurender server.

That said, I think it is a great product, that worked great and sounded great. I wish I had one. The problems can be addressed with simple software changes, but they better get right on it.
 
Wow both of those issues are non-starters for me as an N10 owner. I will sit on the sidelines and wait to see if Aurender will address both these issues with updates. They have been planning the ACS10 for years, it is surprising it has these kind of limitations which hampers its utility.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
Save yourselves time and headaches: Nothing can beat a computer with ripping software (like DBPoweramp) and metadata software (like mp3tag).
 
I really like the simplicity and functionality of the ACS10. I think over time Aurender will fix some of the niggly issues users are mentioning above. Keep the feedback coming (to Aurender). They are listening!
 
it appears the statement below means no duplicates in the library?

From Aurender’s website “[FONT=&quot]ACS10’s SmartMerge feature will identify a network attached W20/N10/A10/N100H/N100C or X100L and allow user to see content from both libraries combined into one. (can only be used 1+1, one ACS10 and one Aurender music server).”[/FONT]
 
Projectman said:
it appears the statement below means no duplicates in the library?

From Aurender’s website “[FONT=&quot]ACS10’s SmartMerge feature will identify a network attached W20/N10/A10/N100H/N100C or X100L and allow user to see content from both libraries combined into one. (can only be used 1+1, one ACS10 and one Aurender music server).”[/FONT]
Click to expand...

One would think/expect no duplicates ... but that statement is valid with or without duplicating same album in conductor app if same album resides on N10 for instance and ACS used to back up the N10. Makes no sense but it seems to me, based on user experience, that if I copied my N10 library to the ACS then the conductor app would see the library twice (n10 and acs) and dutifully display all albums from both units, duplicates and all. If that’s the case, it’s a severely broken system.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top