Aurender N10 vs. Lumin U1 ?

audio.bill

audio.bill

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I've grown tired of dealing with a laptop PC being used as a dedicated server, and am considering the purchase of either the Aurender N10 or Lumin U1. I'd appreciate thoughts from anyone who has compared them as far as their ultimate sound quality. I realize that the Aurender has 4TB internal hard drives which the Lumin does not, but an external USB hard drive can easily be connected to the Lumin. Thanks in advance for your participation and sharing your thoughts on these competitive servers.
 
I have both. I think the 4TB internal storage is nice on the N10. I think the 240 cache drive on the N10 helps to produce a slightly blacker background. In contrast, the Lumin employs an external PSU, the benefits of which are arguable.

As for the apps, both are excellent, but see LeRoy's comments on his comparison of both.

As for the Lumin, it can upsample any PCM to DSD, the Aurender cannot. Both can convert DSD to PCM.

Cost wise, the N10 is $7999 and the U1 is $5900.


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I have not tried either, but I am curious as to what about dealing with a laptop you have grown tired of? I know when I was using the Surface as the server it was kind of a pain to have to go over to the system to change music, etc. I know the look of a laptop/PC with monitor may detract from the audio rack....

I found after I dedicated a PC to being a headless Roon server, not needing keyboard, monitor, etc., and then using the Surface as the Roon controller was a real eye opener. The Surface can also remote desktop to the PC to load up new music, etc.

Oh, to do the remote desktop thing does require Windows 10 Professional if you are using Windows 10.

Sorry if this is unwanted interjection. I was curious as to what about using a PC as a server you were getting tired of.
 
Bill, I was in same situation. Getting tired of play with my laptop as my server so I decided to go with the Aurender and never look back. Finally the digital files makes me feel like they are part of my music collection :).


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Randy Myers said:
I have not tried either, but I am curious as to what about dealing with a laptop you have grown tired of? I know when I was using the Surface as the server it was kind of a pain to have to go over to the system to change music, etc. I know the look of a laptop/PC with monitor may detract from the audio rack....

I found after I dedicated a PC to being a headless Roon server, not needing keyboard, monitor, etc., and then using the Surface as the Roon controller was a real eye opener. The Surface can also remote desktop to the PC to load up new music, etc.

Oh, to do the remote desktop thing does require Windows 10 Professional if you are using Windows 10.

Sorry if this is unwanted interjection. I was curious as to what about using a PC as a server you were getting tired of.
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Randy, it's hard to explain, but I have a Windows 10 laptop (God help me), a MacBook Pro, an Aurender N10 and Lumin U1. The Windows/Mac computers are a distant third/fourth for usability, sonics, etc. They are frankly both a pain in the ass. I've also had a CAPS 3.0 machine and it was good, but it wasn't at the level of the Aurender or Lumin I can assure you. The frustrations with the O/S, flavor of the week programs, all which were buggy and what not, remain. Frankly, using a Windows/Mac for computer audio is an exercise in frustration. But again, for those who are into geeking out, all the power to them. I just want to listen frustration free (and get best sonics).

If you're a total DIY kind of guy and you love to brag that your RAM is bigger than the next guys RAM, than have at it. For those of us who just want to listen to music and enjoy the digital experience, the Aurender/Lumin products make it so.
 
Randy - I can appreciate where you're coming from, but I don't like the seemingly endless array of tweaks, software, and related setting changes that come along with using a PC as a server. I'm specifically referring to add-ons like the Regen/Recovery (which I know you're a fan of), different software preferences and then finding each one's optimal settings. On a daily basis I hear about new software to achieve the best sound quality (i.e. JRiver vs. JPlay, Bughead Emperor, HQPlayer upconverting everything to DSD, Roon, etc.) as well as each one's endless combinations of options and settings. I really want to get a properly designed dedicated server and software package that already has everything optimized which I can use and enjoy. I don't like continually wondering whether a different piece of software or settings may be better than what I'm using, it's an exhausting and very frustrating process for me. It's also been my experience that such dedicated music servers sound significantly better than conventional PCs being used as servers (which I realize many including you will disagree with.) Glad that you've found a setup that you're so happy with and works well for you, but it doesn't meet everyone's needs and that's the reason for the success of dedicated server products like those being discussed here.
 
audio.bill said:
Randy - I can appreciate where you're coming from, but I don't like the seemingly endless array of tweaks, software, and related setting changes that come along with using a PC as a server. I'm specifically referring to add-ons like the Regen/Recovery (which I know you're a fan of), different software preferences and then finding each one's optimal settings. On a daily basis I hear about new software to achieve the best sound quality (i.e. JRiver vs. JPlay, Bughead Emperor, HQPlayer upconverting everything to DSD, Roon, etc.) as well as each one's endless combinations of options and settings. I really want to get a properly designed dedicated server and software package that already has everything optimized which I can use and enjoy. I don't like continually wondering whether a different piece of software or settings may be better than what I'm using, it's an exhausting and very frustrating process for me. It's also been my experience that such dedicated music servers sound significantly better than conventional PCs being used as servers (which I realize many including you will disagree with.) Glad that you've found a setup that you're so happy with and works well for you, but it doesn't meet everyone's needs and that's the reason for the success of dedicated server products like those being discussed here.
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Highly accurate assessment Bill. I'm in the same boat as you and others here in that I want a digital player solution that is technically simple and sonically excellent together with repeatable / reliable operation. I've spent far too many years jacking around with computers in previous career positions to ever want to have that headache when I simply want to sit down, relax and listen to music.

I don't think you can go wrong with either the Aurender or Lumin according to your description of what you're chasing for a solution.
 
When I changed from my Mac mini to Bryston BDP-1, it was a revelation, most notably top to bottom coherency. Then added a Shunyata Alpha Digital, things went up another notch.
Admittedly though, Bryston app is nowhere near Lumin or Aurender. But BDP-1 compared to Lumin A1 digital out isn't that far apart, using the same dac. Had a Lumin A1 before.
 
Hi all,
Would just like to share my experience with computer audio. I have previously moved back and forth between computer and media server and am now settled for best SQ in my system after 20 years in this hobby, with the following set-up :-

Windows 10 laptop with 12G RAM and JRiver -> AQ Jitterbug -> Oyaide usb cable -> IFi usb-spdif converter -. Esoteric K-01 coax input -> Ayre K-5xeMP preamp -> Bryston 28 SST monos -> VA The Music speakers.

With the Jitterbug in the chain, the sound is truly spectacular, much better than anything the Esoteric's VRDS Neo transport or previous media server could muster in the past for redbook files.

Using the JRiver mobile app called Gizmo, I control everything from my phone/listening chair. So, no more getting up to change discs in the player or change tracks at the laptop - the pain is all over.
The sonic quality coupled withe and convenience of access to my entire music collection right at my fingertips - it doesn't get any better than this!

J. :)
 
Similar to MikeCh I've had a long career in IT (telecommunications software development and project management,) so that the last thing I want to deal with are technical issues when it comes to enjoying my music. That's one of the reason's I enjoy analog playback so much, once everything's setup it just works and I find the entire process to be very engaging. To each their own, and thanks again to everyone for sharing your perspective!
 
audio.bill said:
Similar to MikeCh I've had a long career in IT (telecommunications software development and project management,) so that the last thing I want to deal with are technical issues when it comes to enjoying my music. That's one of the reason's I enjoy analog playback so much, once everything's setup it just works and I find the entire process to be very engaging. To each their own, and thanks again to everyone for sharing your perspective!
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EXACTLY! Same here. I deal with software implementations all day long and related server issues, the last thing I want to do is deal with IT headaches in my audio system.
 
Very good and much appreciated. I am so glad to get feedback on peoples experiences. I find it enlightening and again, to me, all part of the learning experience.

Thank you...

So far, after all these years I have not gotten to the point where fiddling with the computer drives me crazy. I certainly like getting things working where I don't have to play too much when I want to just sit down and listen. With Roon in place and using the Surface as a controller I got to say it is a pleasure to just listen to music, far less of a pain that I recall analog being :D...

Obviously I have gone to the extreme, having two computers (a high end compact PC that looks like it belongs in the audio rack and a Surface Pro 3 as a dedicated controller). I do enjoy and totally appreciate others points of view and opinions... so again, thank you!
 
Being older and not very computer savy, I purchased a Mac Mini from a fellow audio friend. He assisted me in getting it up and running on my system and then left me on my own. My hopes were to go headless but as of yet I have not had it working smoothly enough to remove the monitor. Furthermore I have not been able to match or exceed the sound quality of my old CD player.
I will continue to work on this to try and get it functioning properly and improve the sound quality.
This is not what I had envisioned when I heard about the "wonders of Computer Audio". It's more like I wonder why I tried computer audio.
I went to a fellow sharks home to check out his system. He had an Aurender. It was compact, attractive, easy to use and sounded great.
That is what I hoped Computer Audio to be like and I can now understand the attraction to servers such as the Aurender and Lumen.
It is VERY highly possible that one of these type of servers are in my future.
 
jadedavid said:
Being older and not very computer savy, I purchased a Mac Mini from a fellow audio friend. He assisted me in getting it up and running on my system and then left me on my own. My hopes were to go headless but as of yet I have not had it working smoothly enough to remove the monitor. Furthermore I have not been able to match or exceed the sound quality of my old CD player.
I will continue to work on this to try and get it functioning properly and improve the sound quality.
This is not what I had envisioned when I heard about the "wonders of Computer Audio". It's more like I wonder why I tried computer audio.
I went to a fellow sharks home to check out his system. He had an Aurender. It was compact, attractive, easy to use and sounded great.
That is what I hoped Computer Audio to be like and I can now understand the attraction to servers such as the Aurender and Lumen.
It is VERY highly possible that one of these type of servers are in my future.
Click to expand...

LOL!
 
I went through this exact same decision a short time ago. Although I have a Synology DS1515+ NAS (holds 5x HDD's), it's in the same room as my stereo system and I need to get the room's noise floor as low as possible. 5x 7200rpm spinning disks does not make for a quiet unit, so streaming directly off my NAS was eliminated as an option. In the end I chose an Aurender N10 for the more quiet version of local storage it offers, including a silent 240GB SSD cache.
 
jadedavid said:
Being older and not very computer savy, I purchased a Mac Mini from a fellow audio friend. He assisted me in getting it up and running on my system and then left me on my own. My hopes were to go headless but as of yet I have not had it working smoothly enough to remove the monitor. Furthermore I have not been able to match or exceed the sound quality of my old CD player.
I will continue to work on this to try and get it functioning properly and improve the sound quality.
This is not what I had envisioned when I heard about the "wonders of Computer Audio". It's more like I wonder why I tried computer audio.
I went to a fellow sharks home to check out his system. He had an Aurender. It was compact, attractive, easy to use and sounded great.
That is what I hoped Computer Audio to be like and I can now understand the attraction to servers such as the Aurender and Lumen.
It is VERY highly possible that one of these type of servers are in my future.
Click to expand...

Dave,

Don't give up, as the whole CA thing, was new to me two years ago as well, but in truth the Mac Mini is more then capable of holding you and I both over, until it's time to move onto one of these dedicated music servers. I hope that you're at least using Audirvana Plus as your music software?, as it does to my improve the notes themself tenfold, and quite easily surpasses my older DP-65V or Sony SCD-777ES ( Richard Kern Mod | Level 5 ) without breaking a sweat.

Yet in the end, from one Michigander to another, it's all about moving forwards and this is where the future of music is heading, not saying it will ever replace vinyl played back on a decent table, but compared to CDs, I'd much rather listen to music files played back in either DXD 705 or DSD 128 as a bare minimum these days.

Have fun........., and do keep in mind two very key factors ......., no wear and tear.
 
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