Aurender Owners

CDLehner

CDLehner

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In anticipation of my N100 arriving (which my dealer tells me, might be much sooner than he thought!); I'm starting this thread, for any/all of the Aurender owners here.

Raise your hand...post your model :audiophile:


 
Chris - do you have the Auralic Aries? If not, I could send you mine for a shootout.

Mike


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o0OBillO0o said:
I sure hope it's better than your Squeezebox! Enjoy!
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Bill...do you mean that like "man...Squeezebox sucks; so I sure hope it's better than that thing". Or "man...Squeezebox is great; so I sure hope it betters it, for all the extra jack you're paying". :P

I happen to think, the Squeezebox...is perhaps the, best bang-for-the-buck audio product; I have ever owned. Actually...no perhaps about it! For $300, you got a hi-res, high-fidelity source; interfaces with ALL streaming apps (in the day), and...literally, a World of Internet radio. It supported FLAC, back when it was a 4-letter word to most audio companies; and it's always had a remote/app.

Not only that...but a great community (and open-source firmware); which is the only reason it's survived, after Logitech pulled the plug. I've got 2 SBTs, one headless Duet...and a Radio. They've done a damn fine job...but the hobbyist community, can only keep it afloat for so long. When I have trouble these days...like with the ickStream/TIDAL drop-outs; hard for me to know if it's software or hardware related...as the SB is pretty much dead and unsupported at this time.

But may it R.I.P. I was an early adopter...and in those 10-11 years or so; I threw ALL comers at it (within reason; can't expect a $300 SB to compete with a $7k Lumin :P). Sure...they can handle your library just fine; but, when it came to services and Internet radio...SB was king!

I'll be holding on, probably to at least one SBT (with high-current PSU)...and the Radio. I can take it anywhere, and hear anything!

Mike said:
Chris - do you have the Auralic Aries? If not, I could send you mine for a shootout.

Mike
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I will call you Godfather; because that's an offer, I can't refuse. :happy:
 
Good. Will let you know when my Auralic arrives. As for the Squeezebox, I have two. They are excellent for the $$$$. I love great values. Why oh why did SB discontinue it? They could have improved upon it with a newer DAC chip and the like and kept on selling them. Crazy. [emoji11]


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CDLehner said:
Bill...do you mean that like "man...Squeezebox sucks; so I sure hope it's better than that thing". Or "man...Squeezebox is great; so I sure hope it betters it, for all the extra jack you're paying". :P
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Ha- Sorry lost in translation. I think the Squeezebox is a KILLER value. I've been using LMS and Softsqueeze and it's the bomb dot com! I want the Aries/Aurender to be even better!
 
^^ Ah; right on ;)

I tell you; some audiophiles give me sh*t about it. They call it "that clock"; but I can't tell you, how many pics I've seen of 5 and 6-figure systems...with a little Touch, sitting somewhere in the mix!

And for the record...when I talk about its SQ; it's always to an outboard DAC. That's kind of the way, I like my digital front end; I suppose, the way some are die-hard about pre-amp and power. Seps, as opposed to an IA. I want the transport, to really just get my file...from A to B, intact and bit-perfect; be stable, have a good UI and roster of services and features. Then I let a kick-ass DAC...which is, my one and only source...make it sound good.

The SB...again, at the price; delivered that BIG TIME. In fact...I think the days, of streamers offering multiple services; seems to be a thing of the past. I think the paradigm, moving forward; is going to be to align yourself, with one or another. It seems like the "lower-end" products, like the Pioneer and Marantz units; are turning to Spotify. Higher-end units, like Aurender, Auralic, et al; TIDAL. I wonder where that leaves, a service like Beats? I was a big MOG fan; when Beats bought them, I looked around and took to Spotify (eventually...lol). Can't say I hear/read much about Beats these days; wonder if they ever got traction.

As for the Aurender...here are the things that sold me: 1) NO hard drive. I don't want it...and I sure as hell, don't want to pay $500 extra...for a $70 1T drive, lol. That's just me. I know there are guys, who don't have an NAS...and/or, want files local and in the room. But again...part of my compartmentalized approach; and I just find hard drives noisy as hell. My dealer even sweetened a deal, to get an X100...because I'm like the only guy that wants the disc-less N100; but I passed.

2) It does have, an SSD for buffering. I think this likely pays BIG sonic benefits. A 1T SSD is available, but I happen to think 128G is plenty. If I notice any choking, on double-DSDs; I'm sure you can always send it back to Aurender for upgrade (that is, if you can't swap it out yourself; and because a 1T SSD, will run you about $350...its $500 price tag, isn't so hard to swallow).

3) Nice form factor; nice UI and remote app. Functionality remains to be seen; but I know one thing that wowed me, right off the bat. If you're having trouble with your unit; you can request a remote connection, right from the app! Aurender will remote in, diagnose and fix the issue. Sweet!

That being said...I hear nothing but great things, about the Aries as well; and it was a close call. So...I can't wait, to shoot them out :audiophile:
 
1)I really like the User Interface (UI)- I still want a Meridian Sooloos Metadata, $7500, (AllMusic.com is the source for that)- It makes music discovery amazing.

2) I don't like Hard Drives either, that's why I sold my McIntosh MS300. Still, with my 400 Disc changer (that it controlled) it could rip and tag all 400 discs with out me lifting a finger between loading and unloading.

3) I need both streaming an local music, I have CD's that aren't on Musicbrainz, Allmusic.com, GraceNote's CDDB, Discogs, & FreeDB for Metadata and I don't want to spend time entering it all in. I also want to rip about 10 Vinyl records that I have that sound different from the CD release OR I just can't find the digital version.
 
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Nice Chris, look forward to you sharing your experience on ease of use and sound quality in comparison to that of the Squeezebox. I too find the Squeezebox a handy and decent quality sounding unit for the price.
 
I'm glad I looked at this thread. I have been waiting for a review of the Aries ever since I first heard about it. I have their Vega DAC, and love it. In my mind the Aries does what my Bryston BDP-1 does, and more, while costing less. My only concern is the power supply. Is it a cheap wall-wart, or is it a decent external supply that will accept a better power cord.
 
Looks like a Brick.. :(

Beefy though

16566d1421979092-aries_remote_psu.jpg
 
Actually, it's a choice. There is an LE version, for only $999; that uses a wall-wart (I assume; it doesn't use the brick), and I think a few less beefy parts inside.
 
The Aries has two flavors. The better uses two femto clocks, and apparently has a 'better' power supply. I read somewhere else that the case is plastic on both, which is suppossed to help the wireless. Of course, it also helps keep the price down. Whether if affects audio performance is to be determined.
 
Ritmo said:
What DAC are you going to use Mike?
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I bought Jerry's DirectStream and a WW Platinum 7 USB. It is NOT a Lumin replacement - it's just for fun. I have already A:B it to the Lumin and the Lumin is better for redbook and high res PCM.
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