Aurender W20 or ACS10

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paleo12

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Hi,

I'm thinking of buying an Aurender to replace my Melco N1, hoping for an increase in convenience and sound quality. I like the look of the ACS10 but I may be able to pick up a secondhand W20 for near enough the same price as a new ACS10. I'm using an Esoteric K05X as a DAC. From what I read, the ACS10 may be more convenient and the W20, one would imagine, has a better sound quality. At 3 years old, the W20 would be out of warranty, and the drives (which are striped and not mirrored) will be closer to needing replacing. I would appreciate some advice from people who know these machines. Is the difference in sound quality of the W20 only evident if one has an absolutely astounding DAC? Funds and pandemic permitting, I might upgrade the Esoteric to a K03XD within a year or so.

Many thanks.
 
The ACS10 is really optimized for storage and ripping, however, it’s sonic quality is in between an N100H and N10. USB only. The one to get is the N20. The screen is gorgeous and the sound rivals the W20SE. The N20 makes sense if you’re going to step up to the K-03XD. That’s the setup we use in the store.


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The Melco's have a fantastic network "filter", I honestly don't know how much better you can get in a purely digital streamer without spending 10x. Made in Japan also means a little more to me than Korea.
 
Thanks for that. The N20 has just become available in the UK, and retails at £12,500. (and for $12,000 in the US for some reason) I was thinking of spending about half of that, so the choice would remain between the secondhand W20 or a new ASC10 I'm afraid.
 
Interesting, thanks. Have you listened to a Melco N1 and compared it with one of the Aurenders I'm considering? I would certainly be looking for a reasonable improvement in sound quality, and ideally an increase in convenience.
 
I own the N1ZS/EX, it is a fantastic streamer but has its limitations. I owned 2 Aurender's back about 3 years ago and both were having drop-out issues. My Lumin and Bryston did not so it was not a network issue.

Only you can decide what provides a reasonable and audible improvement... in my experience, the Melco is awesome.
 
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