Aurender W20 vs my hot-rodded PC server

To give you a better idea what it takes to get to the level of Aurender W-20:


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And I that does not show my NAS drive, which should also be included on the pic !
 
Adam, I count four PSU's powering your computer. Well, I know that the LPS-1 is powering your JCAT card because you said so. But what are all the other PSU's for? Would you be able to post a picture of the internals of your PC?
 
1. TeraDak is a linear ATX PSU. It powers the MoBo via the regular ATX connector. This is the hi-end alternative to regular computer SMPS ATX bricks or the commonly used Pico PSU + linear single rail PSU combos. The later, although much better than the SMPS ATX bricks, still has the noisy DC-DC converters onboard (Pico PSU uses them to generate all voltages needed by the MoBo i.e. +12V, -12V, +5V, -5V, +3.3V from the 15-19V input DC provided by a signle rail PSU). In the TeraDak linear ATX PSU, there no DC-DC converters - all voltage rails have dedicated linear regulators.

2. The UpTone Audio PSUs are used to power the Jcat Femto USB card.

The PSU arrangement for the card looks like this:

AC Mains > JS-2 PSU (230VAC to 9VDC) > UltraCap LPS-1 (9VDC to 5VDC) > Jcat Femto USB card

3. The Jcat BPS-02B battery PSU is used to power the SSD (suprisingly big gain !).

Now I started wondering, what would happen if I deployed this battery PSU to power the Aurender's SSD ...

I gave the Aurender back, but I think I'm gonna try this next time I get the N10 and W20.
 
I am curious how a Bryston BDP-2 with the upgraded card compares to an Aurender or Lumin streamer? I haven't compared it to a modded pc either so I can't comment on that comparison.

Also, do some DAC's work better or have synergy with some streamers? Software seems to be a factor as well. I find the Manic Moose software, though not as user friendly, offers better sound quality than Roon. Tidal is also not as good as red book Flac files from my external hd. It sounds less 3d with less detail. Music sounds like an fm station with Tidal which is alright for background music (not a bad thing).
 
Thank you, Adam. I currently have my PC powered with an Uptone JS-2. It made a huge improvement compared to the Streacom SMPS. Would you say that the Teradak is superior to the Uptone?

Is yours the "600W Type R Bovine have a fever Linear PSU" with the "400W Type R cattle" power output? http://www.teradak.com/products/106.html

If it is better than the Uptone, I will probably order one.

(edit) the wiring harness on that Bovine Have a Fever LPSU looks rather short. Would you mind posting a picture of the internals of your case please?
 
I have found with my Aria 2 that has SSD only that with the external power supply, it does make a difference for the better.
 
Mike said:
I tried SOTA parts too when I build my various music servers over the years. None of mine could beat the Aurender or Lumin U1 either.
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Hi Mike, I've been learning so much from reading your posts. Thank you huge. I'd be even more thankful if you could spare few min to advise me on Aurender W20 vs Lumin S1 and Linn Klimax DSM (if you are familiar with this one as well). And thank you for being my first friend on AS here :-)
 
VNladyaudiophile said:
Hi Mike, I've been learning so much from reading your posts. Thank you huge. I'd be even more thankful if you could spare few min to advise me on Aurender W20 vs Lumin S1 and Linn Klimax DSM (if you are familiar with this one as well). And thank you for being my first friend on AS here :-)
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You're very welcome. Sorry for not yet responding to your opening post. I will get to it. You are on the right track with your research. Kronos Sparta for sure. Don't go nuts on the phonostage as Kronos will have a phonostage for the Sparta by end of year, early next year. Maybe get something just to get by for now. Manley Chinook? Zesto? Something to get by.

Can't compare W20 to S1. One is a network music player and one is a streamer. Forget Linn, they are living in the stone ages. Their app sucks (most users rely on the Lumin app) and they don't do DSD, MQA or Roon.

I would do Aurender N10 with Chord DAVE or Lumin A1 (sounds like vinyl/R2R) - very analog.


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Mike said:
You're very welcome. Sorry for not yet responding to your opening post. I will get to it. You are on the right track with your research. Kronos Sparta for sure. Don't go nuts on the phonostage as Kronos will have a phonostage for the Sparta by end of year, early next year. Maybe get something just to get by for now. Manley Chinook? Zesto? Something to get by.

Can't compare W20 to S1. One is a network music player and one is a streamer. Forget Linn, they are living in the stone ages. Their app sucks (most users rely on the Lumin app) and they don't do DSD, MQA or Roon.

I would do Aurender N10 with Chord DAVE or Lumin A1 (sounds like vinyl/R2R) - very analog.


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Hi Mike, thank you so much for your great fast reply <3
it's great to know about the upcoming Kronos phono stage. I hold on for analog source.
Aurender N10 vs W20: you don't think I need to spend the extra for better sound quality? I already have very good DAC DSD. And, which one sounds more vinyl: Aurender vs Lumin?
Thank you thank you :-)
 
VNladyaudiophile said:
Hi Mike, thank you so much for your great fast reply <3
it's great to know about the upcoming Kronos phono stage. I hold on for analog source.
Aurender N10 vs W20: you don't think I need to spend the extra for better sound quality? And, which one sounds more vinyl: Aurender vs Lumin?
Thank you thank you :-)
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W20 is only beneficial if you go for the big $100k DCS stack with dual clock inputs. N10 is what you want (for use with an external DAC) or Lumin A1 for all-in-one.

Don't delay on the Kronos Sparta. Just get a cheapie phonostage for now like the iFi Phono


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Mike said:
You're very welcome. Sorry for not yet responding to your opening post. I will get to it. You are on the right track with your research. Kronos Sparta for sure. Don't go nuts on the phonostage as Kronos will have a phonostage for the Sparta by end of year, early next year. Maybe get something just to get by for now. Manley Chinook? Zesto? Something to get by.

Can't compare W20 to S1. One is a network music player and one is a streamer. Forget Linn, they are living in the stone ages. Their app sucks (most users rely on the Lumin app) and they don't do DSD, MQA or Roon.

I would do Aurender N10 with Chord DAVE or Lumin A1 (sounds like vinyl/R2R) - very analog.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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HI Mike, since I already own a good DAC DSD by Vitus SCD-025MKII, would you recommend me to wait to demo Lumin U1? Do you think its SQ could compare to Lumin S1? Vietnam will have U1 in 1 month :-)
 
The Lumin U1 has no dac built in, it is essentially the streamer part of the Lumins so you can easily feed the cd player via the Digital Inputs: 1 x RCA, 1 x XLR, 1 x USB and have the Vitus act as the dac and the Lumin U1 will give you all the streaming qualities of the line. To me, that makes perfect sense and uses your existing cd player without being redundant.

I think Mike will agree.

VNladyaudiophile said:
HI Mike, since I already own a good DAC DSD by Vitus SCD-025MKII, would you recommend me to wait to demo Lumin U1? Do you think its SQ could compare to Lumin S1? Vietnam will have U1 in 1 month :-)
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VNladyaudiophile said:
HI Mike, since I already own a good DAC DSD by Vitus SCD-025MKII, would you recommend me to wait to demo Lumin U1? Do you think its SQ could compare to Lumin S1? Vietnam will have U1 in 1 month :-)
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Hi Chau, and a belated warm welcome to AudioShark! I wouldn't speak for Mike but I'd strongly encourage you to check out either the Lumin U1 or Aurender N10 to use as a server with your fine Vitus DAC. They are both of excellent quality and have very well designed control apps to efficiently access your digital music library.
 
joeinid said:
The Lumin U1 has no dac built in, it is essentially the streamer part of the Lumins so you can easily feed the cd player via the Digital Inputs: 1 x RCA, 1 x XLR, 1 x USB and have the Vitus act as the dac and the Lumin U1 will give you all the streaming qualities of the line. To me, that makes perfect sense and uses your existing cd player without being redundant.

I think Mike will agree.
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Dear Joe, Thank you very much for your input. Have I read somewhere that your eyes were on Lumin U1, too? Or I read too much my brain is cooked? :-))
 
I have a Lumin U1, but honestly have not hooked it up yet. Now that I have the QX5 Twenty, it is an easier way to use my QX5. I need to play with it and let you know how it is. I already love the Lumin interface.

Mike has recommended an Aurender (N10?) to me because it is already certified to play MQA titles (which I desperately want), has built in storage and I can continue to use my QX5 with it and switch between the dacs at will. I like the Aurender idea, but that would duplicate dacs for me and be an expense above and beyond what I already have. At least the Lumin U1 would just feed my current dac.

So much gear, so little time.

VNladyaudiophile said:
Dear Joe, Thank you very much for your input. Have I read somewhere that your eyes were on Lumin U1, too? Or I read too much my brain is cooked? :-))
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