Auralic vs Aurender

My Aurender N20 Music Server is installed and working great.  The N20 is supplied WITHOUT hard drives installed. This means hard drives are the customer’s choice. Each of the two rear panel mounting sleds accommodates a 1, 2, 4 or 8TB 2.5-inch SSD or up to 5TB 15mm height 2.5inch HDDs. Since users have different storage requirements, Aurender feels this is the best way to satisfy everyone.  Aurender recommends Samsung EVO (I used Samsung EVO) or QVO series internal SSD drives, and Western Digital or Seagate HDDs.

The SSD Disk installation means you loosen the screws on the back of the unit, pull out the slot, insert the SSD, push in and tighten the screws (top slot is Music1).  After I installed the SSD, I went to the Conductor App, settings, disk information tab to format the SSD (please see instruction links below).   If, for some reason, the format command does not appear, please POWER DOWN and turn the electrical power off and restart manually.  Restarting takes time because the N20 has UPS circuitry inside.

I checked for software updates on the N20 (there were none) and deleted my old Conductor App and installed a new copy from the App Store on my iPad.   For startup purposes, the N20 displays a six-digit code that must be entered into the Conductor App.   

My new N20 sounds excellent. The music is clearer, the bass is better, has more air and it has more musical details. The overall musical presentation is much improved.  I am listening to jazz now and the SQ is much improved.  

You know the music is great when I am typing a message and music catches my attention and forces me to look up.  This unit is truly outstanding.  I am very impressed. Cranking the volume and this unit is truly amazing. It is much improved over the N10.  The music has more feeling and depth.

I copied my albums from my LaCie external hard drive (backup drive) to the N20 okay.  I also ran the scanner, scan for newly added files, so all my albums appeared okay.  This worked perfectly.  Please note the scan for newly added files takes time to run (watch for messages on your App).  

A miracle!  Next, I restored my music1/backup and all my Qobuz links were returned. This is needed since my main library includes BOTH my stored CD’s and Qobuz links.  Previously, I used the backup my Music1 tab and also copied all my albums to my LaCie external hard drive.  For this step, I restored my settings from Music1/backup file.  This is a required step to ensure all my QoBuz related links were restored.  

In summary, the N20 sounds terrific.  I really like it.  This is a substantial sound quality improvement.  I find the Conductor App very easy to use and find albums to play.   I can very easily navigate between m stored CD albums, QoBuz and Internet radio stations.   

The Aurender N20 Music Server is highly recommended.    

@wjt3,  As I stated above, I recommend the Aurender N10 music server for its excellent sound quality, build quality and an easy to use interface that makes finding your music simple.   The Aurender Conductor App enables me to quickly find the album I want and play it.   The Aurender has a 240G solid-state drive that is used to cache music for playback for the very best sound quality.

As you can see from above many posts, the selection of a music server is not an easy decision or process.  It seems, everyone has a DIFFERENT server recommendation.  I suggest you make a list of the important features your music server needs and your questions.  For example, please review:

1) What is your price range for a music server? 

2)  What features does your server need?   For example, I wanted my CD albums stored in the same box, wanted Tidal, Qobuz Streaming Services and also Internet radio stations. And, also the ability to add more additional streaming services when they become available. 

3)  Do you want a DAC built into the streamer or a separate DAC?   For maximum flexibility, I decided on an external DAC. 

4)  What digital outputs do you need?  I decided on a Music streamer with BOTH USB and AES/EBU digital outputs to my DAC.  In most cases, I prefer the AEB/EBU connection (a very high priority for me).  Some music servers offer an Ethernet audio connection for output. 

5)  Is a Roon interface important to you?  If needed, you need a Roon enabled server.  I decided that Roon is NOT required.  In my case, the Aurender Conductor App is easy to use AND DOES exactly what I need.  However, several of my friends purchased a Roon enabled server and likes it very much. Another friend purchased the Roonlabs Nucleus by Roon Music Server and recommends it.

6)  Your server needs a controlling App that runs on an iPad or something similar.  You need to review the App to ensure it supports your needs to easily find and manage your music selections. 

7) Does your server offer Remote Internet Technical Support?  The Aurender does.  I used this once and they solved my user operational issue very quickly (my error).  

8)  Since I have owned my Aurender N10, Aurender has made several software updates that have greatly improved the features of the N10.  These updates were contained in various software updates that are easy to install.   Your selected server needs to have the ability to be quickly  updated.   

9)  Sound quality is the MOST important.  In my case, I asked many questions, talked to many people, read many reviews and auditioned various servers to help me make the right decision.   I selected the Aurender N10 Music Server for its excellent sound quality.

I hope the above helps you make a decision.  Thanks....