Aurender ACS100 as streamer/player

I've heard about Innuos Zenith Mk3 (with CD ripper), but I prefer the remote apps offered by Aurender or Auralic.

Why?  Innuos’ latest upgrade of their Sense app has been getting very high praise from users.  Should be on your radar IMHO. 

First of all, I am a huge Aurender fan. I own two and have auditioned others. They only make streamers… some of the best in the world.

I recommend one… just not that one. The ACS is a specialty box. It was made as an add on box for folks that already had an Aurender streamer who wanted to rip stuff… a legacy box from the not so distant past. I think you would do much better with a main stream… N200 for instance. You can always rip CDs somewhere else. For the future you should have flexibility in connection type and you will get top notch sound quality. No use spending money on non-essential functions.

Once you get your streaming service (Qobuz… is best) quality up to file streaming you are likely to find no reason to rip and store any more. So looking to the future, I would invest as little as possible in ripping and storage. I have thousands of ripped files on my Aurender N100 and W20SE that I never listen to. I have been giving away my CDs.

lalitk - Thanks for your detailed response.  Sounds like the ACS100 could work as a one-box, if care is given to the USB connection.  I did notice the ACS10 but was worried about its use of internal HDD. I can't remember how many crashed hard drives I've replaced in my life. Seems like there's no SSD option in ACS10. 

soix - I'll check out the Sense app. Do you own Innuos? Initially it seemed that Innuos remote management was more complicated and/or required Roon.

ghdprentice - All good points, but now I think we're getting into the philosophical question of whether to own music or not.  Could be a generational thing, but I would like to eventually have a digital music library.  And I'd rather not pay for a download if I can rip a CD I already own (or an LP; I have a good A/D convertor). For me, the ripping needs to be easy/reliable and not several steps removed. For albums that I really enjoy but don't own, there is just an urge to possess the digital file via download.  Streaming remains ideal for exploration of past recordings and new releases.

@ral 

I hear you on HDD drives but given Aurender’s track record of reliability and excellent customer service support, it’s safe to assume that you don’t have to worry about internal drives crashing anytime soon. The UPS option in both ACS10 and 100 ensures safe shut down incase of power outages. In any case, always keep a backup copy of your music on an external HDD drive. 

I do like the user installed SSD option in ACS100 and newer units. Like you, I am hanging on to my CD rips that are superior sounding to their streaming counterparts. I still buy CD’s and Downloads sourced from analog masters. The ACS100 makes it a breeze to curate, browse and play all of my music.