Aurender N20

I agree.  The N20 is one of the best streamers I have ever heard.

Great to hear you are enjoying it so much!

@vonhelmholtz

Congratulations! I recommend take your time to play with Conductor App.
The bit rate is displayed next to album art in the app. And yes you can make new playlist and save it in Qobuz or access your existing playlist saved to Qobuz. Take a look at app manual here,

https://www.notion.so/Conductor-App-Manual-V3-a78b4ddbe61440bc988fce52e34d0dfb

N20 is a very versatile player. Enjoy!

@lalitk 

Thank you.  I guess the iPhone version requires a bit more effort to find the streaming bitrate, but it is there.

@vonhelmholtz 

Sorry I assumed that you were using an iPad :-) 

I read a thread on audiosciencereview.com, while researching the N20, where someone was looking for a way to duplicate the N20 for much less money.  It turns out, all you need is a Raspberry Pi, Synology NAS and Roon.  Damn, I have both a Synology NAS and Roon.  The suggested Pi was $200.  According to the post this combination is more capable than the N20.  Damn..wasted my money.

“all you need is a Raspberry Pi, Synology NAS and Roon…..Damn..wasted my money! 
@vonhelmholtz 

Thanks for the laughs! Now that you’ve mentioned ASR, the CFO minions will be right along, brace for the impact!

@vonhelmholtz Your most recent post is hilarious. I had to do a double take after reading it. :)

It makes me happy to hear of your satisfaction in the N20. It truly is the best performance-to-value unit in the Aurender lineup. I would say the N200 is the runner up. I've been able to directly compare the N20 and N30SA and I would say that they are quite close in character. The N20 has a slightly warmer and punchy delivery, but not as resolving as the N30SA. The N30SA delivers with a bit more ease and refinement and more effortly reveals detail. It is still very tonally dense like the N20, but just balances out a little more. Some might say the N30 is less dynamic than the N20, but it's just a different presentation. I could honestly be happy with either, but since I have the N30SA in possession I am holding on to it!

The DH Labs cables are really wonderful and outperform other brands costing many times more. I am glad to have been able to recommend them to you.

“I could honestly be happy with either, but since I have the N30SA in possession I am holding on to it!”

@blisshifi

How about swapping out your N30SA with my N20 and call it a day :-)

@lalitk Well part of the reason why I could honestly be happy is that there would likely be thousands of dollars back in my pocket alongside the N20 to be happy with it. :)

I tried to join audioscience review in order to post on the N20 thread, but my membership was rejected. I’m guessing that I couldn’t convince Elon to buy audiosciencereview.com... no, probably not.

I was going to suggest that the best way to get the functionality of the N20 for less money was to buy it used.

I'm use to rejection...I'm married.

I'm use to rejection...I'm married.

Heh heh.  At least she didn’t reject you getting the wonderful N20. 

OP,

Congratulations. Amazing isn’t it?

I played around with alternatives for a long time balking at the idea of spending a fortune on a box with no more than a PC in it… until I tried one… and quickly moved up to an Aurender W20SE… with an N100 for my headphone system. As intellectually attractive is the idea the streamer doesn’t mater… one listen and the argument falls to pieces.

Thanks for the post. This is how we can help coax the hesitant to the other side.

It seems that Conductor displays more on the larger iPad vs iPhone. I was using an old Fire HD with Roon and it worked great, but didn’t see Aurender in AP store. Also, didn’t see Conductor in AP store for my MacBook Pro.

@vonhelmholtz 

Conductor iOS app on a iPad offers the best experience.

If you really want to torture yourself, go over to the Roon Community website where they get hot under the collar telling you bits are bits and you don’t even need a streamer.  Just go directly from a Nuc running Roon into your DAC!

And since they watch Audio Science Review, they’ll tell you any old wires will do.

@dougthebiker 

It really is amazing how threatened many people feel in an environment of diverse opinions.  

The conductor app is pretty bad. Lightning DS is so much better than conductor, and IMO Auralic makes a better streamer/server. Both of these apps can’t compare to Roon in functionality and sq. If not Roon then audirvana.
If you are looking for the best sq, why are you using usb? Been there, done that years ago with the Auralic with lightning DS, will never go back until usb gets way better. Terrible interface for music and your better designers don’t recommend using usb. 

Roon’s SQ seemed meh when I was using it, and although Roon is said to be working hard on improving the SQ it is apparently still not yet at the level of the Lumin/Innuos/Aurender/Grimm/Taiko apps, something to do with how demanding it is of system resources exacerbates various noise factors. Manufacturers make their gear Roon ready only because customers demand the best UI experience. Don’t take my word for it, go and read the Grimm and Taiko white papers on the importance and means of optimizing bespoke software for purely audio playback.

And as someone else mentioned, in my experience the Aurender N200 is a fantastic value in case anyone on this thread is looking for a streamer/server solution at that $5K price point.

@vonhelmholtz

Once you’re settled with N20, please post your impressions on USB vs AES. As I recall, this was one of your consideration for a streamer with Holo May DAC. I think it would be very informative for readers here to know how well your DAC’s implementation is with USB and AES.

And if it’s AES, here is a cable recommendation that will further improve over very good DH lab cable. I have used the prev Gen. Acrolink 6N-D5070 II AES cable and it was best sounding cable to my ears under $2K price point.
https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649910522-acrolink-7n-a2080-leggenda-aesebu-1m-digital-cable/

Someone will always say you could have something just as good for less money.  You should be happy with the aurender.  They have probably sold thousands of these and it is rated very high.  Plus there are thousands that love them!

So sad that Aurender doesn't do Roon.

For me, Roon is irreplaceable: so much pleasure from finding new music and new links, looking up artists and the like.  And the combined Roon + Qobuz library is simply brilliant.

There must be a market for Roon plus great sound quality.  Maybe my only real choice is dCs.  Or maybe someone can tell me why Aurender doesn't make a unit that works with Roon.

For now, I will stick with Roon, using a Lumin streamer and a Denafrips Terminator+.  Sounds great - maybe not as good as an Aurender - but the Roon interface wins over all!

@nmcc0866

I agree that moving to Aurender represents a loss with regard to user experience. Conductor does allow for extensive search functions, but lacks lyrics and more inclusive background information.

Per those in the know, function is kept basic to reduce internal noise from the internal server/computer.

Conductor is similar to iOS, it's bespoke software made exclusively for Aurender. Whereas ROON is similar to Windows, it's compromised because it needs to work on a multitude of devices.

Personally I use the Conductor "folder" option which is like the DOS version, only thumbnails, minimalistic.

Great if you have a large library and large playlists.

@nmcc0866 

Roon is indeed irreplaceable for many.

See this video with Ari from Aurender. He explains the Aurender lineup and he also explains their choice not to use Roon. (57) In Stereo with Mike & Rick - Episode 4 - Ari Margolis with Aurender - YouTube

FYI - I do understand that Taiko have put extensive R&D into a Roon interface but if I'm not mistaken, it still does not have the SQ that their new, XDMS interface has but that is current in Beta (or Alpha) stage of development. And of course, I should point out that their server is much more expensive than the N20.

My digital has now been transformed in a way that I hadn’t imagined. I wanted to find out if I needed to attend to the small details, or if my DAC just wasn’t capable of delivering at the level of my analog rig.

I started out by Lalit taking me to school and convincing me that high quality Ethernet filtering was a must. I spoke with Richard Rodgers of Shunyata about upgrading my phono preamp, DAC and N20 from Alpha NR v2 to Sigma NR v2. He made clear that they push clients toward Sigma for the power amplifier, but not for the other components. That said, he hasn’t had anyone wanting to go back to alpha once they upgraded. He also reinforced what Lalit told me regarding the need for passive filtering of all digital cables and the importance of the other design/production particulars.

Jon at Music Direct helped me put together a package that I could almost afford. I picked up three Sigma NR v2 power, ethernet and AES/EBU cables. I returned my second generation Delta NR and two Alpha v2 power cables.

The soundstage expanded in every direction, imaging became precise, tonality and inner detail were transformed. Bass became more dynamic and added a realism to the music. My internet service was out, so all of this happened with my ripped CDs. They sounded so much better than any streamed content. “Friday Night in San Francisco” had all the precision, dynamics and tonality of the My Sonic Lab Signature Platinum/Audionet PAM G2 EPS. I am still waiting for the third PC which was drop shipped from Shunyata. That cable will power the Audionet phono preamp after which I can make the direct comparison.

Internet returned and the N20 delivered the same goodness as I heard with the ripped cds.

The Holo May DAC KTE is definitely a keeper, but to find out, my power conditioner and cables became the most expensive “component” in my system. I suspect that without the filtering noise suppression built into the digital cables, the money spent on power would not have been so productive. Thanks everyone for your help and thanks to all of those that encouraged me to buy the Aurender. I’ll miss the Roon interface, but honestly, who cares when the music can be so emotionally involving.

@vonhelmholtz

Thank you for sharing your experience and joy. Good call on Shunyata Sigma NR V2 upgrade and glad it all worked out. I just finished reading up on the proprietary tech employed with these cables, very impressive indeed!

IMHO, a high quality power conditioner and power cables are the foundation of a high resolution system that is equally addictive and musically engaging. 

My N20 just shipped from my dealer, so I should have it this weekend. Like OP, I have a Holo Audio May KTE DAC, but I’m using a Shunyata Omega USB. Both the N20 and DAC will be powered by the Everest using a Sigma v1 PC. Looking forward to hearing it in my setup.

@kmmd 

Cool. You must be very excited. 

@ghdprentice

I’m anxious to hear it in my system, but I’m not excited. After all it’s just a component in my system.

Anyway, my N20 was delivered today. I like how easy it is to install the hard drive compared to taking apart the Auralic. It is now transferring files from my Auralic to the N20, and I’ll let it go overnight. I’ll do some serious listening tomorrow. Btw, do you always have to enter the 6-digit code when connecting from my iPad Conductor app to the unit?

Go to Settings, select Face ID and passcode.  Scroll down and turn passcode off.  

I think I entered a code once, a couple years ago.

The 6-digit code appears on the N20’s screen when connecting to the Conductor app.  I guess it’s an authentication code that you enter into the app on the iPad to pair to the N20.  I haven’t needed to enter it again.

I’ve been listening to the N20 for several hours.  All I can say is…AMAZING!  The N20 - May KTE DAC combo is stunning.  Even my wife is sitting here smiling and laughing.  Also thank goodness I turned off that awful “click” when adding songs to the queue.

@kmmd 

Congratulations and thanks for letting me know that I can turn off the click.  That Omega USB must be really something…have fun and congratulations on having a cooperative wife.  My wife is on the opposite end of the spectrum.  She can’t go in my listening room without getting upset.  Pretty hard to argue with her. 

@vonhelmholtz 

Actually thank you for posting this thread.  I’ve had the N20 on my radar for a while.  I knew that I was going to upgrade, but your thread made me bite the bullet.  I’m so happy that I did.  Also my dealer informed me that there’ll be a price increase on the Aurenders at the beginning of the year.

To turn off the click…Settings - General - scroll to the bottom and toggle off the click sound.

Happy listening!

@kmmd 

Congratulations on N20, it’s an amazing player. Take your time to explore all the features, especially CLM.  BTW, both of your system are simply stunning.  

@lalitk 

Thank you very much.  I’ll definitely check out critical listening soon, but everything sounds incredible now.  I do have the display off though.
 

My bedroom system consists of components over the decades.  The Audiolab 8000CD was my first player, and so on.  Trust me it was difficult getting my wife to allow me to move the Maggie speakers into the bedroom.  The 3.6s were definitely a NO.  Your dedicated system is fabulous also.  :)