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Aurender N20

Wow, just received my used N20, installed a 2TB 870EVO SSD and downloaded Conductor. Uploaded 72GB of purchased and ripped CD files from my Synology NAS. Connected to Qobuz and I must admit, I wasn’t prepared for what I heard. I thought that my fiber isolated, upgraded power supply iFi Zen Stream was really good, but it is no where near as good as the Aurender and I’m just listening to AES. Upsampling was set to 176.4K and so I went with it. I purchased from an experienced Dealer, so I went with his bang for the buck DH Labs AES and USB cables, which he doesn't sell.   Evidently, they punch above their price point.

Local media and Qobuz sound equally stunning. This gets close, or rivals my analog system and that is saying something.

Complaints so far.. no information regarding bit rate of music. I’m use to Roon and this is not Roon..not even close. I think that with Qobuz I can make playlists with quality high bitrate music and import the playlists.

Anyway, if I would have heard the N20 first, I would not have anguished over spending the money. Again, having a good dealer, or trusted friend really makes the difference. Time to burn in the cable(s).

vonhelmholtz
lalitk's avatar
lalitk
5,443 posts
 

@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/

boxcarman
412 posts
 

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!

Ag insider logo xs@2x
nmcc0866
4 posts
 

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!

vonhelmholtz OP
911 posts
 

@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.

lordmelton's avatar
lordmelton
877 posts
 

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.

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