Aurender N20 Music Server Comments and Observations


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 (turn electrical power off) and restart manually.  Restarting takes time since 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.

My First impression is it 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.   I really like it.  

You know the music is great when I am typing my 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, my N20 is breaking in but out of the box, the N20 sounds terrific.   For startup purposes, the N20 displays a six-digit code that must be entered into the Conductor App.   The Aurender N20 Music Server is highly recommended.

Useful Aurender Users Guides and Web Manuals links are below:

https://aurender.zendesk.com/hc/en-us

SSD/HDD Installation Guide

https://aurender.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/360045605693-SSD-HDD-Installation-Guide


I hope the above is useful.  


 

 

 

 

 

 


hgeifman

@pokey77, Hello, it is great to chat with you again.

My Aurender N10 Music Server cost $8,000 and was very good. The Aurender N20 Music Server costs $12,000 and is truly outstanding. As I noted in my above post, the music is clearer, the bass is better, has more air and it has more musical details. The overall musical presentation is much improved. Aurender says the N20 has “An All-Digital Phase-Locked Loop system (ADPLL) incorporating Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) with OCXO clocks precisely times digital audio data transmissions and minimizes jitter to below negligible levels. The results are sonically audible with better image focus, a wider, deeper, taller soundstage presentation and an uncanny analog-like organic quality”. The above is probably why it sounds so good to me. I suggest you give it a listen and decide for yourself. Based on my listening, I strongly recommend the Aurender N20 Music Server

I am not using an upgraded internet switch. I have had major Internet connectivity issues with my Linksys and Apple Routers. I finally purchased the Luxul Wireless Router Kit – EPIC 3 AC3100 Wireless Router and the XAP-1510 AC1900 Access Point. Everything is working fine AFTER my ISP made some further adjustments (adjusted the Internet signal strength (VERY IMPORTANT), replaced my outside junction box, replaced all my inside cables and tuned their outside signal boosting amplifier.

Successful Tidal and QoBuz Streaming REQUIRES all your devices that connect to the Internet to be working perfectly. This includes the router, switch boxes, modems and the ISP connection (junction boxes, amplifiers, etc.). It seems, unfortunately, I have had issues with most everything down stream.

I suggest you review these many components to ensure they are working okay. And, yes, most likely, you will need to contact your ISP to ensure the cable speed is okay, the cable signal strength is within its required range, etc. My ISP, Wave Broadband, was very helpful ensuring the service was working for me. This is not simple project and requires time and lots of patience to get it working correctly.

Any questions, please ask. Thanks.


Giving a bump to this thread....are there no other users of N20 here? I would love to hear your feedback. 
Thank you! 
I should be receiving my N20 by the end of the month. I will provide some initial feedback once I have a few hours on it. It will be replacing an Antipodes DX Gen 2.
@mrpaul 

Thank you for chiming in and congrats on your purchase. Looking forward to your impressions. 
I should get mine at the end of this week.  Weather permitting that is...  Replacing my N10.