Aurender N20

@lordmelton 

Great explanation… but also makes me a bit liking the simpler days.
 

However owning a couple Aurender… I am happy to report you can just plunk it down, connect it..and turn it on, log into your Qobuz account and you are going to get fantastic sound… you can worry about the details of these slightly different high resolution formats later.

@ghdprentice Yes, The Aurender 20 and 30 series provide the full package catering to all formats in a very intuitive package with reference SQ.

Some may say there are better sounding streamers but at a price point, company support, build quality and ease of use the Aurenders set the standard.

The N20 is far better than the N200 if your system is a high performer. It's ocxo clock and lower noise floor really helps with soundstage placement.On my system (Luxman 509x, D-10X, Sopra No3) piano, vocals, and other instruments are in the space around the speakers. Piano is not just coming from the speaker drivers themselves, but is more organic and full.  it comes from in-between the speakers and around. Height is greater as well  The N200 is good but doesn't do what the N20 can do. The N200 has clarity and authority but can't provide a deeper more whole or relaxed presentation. Nuances played through the N20 are also easier to point out. The N20 is essentially the N30SA without the separate power supply. If you compare the N20 to the N30SA it is a great buy. But once you jump from all the A models through the N200 to the N20 there is a huge leap in performance and it's immediately discernable.

I have about 200 hours on my N20. It’s amazing. Also a surprisingly beautiful and heavy chassis. If you can fit it into your budget I think the N20 will impress you. 

I just placed an order for N20.  I was contemplating between N20 and N200 because my set up was USB.  My dealer, Scott Walker in Anaheim, came to my place and set his demo unit up so that I can compare USB through Chord M Scaler to Dave DAC vs. AES/EBU direct to Dave.  AES/EBU was clearly better.  Much more natural sound, better dynamics, bigger sound stage, etc.  It took less than 5 seconds of music for all 3 people present to unanimously pick AES/EBU as the much preferred connection.  We listened different kinds of music just to be sure, but the difference was not subtle at all.  I ended up trading in my M scaler and ordered a new N20.  BTW, using the conductor app on my M1 Mac mini via big screen is great.  More stable than Roon.