Aurender n200, talk me out of signing on the dotted line

@audphile1 and @tvad it looks like you have to be an Aurender dealer or industry partner to enable Roon at the moment, and it requires submitting a support ticket with validating info. So this is still not available to all beta testers yet!

@fastfreight Aurender finally announced that Roon Ready capabilities are now in the beta versions of Conductor, at least for partners/dealers, but perhaps all beta testers. As a reminder, Aurender cannot be run as the core. Roon Ready mode will be a free upgrade available for all Intel-based "N-Series" (N150, N200, N20, N30SA) and "ACS-Series" (ACS100, ACS10) models. 

From Aurender: The "A-Series" models (A200, A15, A20, A30) are currently undergoing Roon certification. Due to the complexity of the certification process, we find it challenging to provide a precise timeline but we will share updates as soon as we have more clarity. Stay tuned!

Previous generation, AMD-based models, including: S10, N10, W20, W20SE, X100, X100L, A10, A100, N100H, N100C, N100SC will not be compatible with Roon Ready mode.
 

@wlutke The N200 presents sonics in a very linear, neutral way with lots of snap and dynamics. As a dealer that has had one on my floor for years, I have not heard it be grainy, but you also do get considerably more tonal richness and organic presentation in stepping up to the N20. That said, I believe the N200 is one of the best value propositions in the Aurender line, as with the rest of high end audio, diminishing returns are evident the higher up you go.

My suggestion would be to work with a dealer that can offer you an upgrade program, such that they will take the unit back in trade if after some time you want to jump up to the N20.

One other suggestion, having had a lot of experience with many of the components in your system, is to try different tubes in your Audio Mirror DAC. NOS Telefunken, despite their high reputation, deliver a hotter, more overdriven sound (not really overdriven, but very textured and gritty at times), that many people crave. The Audio Mirror itself is a very neutral DAC (Vlad is a close friend of mine and lives fairly close by), so perhaps try some 6922 variants that have a sweeter tone.

@tvad I am using Conductor 4.10.8 on my N30SA. I have not yet submitted a request to upgrade it to Roon Ready and will try to do so this coming week. Per Aurender’s email to me, it requires 4.10 to work. 

@tvad As I mentioned, it’s not available to all beta testers. In the email I received, there are instructions on how to request for the support team to install it on my floor units. They have to manually remote in and update the firmware. I will be submitting a request on Monday, though it may take a few days for them to complete based on their queue. 

@signaforce Though I’ve heard other Rogue preamps, I have no experience with the RP-1. In this case, you’re talking about 12AU7 vs the OP’s 6922 (and complements), so sonic qualities are a bit different.

The Brimar CV4003 is one of my favorite 12AU7s for its warmth, harmonics and sweeter top end, though I wish they had just a bit more sparkle up top. The Siemens you are getting are great as well. NOS Mullards seem to be quite coveted, and I had them in a Primaluna amp years ago. They had the qualities of the Brimar with a bit better top end. I should have kept them. 

@mediaferret the biggest difference between the N150 and the N200 is a blacker, lower noise floor and a wider/deeper soundstage. Depending on your DAC and the overall resolution of your system, I’ve found the improvements can be minimal to substantial. While the N200 improves upon the N150 from a fidelity perspective, the bigger jump is to the N20, which adds a good amount of harmonics and tonal richness beyond both the N150 and N200. That said, N20 is a big investment and should be made by those who are confident that their systems will be able to properly render everything it is capable of.