Aurender, wich one? Upgrading from a Mac mini


I am hoping to upgrade my digital music "front end" from my Mac Mini.  I am looking at the Aurender, but which model?  I only need it store music ( 2 T is more than enough ) and pull from my DNLA server and USB to my DAC.   I plan to continue to use my DAC ( built into my McIntosh C2500 ) so I don't need to buy a device that has another DAC in it.  However are there any other "audible" differences from the N100 to the N10 or A10 when using the USB out to another DAC?  A good remote app is important and I have heard favorable comments on the Conductor app.   And as always are there are any other brands that I should consider ?  But I would like a one box solution, not one that required running roon or JRiver on another computer.  
Thank you 
vdosc

Showing 1 response by hgeifman

I agree the Aurender N100H is an excellent "single box" choice to replace your MAC Mini.   The Aurender Conductor App is very easy to use.   The App has a tab to play your stored albums and another tab for Tidal Streaming.   In addition, there is a tab for Masters where approximately, 500 MQA Coded albums are available.  I strongly suggest you pay the $19.99 subscription cost for uncompressed must spamming.  Tidal is a highly recommended service.

The Aurender A10 is a similar unit but also contact a DAC.   This makes sense if you prefer a DAC that includes decoding MQA albums.   The Aurender N10 is expensive and I suggest you listen to all three models before making a final decision.  

Aurender Music Servers supports Qobuz already.  However, Aurender JUST disabled it for countries not in service USA).   You can use it once they support the USA.  The UI will be exactly same, and there will be slight different features which vary by service. According to The Belgian Radio-Television of the Wallonia-Brussels Federation (RTBF), Qobuz, the French streaming and download service provider, will be offering their three-tier streaming service for residents of the US come 2018.   "We are present in nine European countries, we will open, Italy, Spain, Poland (...) and our other border is the United States, we will be in the spring," said Denis Thébaud to AFP.”

mattmiller is correct above that the Aurender Music Servers MUST be connected to the Internet using an Ethernet cable.  The iPad needs to have access to Wi-Fil so that it can control the Aurender unit.