Is Aurender N10 still a good option


I am just getting into streaming and I am bewildered by the number of options. So many reviews etc. So I come here to get advice from real people (I hope).

I have decided on Aurender, because they seem to be a brand that people trust generally and have uniformly good reviews.

I have had good experiences (better prices for good quality) with buying used, but in this case the tech feels so new I am wondering if the N10 which seems to have come around starting in 2015/16, I am wondering if it would be better to get a new N150 for approximately the same price.

Also, not an expert, but I think IIRC I can use my Ayre C-5xe as a DAC even if eventually I want a dedicated machine for that purpose.

Any thoughts are appreciated.

saulh

Showing 1 response by peipaul

I have owned  the n100,  n150 and the n10.  I still have them all, now using the n10 in speaker rig, n150 for headphones and secondary system.

My assessment:  

The n100 sounds great with local files  streaming is ok but not great.  Actually a great deal and a way to try Aurender.

N150 sounds even better with local files, streaming is much better than n100 but still not as good as local files.

N10 is quite a bit better than N150 with local files.  Streaming is really good, haven't yet decided, but may stop buying cd's and files.  Not sure yet, local files may still be better.  The only thing I don't like about the N10 is the hard drive is a bit slow compared to the ssd in the n150, and not user replaceable.  The N10 has the ocxo clock which makes the spidf outputs sound great, better than usb (though haven't compared all that much, tired of a/b ing)  at least with my yggdrasil.  The n200 does not have the ocxo clock, you would have to step up to the n20 which is much more expensive.  You can get an n10 for close to 3k.

I was a bit leery of such an old player, so tried to make sure I bought one that is relatively new. It is built like a tank.   Mine was originally bought in 2019.  I have heard upgrades were made during the manufacturing life of the model, don't know for sure.

 

Roon would be nice as the conductor app is pretty good, but a bit lacking for classical anyway.  But roon is not great  for finding your local files especially if you like classical.  As you get used to conductor it gets better and you find ways to get what you want.    I use the qobuz app sometimes just to look for new music etc. and info from roon is available other places.  Plus I found roon quite a pain, core would stop working etc. had to spend quite a bit of time on it.  The rumour is that newer models will eventually be roon enabled.

 

Best of luck but Aurender is indeed a good choice