New streamer

@audphile1 

XLO UltraPlus

Cool. If it’s all new, give it about 200hrs. 

@audphile1 

Thanks, it is new. I don’t get cable burn in, but will bow to greater minds than mine… now running node nonstop to DAC. 

Bought it based upon a USB cable forum recommendation on Audiogon. Was a little concerned, based upon the heavy discounting, that it wasn’t a good cable. Glad to hear it is!

@audphile1 

I just looked at the USB thread. You were one of the 3 that recommended this cable. 😎

@12many  I too was a disbeliever. I recently upgraded my Node to Lumin U2 Mini for the same reason, just to see if there is a difference like many have said. There is. 

@signaforce hmmmm I don’t remember that USB thread. 
as to break in, don’t worry about it, just enjoy the music. If you don’t hear any changes during the 200hr time period that’s fine. Some cables change, some don’t. 

@evank   Just the opposite, I said I have an open mind and that I don't understand, from a technical standpoint, why it would sound different.  There are lots of things I don't understand from a technical standpoint.  : )

@audphile1 

as to break in, don’t worry about it, just enjoy the music. If you don’t hear any changes during the 200hr time period that’s fine.

I’m feeling a little nauseous from my break in ride with this GTX NCF plug 🤢- just passed 230 hour mark- hopefully clear sailing ahead and she should be broken in just in time for my new streamer. 😁

I'd add the current line of Cambridge Audio streamers to the list.  Very solid performers and very good values that do not get much attention in these high end audio parts, which is a mistake.

@mclinnguy buckle up and get your puke bags out. It’s a rollercoaster ride for sure. At 230hrs it’s not cooked yet. Figure about 400hrs to settle. 

@audphile1 I did read that, for some they even claimed 600+ hours, but mine seems to have plateaued over the last 2 days. I am sure the treble will smooth out and extend, but I didn't notice any "weirdness" after 200 hrs. I assume when people quote hours that would be playing hours and not just time after installation- for me it has been playing 24/7. 

@mclinnguy it will most likely continue to improve and I won’t be surprised if it throws another fit for a day or so. It’s crazy isn’t it how it fluctuates. 

I use Furutech FPX outlets on dedicated circuits.  I don’t remember any ups and downs or how many hours they took to break in but one day I was listening and realized everything had noticeably changed (for the better).  Keep the faith.  You’ll know it when it happens.

@mapman I agree with you about Cambridge offerings. I have the CNX V2. Sounds great,  but I must admit, I'm curious about the Eversolo A8

First impressions Aurender N150:

I promised I would give my honest impressions of my new streamer. I will break it down into different aspects of my new N150, and compare it to my Node N130.

Unboxing: i was impressed with the significant weight of the N150, more like the weight of my preamp, particularly when compared with my Node. It is very well built. 
Design: The appearance of the Aurender is stunning. Pictures don’t do it justice. Easily my best looking component. While mine is silver & my other components are black, my existing components have enough silver accents, and N150 black accents to blend. The form factor of the N150 is perfect (for me).

App: Conductor is easy to use and intuitive. The translation was seamless. I was pleasantly surprised that Qobuz playlists created on BluOS were there and Conductor apps existed for both iPad’s & iPhone’s. 

Sound: I listened to Adele, Miles Davis, Cat Stevens & Diana Kroll. All were higher res Qobuz streaming. I would say my Node sounded very good. The N150 sounds great. Everything sounds a little better, soundstage, separation, clarity, crispness, & smoothness, through the frequencies. Bass clarity is outstanding. It is not as significant an improvement as my cartridge, tube or DAC upgrade, but a very nice improvement. You may be able to have similar results with LPS for the Node, not sure, but this complete package is IMHO worth the investment. I think my digital side is now as good or better than vinyl. Except for nostalgia, I may never listen to vinyl again. 
When it arrived, my wife said take a picture of your last audio upgrade. It is… I am set… for now. 😏

Thank you everyone for your outstanding guidance. 
 

Awesome! Give it some time to settle. It should be on a different level than the node, LPS or not. 

One more observation. Was listening to Nora Jones “come away with me” last night  The NODE presentation was very light and airy. The Aurender presentation was airy, but was fuller, more robust. I actually preferred the NODE presentation… although I suspect the Aurender was more accurate. 
Whereas, the more robust Aurender presentation of any Diana Kroll is much preferred, as the NODE presentation was a little weak, less engaging. Interesting.  
For those NODE users, it is indeed an excellent price/performer. 

@gumbedamit love the tag I see Eddie with a cigar every time :) I've been living with an A8 for about 10 days now and I am blown away it really is fantastic and is getting noticably better with run in. I'm a little disappointed for the OP, I was hoping the first impressions of the Aurender N150 would be more of a dramatic improvement over his Node. At the same time I am not completely surprised, my understaning is the upper end offerings from Aurender,Lumin,Innuos etc is were the real "magic" occurs the less expensive options are very good but not really massive leaps above the newer Bluesound units. That being said the A8 most certainly is a massive jump over the Node X in every respect, the A8 is an incredible bargain based on its performance level. Ignore the noise take the plunge you will not be disappointed.

It takes a little bit of time for the changes to soak in. You’re used to the Bluesound presentation. Listen to the N150 for at least a week or so, then switch back. Also, your USB cable needs some time as well…it’s still new. 
The Node is a good value but I find it hard to imagine the N150 is only a marginal improvement. 

+1 It takes a little bit of time for the changes to soak in.

Going from a Node to the N150, the changes don’t necessarily smack you in the face like other component changes might.  But very soon you’ll be listening and thinking to yourself how good things sound realizing how much of an improvement the new streamer has actually made.

Thank you all. I am very happy with my purchase. 

@balooo2 

i assume you went from a Node x using the internal DAC. If so, you significantly improved your DAC moving to the A8. 

@signaforce Actually I purchased the A8 for the streamer function primarily,I have great dacs on hand. The dac I am currently using with it is a Aune S9c dac with a Aune SC1 external clock.Same dac/clock I used with the Node. I also have a Denafrips Ares II that I used with the Node and tested with A8 for synergy/curiousity the Aune twins sound better with both actually so the Denafrips Ares is now in my second system paired with a Sonos Port.  In my system with the Eversolo I have the amp setup with both the USB to dac and RCA to amp directly both signal paths sound outstanding but the USB/Aune out is superior to the dac in the A8 by a noticable margin however the A8 (dac) still has less than 80 hours on it and steadily improving the external dacs I own are both very broken in. We'll see...Glad your happy with the Aurender perhaps I read too much into your observations.

Everyone, I think my observations have mislead some of you, perhaps most or all of you. I made an outstanding purchase and could not be happier. The N150 is a perfect fit for my system and I think has brought my system to my ‘audio nirvana’.

That said, I think marco1 said it perfectly, streamer improvement doesn’t smack you in the face, like say going from a $600 phono cartridge to a $3,500 phono cartridge (Node to N150), but the improvement is well worth the investment.

I was being very careful not to NODE bash. It is a remarkable streamer… for $600. I am ecstatic with my choice . Thank you.

@signaforce I highly recommend a good power cord and Ethernet cable for the Aurender. Doesn’t have to be crazy expensive. But will take the N150 performance up a notch.

“The N150 is a perfect fit for my system and I think has brought my system to my ‘audio nirvana’.”

@signaforce 

That’s what counts at the end of the day.  Enjoy your N150! 

doesn’t smack you in the face, like say going from a $600 phono cartridge to a $3,500 phono cartridge 

Just curious, do all the ASR flat-earthers get all defensive about this comment and want you to prove it like they do with cables and digital? Or are there some "numbers" that help validate this "opinion"? 

Upgraded power cables and cat 8 Ethernet cable with 1gb speed to N150. The only remaining investment I plan is a 20A dedicated electrical run. As my nephew put it (an EE with an excellent system) “it’s something audio people do when they have run out of things to buy”.
It’s been a fun journey since my first system in 1973 when I was 21: Marantz 2270, Dual 1229 w/Shure SME T2 imp, Rectilinear III LowBoys, Soundcraftsmen 2012A. Been through a lot of iterations since then, but this is the first system I can honestly say beats my first. Thanks!

One more thing… hearing aids. Many of us are getting up in age and our hearing is not what it once was. I bought very good hearing aids because of this ($6,000 Signia’s). Side benefit, it flattens your hearing across the musical spectrum. The audiologist tests your hearing at about 20 different frequencies and adjusts your hearing aids accordingly. 
The universal setting maximizes the sound of a human voice. However, 3 of the brands have a recorded music setting which flattens your hearing across the spectrum. Think of it as equalization for your ears. Even if you don’t have hearing loss, your hearing probably is not flat. Food for thought. Thanks!

@signaforce if you can, run 2 dedicated lines with two duplex outlets on each. Gives you more flexibility. 

@audphile1 Thanks. As you know, 2 schools of thought on that. 2 dedicated lines provides separate power for digital vs analog or amps vs other. The potential downside is ground loops. I have only class D amps, both in my AVR and my 2 channel amp, so probably don’t need 20A, let alone 2, but will do 20A regardless. 
I also understand all appliances should be on the opposite leg from audio. Thanks!

The audiologist tests your hearing at about 20 different frequencies and adjusts your hearing aids accordingly. 
The universal setting maximizes the sound of a human voice. However, 3 of the brands have a recorded music setting which flattens your hearing across the spectrum.

Interesting, I never knew about that. So once those are installed one wouldn't need to turn up the volume in order to flatten out the curve, as typically humans have to in order to increase lower frequencies to the same level as midrange. Thus the invention of the loudness control (Mcintosh). So you enjoy your hifi at lower volumes than those without hearing aids. 

@signaforce I had two dedicated lines run by the electrician for my system. No ground loop. I can either run the amps on one circuit or split.
When you do your dedicated lines, invest in quality outlets. Don’t plug it all into a $3 Home Depot outlet. They suck. 

When you do your dedicated lines, invest in quality outlets. Don’t plug it all into a $3 Home Depot outlet. They suck. 

👍

Even if you are not a believer of audiophile outlets for improved sound quality, another excellent reason to invest in Furutech outlets is the way they clamp onto the power cords. Those stock outlets and hospital hubbel outlets especially scratch up the coating on your nice powercords. Not sure about Oyaide, PS Audio or others.

Furutech GTX

Ground loops are extremely unlikely to occur with dedicated lines… that is one of the benefits.

Typically ground loops occur when your system is plugged in to two adjacent “normal” outlets which are wired to different breakers and both wonder all over the house (as they do on purpose) and the two have different resistance causing a trickle of current running through your system between the two different circuits.

Theoretically you could get two dedicated lines to have a ground loop if you have two different breaker boxes and put one dedicated line in one and one on the other. But that would also require faulty grounding of the breaker boxes.

I have two dedicated lines to my stereo. One feeds the amps and one the front end via the AQ Niagara 5000. I just double checked. I have the two breakers on the same leg. I used to have them on separate legs to "balance" the power. But as someone on these threads pointed out, it might be better if both breakers are on the same phase. (The USA has two phases 180 degrees apart, 240 Volts or 120 Volts per phase or leg.) I put the white ground wires adjacent on the ground buss and the safety ground wires adjacent on that safety ground buss. No ground loops, no noise. I used AQ outlets in the wall. Those buggers won’t let go of a plug. I am a licensed Professional Engineer. (In case anyone was concerned that I do my own electrical work. I do plumbing too...)

I have had dedicated lines for my stereo since the late 1980s. 

@mclinnguy

Interesting, I never knew about that. So once those are installed one wouldn’t need to turn up the volume in order to flatten out the curve, as typically humans have to in order to increase lower frequencies to the same level as midrange. Thus the invention of the loudness control (Mcintosh). So you enjoy your hifi at lower volumes than those without hearing aids.

interesting observation. Not sure. I have only not had loudness control for the last 6 weeks with the purchase of my Rogue. Have been listening at lower volume since its install, but I chalked that up to the quality of sound. I do remember thinking recently, sounds great at low volume… why did I ever need loudness control…

I would think they had the same phenomenon as the human ear, but if so, at what volume would they be flat? My guess is at a lower volume than the human ear. 

I would think it is hard to determine when it is flat, if it ever is, as testing us to see where that might occur damages the test subjects ears, as it is north of 120db. Point is the louder the music the flatter the curve, and the more perception that bass is louder- graph below at the link provided bottom shows this:

Interpretation: looking at the bottom line, at 0 db a 1000 hz signal is barely perceptible to the (normal) human ear, but at 80hz that would need to increase to 40db for it to "sound" just as loud, and a low bass signal of 40 hz would need to be output at 60db to be perceived to be as loud.

equal loudness contour

The louder the flatter the curve becomes, and if one listens at 100db the line is reasonably flat- which makes music sound better, but more than 15 minutes of this (per week) and there is risk of hearing loss.

Quick post on Aurender warranty transfer. While the warranty does transfer, unless the purchaser of the used Aurender can obtain the original sales receipt, the warranty start date is the date of manufacture. Per Aurender support:

The warranty for the N150 is valid for two years from the initial purchase date or the date of manufacture. To ensure that the warranty is properly transferred to you, it would be beneficial if you could obtain a copy of the original purchase receipt from The Music Room. This will help in verifying the remaining warranty period.

So if you are selling and advertising a transferable warranty, you would need to provide a copy of your original receipt to the buyer. 

@signaforce There appears to be conflicting info coming from Aurender. I was considering a used N150 from a fellow audiogoner. I wrote Aurender and they wrote back and told me it is not transferable. If your version is the correct version, thanks for clarifying.

The following is the info from Aurender from 6 days ago:

You are correct that we offer a full 2-year manufacturer’s warranty for all Aurender products. The warranty is non-transferrable. However, all Aurender owners get free remote support assistance, regardless if they purchased the product new or used, from an authorized dealer or from a friend. This is found inside our Conductor app under: settings/help/send remote support email.

@12many 

Very weird. I was unable to get the original receipt so asked Aurender to provide manufacture date. Just received this from them. 

“According to our database, your unit was shipped to the US on September 9th, 2022. Based on this shipping date, your warranty is valid for two years from that date, ensuring coverage until September 9th, 2024.”

I have no idea why… the only thing I can think of is I bought it from an authorized dealer. 

@signaforce 

Did you buy a new or used N150 from TMR? 

Just curious…who had their aurender fail and what exactly failed?

@lalitk 

I bought it used. It was a trade in. 

Enjoy !   Aurender products are great.   Support is great .   

@oddiofyl I agree! Thanks  

I too own a Qutest and have paired it to an Innuos PULSE. Best combo ever. You won't regret it.