Like many on this thread, I started off thinking that high priced streamers were a solution in search of a problem. I deal with a lot of networking equipment, some running at 100Gb/sec. Surely a simple laptop can easily drive digital music over a USB port. We’re not talking a lot of bandwidth here. But as I tried to optimize my laptop, things took an unexpected turn.
Different music management software sounded different. Different cables sounded different. Reclockers changed the sound, not always for the better. Why? I have absolutely no idea. I thought that bits were pretty much bits. Just send them down the wire. But something more than that was obviously happening.
Given that I deal with getting various combinations of hardware and software to work together is what I do at work, I decided that I didn’t want to come home to more of the same. Plus, I wanted a good remote control setup, and I was struggling with my laptop in that respect. I just wanted something that worked well and sounded at least as good as my laptop.
My dealer had previously suggested an Aurender N100 when I purchased my most recent upgrade, but I had told them I wasn’t interested. Now I wanted to at least see what it could do. They arranged a demo with a system that was an exact match for mine. I brought in my laptop, cables, reclocker, and we listened to it for about 10 minutes. Then we switched to the Aurender to play the same songs. Honestly, I didn’t really expect much difference. If it sounded more or less as good, and I liked the control interface, I would buy it.
Well, another unexpected turn of events. After listening for about 15 seconds, I turned to my sales guy and said “You’ve got to be kidding - why does this sound so good?” Long story short, I bought it. Eventually, I upgraded to its big brother, the N10. It put a big hole in my checkbook, but from a sound quality perspective it was another easy call. I don’t know why these devices make a difference, but to me, at least, they do.
Different music management software sounded different. Different cables sounded different. Reclockers changed the sound, not always for the better. Why? I have absolutely no idea. I thought that bits were pretty much bits. Just send them down the wire. But something more than that was obviously happening.
Given that I deal with getting various combinations of hardware and software to work together is what I do at work, I decided that I didn’t want to come home to more of the same. Plus, I wanted a good remote control setup, and I was struggling with my laptop in that respect. I just wanted something that worked well and sounded at least as good as my laptop.
My dealer had previously suggested an Aurender N100 when I purchased my most recent upgrade, but I had told them I wasn’t interested. Now I wanted to at least see what it could do. They arranged a demo with a system that was an exact match for mine. I brought in my laptop, cables, reclocker, and we listened to it for about 10 minutes. Then we switched to the Aurender to play the same songs. Honestly, I didn’t really expect much difference. If it sounded more or less as good, and I liked the control interface, I would buy it.
Well, another unexpected turn of events. After listening for about 15 seconds, I turned to my sales guy and said “You’ve got to be kidding - why does this sound so good?” Long story short, I bought it. Eventually, I upgraded to its big brother, the N10. It put a big hole in my checkbook, but from a sound quality perspective it was another easy call. I don’t know why these devices make a difference, but to me, at least, they do.