Solo streamer

Do different WiFi extenders sound different? Anyone try more than one?

Thanks,

aldnorab 

Last month I did what rvpiano is proposing. Bought a new Aurender N200 and added it to an ~$2k (Ayre Codex) DAC. Glorious sound quality. Haven't streamed Tidal or Qobuz yet. Been playing my files off the internal SSD. Another thread said there wouldn't be any improvement over the Oppo BDP105 and Ayre playing the same files from external hard drive.The Aurender definitely sounds better.

Thanks,

aldnorab 

Ordered my new Aurender N200 from a dealer on Audiogon. It shipped from Korea and arrived here, in Missouri, in about 6 days. Aurender might be experiencing quite an uptick in sales due to their new Room compatibility.

Really like mine. It took 200+ hours to break in. Replaced their USB cable with a Supra 2.0 that is warmer and has more body.

Good luck, hope yours arrives soon.

Thanks,

aldnorab

@rvpiano the Aurender will sound much better after break in. 

@ghdprentice are there instructions somewhere to learn the Conductor app? The instruction manual has one page about playing albums. Right now I'm only playing my files from the internal Samsung 4tb ssd. I haven't figured out how to play an album and stop when finished. It always jumps to another song. Sometimes the volume differential is extreme and I have to reduce volume quickly. 

Thanks,

aldnorab 

Thank you @audphile1 and ​​​​​@oddiofyl . This helps a lot. The Aurender has a lot more options than the Oppo 105.

Thanks,

aldnorab 

@rvpiano glad the N200 sonics are working so well for you. Classical music is one of the toughest to catalog. Somewhere I saw Aurender asking for feature and improvement ideas. You might consider telling them what you’d like to see. Unlike many companies, they want to hear from us and are trying to improve.

Thanks,

aldnorab

@rvpiano  if it doesn't have close to 200 hours playing time it gets even better.

Thanks,

aldnorab 

@rvpiano that is a great reply. Many companies wouldn't even bother to answer. This makes me wonder if Tidal offers alphabetical sorting? 

Thanks,

aldnorab 

@audphile1 glad you have the DAC back. @rvpiano I turned CLM on when the N200 first arrived. Before break in was complete, it sounded better with CLM. Not so sure now. Using Ayre Codex DAC with Jenving Supra Ethernet and USB cables. CLM off is brighter/more extended. 

 I was also using CLM was to keep the display screen off. I've read stories of screens burning out. It is too far away to read anyway. There is another setting to deactivate the screen. 

Thanks,

aldnorab 

@rvpiano there is something else you might try. Your CJ preamp is capable of 20 volts output. The Benchmark amp has three gain settings. Try setting the Benchmark gain to a lower setting. Hopefully it isn't already at the ~2v setting. Krell has been known to run one stage of the amp high into the next stage, giving the dynamics a boost.

Mick designer of Supratek believes line stages must have high output for this very reason. He realizes it won't be optimal for every amp and system, so the linestage as adjustable volume and another control for output voltage. My PS Audio S300 amp has an stage in it and 10db more gain than the Orchard Audio Stereo Ultra DMC V1 amp. I have to change the preamp to match the amp. Your amp is providing the same adjustment. 

Good luck,

aldnorab 

Anyone using any kind of isolation feet/platform with the Aurender? 

Thanks,

aldnorab

@rvpiano I considered an A200 instead of N200. Then I read this thread: https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/aurender-a200-vs-n200. Dealer says A200 is like a N150 streamer sonically. Aurender also said N200 sounds better. 

Thanks,

aldnorab 

@rvpiano the DAC3 must be darn good, it is letting you hear how special the Aurender N200 is. I'm interested in your thoughts on the new USB cable. I'm happy with the lowly Supra 2.0. I'll probably weaken and try their upmarket Excalibur one day. 

Thanks,

aldnorab