Solo streamer

I was wrong about AirPlay on the Aurender.
It sounds just fine, despite the volume being partly controlled by the tablet.

OP,

That sounds right to me. Connnie Jay… great preamps.

Ah, that would do it. 

@zlone

I believe my warm sounding tubed Conrad Johnson preamp makes the rest of the system work.

@rvpiano I had a Benchmark LA4 preamp. It is well regarded and delivers great sound. I really liked it, but felt there might be more to discover. Only suggesting that it would be worth trying something outside that brand. It is a bit on the cool, analytical side, which I honestly like, but I am happier since moving on to a different sound. 

For those that thought I should replace my Benchmark DAC3 with a better one, here is a review from stereophile:

“The DAC3 was all about depths, in several respects . . . I heard deeper into the music." The concise conclusion to JA's Measurements sidebar: "All I can say is 'Wow!'" In a Follow-Up, JCA wrote of using the Benchmark processor with the same company's AHB2 power amp—a combination of high source output voltage and modest amplifier gain that he describes as "optimal for minimizing noise and distortion"—and reported hearing "richer and more interesting" reproduction of very subtle details.”

I also have the Benchmark AHB2 amp.

aldnorab,

Thanks for the suggestion.  
I might just do that.

@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

You haven’t seen Lumin app. Looks like a high school project compared to Conductor

I still think the Conductor app is the worst app ever conceived, for classical music

I love the smell of digits in the morning!

Yes, that’s what I do.

@rvpiano you can set airplay volume to max on ipad or iPhone and control the volume with your preamp. That’s how I run it in airplay mode. 

Being happy...that’s generally everyone’s goal in life once the veneer of all the details is stripped out. The path to happiness is not necessarily a logical one & what’s logical is different for all of us. If @rvpiano is happy with his purchase, what else is there to say?

I am very comfortable with others having different views to mine.  I do not have an insatiable need to fill some existential void in my soul

@mdalton Nor do I, but I do enjoy greatly helping people avoid obvious potholes when they’re thrown in front of them.  Such was the case here where your advice was just utterly counterproductive and wrong though you’ll never admit it — pothole avoided and success achieved despite you.  I’d say I hope maybe you actually learned something from this but pretty sure that info won’t process at all and you’ll just keep spewing your extreme minority opinion deluding yourself into thinking you’re somehow helping when really you’re just a perpetual pothole to people with otherwise open minds and ears.  It’s a free country and potholes can happen, but thankfully they can also be filled.

@soix 

As far as improvements go, where can I begin?  Compared to the Cambridge, which btw I thought was very good, the detail is so much better, the timbre is very natural, dynamics are much wider, the sense of realism is palpable. This is what music sounds like.  I listen to the Aurender just for the sweetness of sound in every track. (of course some will say it’s confirmation bias, but that’s their problem.)

Even though it's ridiculously expensive, it’s worth every penny, and yes, I’m keeping it.

@soix 

There you go again.  I am very comfortable with others having different views to mine.  I do not have an insatiable need to fill some existential void in my soul by bullying friends, colleagues or strangers into conforming their views to mine.  As I pointed out previously, my first post on this thread was as follows: 

“Here’s a link to a recent thread where competing perspectives on this issue are discussed:”

I do not feel in any way diminished when someone disagrees with me.  

@mdalton Hmmm.  Sure seems like your link to expectation and confirmation bias was targeted at the OP, but whatever.  I don’t pick fights, I just respond to the material being given.  You have your opinion and I have mine, and thankfully the OP has his and didn’t bother to listen to your advice.  Good for him!

@soix 

My post was meant solely for you, given your need for gratuitous posts picking fights with other members.  I’m thrilled that the OP, having evaluated for himself the alternatives, is happy with his purchase.  

@mdalton So your contention is the OP is just fooling himself, is that it?  It’s really sad that you’re unable to hear differences between streamers, but that you keep trying to tell others there’s no difference is tiresome and remains utterly pointless and counterproductive here, but keep on fighting that bad fight if you must Don Quixote.

new technology! 

You really can’t help yourself can you.  Have you heard about the new option that adds smell to your streamer?  Let us know your experience!

At last, all components are in perfect sync.  Can’t imagine set sounding sweeter.

Congrats!  And Goodonya for sticking it out despite all the naysayers.  Given all the back and forth that went on with @mdalton @mikhailark @lanx0003 and others that streamers don’t make a difference or that you were wasting your $$$ I think it would be useful and appropriate if you shared what improvements, and the overall level of improvement, you’ve experienced so far over your Cambridge streamer (and realizing the Aurender isn’t fully broken in yet).  And then there’s the bottom line — will you be returning the N200?

At last, all components are in perfect sync.

Can’t imagine set sounding sweeter.

Yes, that would be true.  

One odd thing about the Aurender is that in AirPlay the volume is controlled by the dial on the tablet.  That must degrade the sound.

@aldnorab you got it!

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

Thanks,

aldnorab 

I stopped practicing!

@rvpiano why are you a former musician... Seems to me you'd be one for all eternity

You probably won’t be sinning records anymore unless it’s a rare recording not available on Qobuz. 

Yes it is. Glad you stayed the course and tried it out.

It’s incredible the difference a good streamer can make. 

With the Aurender, I don’t see the need for any other digital source, except SACD, and maybe it’s better than that.

It’s THAT good.

@adasdad 

I don’t use a PC or a Mac but thanks for the suggestion.

@rvpiano yes I know. I would just recommend saving albums into favorites and you can either browse thru them or use search ti find a specific album. Depending on a use case, it might not be ideal but it’s serviceable.
As to the Roon recommendation above by @adasdad …definitely something to consider as Roon UI is simply the best there is in the streaming space. However, Roon does not sound as good as the native Aurender processing. For non critical listening, totally fine and as stated UI is just awesome. But when it comes to sonics, it falls slightly short. It’s enough of a step down for me to consider canceling Roon subscription.

@rvpiano, I see that the Aurender N200 is Roon Ready. I also listen to predominantly classical music with a focus on opera and I’ve found that for me Roon has the best OS out there right now. Maybe think about giving it a try. 

@audphile1 

As you know, I’m mostly into classical music.  I think the app does much better with pop, rock etc. songs.

@blisshifi

I can A-B both connectors on my DAC. Both the coax and USB are quite good. The USB seems a bit more defined.

RV…the app is actually pretty good. Once you get thru the learning curve and get used to it, it’ll be fine. Your observation about the sound quality and tome is spot on. 

@rvpiano Interesting that you find Coax to be brighter than USB. In general, it’s been the opposite with me across the board with any Aurender unit that I’ve tried. But it is absolutely cable/model dependent. In my case if I compare the same brand cables, with their coax vs USB, USB is always brighter / more brittle. There are some excellent USB cables, though!

And I should also of course mention that USB is using the DAC’s clock, whereas coax also takes advantage of the clock in the Aurender. 

I think I’ve learned most of what I need to know about the Conductor app.

I think it’s a clunky app, and at best user unfriendly.

I must say, as a former musician, this streamer comes close to reproducing what music really sounds like.

“I still haven’t found a way to sort my favorites alphabetically. ”
@rvpiano

Where is the dealer support in your struggles to get acclimated with new app?
It’s so important to buy from a dealer that is intimately familiar with products they sell.

Actually RV take a look at this video and see if it helps 

https://youtu.be/y_0G-utn-iE

If no one responds, I’ll see if I can do this on mine when I get home tonight. 

I still haven’t found a way to sort my favorites alphabetically.  Other apps have that capability (e.g. StreamMagic and Idagio)

As to exorbitant price…yes the N200 is not cheap. But the build quality, components they used to build it and finally the sound quality it produces, I’m with you…I think it’s worth it. 

RV…you got it!

Even the airplay sound quality should improve.
keep cooking it…you should be set in about 200hrs just run USB to make sure it all settles, streamer and DAC that you haven’t used with USB (my assumption).