Aurender N100H are available used for $1200 or so on this site and others. My own ears provide “anecdotal “ evidence of a profound increase in sound quality above using my Mac laptop as a streamer. The difference is stark. I would recommend this as your $1000 solution .
Streamer only
I am not tech savvy and I have a DAC already in my integrated amp.I just wanted to try streaming. I would like to use Qobuz and need to purchase a streamer. I don’t need the dac included within the unit. I hate to pay a large amount for a unit that has a high quality DAC included. Are there any high quality streamers where I am not paying for the higher quality DAC included in the unit? My system is a Levinson 585 and Acendo C8 R speakers.
Showing 4 responses by jallan
@benanders , my laptop is about 5 years old, I bought it specifically to drive my Schiit Yggdrasil as it used SSD instead of a disk drive and I used it solely with battery power. I was stunned by the increase in low level information, especially allowing me to hear overtones and spatial information. I essentially parked my turntable after getting the Aurender. I must say that the result was exactly as my dealer predicted- Jeff Fox, owner of Command Performance, and Jon Archer had both told me about their own extensive journeys trying to make commercial computers into streamers, with Jon having worked extensively souping up a Mac Mini (my original attempt as well). As they both predicted, the Aurender was astonishingly better! |
@benanders , my laptop is about 5 years old, I bought it specifically to drive my Schiit Yggdrasil as it used SSD instead of a disk drive and I used it solely with battery power. I was stunned by the increase in low level information, especially allowing me to hear overtones and spatial information. I essentially parked my turntable after getting the Aurender. I must say that the result was exactly as my dealer predicted- Jeff Fox, owner of Command Performance, and Jon Archer had both told me about their own extensive journeys trying to make commercial computers into streamers, with Jon having worked extensively souping up a Mac Mini (my original attempt as well). As they both predicted, the Aurender was astonishingly better! |
I will also give a shoutout to the Bluesound Node. I find the Aurender finicky when power is lost or the internet goes down and up. It sometimes requires multiple rebooting and needs to restore itself. This can result in a 20 minute or so delay in getting music. The Bluesound software is more robust and the unit actually sounds pretty good. I use it in my bedroom stereo with a $100 power cord. |