Aurender A20 or Lumin X1

Feature sets are usually bigger differences than SQ.

Do you want Roon or don’t want?

My first DAC was a Lumin D2 with an LPS.

The sound was very good, musical, detail, depth, I was very happy with SQ. Unfortunatly, the app was a problem. Connectivity, chashes, post upgrade lack of functionality and system recognition. Support via trouble tickets was less than ideal. 

I replaced it with an Aurrender N20 and since added a second to my home. Both are excellent pieces, SQ fantastic, tech support very good, IMO the best app of a pure streamer solution.

Has anyone else seen the following about Roon and Aurender by chance?

On the Roon forum I had read that “They said that with the new line that utilizes Intel instead of AMD, that they are working on a Roon Ready status for Aurender.”https://community.roonlabs.com/t/aurender-roon-we-cant-be-friends-we-can/231190/14

Wouldn’t this qualify the Aurender A20 since its CPU is Intel and not AMD? Couldn’t a software update make this Roon Ready then?

ROON READY should have nothing to do with the processor. ROON READY is the ability to talk a particular protocol call RAAT. If Aurrender can be programmed with understanding of RAAT then it would be  a ROON READY endpoint. 

The reason Aurrender has not done so is likely because they are direct competitors to ROON.

Roon would be decisive for me. Roon adds greatly to the experience and I've found no better way to discover new music. Like everything in this hobby, it's subjective and not for everyone but having been a Roon user for a couple of years I'd hate to be without it. Otherwise either would be a good choice.