Aurender A10 music server has internal MQA DAC
 

If anyone has heard the A10, especially MQA via the A10, please, do tell!

Aurender A10
 

https://www.gcaudio.com/images/uploa...ront_black.jpg


http://positive-feedback.com/audio-d...-aurender-a10/

Karl.......Hopefully some members will chime in. The Aurender A10 is a super music server. Its dual AK4490 DAC (x 2) along with 4TB of internal hard drive storage and a 120GB solid-state drive cache for playback, plus the option of using the A10 as a digital preamplifier makes this server a formidable and feature packed source component. It is a beauty to look at, too. When the volume control is turned the front panel AMOLED display turns into a very cool meter that shows the volume level. You'll see it in this video.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jIOZR-nktA


http://www.aurender.com/website/imag..._598dd9f/datas


The Aurender also pack four individual toroidal power transformers for Server / Digital / Dual DAC's. There is a fully isolated asynchronous USB audio block to protect from noise. And of course there is the seasoned and mature Aurender Conductor app for seamless control of all content, server functions, and Tidal streaming including Tidal Masters in fully unpacked MQA. The Aurender A10 is a certified Full Decoder MQA DAC. $5600.00 retail delivers a tremendous purpose built Music Stream/DAC/Preamplifier. In my opinion, the Aurender A10 deserves serious consideration by anyone looking at purchasing a new music server for their sound system. In fact, all of the Aurender line of music servers deserve your close inspection. These are fabulous audio components.


http://www.aurender.com/website/imag..._d2124ed/datas


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With the Aurender A10 MQA certified, it will be interesting to see if Aurender brings to market any other Full Decoder MQA DAC's. I am not an MQA advocate or detractor and find myself satisfied with the first level unfold that is presently available via streaming Tidal Masters in my N10. Still, I imagine Aurender is busy developing future audio components that will support MQA. We shall see which way the wind blows.

Here is a screen grab from the YouTube video linked above that shows the Aurender A10 front panel display when the volume knob is turned. The AMOLED screen switches to a meter and the meter's needle rises or falls as you adjust the volume along with the numeric decibel level shown. Nice multi-use of the attractive front panel display.


https://farm5.staticflickr.com/4436/...34840d4e_c.jpg

Dan, I've heard first hand opinions from a couple of trusted advisors that set my expectation bias to positive for MQA. However, I have yet to hear even a first level unfolding, so I can only imagine. However, with the differences I hear between the DAC in my Marantz 8802a vs my Bel Canto 2.7, I believe that not all digital sounds the same. MQA is my only interest in the A10 because my current DAC and Streamer are otherwise delightful. I should find a dealer where I can hear MQA. Seems like a good excuse for a field trip!

And I do like the OLED display.

Dan - Very interesting to hear from you that the Aurender N10 provides the first level unfold for MQA (also called MQA Core) since it's not even mentioned on its product page. Thanks for sharing that info! :music:

Bill.......As I understand it, the first level unfold of MQA files happen in software that is part of what Tidal provides when you play Tidal Master files. My Esoteric K-01X display, depending on the file, displays 16Bit/48kHz when playing Tidal Masters. Listening to Meg Mac -Low Blows and the Esoteric DAC displays 48KHz. Some Tidal Master files play at 44.1 KHz, but many play at 48 KHz. That tells me there is the first unfolding taking place. The music sounds good. No issues with this level of MQA and no more.

Interesting, according to the detailed MQA article from CA software/Core MQA decoding should unfold/unpack the music to a maximum of twice the base sample rate, 88.2 or 96kHz at 24 bits via either analog or digital output. So I'm not sure why you'd be only seeing 16bit/48kHz. :scratch2: Maybe that's a question you could pose to your support contact at Aurender if you're curious, as they're may be a setting to provide you with full MQA Core decoding at a higher resolution than you're currently getting.

Karl.......Yes, I agree with you, a field trip to a dealer who can provide you with an MQA listening experience would likely satisfy your curiosity. It has been my experience that the first unfold of MQA files sound atleast as good as a well mastered 16/44.1 file. It may be worth some phone calls to locate a dealer who can accommodate your interest in MQA.