Aurender N100H or A10
 

What is the difference between the two and is it worth the extra cash?

Aurender?

yes - sorry for the error!

Aurender
 

The difference is the A10 has a built in Dac. If you don’t have one then it is something to look into. I have the N100H playing thru the Dac in my Mcintosh
C2600. It sounds very good IMO. I tried the A10 and thought it sounded flat
in comparison. I was surprised that it didn’t sound better or equal to the Mcintosh. I wanted to prefer it because it can also do MQA and would free me
up to upgrade to a dedicated preamp without a Dac. It is using the same server
as the N100H so it must have been their Dac application that didn’t float my boat. I still think it is a well built piece of equipment just that it would have been
a step back from what I already have. Hope that helps

cyisone01.......There are differences between each of the two Aurender music servers. With the N100H you have the option to select your own DAC and change it in the future if you wish. The Aurender A10 uses a very good delta-sigma DAC from AKM (Asahi Kasei Microdevices), the same company that provides the AK4490 DAC for use in components from Esoteric, Marantz, Denon, and many other fine audio manufacturers. If you already own a DAC you like, then the N100H (USB output only) or the N100C (USB and coaxial output) may be a cost saving choice since you're not paying for the internal DAC in the A10. Both the N100H, N100C, and A10 have 4TB internal hard drives for file storage, 120 GB solid state drives for the operating system and cache playback of music files, and fully independent linear power supplies for their individual internal circuits. Aurender now provides for MQA decoding through the second software unfolding with the N100H and N100C with a license purchase. Of course, the Aurender A10 provides full MQA decoding.

Despite the comments from member Sea music about his personal experience with an A10 audition, how any audio component sounds is a highly subjective topic. No two people hear exactly the same, so trying to make a determination of your preference shouldn't be allowed to hinge on another person's perception. Audition both Aurender music servers yourself and make your own determination of their sound.

Speaking of the DAC in the Aurender A10, the AKM AK4490 is a premium 32-bit 2 channel dual-mono DAC that achieves industry leading low-distortion characteristics and wide dynamic range. The AK4490 DAC integrates a newly developed switched capacitor filter "OSR Doubler", making it capable of supporting a wide range signals and achieving low out-of-band noise. In addition, the AK4490 has five types of 32-bit digital filters, realizing simple and flexible sound tuning in a wide range of applications. The AK4490 accepts up to 768 kHz PCM data and 11.2 MHz DSD data, ideal for a high-resolution audio source playback. You can be certain Aurender did not haphazardly choose the AKM AK4490 DAC for use in their A10 music server.

Aurender music servers are outstanding audio source components. I don't think you can make a mistake choosing any of their servers. I own the Aurender N10 and the N100H and couldn't be happier.

Thanks for the great input. I have the C2500 and while I enjoy the sound as most of us I am always looking for that little something extra. Since I am starting from scratch I did not want to buy something and always wonder what if! My big issue is I do not have an authorized dealer in the state.

As Dan stated
For me, the music I hear from the A10 is everything I wanted. Plus it is an all in one box that was important for me.
Ed