Aurender N10 Caching Music Server review

[jdandy]

Jim.......The Aurender N10 can access Tidal and Internet radio stations. There is no provision at this time that provide access to services like Spotify, LastFM, etc. A Sonos Connect zone player is good for that if it is important to you.

[FRO]

One thing I really like about using JRiver with my MacMini, is the digital equalizer in JRiver.
Can anything like this be used with the N10?

[jdandy]

Originally Posted by FRO

One thing I really like about using JRiver with my MacMini, is the digital equalizer in JRiver.
Can anything like this be used with the N10?

FRO.......No, the Aurender N10 sounds so good there is no need for digital EQ. The Mac Mini can use the help. There is no comparison between the Mac Mini and the N10. David (1KW) replaced his his Mac Mini with the new Aurender N100H and commented: "What's also a pleasant surprise is listening to a hi resolution file of Diana Krall, song Jimmie the piano key strokes can be heard along with the occasional sound of the pedal on the piano being stepped on . I never had this kind of resolution listening to this song. Sound stage is also bigger, mid high's seem brighter. If the sound is even better with the usb cable then with this halide bridge I'll be ecstatic."

[Nacho]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Richard.......The AES/EBU output is a SPDIF output that originates in the proprietary digital output section of the Aurender N10, just like the coaxial and Toslink outputs. It's time is controlled by the oven controlled crystal oscillator the same as the coaxial and Toslink digital outputs.

Hi Dan.
Here is the answer of Aurender about my question about the DAC inputs that slaves it to the W20 clock:
"If using the Dual AES output, the DAC is not “slaved” to the W20 clock signal – the DAC has it’s own clock which creates a PLL (phase locked loop) based on the incoming SPDIF signal from the W20."
As i understand, could be only on W20, the only signal that slaves the Dac to the Aurender clock is Spdif.
May be this differ on N10?

[jdandy]

Nacho.......The W20 and the N10 have the same clock and clock function on the SPDIF outputs. Since this is an Aurender N10 thread I am not concerned with the Aurender W20 here. This might be a perfect opportunity to begin an Aurender W20 thread.

[1KW]

Originally Posted by jdandy

FRO.......No, the Aurender N10 sounds so good there is no need for digital EQ. The Mac Mini can use the help. There is no comparison between the Mac Mini and the N10. David (1KW) replaced his his Mac Mini with the new Aurender N100H and commented: "What's also a pleasant surprise is listening to a hi resolution file of Diana Krall, song Jimmie the piano key strokes can be heard along with the occasional sound of the pedal on the piano being stepped on . I never had this kind of resolution listening to this song. Sound stage is also bigger, mid high's seem brighter. If the sound is even better with the usb cable then with this halide bridge I'll be ecstatic."

Like Dan said I was using a macmini, I then did a home demo of the Aurender . I was hoping to not notice a difference. I was so impressed with the Aurender that I ordered one to replace my macmini. The Aurender build quality is way better than the macmini as well. The power supply, USB circuit, the size of the buffer and hard drive are bigger and purpose built for playing music. The iPad app. is fantastic too. The support for this premium music server product is not dependent on only one person nor a huge computer company where music playing is for the low end mass market.

[Nacho]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Richard....... Remember, when using USB output of the N10 the DAC controls the time. When using the coaxial, Toslink, or AES/EBU outputs of the N10 the music server controls the time.

Hi Dan.
I was only contributing the information provided by Aurender that AES/EBU doesn't control the DAC clock.
Regards.

[jdandy]

Originally Posted by Nacho

Hi Dan.
I was only contributing the information provided by Aurender that AES/EBU doesn't control the DAC clock.
Regards.

Nacho.......I understand and meant no offense. I just want to keep this thread focused on the original topic without being sidetracked into other products. Everything is okay.

[tjarmstrong]

Originally Posted by Nacho

Hi Dan.
I was only contributing the information provided by Aurender that AES/EBU doesn't control the DAC clock.
Regards.

I'm confused. I thought AES was a type of SPDIF interface as are coax and Toslink. The only difference being AES is differential signaling whereas coax is single ended. The need of a PLL on the receiving end (DAC) to lock on the incoming signal would be the same for any SPDIF interface.
Also, AES is a standard interface so not sure how it could be implemented differently across product models ...

Originally Posted by Dan

Remember, when using USB output of the N10 the DAC controls the time. When using the coaxial, Toslink, or AES/EBU outputs of the N10 the music server controls the time.

This is consistent with my understanding

[Nacho]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Nacho.......I understand and meant no offense. I just want to keep this thread focused on the original topic without being sidetracked into other products. Everything is okay.

I understand you perfectly and you are right about to keep the topic focused.
Have you end the Esoteric break in time?
What oversampling works better on your system?
I told you that because from my N100 i need to put my Esoteric on varios modes depending the music.
My system is very resolutive and i think my Aurender is showing too much its digital weaks points. I have to upsampling to 4x/8x to keep the highs controled but i lost definition.