Anyone Using An Aurender W20?

[SCAudiophile]

Originally Posted by Nacho

Congratulations SupeDave !!!
We'll wait your impressions.
I'm waiting for the future Esoteric N01 Server to connect it to my Esoteric D02X.
Actually i'm playing from an Aurender N100H.
If Esoteric doesn't make it i will upgrade to N10 or W20.

+1 on this...hope Esoteric flows thru, otherwise for me it comes down to the W20 in lead position or Lampizator Superkomputer with dual AES output board, clock input option and other upgrades.

[SCAudiophile]

Originally Posted by jdandy

Ken.......You are welcome. I agree there is no wrong way to go with the Aurender W20 or the N10. I am totally amazed with the performance of my N10. Happy shopping.

Great summary, thanks for including it!

[SCAudiophile]

Originally Posted by SuperDave

Ken,
I'm on vacation with my family right now but the W20 is waiting for me back home. Out of the box, I'll listen without the clock and see if I notice a big jump in performance when I add the G-01. It's one of the main reasons I opted for the W20 over the N10. Based on what I've read here and elsewhere, the N10 is a formidable piece of hardware but I felt I needed to use the clock in case I move away from disc spinning(not likely)...I couldn't just let it sit there. Happy New Year!

Dave

Congratulations on your new W20!!!

[Cincy2]

Originally Posted by enatai252

I know Eric also is about to receive an W20 and he has same Vivaldi stack I have....I am hopeful he at least tries the single AES/EBU to upsampler with clock connected to W20 or even duel AES directly into the DAC

I've had a running dialogue with Aurender and John Quick at dCS on the options for connecting the Vivaldi clock to the W20. From what I understand from Aurender, as long as you use their dongle to connect the W20 to the Vivaldi clock, you can provide a clock signal to the W20 without any need to alter the rest of the Vivaldi stack configuration (Both Group 1 and Group 2 clocks to upsampler and DAC). This is the first thing I'm going to try when I get the unit (hopefully this weekend). I have no desire to cut the upsampler out of the loop and use dual AES from W20 to DAC. I'm confident that the straight asynchronous input the the Upsample will provide sonic benefits (I hear that damn Mac Mini fan in my sleep) but my gut tells me that feeding it a synchronizing clock signal will kick it up a notch. Stay tuned.

Eric

[SuperD]

Originally Posted by enatai252

Dave

Congrats on the new digital setup. By all accounts it should provide you with very satisfying and high quality results. I moved to primarily digital files over 8 years ago...before there were even iPads and have not looked back. The ease of use today and the availability of higher quality streaming services and highrez files make it a no brainer today. (Although I still enjoy and buy vinyl as well).

I was curious if you have tried the SPDIF electrical connection and compared results to the USB output of the W20. (I don't believe the K1 has AES/EBU). The reason I ask is the USB input is asynchronous meaning the DAC clock controls the stream. So using the G1 connected to the DAC makes sense....but I don't see why you would even connect the G1 to the W20 as it is not clock dependent in async mode as far as I understand....that qualifier is huge as I am not an engineer and I am genuinely interested to understand if running a clock signal to the computer source of an async input does anything. I would expect if you used the SPDIF output than your K1 DAC would be looking for the transports clock signal and having both DAC and W20 connected to a high quality clock would make sense.

In my experience using separate 75ohm clock signals from master clock rather than using the clock signal included in the data stream provide real improvement. In my case I stream music through Ethernet into various renderers....Vivaldi upsampler and Rossini player are two I have. This is also an async input. I use external clocks for both of these systems but only the DAC and upsampler in Vivaldi case are connected to the clock (Rossini is really a combined upsampler DAC so just that unit is connected to external clock....but the NAS and controlling server sending the data over the Ethernet is not.

Anyone with the w20 have information that would help me understand if the external clock connection has any impact when using An async input like USB

I know Eric also is about to receive an W20 and he has same Vivaldi stack I have....I am hopeful he at least tries the single AES/EBU to upsampler with clock connected to W20 or even duel AES directly into the DAC

I will say some of the features like SSD caching and battery power supply make the Aurender product interesting.

Enatai252,
You make some really good points but I can't answer that question without a call to my dealer. So far, I have only used the USB output and I couldn't be happier. The K-01X does not support duel AES/EBU and I haven't used the SPDIF yet. I'm still slowly breaking in the W20 before I can seriously comment on the sound compared to the spinner. So far...no buyers remorse.

[SuperD]

Originally Posted by SCAudiophile

Congratulations on your new W20!!!

Thanks Mark!

I never thought I would buy a streamer and now I wonder how I lived without it. Sometimes I stare at the conductor app and wonder what I'll play next out of 40 million tracks. The W20 has changed the way I think about this hobby/passion. The K-01X is such an amazing piece but I never actually thought it could be my last spinner until now. I find myself investigating standalone DACs now when a year ago I would have considered a K1 or P-02X & D-02X combo. I know you're a spinner too but just some food for thought.

[enatai252]

Originally Posted by Cincy2

I've had a running dialogue with Aurender and John Quick at dCS on the options for connecting the Vivaldi clock to the W20. From what I understand from Aurender, as long as you use their dongle to connect the W20 to the Vivaldi clock, you can provide a clock signal to the W20 without any need to alter the rest of the Vivaldi stack configuration (Both Group 1 and Group 2 clocks to upsampler and DAC). This is the first thing I'm going to try when I get the unit (hopefully this weekend). I have no desire to cut the upsampler out of the loop and use dual AES from W20 to DAC. I'm confident that the straight asynchronous input the the Upsample will provide sonic benefits (I hear that damn Mac Mini fan in my sleep) but my gut tells me that feeding it a synchronizing clock signal will kick it up a notch. Stay tuned.

Eric

Hope the unit comes quickly.....i am positive you will hear an audible benefit by replacing the mini for the W20. Sizable benefits. I also get why you would want to keep upsampler in chain....am still curious if using the AES/EBU into upsampler and linking all three units to master clock yields positive results vs the USB input but probably cant go wrong either way. Given the quality and resolution of your system....I expect you will be able to slowly find the right combo that works for you and really dial it in. Good luck

[enatai252]

Originally Posted by SuperDave

Enatai252,
You make some really good points but I can't answer that question without a call to my dealer. So far, I have only used the USB output and I couldn't be happier. The K-01X does not support duel AES/EBU and I haven't used the SPDIF yet. I'm still slowly breaking in the W20 before I can seriously comment on the sound compared to the spinner. So far...no buyers remorse.

I think you will really enjoy the W20 and would not expect any remorse. Overtime you can test whether spdif connection with synced clocks between DAC and W20 sounds better than usb. either way I am sure it sounds great.

I have tried a lot of variations and have never warmed to USB....but many use it. good news is you can try both and pick what you like....which is all that matters. Again congrats and enjoy

[SuperD]

Originally Posted by enatai252

I think you will really enjoy the W20 and would not expect any remorse. Overtime you can test whether spdif connection with synced clocks between DAC and W20 sounds better than usb. either way I am sure it sounds great.

I have tired a lot of variations and have never warmed to USB....but many use it. good news is you can try both and pick what you like....which is all that matters. Again congrats and enjoy

I've read USB can add noise but the W20 still sounds very quiet but I would be interested to connect the W20 to a Nagra HD dac with duel AES/EBU.

[SuperD]

Originally Posted by enatai252

I think you will really enjoy the W20 and would not expect any remorse. Overtime you can test whether spdif connection with synced clocks between DAC and W20 sounds better than usb. either way I am sure it sounds great.

I have tried a lot of variations and have never warmed to USB....but many use it. good news is you can try both and pick what you like....which is all that matters. Again congrats and enjoy

Enatai252,

You are correct! The clock in the DAC is used with a USB connection. So i'll order another Transparent Digital coax and will report back with the G-01 in play. I can't thank you enough for pointing this out!!

Dave