|
Aurender Reference Music Servers |
|
Thread Tools | Display Modes |
|
#1
|
||||
|
||||
Anyone own the Aurender N10 music server?
The Aurender N10 is getting fabulous reviews. Curious if any AA members are using this music server and what your impressions are of it and the Aurender Conductor app for the iPad.
Aurender N10 music server | Stereophile.com
__________________
Dan STUDIO - McIntosh C1000C/P, MC2301 (2), MR88, Aurender N10, Esoteric K-01X, Shunyata Sigma spdif digital cable, Sonos Connect, PurePower 2000, Stillpoints, Furutech Flux 50, Michell Gyro SE, Michell HR Power Supply, SME 309, Ortofon Cadenza Black, Wireworld, Sonus faber Amati Anniversario LIVING ROOM - McIntosh C2300, MC75 (2), MR85, Magnum Dynalab 205, Simaudio MOON Neo 260D-T, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil, Aurender N100H, Shunyata Sigma USB cable, Micro Seiki DD40, Ortofon Cadenza Blue, Nakamichi BX-300, Sony 60ES DAT, PS Audio P10, Furutech Flux 50, Sonos Connect, Stillpoints, Wireworld, Kimber, PMC EB1i, JL Audio f113 VINTAGE - McIntosh MA230, Tandberg 3011A tuner, Olive 04HD, Sony DTC-59ES DAT, McIntosh 4300V, JBL 4312A |
#2
|
||||
|
||||
I had one as a courtesy loan from my dealer. I wanted to like it, but felt it was obscenely overpriced for what it actually offered and did. And clunky. Impressive built quality and looks, but the interface and overall functionality were, to be blunt, a mess. I'm used to my Oppo 105, which pretty much plays everything you throw at it without any issues or glitches or complicated set-ups. The Aurender felt like going backwards to me. I do not need the fancy app, and I felt as if that was the only component that the Oppo did not offer me (the Oppo's control app is rudimentary in comparison, but gets the job done perfectly... and I'm sure the upcoming Oppo 115 will fix this, anyway).
The perfect example of why I felt the Aurender was a little on the pointless side was presented to me when I tried to copy my +/- 2TB collection of music to its internal hard drive. The Aurender only has a USB 2.0 port (which I did not know...), so copying the files would have taken me literally 1 or 2 days... I then tried the ethernet port, which was supposed to be a gigabyte one... but no luck, either. The transfer rate was even slower than USB (and I have a very good router)... Probably a driver or similar issue, but after a while I gave up. These things are supposed to make life easier, and not the opposite. Keep in mind that this is strictly a "server/file-reader/transport", without a DAC, and there is NO remote included, either. You really are at the mercy of the app. I'm sure newer models in the Aurender line will address these issues, but, frankly, the more I test and experiment with other devices, the more I love my Oppo. Last edited by esteban; 09-19-2016 at 09:59 AM. |
#3
|
||||
|
||||
Esteban.......Thank you for offering your experience with the Aurender N10. I agree the price ($7999.00) is off the deep end. I have no experience with the N10, only read several reviews.
__________________
Dan STUDIO - McIntosh C1000C/P, MC2301 (2), MR88, Aurender N10, Esoteric K-01X, Shunyata Sigma spdif digital cable, Sonos Connect, PurePower 2000, Stillpoints, Furutech Flux 50, Michell Gyro SE, Michell HR Power Supply, SME 309, Ortofon Cadenza Black, Wireworld, Sonus faber Amati Anniversario LIVING ROOM - McIntosh C2300, MC75 (2), MR85, Magnum Dynalab 205, Simaudio MOON Neo 260D-T, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil, Aurender N100H, Shunyata Sigma USB cable, Micro Seiki DD40, Ortofon Cadenza Blue, Nakamichi BX-300, Sony 60ES DAT, PS Audio P10, Furutech Flux 50, Sonos Connect, Stillpoints, Wireworld, Kimber, PMC EB1i, JL Audio f113 VINTAGE - McIntosh MA230, Tandberg 3011A tuner, Olive 04HD, Sony DTC-59ES DAT, McIntosh 4300V, JBL 4312A Last edited by jdandy; 09-19-2016 at 10:50 PM. |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
I am sure it is a fine sounding piece of equipment. But. In contrast to a turntable, an amp or a par of speakers, this item will have an extremely low second hand value when trying to sell it in 3 years. I am not sure this type of equipment will even exist in 3 years.
|
#5
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
You are correct that music server values on the used market will drop. The same can be said of nearly all audio components with few exceptions. Audio systems bring us great pleasure, which in some cases is priceless, but none of these racks of equipment are investments that pay financial dividends. Most audio gear depreciates faster than many other items and it seems the pricier the gear is the faster the price drops as it ages and begins to show up on the used market. I have never purchased new audio gear with the notion that I was going to make a profit when I sold it years later. Speaking of the Aurender N10 network music player, it is not exempt from depreciation any more than nearly every other audio component sold today, computer based or otherwise. My original topic is more in line with hoping to hear about the Aurender N10 performance, ease of use, and owner satisfaction. Whether it survives in the marketplace short or long term, or its inherent value in the future, is of no real interest to me.
__________________
Dan STUDIO - McIntosh C1000C/P, MC2301 (2), MR88, Aurender N10, Esoteric K-01X, Shunyata Sigma spdif digital cable, Sonos Connect, PurePower 2000, Stillpoints, Furutech Flux 50, Michell Gyro SE, Michell HR Power Supply, SME 309, Ortofon Cadenza Black, Wireworld, Sonus faber Amati Anniversario LIVING ROOM - McIntosh C2300, MC75 (2), MR85, Magnum Dynalab 205, Simaudio MOON Neo 260D-T, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil, Aurender N100H, Shunyata Sigma USB cable, Micro Seiki DD40, Ortofon Cadenza Blue, Nakamichi BX-300, Sony 60ES DAT, PS Audio P10, Furutech Flux 50, Sonos Connect, Stillpoints, Wireworld, Kimber, PMC EB1i, JL Audio f113 VINTAGE - McIntosh MA230, Tandberg 3011A tuner, Olive 04HD, Sony DTC-59ES DAT, McIntosh 4300V, JBL 4312A Last edited by jdandy; 09-19-2016 at 08:02 PM. |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
Music Servers
Quote:
But there are things I would look at, given the similarities between the Olive and Aurender. 1) Quality of the software and app - Olive's was clunky at best; it does seem that Aurender is getting very good reviews here. 2) Caching - Olive did minimal caching, which brings up: 3) Hard Drive noise - this was surprising and disappointing with the Olive. I replaced the original 3.5 inch drive with a 2.5 inch notebook drive, inside yet another enclosure (2.5 to 3.5 adaptor) to eliminate hard drive noise. Maybe the Aurender has solved this. 4) Interfacing with Streaming Sources - namely Tidal, Spotify, Apple, Google, maybe others. Again, Olive came up short. Aurender seems to do Tidal only, which is good, but minimal. I believe this is becoming as important as the local library. So, I would personally keep my music on a NAS (for many reasons) and use a good caching music server. Obviously the Aurender running AMM qualifies. It was nice having the library on the Olive for a self-contained solution, but I needed a good network to get the music there in the first place, so...
__________________
Main - Roon on Synology/Sonos Port/SoTM Neo endpoints; Chord Qutest, Bryston BP-17 cubed with phono option; EAT C-sharp with Ortofon Bronze MM, Bryston cubed Amplifier; Revel F126Be on custom Atocha stands; interconnects by WireWorld, furniture by Atocha Design 'Phones Audeze LCD-3, Bryston BHA-1; Office: Sonos/Roon; OPPO HA-1, Naim NAP100 and PSB Mini-C. Media Room:, Samsung QLED QN90 series, Sonos, OPPO 205, ATI N-core driving KEF LS-50's with REL subs; furniture by Glassisimo; Kids - U-turn for vinyl, Sonos Play5; Summer Shack - Sonos, vintage Pioneer, Dynaudio Special 40's. |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
Dan - I don't have any first hand experience with the Aurender N10, but several rooms were using them to great effect at the last AXPONA show. Some of the best sounding rooms at the show using digital front ends had the N10 in common.
|
#8
|
||||
|
||||
Bill.......Thanks for your comments. Everyone I have communicated with tells me the Aurender N10 performance is exceptional. I have a friend who owns the N10, although I haven't heard it, who tells me it is never leaving his system. That's how thrilled he is with his Aurender N10.
__________________
Dan STUDIO - McIntosh C1000C/P, MC2301 (2), MR88, Aurender N10, Esoteric K-01X, Shunyata Sigma spdif digital cable, Sonos Connect, PurePower 2000, Stillpoints, Furutech Flux 50, Michell Gyro SE, Michell HR Power Supply, SME 309, Ortofon Cadenza Black, Wireworld, Sonus faber Amati Anniversario LIVING ROOM - McIntosh C2300, MC75 (2), MR85, Magnum Dynalab 205, Simaudio MOON Neo 260D-T, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil, Aurender N100H, Shunyata Sigma USB cable, Micro Seiki DD40, Ortofon Cadenza Blue, Nakamichi BX-300, Sony 60ES DAT, PS Audio P10, Furutech Flux 50, Sonos Connect, Stillpoints, Wireworld, Kimber, PMC EB1i, JL Audio f113 VINTAGE - McIntosh MA230, Tandberg 3011A tuner, Olive 04HD, Sony DTC-59ES DAT, McIntosh 4300V, JBL 4312A |
#9
|
||||
|
||||
Based on my experience with the X100, I'm confident the N10 would make an outstanding source component. Aurender simply works. My X100 was in my system for 2 years and never once had so much as a hiccup. Rock solid performance. Never froze, never crashed. The app is the best I have experienced. My library is 3+ TB with 3000 albums and the app response time was instant searching any myriad of ways. Very simple to use, completely intuitive, much like an apple device. I used it with McIntosh MCD1100 and Esoteric K-01X DACs. Previously, I owned Bryston BDP-1 and Apple MacMini. The Aurender both sounded better and more fun to use than either of those. When I get the chance to build a system again, I will get a black N10 to pair with McIntosh gear.
__________________
Preamp: McIntosh C1100T/C1100C, McIntosh MX180 Amp: McIntosh MC611 (2), MC601 (3), MI254 Digital: McIntosh D1100, McIntosh MCT450, Meridian 808v6, Aurender N20, Aurender ACS10, Oppo 203 Analog: McIntosh MT10, Hana Umami Red Phono preamp: Simaudio Moon 610LP, 820S Signal cables: WW Gold Eclipse 7 speaker cables; Shunyata Sigma v2 XLR (2); Sigma v1 XLR (2), Transparent Ref XL (MM2) XLR; WW Silver Eclipse 7 (4) Digital cables: Shunyata Omega USB, Omega Ethernet, Sigma Ethernet; WW Platinum 7 Coax, AES/EBU Switch: Innuos PhoenixNet Power: Audioquest Niagara 7000, Audioquest 5000, Audioquest Dragon, Hurricane PC, Shunyata Alpha HC, AQ NRG Edison outlets, (8) 20 amp dedicated lines, 125 amp subpanel Speakers: Wilson Sasha DAW, Dynaudio Contour 30, Dynaudio Contour 25C Subs: REL s/812 (6), REL s/510 (3) Accessories: HRS M3X2 shelf (MT10), Stillpoints Ultra II v2 w/ bases (21), Ultra SS (12), Mini (12), LPi v1 Sound treaments: Artnovion |
#10
|
||||
|
||||
Quote:
AURENDER - Reference Music System
__________________
Dan STUDIO - McIntosh C1000C/P, MC2301 (2), MR88, Aurender N10, Esoteric K-01X, Shunyata Sigma spdif digital cable, Sonos Connect, PurePower 2000, Stillpoints, Furutech Flux 50, Michell Gyro SE, Michell HR Power Supply, SME 309, Ortofon Cadenza Black, Wireworld, Sonus faber Amati Anniversario LIVING ROOM - McIntosh C2300, MC75 (2), MR85, Magnum Dynalab 205, Simaudio MOON Neo 260D-T, Schiit Audio Yggdrasil, Aurender N100H, Shunyata Sigma USB cable, Micro Seiki DD40, Ortofon Cadenza Blue, Nakamichi BX-300, Sony 60ES DAT, PS Audio P10, Furutech Flux 50, Sonos Connect, Stillpoints, Wireworld, Kimber, PMC EB1i, JL Audio f113 VINTAGE - McIntosh MA230, Tandberg 3011A tuner, Olive 04HD, Sony DTC-59ES DAT, McIntosh 4300V, JBL 4312A |
|
|
Audio Aficionado Sponsors | |