Aurender n100 vs auralic Aries

[chops-tube]

Originally Posted by Superfrg

If you use Tidal, you don't get any of these problems I have when using Tidal?
(Problems are periodic).

- Selecting an album sometimes does not start, until I press it in the playlist it created.
- Pausing a song, then unpausing it causes it to play 10-20 seconds, then skipping to next song by itself.
- When selecting a song or an album the first track plays the first 1 second of the first song, then restarts about 3-7 times before playing the song normally.

A little late to this thread, but I was reading it because I'm getting in an Aries this Thursday.

Anyway, I just wanted to say that I don't think those issues mentioned above are the Aries' fault. The reason I say that is because for the first two issues listed, my Oppo 105D does the same exact thing.

For me (I'm using the LUMIN app via Bubble Server), I press and hold the album I want and select it to load from the top, clearing out the existing playlist. Most of the time this works, other times, it loads only a few tracks and doesn't play. I repeat the process once or twice and then all the tracks load and start playing.

Pausing a song, then resuming does the same thing. It plays around 10-20 seconds of the track then suddenly skips to the next track, then plays the rest perfectly.

The last issue mentioned, I've never had that happen to me. From what is said, that would be highly annoying to say the least.


There's a couple reasons why I'm getting the Aries and giving the Oppo a rest...

One, I leave my system running 24/7, and apparently the Oppo doesn't like this. Almost daily it likes to lock up on me, hide itself from the network, or lose its way to the NAS that's running both MinimServer and Bubble Server, both of which are needed for me to control it with the LUMIN app. I have to reboot it which doesn't always resolve the issue. I have to sometimes kill power to it and let it sit for a minute, then plug it back in.

Two, I hate the fact that the Oppo doesn't stream FLAC gapless. I can't stand trying to listen to and enjoy classical music or Pink Floyd or anything that has gapless tracks, and then having a useless 4-5 second pause interrupt the music. The Marantz NA6005 that I used for a short while cost half as much as the Oppo and it streamed everything gapless without an issue. Why Oppo can't do the same thing is beyond me.

[PlanarSpeakerFan]

Originally Posted by Elberoth

Aurender's software is much more polished. It is joy to use. The new 'N' models with linear PSU also sound much better than the Aries.

Hi Adam,

Have you had the opportunity to hear the Antipodes DX? If so, how does it compare to the different Aurender models?

Thanks,
Ken

[Superfrg]

Thanks for sharing Charles, I hope your unit performs without any quirks.

I like the sound quality, but im still annoyed...

I usually reboot the unit (holding down the "exit" button) which seems to help a bit for a while.

[chops-tube]

Originally Posted by Superfrg

I own the Aries, no experience with the Aurender.

Streaming from Tidal only, I went from a Bluesound Node to a Aries and noticed improved SQ.

On the negative side, no iPhone App (although expected in 2014..), and the App you use can be a bit buggy.
Sometimes tracks won't play, sometimes it just skips, sometimes when you choose a song it plays the first second 5 times before playing the song ...

They do seem to spend a lot of time upgrading firmware, and some of them even comes with "improved sound quality", which is nice.

My biggest beef is that I use the USB connection to my C2500 and my preamp locks up all the time when changing album, but thats another story.

Well, now since I have had some more time with my Aries LE, I can safely say everything works fine without a glitch, except...

It seems that ever since Tidal released the Beatles albums, no matter what I play on Tidal (anything Beatles or non-Beatles), the Aries will randomly replay a track, either at the very end of the track or right in the middle of the track, or 15 seconds into the track. It just stops wherever, whenever and replays the track instantly.

Yet, streaming from my NAS, I can play anything and it works perfectly fine beginning to end, even DSD files. However, with that being said, when attempting to play DSD 5.6 Mhz, it only plays for 2 seconds at a time, hesitates for a second, then resumes playing for 2 seconds, and plays the entire track this way. The DSD 2.8 Mhz files stream just fine.

Keep in mind, the Parasound P5's DAC does not do DSD, so the Aries is converting the DSD files. Maybe the 5.6 Mhz files are maxing out the Aries memory?

[Slimbo]

Originally Posted by chops-tube

Well, now since I have had some more time with my Aries LE, I can safely say everything works fine without a glitch, except... It seems that ever since Tidal released the Beatles albums, no matter what I play on Tidal (anything Beatles or non-Beatles), the Aries will randomly replay a track, either at the very end of the track or right in the middle of the track, or 15 seconds into the track. It just stops wherever, whenever and replays the track instantly. Yet, streaming from my NAS, I can play anything and it works perfectly fine beginning to end, even DSD files. However, with that being said, when attempting to play DSD 5.6 Mhz, it only plays for 2 seconds at a time, hesitates for a second, then resumes playing for 2 seconds, and plays the entire track this way. The DSD 2.8 Mhz files stream just fine. Keep in mind, the Parasound P5's DAC does not do DSD, so the Aries is converting the DSD files. Maybe the 5.6 Mhz files are maxing out the Aries memory?

I have been speaking with Aurilac about DSD 5.6. They say there is a software and firmware upgrade coming.