Aurender N100H and Mcintosh D1100: A few pearls and tid bits I have learned

[1KW]

First off the Aurender N100H and Mcintosh D1100 makes for a fantastic combination but there are a few things I have learned that I want to share:

1) Turn the Aurender on first, before turning on the D1100 as this will assure that the usb "hand shaking" goes smoothly. If you turn the D1100 on before the Aurender sometimes music will not play. This is not a big deal. If the Aurender is just in sleep mode it will turn on with the app. in about 2 seconds.

2) The Aurender N100H will only play DSD64 files. The D1100 is capable of playing up to DSD256 files, but at this time I have not been able to play any DSD128 or DSD256 through the Aurender. Having said this the DSD64 files sound superb. PCM 176.4khz and 196khz also sound superb. The file size of DSD128 and DSD256 are humongous so maybe its just as well as the DSD64 and PCM files do not seem to be lacking in sound quality to me. I tried loading a DSD128 file on my NAS however when I tried to play it on my Aurender, since I had the DSD64 equivalent of the same album in the music folder in the Aurender internal HD the DSD64 music was automatically chosen to play even though I selected the DSD128 music on the NAS. I know this because both my DAC and Aurender app. showed DSD64 was playing. Putting DSD128 files on the Aurender prior to placing the DSD64 resulted in non recognized files on the Aurender. Hopefully Aurender will offer a software work around for this or maybe you have to buy a higher model Aurender ??

3) The Mcintosh D1100 plays PCM files on all the other inputs i.e. DSD has to be played via USB. From what I am hearing the DSD Vs. PCM files both sound excellent so this may only be important if you have a lot of DSD files.

4) The Mcintosh D1100 HR085 remote when changed to alternate mode will control the C2300 pre amp. perfectly and probably the C1000 since they apparently can use the same remote. The HR085 is a nicer remote than the one that came with the C2300. If the D1100 is also set to alternate IR, this remote will turn both the C2300 and D1100 on and off and control both units. Be aware if you are using the remote this way that when changing bass and treble on the C2300 may change the balance setting in the D1100 which will lead to messing up the sound. This happened to me .

5) Do not try and use a control trigger cable between the C2300 and D1100 as this will cause the D1100 to go into a protection mode and you will have to push and hold the standby button to do a factory reset. The factory reset will not work until you unhook the trigger cable . The work around is do the alternate IR remote setting as above.

6) The Apple extreme time capsule (wifi router) with 2 TB HD makes a excellent NAS for the Aurender N100H and works flawlessly while also supplying gigabyte ethernet.

7) Downloading HD music and putting them on the NAS or Aurender with a Mac. computer is simple drag and drop, very quick and easy. However, loading artwork from iTunes only works sporadically on the Aurender so you have use other software to get the art work or live with some files missing it.

8) It goes without saying that 16 bit/44 khz as well as 24 bit/44 khz also sound superb on the Aurender/D1100. Tidal streaming in Hi Fi and MQA also sound as good as CD's via the USB (I have 238mbs internet in my house) . MQA is limited to 96 khz with the Aurender/D1100 at the present time.

[1KW]

The Aurender N100H automatically plays DSD64 without having to do any type of coversion in the control App. as opposed to the N10 or W20 where you have to go into the app. Settings and convert DSD to PCM for coax to work.

[jdandy]

David.......Nice overview of the N100H and the D1100 working together. DSD files will only pass to a compatible DAC using a USB cable. The only reason to use DSD to PCM conversion would be the lack of DSD decoding in a particular DAC.

[1KW]

Originally Posted by jdandy

David.......Nice overview of the N100H and the D1100 working together. DSD files will only pass to a compatible DAC using a USB cable. The only reason to use DSD to PCM conversion would be the lack of DSD decoding in a particular DAC.

Dan have you tried using DSD128 or DSD256 with the N10 and if yes did they sound better than DSD64 or PCM24/96 ? I sent a email to Aurender to try and find out why the N100H is not playing those files since the D1100 is supposed to be able to play them. I just want to see if I can hear a difference. I am hoping to find much difference since the files are so huge.

[jdandy]

Originally Posted by 1KW

Dan have you tried using DSD128 or DSD256 with the N10 and if yes did they sound better than DSD64 or PCM24/96 ? I sent a email to Aurender to try and find out why the N100H is not playing those files since the D1100 is supposed to be able to play them. I just want to see if I can hear a difference. I am hoping to find much difference since the files are so huge.

David.......I don't download DSD files to my N10. I enjoy DSD from my SACD collection. No need to fill up my hard drives with humongous files when the K-01X does such a fabulous job of reproducing DSD direct from SACD's. I have discovered many sonically impressive CD's that rival SACD. I have quite a few CD's that sound equal to the hi-res versions I have downloaded so I am having second thoughts about the value of hi-res downloads.

Basically, I am not caught up in the upconversion excitement. PCM sounds excellent when the recording and mastering are done well. Taking a master tape and converting it to 24 bit/96kHz or higher doesn't automatically make it a better recording. Converting original PCM recordings to DSD won't magically make them better either.

I have so much music to enjoy already, and of course many favorites that I play often and never grow tired of hearing them. I plan to listen to what I already own and only purchase recordings that are of special merit and are recorded and mastered well. I use Tidal as my sampling library. If I find something genuinely interesting I will purchase the CD or SACD. If people begin talking about something extra special in hi-res I may download it if it strikes my fancy, but I won't be downloading any DSD. Just not interested.

[Antonmb]

[1KW]

I agree converting from one format to another has its limits if the mastering was not good. However in the conversion of a excellent master analog tape to digital I would like to have the best digital version that I can hear. I guess that has a lot in who and how its done. I am just starting to look at DSD downloads but the few that I have do sound very very good, better than most of my CD's . After I posted that DSD128 was not working I decided to try dismounting the NAS and running Aurender Media Manager again then remounting the NAS and running update new music etc on the settings menu of the Aurender app. . Now the Aurender recognized the DSD128 file and the Mcintosh D1100 said DSD128 however after about 10 seconds the music started to disrupt as if the buffer was reloading on the Aurender ? I am not sure if the length of my usb cable is the cause since it is 5 m and the usb works by sending packets of information back or forth along the cable or if the buffer isn't large enough or if the NAS feeding the buffer is the problem or if the Aurender is doing work in the background looking for art work since I uninstalled my NAS and then reinstalled it ? In the few seconds of music I am hearing it does not sound better than DSD64 . I think DSD64 files are around the same size as PCM 24/176 hz. Sounds like you have been where I am and done that

[1KW]

I loaded the DSD128 files onto the Aurender internal HD updated the settings and now they are playing
So the take home message is not use these type of files on the NAS

[1KW]

I spoke to Chuck at McIntosh who said if the display on the D1100 says DSD128 then that is what it is seeing. Aurender says they are using dop protocol on USB out of DSD files .The display on the Aurender is reading 2XDSD, 5.6 MHz DSF which shows that DoP is working on the D1100.

[edward3132]

One needs to remember: DSD over PCM (DoP) is not a conversion of DSD to PCM but a way to transmit DSD native in a PCM stream.