Aurrender N10 vs Auralic Aries G2 Sound differences

[George Prentice]

I am still new to the digital streaming world. I finally got my digital end to pretty closely match my analog end. Briefly, Sim Moon Audio 650D DAC / transport with the separate power supply (doubled the cost, but also raised the level of performance very substantially), Audio Research 5se Preamp, Pass 350 amp. The sound is what I want.

So I purchased a Auralic Aries G2. It is clearly of similar caliber to the transport on my DAC. So, has anyone done actual sound comparisons between this and the N10? Now that I realize how good a streamer and Tidal can sound, I don't want to quite at the Auralic if the Aurrender sounds better. I have not been able to find fault with the Auralic. Seems to me the DAC should have the most impact on the sound... but I have been into high end audio for 50 years, so I know logic is almost useless. What it actually sounds like is what is important.

[jameslrock]

Will be interesting to hear. Also wonder how each streamer DAC is better that the DAC already in play whether a standalone DAC or within a player such as the Esoteric.

[Tecknik1]

I have not heard any of the servers your referring to but the N10 has a stellar reputation and being in this hobby 50 years you no doubt know that the dac well only sound as good has whats feeding it.

The other question is whats your network set up which will also have a huge impact on your sound quality and for further info on this I encourage you to check out the site Audiophile Site, under forums go to Networking, Networked audio and Streaming.

[JMD]

They are both top level streamers only so don't know there would be a great deal of difference between them other than your preference on the two software packages.

[rnrmf1971]

I've been looking at the two streamers you mention along with the Aurender N100SC or N100C because I plan to use usb but want the option of coax if usb doesn't work or sound good for some reason. I'm looking to upgrade from my Bluesound Node 2i, which sounds really, really good using coax out to my Marantz SA-10. I don't know what kind of improvements I can get though I think it would have to do with clarity of the high frequencies and possibly low end definition. But without a comparison, it sounds good in my system.

All I've really seen is good reviews for ALL of these streamers.

I think I've read one or two comments from people that went from the Aries 2 to the Aurender N10 because they felt it sounded better, but I don't give those one or two anecdotes much weight.

I recently was communicating with Aurender, and this is how the differences between the N100 series and N10 were described to me:
"The main differences between the N10 and the N100 series are the N10’s addition of a suite of SPDIF digital outputs which allow you to experiment with the various digital output protocols, a massive linear power supply, better component parts and DSD-to-PCM conversion on-the-fly. There’s no shortage of testimonials of forums from Aurender users who’ve upgraded from, for example, an N100H to an N10 and claim major sound quality improvement. I’ve compared both in my systems well and there is no doubt the soundstage on the N10 is wider, deeper and taller, the low frequencies have more depth, slam and extension and dynamics, both macro and micro are also improved. These improvements will be evident with both hi-res files and hi-res streaming services like Tidal and Qobuz."

[George Prentice]

Thanks for your comments. Hopefully someone has done a detailed comparison on dimensions like rhythm and pace, overall tonal balance, midrange bloom, Etc. I listened to Traffic’s “The Low Spark of High Healed Boys”, in Vinyl and Streamed last night. The contrast was quite large. The Vinyl had much better rhythm and pace the Auralic better detail. So my first data point suggests if the Aurrender is a bit more musical while keeping the detail I would be interested in swapping. My understanding is the N10 has a better power supply than the other Aurrender models. It has been my experience that high end component sound is very high effected by the power supply, so better is always better.

[rnrmf1971]

Originally Posted by George Prentice

Thanks for your comments. Hopefully someone has done a detailed comparison on dimensions like rhythm and pace, overall tonal balance, midrange bloom, Etc. I listened to Traffic’s “The Low Spark of High Healed Boys”, in Vinyl and Streamed last night. The contrast was quite large. The Vinyl had much better rhythm and pace the Auralic better detail. So my first data point suggests if the Aurrender is a bit more musical while keeping the detail I would be interested in swapping. My understanding is the N10 has a better power supply than the other Aurrender models. It has been my experience that high end component sound is very high effected by the power supply, so better is always better.

Did you stream with anything before the Auralic that you can make comparisons with?

The Aries G2 looks like an incredibly well designed piece of electronics.

Besides the software interface, which I think I like better on Aurender, I keep asking myself what performance the Aurender could offer over the Auralic?

[George Prentice]

Originally Posted by rnrmf1971

Did you stream with anything before the Auralic that you can make comparisons with?

The Aries G2 looks like an incredibly well designed piece of electronics.

Besides the software interface, which I think I like better on Aurender, I keep asking myself what performance the Aurender could offer over the Auralic?

I used to stream with a MacBook. That would not be a comparison. I have to agree with your assertion, “I keep asking myself what performance the Aurender could offer over the Auralic?” However, it has been my experience that doubling the cost of a component has virtually always resulted in noticeable and significant improvement in sound quality. On the other hand the Aurender has more stuff... like mechanical drives... which I really no not want. I have been an IT executive for my career. Disk drives are unreliable... period, have noisy motors etc... not something I want even near my audio system. That is why I was hoping to find someone that has done the comparison. There aren’t that many high end musi streamers without a DAC. I would think a lot of folks would have done this comparison. I enjoy listening to my system much more than evaluating equipment. I had hoped I was finished with it... but technology marches on. Streaming has an enormous space advantage in the home.


One other compare I just did was between the same album on the Auralic with a Tidal stream (44k) and a red book CD transport on the DACs. I could discern NO difference. This was quit surprising to me, I don’t think I have ever heard two different sources sound the same. This would support the threory that once you reach a certain level the bitstream becomes transparent and the DAC determines the character of the sound. If this bears out scrutiny I am going to be really happy. I like the Auralic, it is nicely built and will be the cheapest component in my system.

[rob725]

George,
The N10 is also a sever with disks. A more direct comparison to your aries (which is a fine streamer), would be the SimMoon Mind Network player, which has likely been voiced with 650N. As long as your dac and streamer play well together, your sound is going to be much more influenced by your dac, unless your streamer/network can't keep up.

[rob725]

Sorry George; looking more closely at Mind, I just realized it doesn't do USB, so if that's important...