Aurender N30 - To stay competitive in 2021

[LL21]

When you do, a lot of us are dying to hear.

+1!!!

 

[battles]

Thanks Jcharvet. Appreciate your passing along these insights and viewpoints shared by Aurender. They are consistent with what I’ve learned over the course of my due diligence before making my decision. Saying that, I guess I’d be bummed if they offered a W30 in the imminent future. In my pro forms configuration, using the MSB ProUSB/ISL modules, I don’t think I’d benefit from the additional outputs unless the MSB’s ProISL could accept and ISL output from the Aurender. Even then would this sound better? If it did, I’d happily forgo the expense of purchasing a reference USB cable(s) and a ProUSB, but as discussed, who knows when the W30 will be released.

In the meantime, I’m spending the next stage of my due diligence on optimizing the signal being passed from my ISP to my Aurender, which to date, unless I’m not current on the latest prevailing standard in this area, is implementing two SOTM switches in said signal path with aftermarket LPSs. I also understand implementing SOTM’s USB conditioner in between the Aurender and MSB ProUSB adds even greater improvement. Of course, that would require two reference USB cables, so deeper in the rabbit hole I would go! And then there’s the ability to add external clocks to the SOTMs. And so it goes on and on.

Thanks!
Blake

 

[nonesup]

Thanks gentlemen. I’ve decided to pull the trigger on the N30SA (vs the W20SE). Just seems like the prudent decision considering it’s based upon Aurender’s latest technology platform. Also appears that it has held its own against the Taiko in some recent auditions discussed on another forum.

…I’m envisioning the following digital signal path in my particular system. Cable modem > Cisco Switch/Router > Fiber > EtherRegen with external clock and upgraded CPU > Göbel Ethernet Cable > Aurender N30SA > Göbel USB Cable > MSB ProUSB > Fiber > MSB ProISL > MSB Select DAC

That said, if there are hardware improvements along the signal path that would result in a better sonic outcome (based on first hand experience), I’d welcome the feedback.

Thanks in advance,
Blake

Since you ask for comments I will comment on my own experience. I had an EtherRegen obtained in the second production batch. It replaced an AqVox Switch and was clearly better than it. I replaced it with a Melco S-100 with the Clock Pink Faun and the improvement was very evident. Naturally at a high cost S-100 + Upgrade Clock + LPS of two rails. In the last month I have added two devices that are making my system sound like it never did. Following the advice of two WBT members I have added a second Innuos Phoenix Next Switch and an Innuos Phoenix USB Reclocker. I am absolutely happy.

 

[nonesup]

Thanks Jcharvet. Appreciate your passing along these insights and viewpoints shared by Aurender. They are consistent with what I’ve learned over the course of my due diligence before making my decision. Saying that, I guess I’d be bummed if they offered a W30 in the imminent future. In my pro forms configuration, using the MSB ProUSB/ISL modules, I don’t think I’d benefit from the additional outputs unless the MSB’s ProISL could accept and ISL output from the Aurender. Even then would this sound better? If it did, I’d happily forgo the expense of purchasing a reference USB cable(s) and a ProUSB, but as discussed, who knows when the W30 will be released.

In the meantime, I’m spending the next stage of my due diligence on optimizing the signal being passed from my ISP to my Aurender, which to date, unless I’m not current on the latest prevailing standard in this area, is implementing two SOTM switches in said signal path with aftermarket LPSs. I also understand implementing SOTM’s USB conditioner in between the Aurender and MSB ProUSB adds even greater improvement. Of course, that would require two reference USB cables, so deeper in the rabbit hole I would go! And then there’s the ability to add external clocks to the SOTMs. And so it goes on and on.

Thanks!
Blake

Austinpop reviewed the Phoenix USB and compared it to their own tX-USBultra SE SOtM. You can read it here

Review | Innuos PhoenixUSB Reclocker

Innuos PhoenixUSB Reclocker Review: A Meatball to replace the Spaghetti? Rajiv Arora Introduction Those of us who slave over improving our digital streaming audio chains invariably end up with a plethora of boxes, cables, power supplies, accessories, more boxes, and more cables. In other words, w...

audiophilestyle.com

 

[battles]

Thanks Nonesup! Wondering whether the performance of the N30SA or Taiko USB outputs have come far enough along to eliminate the need for inserting a USB reclocker (and a second reference USB cable) in between the server and the DAC? One would hope that’s what you’re paying for when spending $25K+ on a high end server? Do we know if folks on this forum are making this additional investment when utilizing this caliber of server?

Regarding the Melco switch, did you audition that against SOTM’s flagship switch? Seems like utilizing two of the latter has yielded what some folks believe to be the best sound?

Finally, are you still using your EtherRegen anywhere in the signal path?

Thanks,
Blake

 

[nonesup]

No, the Switch SOtm I did not audition and the EtherRegen was sold.
My path is: ISP Modem-Router (AudioQuest Diamond Ethernet) —- MelcoS-100 (Sablon 2020 Ethernet) —— Innuos Phoenix Next (Göbel Ethernet) ——- Melco N1ZH60-2 (Innuos USB Cable) —— Innuos Phoenix USB ( Göbel USB Cable) —— Kassandra DAC

 

[battles]

Nonesup, I see that you’re using a combination of network and USB cables, of which two include Göbel. I have Gobel speakers and cables throughout. Was there a reason why you mixed brands? And with regard to your Gobel USB cable how does it sound compares to the other brands? Reason I ask, is that I haven’t purchased my USB cable(s), I had assumed I’d purchase a Gobel USB but I’ve heard that others on the forum prefer the Intonus Ultimate, Vertere HB V3 and Habst 5N Silver Cryo. Not sure if you’ve also had the opportunity to compare? Obviously, it’s very difficult to conclude whether a better sounding USB Cable in one system would also be better sounding in another.

 

[nonesup]

Well the reason is simply the price. Doubling the Gobel cables (tripling in the case of the Ethernet cable) was too much for me. When I bought the Innuos Phoenix Next I bought a Sablon 2020, it is a good cable and it has a good price. In fact Mark (Sablon) said that there are those who prefer it to the Gobel, but it is not my case. I will also change the Innuos USB cable for a Sablon.

 

[Bliss Hifi]

@battles can you share where you saw the comparison between the N30SA and the Taiko, even if by PM? Curious to see what other reviewers thought.

 

[battles]

Well the reason is simply the price. Doubling the Gobel cables (tripling in the case of the Ethernet cable) was too much for me. When I bought the Innuos Phoenix Next I bought a Sablon 2020, it is a good cable and it has a good price. In fact Mark (Sablon) said that there are those who prefer it to the Gobel, but it is not my case. I will also change the Innuos USB cable for a Sablon.

Thanks nonsup. If price were not a factor, for the USB specifically, would you have opted for two Göbels? I’ve heard that the Intona Ultimate is excellent however I’d be curious to hear whether it or the Sablon to your ears is as good as the Gobel?

 

[Bliss Hifi]

For those on this thread who own the N30SA, can you comment on how the sound changed through break in? How did it sound to you at first, and how was it different once it was broken in?

Being on day one, it is vastly different in sound than the server/streamer that was hooked up prior, better in most ways, but I'm finding the attacks and frequency extremes are softer. I'm hoping this is something that improves through the break in.

Thanks in advance.

 

[nonesup]

Thanks nonsup. If price were not a factor, for the USB specifically, would you have opted for two Göbels? I’ve heard that the Intona Ultimate is excellent however I’d be curious to hear whether it or the Sablon to your ears is as good as the Gobel?

Regarding the USB, I cannot tell you, because I will not have the Sablon until after Christmas, but regarding the Ethernet, the Göbel for me is superior

 

[Bliss Hifi]

For those interested, after having the unit for 1.5 weeks and running music consecutively both locally and over the internet, I can say our N30SA is fully broken in. While it totally destroyed the previous server in place upon installation, it was still obvious to hear the break in over time. At first, the N30 sounded incredibly full, and even running just overnight resulted in a significant opening of the sound. Over the last ten days, I didn’t notice it get thin as it sometimes happens with component break in. Instead, the sound just opened up more and more, and a few days ago, the sound quality reached its peak. We’re mighty happy with the performance.

Our next step is to test a custom umbilical we built for it, as Aurender confirmed the umbilical is made of UP-OCC conductors. For this project, we leveraged a quality Amphenol Tuchen 8-pin DIN and a double run of our DH Labs AG-23 solid silver cable for each of the eight pins, twisting each pair along the path. Each solder point is insulated in heat shrink and each end again heat shrunk again until adding the tech flex and final heat shrink and hardware.

This cable will take a few hundred hours to break in, so the results are too early to report but micro details are already evident with more ease, and there isn’t yet any perceived brightness. Let’s see if it’s too much of a good thing as it opens up more.

 

[battles]

I’ve only had my N30SA up and running for a few hours (though it’s been powered on for the last 2-3 days while I transferred music to its SSD and waited to receive my MSB ProUSB/ISL modules). I’m blown away. It crushes my prior config where Roon was running on my QNAP server and using MSB’s Network Streamer v2 interface. The noise floor has “dropped through the floor” and the instruments and musicians float in space. Sounds very real without and digital haze. This was a pricey upgrade after considering the cost of the N30SA, the ProUSB/ISL module and a reference USB cable, but I can unequivocally say it was worth the investment. More to come as it breaks in…

 

[battles]

JCharvet,

Please keep us posted on the impact of the custom umbilical cord post break in. In the meantime, would you mind sharing what hardware you’ve implemented along your signal path between your ISP/Router > N30 > DAC? Not sure if you’re using an audiophile switch and/or a USB reclocker?

I’ve heard through the grapevine some of the larger audiophile hardware manufacturers will shortly be releasing their own audiophile network switches (Synergistic Research’s recent release by way of example) so my instinct is that it may be better to wait before committing significant $s to this area of the signal path until we see what the big boys release to market. With all due respect to others who’ve already taken this plunge, it sure would be nice not to need to purchase multiple audiophile switches, pimped out power supplies and outboard clocks, a USB reclocker and doubled up reference Ethernet and USB cables and then purchase a new isolation platform to store/organize all this “stuff” in order to optimize the signal path for streaming.

Thx,
Blake

 

[Bliss Hifi]

JCharvet,

Please keep us posted on the impact of the custom umbilical cord post break in. In the meantime, would you mind sharing what hardware you’ve implemented along your signal path between your ISP/Router > N30 > DAC? Not sure if you’re using an audiophile switch and/or a USB reclocker?

I’ve heard through the grapevine some of the larger audiophile hardware manufacturers will shortly be releasing their own audiophile network switches (Synergistic Research’s recent release by way of example) so my instinct is that it may be better to wait before committing significant $s to this area of the signal path until we see what the big boys release to market. With all due respect to others who’ve already taken this plunge, it sure would be nice not to need to purchase multiple audiophile switches, pimped out power supplies and outboard clocks, a USB reclocker and doubled up reference Ethernet and USB cables and then purchase a new isolation platform to store/organize all this “stuff” in order to optimize the signal path for streaming.

Thx,
Blake

Will do. Just by running overnight, I am already very happy with the performance of the cable. The sound is just faster, snappier, more dynamic. No etching or brightness. I hope it only improves. More to come on that.

From the wall to the N30SA, here’s what we’ve got:

DH Labs Reunion Cat8
(3, from modem to Orbi and Orbi satellite to switch to N30)

Uptone EtherRegen, maxed out, powered by a Farad Super3 linear power supply. Farad is powered by a DH Labs Corona AC cable.

In all honesty, if one is trying an EtherRegen without a very good LPS, he/she is missing out. We could only tell a slight improvement by adding the EtherRegen, but adding the Farad and Corona AC to the EtherRegen resulted in an even bigger improvement than the EtherRegen itself.

 

[battles]

Thanks! I’m using an Uptone 1.2 LPS with my EtherRegen and an inexpensive outboard clock the manufacturer recommended. Are you using an outboard clock and have you compared the SQ of using CAT8 vs Fiber between your home router/switch and your EtherRegen?

 

[Bliss Hifi]

Thanks! I’m using an Uptone 1.2 LPS with my EtherRegen and an inexpensive outboard clock the manufacturer recommended. Are you using an outboard clock and have you compared the SQ of using CAT8 vs Fiber between your home router/switch and your EtherRegen?

I have both heard (in a friend’s system) and read that the Farad will highly outperform the Uptone LPS. It’s very audible.

Unfortunately we are not using an outboard clock or fiber. That said, on another note, I am currently using a very expensive AES ($3500) out of the N30 into the DAC, I can’t disclose since I lead the marketing for DH Labs. Preferring AES at the moment as then it leverages the incredible clock of the N30, vs using USB which uses the clock of the DAC.

 

[battles]

Thanks. I’ve heard that the Aurender AES output is excellent. With the MSB Select and ProUSB/ISL module the USB interface is excellent b/c it is clocked by MSB’s internal Femto 33 clock.

 

[Bliss Hifi]

I wouldn’t doubt it. The MSB DAC you have is coveted. I wish we had it, but it’s too much $$$ for us to swing at this time. Jealous!