Aurender and native DSD output

Does this help?

“The "Use native DSD on USB" option for the Aurender N20 music server affects only the USB interface and does not impact the AES/EBU, Optical BNC, or SPDIF interfaces.

This is because many DACs support DSD decoding only through USB inputs, while SPDIF and AES/EBU interfaces typically do not support native DSD.

The "Use native DSD on USB" option on the Aurender N20 does not affect the performance of the AES/EBU interface. This option is specific to the USB interface, which is typically used for DSD playback, as most DACs support DSD decoding only via USB inputs. The AES/EBU interface operates independently and is governed by its own clocking system, such as the OCXO clock in the Aurender N20, which ensures high-quality audio output without interference from USB settings”.

That is my point, the AES/EBU interface should not alter its behavior based on a setting that in theory only affects the USB interface. In my case, if I set the "Use native DSD on USB" to OFF, then I can play all sorts of DSD files using the AES/EBU interface, and if I turn the setting ON (Which in theory should not affect the AES interface) the opposite happens, I can play FLAC files, but no DSDs at all, not even DSD64.

The aim of this thread was to seek feedback from those that have an Aurender N20 (or other) along with a DAC that has both AES/EBU and USB input and see if they also see the same behavior... It may be a bug in my system.

There’s no bug in your system. By the way Aurender customer service is great and you can reach out to them with this question. 

In case of N20, best results will be achieved using AES/EBU output because you are leveraging the Aurender OCXO clock.

If you’re streaming from Qobuz and or Tidal and that’s most of your listening, I would turn the Native DSD Off and completely disconnect and remove the USB cable. AES/EBU interface will sound superior to USB in your case. 

That is my point, the AES/EBU interface should not alter its behavior based on a setting that in theory only affects the USB interface. In my case, if I set the "Use native DSD on USB" to OFF, then I can play all sorts of DSD files using the AES/EBU interface, and if I turn the setting ON (Which in theory should not affect the AES interface) the opposite happens, I can play FLAC files, but no DSDs at all, not even DSD64.

This is likely because when you enable the native DSD signal that is what’s being sent to the AES/EBU as well and it cannot process that signal and so sends nothing or maybe it’s not even sent to AES/EBU at all — whatever, but when the native DSD is turned off the signal is “dumbed down” however it’s done which is why the AES/EBU connection can then handle it. What @audphile1 recommends makes total sense that if you’re not doing DSD use the AES/EBU connection as that is better for the reasons stated (OCXO clock) and when playing DSD use the native DSD signal through USB. Seems simple enough.

Aurender support will answer all your questions. The number is in the manual. Support via phone is excellent. Call them!