Aurender integrated streamer/DACs

@gsomin

First, is it new? Broken in? It will need at least a couple hundred hours on it before it will perform correctly… 300 or 400 is better.

Tell us more about the rest of your system. There is a place for photos and to ID your system. That would really help us. Click on the little triangle next to discussion Forum to virtual system.

Aurender streamers are world class… although their DACs are not known to be quite as leading edge. The A200 i should blow away the Blue Sound.

Is it possible you are taking treble and in your face presence for higher quality? Higher quality sound brings out the natural midrange and heft of voices and many instruments… it is more relaxed and musical. The presentation is deeper, soundstage wider. Just a thought.

Yes, it is brand spanking new A200. The rest of the system is Sonus Faber Olympica III speakers and Luxman 507z (will send a photo later). Note, that I did side-by-side with BlueSound on the same setup. 

Aurender does sound warmer with more bass, but cymbals and background piano is blended in, very understated. In contrast, I could hear all instruments on BlueSound. I do use a cheaper RCA cable for BlueSound (and LINN interconnects for the Aurender), so I can play with that, but I doubt it would have such a drastic difference. 

@gsomin 

If you don’t believe in break-in then you can return A200. The DAC’s are known to open up after 250-400 hours. 

If I’m you I’d play the Aurender exclusively for 200 hours and then do some critical listening then switch the Node back in and see what you think. Also, what cable are you using into the streamers? Lastly, at the level of your system you really need to invest in a better DAC.  If you specify what sound characteristics you prefer you can get some good recommendations here or maybe better to just start another thread for that. 

Agree that the A200 needs to be broken in.  However, even out of the box there should be a night and day difference between the two, in favor of Aurender.  Could it be a defective player? Have you contacted Aurender?  They should be able to trouble shoot online for you.