Lumin U2 or Aurender N200

@audphile1 

The Conductor V4 still ‘work in progress’. I am still using V3 version majority of the time until V4 version has all the kinks worked out.  I do like the new fresh ‘look’ of V4 :-) 

@audphile1 

Qobuz often uploads upcoming albums that are ‘not ready to stream yet’. Don’t know why they do that, may be this is their way of announcing upcoming albums.  

@audphile1 

👍

“And when I looked at it in my rack, right beside it is a copy of Fortnight!”
@mclinnguy 

LOL!  You may not be inclined to do so but cataloging your collection would have avoided this. I use CLZ Music app to catelog my media. It has saved me $$$ when I am shopping online or at trade show. After a while you can’t possibly remember all the titles in your collection. I am now 95% streaming but still buy downloads, CD’s and Vinyl. Now I need to go and shop for PB’s live album - A Fortnight In Paris. 

@audphile1

I may sound like a broken record but given your rest of the system, I honestly believe N20 is a much better fit and return on your overall investment. If you’re buying new, ask your Aurender dealer to arrange N200 and N20 audition side by side. IME, N20 edges N200 in terms of low frequency extension and slam. And slight but very noticeable edge in perceived detail and noise floor; it is spooky quiet. Should you choose to further elevate the performance of N20, there is an option to add external clock. In my system, adding an external clock to N20 was no less than a revelation.

Also check with Aurender support if you can ‘slave’ your Bricasti DAC via Ethernet. This will eliminate the need for a USB or AES/SPDIF cable. Aurender selectively offers this capability in their advanced menu settings for MSB and Merging DAC’s.

Good luck!

“So with Roon or the Qobuz app I don’t see any of these anomalies.”
@audphile1

I wanted to know what you were saying, so I went into Qobuz app on my iPhone and “Fortnight In Paris” is only available for purchase only. Whereas in Conductor the album comes up as “not ready to stream yet”.

Are you able to stream this album in ROON, if yes then it must be available to stream on Tidal as ROON will display albums from both streaming services.

Congratulations! 

@audphile1

The only way I know of capturing artwork by accessing SSD on your network and adding artwork. You may wanna email aurender support and ask for better way. I don’t have this issue as I also own ACS100 which allows me to edit artwork and metadata right from my iPad.

PS: Glad to hear synergy between N200 and Bricasti DAC.

@audphile1

Check out album art exchange for missing artwork.

https://www.albumartexchange.com

And as far USB, AQ USB would be a definite improvement over generic cable. If I may suggest, couple of my favorite USB cables,  NA’s ENO USB III and Kimber”s KSUSB - HB (Hybrid).

@audphile1 

I have not compared AQ with Kimber. 

@audphile1 

Great outcome! I am glad to hear you’re loving N200 in your system. My experience jive with yours, better cabling is equally important and complementary in elevating performance of higher quality components.

Network renderer or endpoint is a good option (just like VC in a DAC) that offers convenience but they cannot compete with full blown, well executed components like a streamer or preamp. 

Among other things, N200 also offers external grounding that further lowers the noise floor. Once you settle down with N200, I recommend trying passive grounding from Entreq or Acoustic Revive. 

@mclinnguy 

As @audphile1 suggested, give ENO a shot, preferably with complete ENO streaming system between your Cisco switch and Weiss. That would be a fair comparison between ER and ENO. Before you do, check Ethernet specs on your Weiss. ENO is designed to operate at 100Mb/s and most DAC with Ethernet card spec’d at 1Gb/s. 

Is ENO better than ER, let your ears guide you to promise land. 

@audphile1 

Any further updates on N200? 

@audphile1

Yes. You also have an option to edit any metadata manually from their IOS app called ACS Manager. I really love the functionality and features ACS provides without the intervention of a laptop or desktop. I still buy CD’s that are sourced from analog masters and ACS helps me rip and curate them meticulously. You can create folders, sub folders and so on (you should already aware of this).

I have transitioned to ROON so I am using ACS for storage, library management and ripping. ROON now has a capability to show your folders, so I see mirror image of my ACS folders in my ROON app.

@audphile1

I recommend trying Network Acoustics’s Muon or ENO USB cables. Comes with 30 days return privileges. I’ve owned their ENO USB and it was by far the most natural sounding USB cable under $2K. My 2nd best was Kimber Hybrid USB :-)

Cool. I found analog + PC cables from same brand tends to play well together or should I say, offer better synergy. Digital cables are different animal all together. 

Aurender has the best digital Library Management software. No other company I know of that allows metadata editing from an iOS app. I am now using Roon but Aurender ACS 100 is my go to reference for managing /ripping digital content. I am using a pair of Samsung EVO SSD - 8TB….they are dead quiet. 

https://aurender.com/home/acs100/

@audphile1 

I hear you…had the same issue with BS Vault. The ACS Manager app is much more robust and gives you many options to pulled down artwork in your choice of resolution. I have over 900 albums on ACS…every single one of them has artwork and metadata. 

It’s a personal choice but I take a little bit of pride in curating my content so all of my albums have high resolution artwork since space is not an issue for me. 

As far as ROON goes, it will display an artwork of album being played. 

@audphile1 

Thanks for posting your impressions. Your assessment aligns with mine, I have yet to find analog and digital cables from one brand offering great synergy and competing with very best, within my budget..LOL!  Usually it’s one or the other.

@audphile1 

Merging + player (DAC + Roon endpoint + Core) supported by external master clock and power supply. 

@mclinnguy 

Roon’s integration with folder views is a significant step for those who prefer a more hands-on approach to library management, especially when paired with devices like the ACS. It bridges the gap between metadata-driven organization and traditional folder browsing, offering both flexibility and convenience.

Coming back to your question, between software choices, I do like Roon’s user-interface and deep metadata integration but it wasn’t an easy transition. I have been in Aurender eco-system for over 10 years and Conductor app remains an excellent option for users who value a simpler, device-focused experience. 

Beyond the excellent Roon UI, I wasn’t quite sold on the SQ initially when compared with Conductor. The comparisons was made between my Merging +player and N20 and later with N30SA. And Conductor always sounded better, more natural and fuller until early this year. I believe it was around March or so, Roon made a substantial leap in SQ and closed the gap between the two. I went back n forth over the course of next three-month period to fully understand what was going on. If there were any differences between the two software, they were subtle at best with no apparent disadvantages. Both software sounded equally immersive and natural through my Merging DAC. 

For my specific needs, ACS is indispensable. You get Roon’s advanced playback and discovery features alongside the ACS’s SOTA iOS app, library management, ripping and ultra quiet storage / playback capabilities. 

@audphile1 

To my understanding, software updates to Roon app contributed to bump in SQ. They are constantly updating the software (mostly ironing out bugs) but the updates around March 2024, when I noticed Roon sounding significantly better than my previous accounts. As a result, I sold my N30SA back in July. 

What were you using to compare Roon. Roon did not sound good through my N30SA  compared to Conductor. 

@mclinnguy 

Agreed with your take on these updates. The implementation of software + hardware and little bit of diligence with LAN connectivity is the key between these streamers/servers sounding amazing to good enough. 

@audphile1

You may appreciate this update….I recently inserted Telegartner Opt Bridge 1000M Optical Isolator between my Merging +player and Apple router. You may recall I have experimented with Fiber Media Converter and SFP fiber optic transceiver previously and came away unimpressed as it made my streamer sound dry and thin.

The important distinction between Opt Bridge and any other fiber optic solution is use of fiber optic cables between fiber optic transceivers. IME, fiber optic cables are very effective in preventing the noise transmission but at the cost of dynamics. The Opt Bridge provides optical isolation and 100% galvanic isolation with normal RJ45 LAN cables. With Opt Bridge, I am hearing a definite uptick in harmonics and transparency. The sound is more relaxed and organic without any loss in detail. This is by far the best tweak among all the LAN filters and switches I’ve tried in my system. I am using a pair of stock Telegartner MFP8 Gold IE LAN cables in and out of Opt Bridge.

If you ever get an opportunity, try the Opt Bridge.
https://telegaertner.co.jp/_cms_/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/OPT-BRIDGE-1000M_catalog-english.pdf

@audphile1 

Looking forward to your impressions!  

BTW, I just came across this unique cable from Melco. Is this the ‘first’ silver plated copper cable with SFP connection? Also interesting to see Aurender on the compatibility list…does that mean a SFP connection on future Aurender models. 

https://melco-audio.com/c1/