MAC Book Pro Computer vs Aurender N100h vs Aurender N10 Music Servers

Aurender announced a new software upgrade labeled the Aurender App 2.7.27 Released on June 30 2016. See link below for a list of the bug fixes & improvements:

http://www.aurender.com/blog/new-software-release-note-4/post/app-2-7-27-136

It took me about five minutes to complete the install. Please make sure the install is 100% completed before you start using the iPad App (look at the display for status information).  After I completed the upgrade, my albums were not displayed on my iPad but my Tidal albums were.  I closed the iPad App, removed it from memory and started the App again.  All my albums appeared perfectly.  Aurender Customer Support reports "If the App did not display your local content correctly after the update, it is possible the App had not quite downloaded the database from the Aurender yet and so when you relaunched it, it reinitiated the download and now your albums appear.  This may be due to old data not being replaced with new data when the app is updated from the app store.  We have found that often, deleting the App and reinstalling it can repair some issues after a software upgrade".

Aurender reports "they are working on email integration for software release notes as well as a new support site, but no estimated dates are available (future).  Also, email reminders will likely be something you will need to sign up for, so it won’t be automatic".

At the moment, Aurender "decided not to implement notices about software updates from the App. They may make it a feature that can be turned on or off in the future, but no information regarding the time frame for this feature is available (Future, maybe)".

"The Standby button still appears on the App, but it no longer works. Aurender left it there with a note that we removed it so customers did not get confused. Either way, it does not work anymore if you try to select it”.  

"Aurender has received some reports of the App crashing more than usual (when multitasking or when selecting the App after the iPad wakes from sleep), and they are working on duplicating the problems and hope to fix them with a new update. For the time being, just a warning that you may need to relaunch the App from time to time”.  This problem has never happened to me.

Aurender also added a Tidal sort by artist option.

After the software upgrade, my Aurender N10 is working fine.  

The N10 is a nice unit, sounds great, marginally better sounding than a Macbook. But be aware that having to use an Ipad to control a device is a mixed blessing. If your internet or network is down, your music will be inaccessible. That is the current state of the art for music servers.

That is an excellent point. Aurender has solved this problem by providing a Wi-Fi dongle as an access point. I saw this in a demo at THE Show.   

When you have difficulty in connecting or controlling Aurender Music Servers, attaching Wi-Fi dongle to the back of the unit can solve the problem because it enhances communication between your iPad and Aurender music server. Aurender music server needs more robust and faster connection to the Wi-Fi router than surfing the internet.

You can use a Wi-Fi dongle to connect your iPad to the Aurender. This method will provide file playback only as there is no connection to the internet.  The Wi-Fi dingle allies you to play music from your 

If you want to use streaming services like TIDAL or Qobuz you need to connect Aurender to the internet using the wired connection.


Sent from my iPhone 6s

More details on the Aurender Wi-Fi dongle are on this link. 

http://www.aurender.com/page/appguide-wifidongle

I asked Aurender Customer Support about MQA availability on the music servers and their response is below:

"Aurender music servers already support MQA files since we are a bit perfect file transport. Whether or not you will be able to experience MQA at it’s full potential, will depend on the DAC being used and whether or not it offers MQA decoding. We’ve already demonstrated MQA files played back from our servers with compatible DACs on a few occasions.

Aurender's new A10 music server with analog outputs will also support MQA and will offer the full benefits of MQA decoding and analog conversion. We should be shipping this in the fall, at least that is the goal. At the moment we are still finalizing hardware and software for the A10".

In addition, I found that Tidal is working on a Tidal MQA implementation but has not posted any details or dates.  I will email them for an update. Tidal web site states a "firm date for launching MQA has not been set. We will of course let everyone know if/when MQA becomes available".

http://www.whathifi.com/news/tidal-showcases-mqa-streaming-ces-2016-launch-delayed

As noted above, the ability to use MQA depends on the DAC being used and whether or not it offers MQA decoding.   I have no information regarding the sound quality from using MQA.