Why does the aurender N100h sound so bright and edgy

Turns out the issue I mentioned in a previous post was not with the N100H but with the AQ JB. 
All is well now with removal of the JB. :)

Pavpet,

This may be the answer to your problem.

I find the latest software upgrade which is meant to cater to the unfolding of MQA files, actually degrades the sound of redbook and non-MQA hires PCM and DSD files considerably. It does make the N100H sound bright and edgy as you describe.

Fortunately, you can roll back to the original version by doing a factory reset as described in the manual. If your unit comes with the latest version, you are out of luck. My dac is non-MQA and so is yours, and that may be an issue.

My apologies for being wrong about the MQA part as has been pointed out to me in another forum but I do stand firmly by the fact that the new system version makes the sound "bright and edgy" as described.