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AURALiC Aries price reduction

I have been considering ditching my "laptop as music server" setup I have been using for the past 7 years and purchasing the  AURALiC Aries music streamer.  Last week Audio Advisor dropped the price of the "full" version of this product to $1,279.99, a $319 savings.  Upscale Audio and HiFi Heaven have followed suit . Has anyone on this forum heard why the price drop?  Is AURALiC getting ready to release an update / upgrade / Aries II?  If so then I play the mind game of do I wait until the updated version is released, or purchase something at a reduced price that I was pretty close to sold on based on all the positive reviews.  

Any information would be appreciated.  Also, if you own one, what is your opinion?  If you upgraded from a Mac or PC to the Aries, was the sound upgrade worth the price of admission?  My biggest concern is if the Lightning DS will meet my needs.  I have invested a lot of time building my library and tags in Foobar 2000, which I will have jettison if I go with the Aries.  I am a TIdal HiFi subscriber, so I know the Aries will work well with that, and the Lightning DS interface would most likely be a step up from the Tidal interface..

Anyway, thank you for reading, and any constructive suggestions / opinions you have to offer.
exile_ken
wharfy's avatar
wharfy
334 posts
 
exile_ken-I think mikhaelkuz makes a really good recommendation above.

However, if you like your system (the Forte is a giant-slayer, imo)  and want to add a streamer and are having a hard time justifying the price of an Aries, the Aries mini with the power pack is a good option. Often pre-owned are available around $500.
exile_ken OP
8 posts
 
Thank you again for the feedback.  So instead of looking to spend around $1K, I should consider something that costs $35?  That's low risk enough I suppose.  If I did connect the digital output of the Chromecast to the GT40, do you believe that would be a sonic upgrade over the T430 laptop I use now?  And how would I manage my library and playback?  I mostly play albums start to finish but will occasionally create a playlist.  Please excuse my limited knowledge in this space.

I do like my system BTW.  The center piece(s) are the T&F Arts.  Amazing speakers, especially for their size.  I have owned the Model 4 for more than 20 years.  Great amp and I am glad I never got rid of it.  I got it upgraded and put it back in the chain after I purchased the Arts.  It does a fine job of driving them and I am quite happy with the sound.
willemj
1,036 posts
 
From what I can see your GT40 only has a usb input so it will not work with the optical digital output of the Chromecast. You would need to use the analogue output of the Chromecast. Its built in DAC is not bad at all, so I guess the sound quality would be quite similar to the combination of the laptop’s usb output and the GT 40’s DAC. In the final analysis the sound quality of a streamer is in its DAC.
See here for the analogue perfomance of the Chromecast Audio: http://archimago.blogspot.nl/2016/02/measurements-google-chromecast-audio.html
I use it in a very revealing system and I have no complaints. Sonic differences between DACs are very small at best.
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