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Aurender's "Sound"

Just picked up an Aurender N100H. Great unit. However it's a bit on the warm and dark side, which doesn't sit well with my Pass class A amp. It's like a double whammy of warmth. Great for vocals, but hard to rock out on. But I like the unit and am trying to keep it.

Would love it if I could find a simple way to address this, like with a different USB cable to lighten things up a bit. 

If it comes to it, I might give up the Pass for something more neutral, as nice as this amp is it's not the best for music on the more lively side, or rock. (My tastes and opinions.) Even considering a class D amp like Nord, which is pretty much dead neutral which could peel back some of that warmth and darkness.

So is this a digital question, amp question or cable question? Yes to all.

Has anybody else encountered this double whammy of warmth, and what was the fix. Thanks all.
jaybe
photomax
169 posts
 
Interesting...

I went the other way. After upgrading to Spendor D9 speakers I found that some recordings sounded a tad bright and cold. Using a Linn DSM with a Pass Labs XP-20 pre and a 250 watt Bryston. Prior to that combo I had Rega gear in the mix. I replaced the Bryston with a Pass Labs XA30.8 which now seems to work much better with this system. Some of that bright shine is gone, I now enjoy playing music for hours without reaching for the volume control...
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cleeds
5,964 posts
 
Do your other sources sound neutral? What are you using for your music files? Your own CD rips? Tidal, Qobuz?
jriggy's avatar
jriggy
564 posts
 
I’ve had a ‘double whammy’ of warmth before. Having a Vinnie Rossi L2 DHT preamp and tried a Terminator DAC with it. To warm and no life to the sound. It’s rough having warmth at the source, that’s a hard one to fix down stream, as that warmth (which can also be some missing information) is in the signal and not just from cables or warmth at the amp (that IMO can be dealt with some upstream)... Sorry I don’t have a suggestion. 
erik_squires
16,186 posts
 
Not sure if you have these features, but if you have digital filter options and/or the ability to upsample those may fix what ails you. :)
three_easy_payments's avatar
three_easy_payments
2,097 posts
 
I have never viewed upsampling as a fix for anything...it can however mask underlying problems with your gear that sound poorly in native.  
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