Aurender music servers: higher priced ones sonically better?

Absolututely. I started with a N100, auditioned a N10 and finally bought a W20SE. Each cost improvement brings a significant improvement in performance. My Aurender streamer / DAC combo is equally as satisfying as my analog end (not a slouch: Linn LP 12 / Audio Reseach REF 3). It performs exactly the same on red book CDs and better much of the time as Qobuz has lots of high resolution content. I also owned a Auralic Aries G2, which the Aurender beat handily. Aurender seems to be very good at power supplies as well as other aspects of streamer design. 

Since a CD player is a physical transport, streamer, and DAC… when you separate streaming…. It is the SQ of the Streamer / DAC you are comparing it to.

Yes.  +Absolutely.

Several years ago, I brought 3 albums to my dealer and listened on the Aurender N100h Music Server.  After 20 minutes of listening, I felt it sounded compressed, not natural and I did not like it (my opinion).

I then played the same 3 albums on the Aurender N10 for 30 minutes. The sound quality was amazing. The music was clearer, had more bass, had more air and sounded fuller. It sounded more like music to my ears than the N00h. I ordered the Aurender N10. Its high cost was justified based on its excellent sound quality.

My Aurender N10 Music Server is a welcomed addition to my audio system.  My audio system sounds more open, more natural, clearer, better bass and I am very happy I purchased the unit. The ability to switch back and forth between QoBuz music streaming and my stored albums in the Conductor App is now a very easy process (one mouse click).  The Aurender iPAD app is much easier to use than my MAC Book Pro computer.  Album selection is also excellent with several different album selection choices available.  The Aurender N10 Music Sever is highly recommended for its great sound quality and ease of use.

On September 30th, 2020, I replaced my Aurender N10 Server with the Aurender N20 Music Server.   My Aurender N20 Music Server is installed and working great.  The N20 is supplied WITHOUT hard drives installed. This means hard drives are the customer’s choice. Each of the two rear panel mounting sleds accommodates a 1, 2, 4 or 8TB 2.5-inch SSD or up to 5TB 15mm height 2.5inch HDDs. Since users have different storage requirements, Aurender feels this is the best way to satisfy everyone.  

My new N20 sounds excellent. The music is clearer, the bass is better, has more air and it has more musical details. The overall musical presentation is much improved.  I am listening to jazz now and the sound quality is much improved.  

In summary, the N20 sounds terrific.  I really like it.  This is a substantial sound quality improvement.  I find the Conductor App very easy to use and find the albums to play.   I can very easily navigate between my stored CD albums, QoBuz and Internet radio stations.  The Aurender N20 Music Server is highly recommended.

I suggest you audition these Aurender models and then decide.  

 

@ hgeifman

Thanks! I'm not the OP, but have been looking at the N10 and and N20, W is out of reach for now.

There is a big evolution going to dac streamer combination which when properly implemented like DCS, Bricasti , and others their is less steps and 2 less cables all through Ethernet ,and sounds great.