Music Server Advice

“Would the top Aurender best the Grimm as both Server and Streamer?”
@fastfreight 

After listening to MU1, I can say MU1 is not in the same league as N20 and N30SA. 

The N20 clearly excels in terms of low frequency extension and slam. Based on my listening impressions, the N20 a step or two above in terms of transparency and coherency. The MU1 is good but for me, N20 offers lot more and one may prefer over another based on downstream DAC and personal taste of the sonic signature in the context of rest of the system.

Thanks @lalitk ,  I guess I did not want to hear that!  But as they say, once you have heard it...

Curious how you will compare (if you play it) Roon vs Aurender App when Roon is available on an N20. Could it be you prefer the Aurender App over Roon sound?

And is the W20SE Better?  Just the battery implementation? Which is top dog Aurender?

@fastfreight 

Time will tell how Roon implementation will sound compared to Conductor app. Based on my interactions with Aurender chief designer, they will try to keep the signal as faithful as possible to original bits. That’s been a hallmark of Conductor app. As far as W20SE vs N30SA, it’s a matter of personal preference. I do plan on comparing the W20SE vs N30SA in a month or so and keep what sounds best to my ears. Both streamers will be slaved through my Merging 10MHz master clock. 

I had a Grimm in my system a couple weeks ago. While it is a good sounding unit it was not competitive with mid and upper tier Aurrender. I thought the Grimm had a very good midrange but came up short on the upper end… not being as refined and had a lean bass. 

@ghdprentice I agree. I think the Grimm is a different flavor from the N20, for example, with the N20 having more density, richness, slam and refinement and the Grimm being dryer and thinner. I haven’t compared the W20SE or W20 to the Grimm, but I know the W20SE you have is even more refined than the N20 and my N30SA is both refined while being more dynamic and resolving than the N20.

Did you or @lalitk play with the Grimm’s oversampling settings much?