“The DAC in the Aurender is a bottleneck”
@soix
And you know this from direct experience with A200 in your system?
Aurender integrated streamer/DACs
Does anyone have experience with any of the mid-to-upper-level Aurender units that feature integrated DACs and how do they compare with comparably-priced outboard DACs? Understanding DAC voicing can be a matter of preference, I am also considering a dedicated Roon Core built of JCAT components feeding either a Weiss 502 or the new PS Audio DSD when that becomes available.
Bonus question: looking at this another way (assuming the DACs referenced above are superior to a built-in Aurender DAC), how would a nicely spec'd Roon Core compare with an Aurender Server/Streamer?
Please answer only on in terms of sound quality only. I believe the UI will work fine for me, whether it is Conductor or Roon. Thanks very much!
- ...
- 39 posts total
@lalitk No, and fair point. But is the DAC in the A200 comparable to a Denafrips Terminator or the like? I think not, and I stand by my assertion that the level of the OP’s system deserves a better standalone DAC. I mean, the guy’s got about $25k invested in excellent electronics and speakers, and you think his best option is to use the internal DAC in a $6k streamer??? Have you compared the internal DAC of the A200 to higher-end DACs? I can’t imagine it’d fare very well. I could be wrong, but again I think not. His system deserves and requires a better DAC. I think @ghdprentice who’s very well versed in Aurender and excellent DACs may back me up on this. But again, I could be wrong. |
In most cases, separates are capable of better sound. I never said, A200 DAC Is @gsomin best option given his system. The A200 DAC is not even fully broken-in and you rushed to conclude that A200 is a ‘bottleneck’ in his system. Was that a fair assertion on your part, I let you be the judge of that! This isn’t an argument about separate vs integrated. The best advice for @gsomin is to allow full break-in of A200. Post break-in, if he still don’t find A200 upgrade substantial over Node then going the separates route or another DAC to complement Node 2 or N200 would be the next logical step. As far as comparison, my last comparison was Aurender A30 vs EMM Labs DA2 and I chose DA2. In this category, I will always choose and recommend separates as it offers most flexibility and convenience to tweak the sound to your liking. |
| Post removed |
@lalitk Yes, it really is exactly that argument. If you think the best recommendation for a DAC in a $25k+ system is the one that’s included in a $6k streamer have at it. Me? If I’ve got that chunka change sunk into my system I’m sucking it up and buying a better separate DAC because I think it’s pretty damn important. So yeah, I’m saying the DAC included in a $6k streamer is a bottleneck in the context of a $25k+ system. It’s all about balance, and using that relatively inexpensive DAC section in that system is in my opinion unbalanced. |
- 39 posts total