750$ Intel NUC vs $6000 Aurender N200: I don't hear the difference

@mdalton I’ll be honest, I had to look up the word disapprobation 😁

I agree the OP was seeking clarification as to the reason why there was no difference, I commend that.

I couldn’t find any burn in suggestions on Aurender’s website, but here is one for Playback designs player/streamer:

BREAKING IN THE MPS-6 Breaking in the MPS-6 is time consuming but well worth the effort. It would be a mistake to pre-judge the performance based on what you might hear at first listen. This is what you can expect to hear at different intervals during break-in:

1. Out of the box: The MPS-6 will have good clarity, but the highs can be recessed. Bass might appear to be a bit muddy and lacking punch. Soundstage might sound closed in.

2. 50 - 150 Hours: The sound will open up a little bit, but can still sound a bit brittle. 3. 150 - 350 Hours: Midrange will start smoothing out and clarity will increase, but highs might continue to remain recessed. At this point, there probably will not be much change in the bass. You will probably wonder how the Playback Designs converter will ever sound like others have described, but we assure you that you will start to hear substantial changes within another week of play.

4. 350 - 500 Hours: The magic will be starting. Highs will be open and airy. Midrange will appear much more full bodied and natural. Soundstage will be huge and the image presentation will start appearing very holographic. Bass will be incredibly deep and tight with texture and detail galore.

5. Over 500 Hours: The MPS-6 will continue to change subtly over the upcoming month of usage, but you should be recognizing a very life-like and natural sound. During break-in when you do not listen to music it is best to feed an external digital audio signal into any of the digital inputs of the MPS-6.

@mclinnguy 

Hah!  Sorry about that, just seemed like the right word for the occasion.  Re the opened can of worms, as you can probably tell, I’m highly skeptical, though truth be told, I recently paid a few bucks more on a cable purchase for burn-in. It’s kind of like deciding to pray if I’m on a plane that’s going down.  But I digress.  We hear so much about components and/or processes that “lower the noise floor” or create “blacker blacks”, etc.  Some I believe, some I don’t.  But removing noise strikes me as one of the easier things to measure.  So, for example, if a manufacturer claims a streamer experiences less noise - which could in turn help us hear some of the subtle cues noted in the literature you quoted - the a simple signal-to-noise ratio measurement (or its ilk) , would prove the point beyond a shadow of a doubt.  And that’s something I’ve seen out there in manufacturers’ literature.  Manufacturers say a lot of things, but sometimes they’re just not true.  btw, love your system!

oops, meant “not seen out there”

@mclinnguy 

one last point.  had to look up MPS-6 🥴.  That piece includes a dac, right?  Which means there’s alot going on there in the analog realm, which is where I’m more inclined to believe the potential effects of burn-in could be non-trivial.

@mdalton 

Correct, here is what they have for a non DAC streamer: I don't want to give the impression I am hugely familiar with this company, point is most manufacturers say "give it 200 hours to settle in" if you ask them, but these guys are the only ones I am aware of that have put it in print. It doesn't matter though because it is beyond my budget :) 

BREAKING IN THE MPT-8 Since the MPT-8 does not have an analog output stage a break in period is not as critical with this machine. However, various parts can still benefit from a break in. For this it is recommended to simply leave the unit powered on without playing any audio. Typical break in periods are 300 - 500 hours.