Thanks again for the good information. I’m thinking the N200 will be excellent in my system. I’ll have some money to apply to cables.
Aurender Model Choices
Before I ask my question let me provide some context.
My system includes the following:
New MacBook Air Running itunes/Music serving hundreds of stored CDs
Macbook connected to my Benchmark DAC3 via Audioquest Coffee USB Cable
DAC balanced connection to Benchmark HPA4 PreAmp
PreAmp balanced connection to Benchmark ABH2 Amp
Benchmark Amp connected to Harbeth C7es-XD Speakers
This configuration has provided a neutral clean, and balanced sound. Really no complaints. However I wanted to add Streaming. So I Signed up for Qobuz and downloaded the App to my MacBook. Using WiFi I found that the Qobuz stream offered superior sound quality to my local CD library. Even Redbook CD quality was better plus the HiRes albums were really good
So now I need to get a dedicated Streamer. Using the MacBook is not convenient and from what I’ve read a Streamer should offer additional SQ enhancement. I’ve done a lot of research and really like the Aurender products plus when I recently purchased my speakers I auditioned them with an Aurender Model 100. The sound was excellent. I plan to go back in a few weeks to audition the $6k N200 model. I’m sure it will sound very good but I will be left wondering what does the N20 sound like? How much better can it be for another $6K? Unfortunately my dealer doesn’t have one to audition and neither does any other dealer near me. I’ve read comments on several forums that the N20 is twice as good as the N200 or that the N200 is nipping at the heals of the N20 or that the N20 just offers a 20% increase in SQ or the N20 blows the N200 out of the water. Without a side by side audition I’m struggling with paying twice the price without a demonstrable and significant SQ improvement. I would expect a SQ that once heard I could never settle for the less expensive model. In my recent experience a more expensive model does’t always win. When buying my speakers I auditioned the Harbeth C7es-XD and the more expensive 30.2 XD model. After almost an hour of back and forth I preferred the lower priced model.
So to conclude has anyone had the opportunity to audition the N20 and N200 together?
If so please Specifically what if any SQ differences did you hear and were they worth an additional $6k?
As I listen to my system streaming from my MacBook with wonderfully smooth, clean HiRes sound I wonder can I actually get significantly more improvement for $6k or $12K?
Thanks for any info and experiences you can provide.
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@jfrmusic please note the statements about your Benchmark kit stated up this thread by others, while worded with authoritative tones, amount to nothing more than anecdotal opinions and do not constitute facts. I do not argue their collective conclusion of your not needing a highest-priced streamer, however! 😅 The paradigm of proportionate prices among kit in a chain is never well explained or validated empirically by folks who promote it. You may not want evidence-over-opinion, in which case just disregard this reply. 😁
The reason you like the files on Qobuz could be as simple as they’re using preferable source files than those from your CD library; many folks complain about dynamic compression in newer masters / remasters, but many of these new renditions can sound surprisingly “present” through some systems. Source file should theoretically matter more than anything downstream in the chain, at least until you get to your speakers. So you might try to identify why Qobuz sounds better to you than your CD’s instead of trusting a particular dedicated streamer model to take things where you hope for them to go. Or not… 😉 |
Pretty bad assumptions are made above, @benanders 2. I’ve used several streamers - Mac Mini, Auralic Aries G1, Lumin U1 Mini, Bricasti M3 built in network renderer, tried WiiM Pro Plus just to see what the hype is all about and to confirm its all hype. My current streamer is an Aurender N200. Few other points worth notng - the N200 has a slot for an internal SSD and that is the absolute best way to set up your local library. I loaded a Samsung SSD with my CD rips and it sounds amazing - much better than with an HDD connected via USB cable. The difference between the streamers is very audible and the components in the OP’s setup will reveal it. If there’s a three figure streamer as good as the N200 with the same features and build, I’d like to know what it is and where I can purchase it.
Source file is extremely important. But what you’re saying here is streamer, dac, preamp and amp don’t matter as much as the source file and I disagree. I can airplay a song from YouTube to my N200 and with its low resolution and quality it will sound a million times better than the best version of it played thru a garbage chain of components feeding the same speakers. Yet another bad assumption on your part.
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