Aurender n200, talk me out of signing on the dotted line


I’ve requested an invoice.  My current system has an Audio Mirror 4 with Tele E88cc, Pass int-25, Acoustic Zen Crescendo 2 speakers and a REL 12” sub.   The sound is to my taste in that it is organic, swings with the music and is not lean.  It’s a bit grainy and I attribute that to the Lumin u2 mini, internet radio and Spotify sources in who-knows-what amounts.  Enjoyable none-the-less as is, I am all in for the Aurender.  Talk me out of it.  Please!  

wlutke

@pdreher 

I have, had exact experience with the N200 and iPad. Tuff to connect, can’t connect, lose connection after 10-20 minutes. Reboot iPad, reboot Aurender, reboot router. Took the iPad to Apple, said everything checks out, placed a service ticket with Aurender, back and forth, ultimately nothing they could come up with. 
THEN, I switched to the iPhone and wala, no more connection issues. Sorry you sold as I almost did. 

As others have mentioned, the Conductor App can be an issue for some people. For me, I can not add a song to a Qobuz playlist and support is still troublshooting. Original ticket was a month or so ago.  In addition, the program crashes once per session, which is any easy fix to reboot.  Otherwise, the unit itself is well built and I enjoy the sound.  

 

wlutke OP

681 posts

 

@dwest1023 

Should I get sound on par with my CD I'll be happy as a pig in spit.  Good to hear.

I don’t see why not. Few weeks ago I compared the N200 to Marantz SA10 spinning CDs. To make certain my comparison was 🍏 to 🍏 I compared an uncompressed FLAC rips on a N200 (Samsung SSD mounted inside the Aurender) to a CD played on SA10. The N200 was connected to the SA10 via AQ Diamond USB. To be honest I preferred the N200 in some case but it was nearly impossible to distinguish. It was not worse than the CD. 
Compared to Qobuz HiRes version of the same album is not a relevant comparison as it could be a different mix/master on Qobuz but I did that as well.
Judging purely from sound quality (tone, accuracy) perspective it’s on par with 💿 

 

@wlutke

There is an Aurender N10 for sale right here on Audiogon for $3k. I just purchased a used N10 to replace the N100 and it sounds great. From what I read, these models are more organic sounding than the newer models. I never had issue with the conductor app since I purchased the N100 6 years ago. BTW- I’m also using the Audio Mirror IV.

If you’re looking for a warmer sounding tube with less grain for your Audio Mirror, I bought an NOS Mullard 6DJ8 for $47 from Brent Jesse.