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Why I Sold My Aurender N200

People seemed more interested in why I sold my N200 than wanted to answer my questions in my last post on streaming quality, so here ya go:

I recently sat down with my wife (who has a much better ear for sound quality than I) and we A/B tested back and forth between listening to the N200 and the Bricasti M1 SE II’s network card and heard no difference.

Just before selling the N200 I contacted a very well-known and reputable dealer for his opinion on this. If anyone would know about the sound quality of streaming, he would and I asked what streamer he would recommend. He sells Bricasti, Playback Design, Lumin and Grimm streamers. his response to me was:

"In my humble opinion, there is no need to get a dedicated streamer if you have the network board in the Bricasti"

Most member’s comments are very positive on their N200, maybe you guys have much better ears than us, so please enjoy, but in my case, I sold it and gave the much-needed funds to my daughter who is just about to start her last semester at law school.

End of story.

Hope you all had wonderful Christmas and here’s wishing you all a Happy New Year!

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yesiam_a_pirate's avatar
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yesiam_a_pirate
206 posts
 

Congratulations on raising a high functioning daughter.  When we are older and needy our well-raised children pay dividends. 

After buying, borrowing, trying a lot of digital front end pieces my conclusion is this: My ear keeps changing. What sounded like butter 5 years ago sounds like silverware being dropped in the commode today.  I guess it’s age related however my hearing tests show no loss.  
 

My conclusion is this:  play what makes me smile- or tear up. This is a luxury hobby and I’ll never achieve “value” in trading gear- just the thrill of the next thing that aids me in discovering the music.
 

 

rubicon15
108 posts
 

Now just sit back and enjoy a good glass of wine and listen to music with your wife. It’s hard to put a price tag on a level of improved sound quality. Like you, if I’m going to upgrade a component and spend several thousand dollars more, I expect to hear a significant difference. A percentage that I always keep in mind is 30-40 percent. Is 10-20 percent improvement in sound quality worth $3, 5 or 7K more, probably not. This is where your ears and gut kick in. Don’t look back, enjoy your system and life. 

curiousjim's avatar
curiousjim
4,794 posts
 

The nice thing about this hobby of ours is that there is no right and no wrong.  It’s all about our ears and our musical tastes.

Congratulations on your daughter.

big_greg
6,649 posts
 

I think many people place too much importance on the streamer and not enough on the DAC.  Sounds like a positive move on your part all around, eliminating something that has no sonic impact on your listening experience and providing a wonderful opportunity for your daughter.  I tip my hat to you sir.

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benzman
415 posts
 

You’re kinda of comparing apples and oranges when comparing a network card which is Ethernet based and a dedicated streamer that is USB based to the Dac. I had a Bricasti M3 w/network card and switched to a Melco server/streamer. The Network card made for a much cleaner solution but the Melco was a nice upgrade in streaming.
Of course there is different cabling involved and the difference between Ethernet and USB but I think the Bricasti M3 will always benefit from a high quality streamer.

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