Auralic Vega G2 Up and Running....

tophatjohnny

It was a little journey learning from other ways to listen to the files on my NAS and after the Stream Magic 6, to the 851N I knew it was time to get something different. My little sample with the ELAC DDP2 was a true indication that my ears needed something at least as nice sounding as that but with ease of use and some kind of App other than that of Roon (which I'm sure is a great route) but an app that was meant for the unit I landed on was important.
Takes me to the Auralic Vega G2 and after a ton of reading about it and many calls to
different retailers to obtain information, only to hear a couple of these retailers (ones that knew little to notta about the G2) actually tell me that what I was wanting to do could not be done with the G2???? What????? Really???? How wrong they were!

The G2 came not double but tripple boxed and have to say unpacking this baby was
just like that of a real baby! (well we wouldn't want to get a baby delivered in 3 boxes would we! The G2 was the finest packed piece of gear I have ever received, and also the highest price paid piese of gear so I guess to be expected in that arena? White gloves and all, this company knows how to ship and knows better how to build an amazing product!

Set up was a breeze, after owning a couple other streamers this one sets up real close
and was up and running quickly. First sounds were from tossink (TV) and I knew right there I was in for a treat. The unit instantly saw and attached to my network. Setting up the lightning DS app up on my new (compliments of my 24 year old former Marine son Zach) Apple ipod and while those that know me even a little, know I have a massive music library, so the app is still this morning learning my library and setting it all up for me. That didn't stop me from bringing Al Jarreau and Aaron Neville to life for the first listens and just smacked me upside the head. Now I know what it means to sound delicious as the G2 does just that. In setting of sounds I went with the Percise setting and am staying right there as I LOVE IT!!! Light years ahead of anything I have ever heard so I know what I'll be doing all day today.....Wife willing!! lol She loves it too!!

Auralic also sent me an Auralic IR remote and pairing it with the G2 was a snap.
I like the switching with the remote as I don't see how to do that on the app, or if the app even does have that function? No biggie as the remote is great Too!

Thanks Drew for keeping me focused on what was important to me in my new player and
how right you were and are! This little beast is a keeper and has transformed my total listening experience and makes my Usher 6381's dance like they have never danced before.
Thanks Auralic for making such a player with a sound beyond all of your past products.

The Vega G2 is one amazing piece of art for the ears. Happy camper here.

pglbook

Nice write up, tophatjohnny, and congrats on the new piece of equipment. I am glad it hits the sweet spot for you. There is nothing like getting something new, listening to it for the first time, and experiencing that WOW moment. I had the same experience a few months ago when I first connected my new-to-me McCormack DNA .5 Deluxe Rev B amp and EE MiniMax preamp.

Yesterday I just took possession of a North Star Excelsio DAC. I am a total newbie to the digital world and have a lot (everything) to learn about streamers and servers (and DACs). I have a big learning curve ahead but am glad to finally start the journey/learning process myself.

Congrats again and enjoy the G2!

verb

Congrats @tophatjohnny looks like a keeper! And @pglbook you're gonna love the Excelsio! I do mine!

Clipdat

tophatjohnny wrote: »

Thanks Drew for keeping me focused on what was important to me in my new player and how right you were and are! This little beast is a keeper and has transformed my total listening experience and makes my Usher 6381's dance like they have never danced before.

Thanks Auralic for making such a player with a sound beyond all of your past products.

Johnny, I'm thrilled that you are blown away by the performance of the G2. I knew it would be your huckleberry!

Happy to hear that Auralic knocked it out of the park with the G2 and that it's working so well in your system. Have a great Memorial Day weekend full of music!

Clipdat

Cool song by the way, great vibes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NgKk_dg9vOU

Kindof a cross between funk, soul, disco, and R&B!

verb

^^^^^ Big Al Jarreau fan back in the day! Gotta do some exploring in Tidal!

Clipdat

So much music, so little time!

rburgess714

Nice new toy Johnny.

tophatjohnny

rburgess714 wrote: »

Nice new toy Johnny.

Thanks Ray and I'm hearing things get even smoother as the day goes by. I thought it was amazing at first listen and these kind of devices needed no break in period? Man was I wrong there. It keeps me wanting more and I'm sure getting it. Wow moments with everything I throw at it. I tink eime een luv....❤😀

joecoulson

Oh man, nice bro.

tophatjohnny

joecoulson wrote: »

Oh man, nice bro.

Thanks Joey. Besides keeping a forever broken heart in check..music at the level the G2 delivers is just downright what all good doctors should prescribe..nothing short of amazing and a sound that is difficult to walk away from. Been listening more than EVER in my life and the smile on my face is starting to hurt. On the other hand..the smile in my ears feels really good. 😃

BlueBirdMusic

Sounds like you have got the "gold standard" of streaming DACs.

SCompRacer

Very nice! High marks!

tophatjohnny

To BlueBirdMusic...not sure about all that, but it sure has me enjoying my music more than ever before! Thank you

To SCompRacer, thank you too and no regrets in the least. The G2 just keeps making everything I select sound like it's the first time I'm hearing it.

Also keeps me hostage for hours on end turning into days with no sign of this beautuful sound growing old before I get too old!!

A definate Grand Slam of a Streaming Dac and looking forward to getting back in front of it so I can hit a little Brian Culbertson live! Live (whatever) makes ya feel like you are up close and personal! More to come in a week or so, after I come back up for air again. Thank you Auralic for making this amazing player. Just keeps my ears in awe! And thanks to all of you here that stayed with me through the trial and error process over the years up until this baby moved into my home. KEEPER!!

THJ

WagnerRC

Super happy for you. It’s always sweet to find the next level or new direction.

WLDock

Glad you found the missing piece to the puzzle. Enjoy and listen on Johnny.

joecoulson

I’m still thinking I’ll get it’s little brother here later this year. They make some great gear.

tophatjohnny

WLDock wrote: »

Glad you found the missing piece to the puzzle. Enjoy and listen on Johnny.

Thanks Walt and appreciated you hipping me to the Elac DDP2 as it kind of set a standard of what I was after in the sound department so that was sure a help.

joecoulson wrote: »

I’m still thinking I’ll get it’s little brother here later this year. They make some great gear.

Can't Vouge for the little brother Joey but imagine it is a fine player as well. If you are that close, suck it up and own the G2 as it is a World Class Beast. Of all the players I've owned and heard and tried, this single piece of gear brings such class to all it is dealt that it makes it hard to stop listening. For those with large libraries on a NAS, I think this will have you forgetting all about what ever it is you used before. The Lightning app is also so smooth and displays beautifully, allows search of albums, artists, and songs with the quickness (Hence: "lightning app" ) and that in itself was a blessing. I won't go on about how amazing it sounds again...oops I just did...let's just add this is the only player to ever take a front seat to my ripping hobby and got a feeling the quality listening on this baby will slow (but never stop) my ripping addiction!!

joecoulson

Umm ok

tophatjohnny

Thanks Skip. I'm sure you are aware that Tidal or any pay radio service has no room in my life but I know those services exist and I have done plenty of side by side comps with a couple of them only to have my personal files be the clear choice.
And yes Cambridge Audio units
Are great and the reason I got hooked on all in ones. I refer to the Vega G2 as an 851N on roids.😀
Not sure what the older Auralic
Sound was that you weren't so keen on was all about and here nor there for the Vega G2. It sounds amazing and looks amazing. Only thing I wasn't too hip to at first is that the App is iOS only so now that I'm comfortable with my new iPad pro that is a snap. I still use my Auralic remote for volume and switching but the art work and use of the pad on my library is so smooth..love this app
Hope you get your hands on a G2 someday. I do enjoy it a great deal . Thanks again for your take and appreciate ya brother.

THJ

tophatjohnny

The G2 sounds not like the previous units Auralic have and still offer. Nothing sterile about the Vega G2. You "Skip" will have to get your hands on one to find out it is a different and way more lively than any Auralic you have heard.
And Cambridge techs shared with me that if my main objective was to hear my files from the NAS at a higher quality (well yeah???) that the Edge NQ probably would not impress over that of the 851N of which I grew tired of its sound quickly. So unless it's the bells and whistles one is liking on the Edge NQ, I would seek that world class sound and tone elsewhere. Not saying to get what I went with.. just saying options are out there and I happen to have found one that keeps my ears real happy. Doubt I'll be parting with my G2 anytime soon😂😂🎩

pglbook

tophatjohnny: Congrats again on the great new piece of gear and for taking your listening experience to a whole new level. Do you now if Auralic has a streamer w/out an internal DAC? I recently got a good external DAC (North Star Excelsio) and am now looking for a streamer w/out an internal DAC. I have been looking at the Lumin U1 Mini streamer, which gets a lot of praise, but this thread now has me thinking about Auralic as well. Are there any Auralic standalone streamers (w/out internal DAC) that would be a good match for my Excelsio DAC? And if so, how would it compare to the Lumin U1 Mini? Thanks.

tophatjohnny

pglbook wrote: »

tophatjohnny: Congrats again on the great new piece of gear and for taking your listening experience to a whole new level. Do you now if Auralic has a streamer w/out an internal DAC? I recently got a good external DAC (North Star Excelsio) and am now looking for a streamer w/out an internal DAC. I have been looking at the Lumin U1 Mini streamer, which gets a lot of praise, but this thread now has me thinking about Auralic as well. Are there any Auralic standalone streamers (w/out internal DAC) that would be a good match for my Excelsio DAC? And if so, how would it compare to the Lumin U1 Mini? Thanks.

Oh brother I wish I could help out as it would be my honor. To best answer that, Drew (Clipdat) may be the best and most impartial one to guide ya on that subject. Sorry it wasn't me that could help you because like I said it would be an honor to do so. I can add that if Auralic does have such an animal, the app associated will put a smile on your face. Please keep me posted as to what ya end up with. The G2 was and is so right on time for what I'm doing and is a little tank!!

Clipdat

The Aries models are the versions without the DACs:

https://us.auralic.com/products/aries-g1

https://us.auralic.com/products/aries-g2

pglbook

tophatjohnny wrote: »

pglbook wrote: »

tophatjohnny: Congrats again on the great new piece of gear and for taking your listening experience to a whole new level. Do you now if Auralic has a streamer w/out an internal DAC? I recently got a good external DAC (North Star Excelsio) and am now looking for a streamer w/out an internal DAC. I have been looking at the Lumin U1 Mini streamer, which gets a lot of praise, but this thread now has me thinking about Auralic as well. Are there any Auralic standalone streamers (w/out internal DAC) that would be a good match for my Excelsio DAC? And if so, how would it compare to the Lumin U1 Mini? Thanks.

Oh brother I wish I could help out as it would be my honor. To best answer that, Drew (Clipdat) may be the best and most impartial one to guide ya on that subject. Sorry it wasn't me that could help you because like I said it would be an honor to do so. I can add that if Auralic does have such an animal, the app associated will put a smile on your face. Please keep me posted as to what ya end up with. The G2 was and is so right on time for what I'm doing and is a little tank!!

Thanks, Johnny. I appreciate it and, per your suggestion, will check with Drew. Keep on enjoying the tunes on your new system! I am a total newbie to the digital music world but, with the recent purchase of the NS Excelsio DAC, I am learning and hope to be fully on board soon.

pglbook

Clipdat wrote: »

The Aries models are the versions without the DACs:

https://us.auralic.com/products/aries-g1

https://us.auralic.com/products/aries-g2

Thanks, Drew. I appreciate it!

pglbook

DSkip wrote: »

As for the Aries G1 vs the Lumin U1 mini, sound quality edges to the Lumin. By comparison the Aries has a slight edge to the music that I didn’t notice until I got the U1 Mini. It is minor but evident. You could make a case for either one (Auralic makes damn fine streaming transports) but they are different products. If you can make Ethernet work the Lumin is right. If you require WiFi the auralic is a good choice. The auralic app reminds me of iOS where the Lumin is more like Android. I’ve grown to prefer the Lumin app as I use it more and it doesn’t have that weird quirk the auralic app has with tidal. The auralic app has a great flow to it though and I would think Mrs. tophatjohnny really appreciates that. I know she wasn’t a fan of the Elac app.

Skip: Thanks for sharing your experiences with these streamers.

I have a question about Lumin's ethernet connection but will send you a pm as I do not want to derail tophatjohnny's thread any more than I have already done.

Clipdat

DSkip wrote: »

Apparently Drew was told by Cambridge that the 851N was not a huge leap over the CXN and I can verify that is NOT the case. The CXN is nice but the 851N is a different level. Much cleaner and more detailed. With this brought to light I’m curious what the sound difference is with the Edge NQ. I think the Vega G2 will perform better but at msrp there is a lot of real estate. You got a damn fine deal on yours.

The rep from Cambridge I spoke to basically said they are very close in terms of sound and that the CXN V2 is newer and has Chromecast, and said it was a better choice because of that. He said the 851N is "older technology".

It's possible that the particular rep I spoke with just doesn't have as critical of ears as many here do.

I do feel the CXN V2 is a good value at $900, and still recommend it. But it's nice to know that the 851N is a noticeable jump up in sound quality.

I would like to try a Lumin product at some point, I just read that they can be used with a device like this to add wireless functionality: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004UBU8IE

tophatjohnny

DSkip wrote: »

As an aside Johnny, if you want to try the Lumin app, I think I read a few days ago that it supports AURALiC devices now. Like I said before its kind of a iOS vs. Android scenario so one will definitely fit you better than the other.

I don't think the G2 plays with Android based apps and wouldn't know where to begin to use the Lunin app, and unless you are telling me it is a better app (finding that hard to believe, but how great it would be) why would I try that? Please elaborate and not with just that it's something different. I'm all hip to an app that is better than Auralic's Lightning app but have never seen one!

And to my man "pglbook" derail away, as this thread is for us all and altough it may not be everyones cup of tea, it's now my only cup of tea and flavors galore. Never in my life would I imagine over 27 thousand albums stored in a small box and accessing them in seconds only to hear a level of sound that is mind blowing, but that's what's up and I LOVE IT!!!! Took me a whle to get what I got figured out but thanks to threads like this and Folks like the Polks with some crazy Jokes, making it all happen with very few Okie Dokes! Stop it!!!! This streaming of Tophat Radio 45429 is sounding mighty fine. Hard to walk away from the darn thing.

What's up Skip??

THJ

tophatjohnny

DSkip wrote: »

The LUMIN app has a nice feature that catalogs recent tracks played that I’ve come to very much love. It’s an active playlist that is automatically pulled up. I think the auralic app has that but it wasn’t as intuitive to pull up. Pulling stuff up is more intuitive with the auralic app. There is a bit of a learning curve with the LUMIN app that might keep some from trying it. The app is free though so if want to try it go for it.

Please..what is the app called. Couldn't find it under lumin on my iPad pro store app??

txcoastal1

http://www.luminmusic.com/lumin-app.html

go to link scroll down to launch app store