Aurender A200 review
Clipdat
Posts: 12,963
My review of the Aurender A200 has now been posted! Give it a read here: https://theaudiobeatnik.com/aurender-a200-caching-music-server-review/
Streamers are one of my favorite topics to cover because they all have their own sound signature as well as app control interfaces. Sometimes it can be tricky to tick all the boxes and find one that delivers the perfect combination of performance along with a logical and refined user interface. The Aurender A200 comes awfully close!
I certainly enjoyed my time spent evaluating this premium-priced music player! Please enjoy the read and I welcome any and all feedback.
Streamers are one of my favorite topics to cover because they all have their own sound signature as well as app control interfaces. Sometimes it can be tricky to tick all the boxes and find one that delivers the perfect combination of performance along with a logical and refined user interface. The Aurender A200 comes awfully close!
I certainly enjoyed my time spent evaluating this premium-priced music player! Please enjoy the read and I welcome any and all feedback.
Comments
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One question. I read the review but there is no link or write up I saw that listed the associated gear used for the review. What's the associated gear used during the review?
Tom~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~ -
Great write up!- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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Great review!Yamaha RX-A2070, Musical Fidelity M6si integrated amp, Benchmark Dac1, Bluesound NODE 2i, Audiolab 6000CDT CD Transport, Parasound Zphono USB Phono Preamp, Fluance RT85, Ortofon 2M Bronze, Polk L600's, L400, L900's, RC80i's, SVS 3000 Micro, Audioquest Interconnects and Digital Cables, Nordost Silver Shadow Digital Cable, Cullen Gold and Crossover Series Power Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha 12AWG OCC Speaker Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha Analog Interconnect Cables, Douglas Connection Alpha 11 OCC Custom Power Cable, Signal Power Cable, Furman PL-8C 15 Power Conditioner, Sony 65" 900F, Sony UBP-X700, Fios, Apple TV 4K, Audioquest Chocolate HDMI Cables.
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One question. I read the review but there is no link or write up I saw that listed the associated gear used for the review. What's the associated gear used during the review?
Tom
Hey Tom! Great question. I actually included a list of associated equipment at the bottom of the review but for whatever reason the site's editor didn't include it. Anyway, here it is:
Associated Equipment:
Speakers: KEF LS50 Meta, Polk Audio L200*, PMC twenty.22*
Preamp and Power amp: Benchmark LA4 & AHB2
Streamer: Auralic Vega G1
Power cables: Shunyata Delta v2 XC & NR
Analog interconnects: Audioquest Yukon
*VR3 upgraded crossovers
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The editor may want to include that tid bit of information, as it is vaguely important. It puts things into perspective to those who are reading....I.E., we would know that you aren't using Rat Shack bookie specials from days gone by...
Tom~ In search of accurate reproduction of music. Real sound is my reference and while perfection may not be attainable? If I chase it, I might just catch excellence. ~ -
Nice review Drew. On these streamers is the display always on when in use? Can the display be turned off when in use? Or do the displays go off in a few seconds automatically?
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I typically had the display set to always on, but yes, you can set the display to automatically turn off when playing and then only turn on briefly when something happens like a new song starts, etc. Aurender also has a "critical listening mode" which powers down the screen entirely:
"Critical Listening Mode is a feature that allows the user to defeat any background tasks and circuitry that are non-essential to playing music. By defeating the display illumination and disabling other background functions, system resources are reduced for the best possible sound quality."
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The editor may want to include that tid bit of information, as it is vaguely important. It puts things into perspective to those who are reading....I.E., we would know that you aren't using Rat Shack bookie specials from days gone by...
Tom
So basically you want to make sure Drew is... Ready?- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit. -
Ready for what? My first time?
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Great review as usual. A new streamer is creeping up on my list. Your review was welcome reading because I'm not well versed on them. My only concern with them is the issue with how fast technology changes. It's gotta be hard to keep up."2 Channel & 11.2 HT "Two Channel:Magnepan LRSSchiit Audio Freya S - SS preConsonance Ref 50 - Tube preParasound HALO A21+ 2 channel ampBluesound NODE 2i streameriFi NEO iDSD DAC Oppo BDP-93KEF KC62 sub Home Theater:Full blown 11.2 set up.
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Most of the stuff you would stream is most likely no where close to the highest resolution current streamers can do much less the future.
- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit. -
pearsall001 wrote: »Great review as usual. A new streamer is creeping up on my list. Your review was welcome reading because I'm not well versed on them. My only concern with them is the issue with how fast technology changes. It's gotta be hard to keep up.
Aurender frequently releases firmware updates for the devices, as well as updates the Conductor app. I believe the hardware will be well-supported into the future so no worries there. -
pearsall001 wrote: »Great review as usual. A new streamer is creeping up on my list. Your review was welcome reading because I'm not well versed on them. My only concern with them is the issue with how fast technology changes. It's gotta be hard to keep up.
Aurender frequently releases firmware updates for the devices, as well as updates the Conductor app. I believe the hardware will be well-supported into the future so no worries there.
Good to know. Thanks"2 Channel & 11.2 HT "Two Channel:Magnepan LRSSchiit Audio Freya S - SS preConsonance Ref 50 - Tube preParasound HALO A21+ 2 channel ampBluesound NODE 2i streameriFi NEO iDSD DAC Oppo BDP-93KEF KC62 sub Home Theater:Full blown 11.2 set up. -
Very nice review. Looks like a solid unit.Klipsch The Nines, Audioquest Thunderbird Interconnect, Innuos Zen MK3 W4S recovery, Revolution Audio Labs USB & Ethernet, Border Patrol SE-I, Audioquest Niagara 5000 & Thunder, Cullen Crossover II PC's.
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Very solid indeed. Definitely won't **** the bed like @nooshinjohn's Arcams keep doing.
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Awesome review Drew! As always, written in a vernacular that I can appreciate!Basement: Polk SDA SRS 1.2tl's, Cary SLP-05 Pre with ultimate upgrade,McIntosh MCD301 CD/SACD player, Northstar Designs Excelsio DAC, Cambridge 851N streamer, McIntosh MC300 Amp, Silnote Morpheus Ref2, Series2 Digital Cables, Silnote Morpheus Ref2 Series2 XLR's, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Pangea Power Cables, MIT Shotgun S3 IC's, MIT Shotgun S1 Bi-Wire speaker cables
Office: PC, EAR Acute CD Player, EAR 834L Pre, Northstar Designs Intenso DAC, Antique Sound Labs AV8 Monoblocks, Denon UDR-F10 Cassette, Acoustic Technologies Classic FR Speakers, SVS SB12 Plus sub, MIT AVt2 speaker cables, IFI Purifier2, AQ Cinnamon USB cable, Groneberg Quatro Reference IC's
Spare Room: Dayens Ampino Integrated Amp, Tjoeb 99 tube CD player (modified Marantz CD-38), Analysis Plus Oval 9's, Zu Jumpers, AudioEngine B1 Streamer, Klipsch RB-61 v2, SVS PB1000 sub, Blue Jeans RCA IC's, Shunyata Hydra 8 Power Conditioner
Living Room: Peachtree Nova Integrated, Cambridge CXN v2 Streamer, Rotel RCD-1072 CD player, Furman 15PFi Power Conditioner, Polk RT265 In Wall Speakers, Polk DSW Pro 660wi sub
Garage #1: Cambridge Audio 640A Integrated Amp, Project Box-E BT Streamer, Polk Tsi200 Bookies, Douglas Speaker Cables, Shunyata Power Conditioner
Garage #2: Cambridge Audio EVO150 Integrated Amplifier, Polk L200's, Analysis Plus Silver Oval 2 Speaker Cables, IC's TBD. -
Very solid indeed. Definitely won't **** the bed like @nooshinjohn's Arcams keep doing.
lol- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit. -
Only checked it out because you wrote it and it’s a great review!"if it's not fun, it's not worth it & remember folks, "It's All About The Music"!!
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Thanks Johnny, appreciate it!
