Aurender A100 review
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Clipdat
Posts: 12,602
in Electronics
I've just completed a long-term four month evaluation of the Aurender A100 streamer/network player. You can read my review here: https://theaudiobeatnik.com/review-aurender-a100-network-music-server-and-streamer/
As great as a streamer's hardware might be, it means nothing unless the software to control it is also excellent. Fortunately, Aurender's Conductor app made controlling the A100 very straightforward. It was super fast and responsive, and it didn't crash or hang for me a single time on the iPad. Everything is laid out very intuitively, making it effortless to find and play songs on Tidal, Qobuz, or on the internal storage.
I know there's some hesitation about putting a spinning hard disk drive anywhere near a serious music playback system. I had my own doubts about this in terms of noise and vibration. My concerns ended up being unwarranted, as I never heard any disk drive noise whatsoever. Furthermore, there wasn't any noticeable sonic degradation when the hard drive was being accessed in order to cache the tracks on the SSD. During use, there was literally no way to know that the unit had a spinning hard disk drive inside.
Hope you enjoy the review and as always please let me know what you think.
As great as a streamer's hardware might be, it means nothing unless the software to control it is also excellent. Fortunately, Aurender's Conductor app made controlling the A100 very straightforward. It was super fast and responsive, and it didn't crash or hang for me a single time on the iPad. Everything is laid out very intuitively, making it effortless to find and play songs on Tidal, Qobuz, or on the internal storage.
I know there's some hesitation about putting a spinning hard disk drive anywhere near a serious music playback system. I had my own doubts about this in terms of noise and vibration. My concerns ended up being unwarranted, as I never heard any disk drive noise whatsoever. Furthermore, there wasn't any noticeable sonic degradation when the hard drive was being accessed in order to cache the tracks on the SSD. During use, there was literally no way to know that the unit had a spinning hard disk drive inside.
Hope you enjoy the review and as always please let me know what you think.
Comments
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Here's a few screenshots of the Conductor app running on the iPad Mini and the Galaxy S8:
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Nice review! Looks like a good piece of equipment. I see it uses a hard disk and a ssd, makes sense- Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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Nicely done, Drew. I have always been interested in Aurender streamers. I had mini at one point, but never had bigger ones in the system. Have you had chance to listen/review Lumin streamers? If yes, how do you compare both? Just curious..
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I would also like to see this up against Auralic since the feature set points towards direct competitor.
As always, great write up! -
jumpindick wrote: »Nicely done, Drew. I have always been interested in Aurender streamers. I had mini at one point, but never had bigger ones in the system. Have you had chance to listen/review Lumin streamers? If yes, how do you compare both? Just curious..
Hey Dhaval! No, I have unfortunately not had a chance to experience any Lumin products yet.joecoulson wrote: »I would also like to see this up against Auralic since the feature set points towards direct competitor.
As always, great write up!
I agree, Joe. I would like to hear Auralic's equivalently priced Vega G1 as I believe it's meant to go head to head vs the A100. -
Nice review Drew! 4 months to play with the toy? That's cool. One question, do you know what brand HDD it has inside?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. -
I'm not 100% certain, but historically Aurender has used Western Digital drives.
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Drew, I enjoy reading your reviews. You speak in Layman's terms and cut to the chase. I really don't enjoy reviews that incorporate a lot $100.00 Adjectives.
Well done!
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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 for the positive feedback guys!
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I completely agree with Mike. I’m sure you could wax lyrical for pages but I think most of us like it succinct with just a couple of $20 adjectives 😂😂
Nicely done!AC Regenerator PS Audio PerfectWave Power Plant 10
Source Lumin U1 Mini into Lampi Baltic 4
Pre Cary SLP-05
Power Rogue M180 Dark monos
Mains Salk HT2-TL
Rythmik F12 -
Well done, Drew.
