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Auralic Aries Mini

josh2 said:
Thanks. If I were to get a s/h iPad, what's the difference between using Airplay or Sonos Connect? Do they both do the same thing but through different means, or is one better than the other?
Click to expand...

Sonos Connect won't work on the Aries Mini as far as I know. SongCast is also an option. I imagine that, as you say, Sonos Connect and AirPlay do the same thing through different means. Surely the quality depends on the source material?

With AirPlay anything that is playing on your iPad whether it be via an app, stored music or www is sent to the Mini. Easy.
 
If Android control is not available, would it be possible to control it from my Win 8 laptop, or JRiver MC 19 somehow ?
 
Sonic_D said:
No Android app? Well looks like I won't be ordering one then. Shame.
Click to expand...

From Computer Audio.

The Mini's own Lightning DS app is available on Android and many third party UPnP/DLNA controller apps, including some OpenHome ones are available on Android, eg, the excellent BubbleUPnP app, so not sure where you got your info from.
 
My Auralic Mini (Black) has now been playing for the last 30 hours and I have listened to it extensively tonight. I have listened to highres 24 bit music from my NAS and 16 bit from Tidal.

The first hours the sound was kind of closed but now it has opened up nicely.

Over the last year I have had a few other streamers all using the same dac (Teddydac) but using different digital connections/inputs on the TeddyDac. My Teddydac has a very good assynchron USB reclocker built in. When using coaxial or optical input the dac has no reclocker function.

Below I have listed my streamers (streaming solutions) with the one with the lowest soundquality first:

AppleTV (optical)
Bluesound Node (optical)
Nad M50 (optical and coaxial)
Naim ND5XS (BNC to RCA coaxial)
Windows 7 PC (USB 2.0)
Auralic Aries Mini (USB 2.0)

The Windoes PC and the Mini are better than the other solutions by quite a large margin....this can be because of the reclocker function in the TeddyDac but on the other hand the Nad M50 and ND5XS shouldnt really need to have their signal reclocked.....

The Bluesound Node and AppleTV have the lowest soundquality by a huge margin but thats also to be expected because they both have high jitter/noice because of poor power supplys etc. They could really benefit from a good reclocker.

The reason for my interest in the Aries Mini is because it has an USB output and therefore can use the USB digital in of the TeddyDac and therefore can be a substitute for my PC. I needed a better userinterface that could be controlled from an Ipad without losing any soundquality. The other lower priced streamers on the marked today, like the Bluesound 2 and Sonos Connect, dont have an USB digital out.

The soundquality of the Aries Mini is better than the PC but not by a huge margin but not a small margin either. A significant overall improvement I would say. There is better seperation, better detail and less harshness in the top. But I think there is a little bit less power and dynamic particular in the bass department (maybe a few more days of running in is required). But overall a better soundquality. But I will need to go back and listen to the PC again to make a final decission on the Power/Dynamic thing.

The lightning app is very good and integration with Tidal is very good. For instance the music starts very fast which I was not used to when using the desktop version of Tidal on my PC.

I am using the standard powersupply and dont think there is a need for a liniar powersupply if you have a very good external dac. I will probably buy a liniar powersupply anyway just to be sure that I have the best soundquality the Aries mini can offer but also so I can experiment with DSD at some point with a good level of soundquality from the onboard dac of the Aries mini (the TeddyDac dont play DSD).
 
Have you tried the analogue outputs or just the digital output to your TeddyDac?




Jackimvestor said:
My Auralic Mini (Black) has now been playing for the last 30 hours and I have listened to it extensively tonight. I have listened to highres 24 bit music from my NAS and 16 bit from Tidal.

The first hours the sound was kind of closed but now it has opened up nicely.

Over the last year I have had a few other streamers all using the same dac (Teddydac) but using different digital connections/inputs on the TeddyDac. My Teddydac has a very good assynchron USB reclocker built in. When using coaxial or optical input the dac has no reclocker function.

Below I have listed my streamers (streaming solutions) with the one with the lowest soundquality first:

AppleTV (optical)
Bluesound Node (optical)
Nad M50 (optical and coaxial)
Naim ND5XS (BNC to RCA coaxial)
Windows 7 PC (USB 2.0)
Auralic Aries Mini (USB 2.0)

The Windoes PC and the Mini are better than the other solutions by quite a large margin....this can be because of the reclocker function in the TeddyDac but on the other hand the Nad M50 and ND5XS shouldnt really need to have their signal reclocked.....

The Bluesound Node and AppleTV have the lowest soundquality by a huge margin but thats also to be expected because they both have high jitter/noice because of poor power supplys etc. They could really benefit from a good reclocker.

The reason for my interest in the Aries Mini is because it has an USB output and therefore can use the USB digital in of the TeddyDac and therefore can be a substitute for my PC. I needed a better userinterface that could be controlled from an Ipad without losing any soundquality. The other lower priced streamers on the marked today, like the Bluesound 2 and Sonos Connect, dont have an USB digital out.

The soundquality of the Aries Mini is better than the PC but not by a huge margin but not a small margin either. A significant overall improvement I would say. There is better seperation, better detail and less harshness in the top. But I think there is a little bit less power and dynamic particular in the bass department (maybe a few more days of running in is required). But overall a better soundquality. But I will need to go back and listen to the PC again to make a final decission on the Power/Dynamic thing.

The lightning app is very good and integration with Tidal is very good. For instance the music starts very fast which I was not used to when using the desktop version of Tidal on my PC.

I am using the standard powersupply and dont think there is a need for a liniar powersupply if you have a very good external dac. I will probably buy a liniar powersupply anyway just to be sure that I have the best soundquality the Aries mini can offer but also so I can experiment with DSD at some point with a good level of soundquality from the onboard dac of the Aries mini (the TeddyDac dont play DSD).
Click to expand...
 
I have not tried the analog outputs.....the reason is that I dont have a preamp.....you can use the volumecontrol from within the Aries Mini but you risk outputting a much to high volume if the Mini is connected directly to the poweramp.

I still feel the sound quality of the Aries Mini is better overall then my Windoes pc but I still think there is a little less dynamics and power in the bass. But no audio equipment and software aparently sound the same? or it could just be a running in issue that will settle with time....

I have deceided to buy this powersupply from Teddy Pardo with 5.5/2.5 connectors just so I'm sure to have the best soundquality the mini can produce..

http://www.teddypardo.com/powersupplies/generic/teddy15-2.html

I would expect Teddy's powersupply to be better then the liniar powersupply that Auralic offers as an upgrade to the Mini (the powersupply that comes with the Auralic Aries with femto clocks).
 
Just found this thread after spending most of the afternoon trying to buy a Auralic Aries Mini. I take that folk are still waiting for the promised Aries Minis.

I couldn't buy one anywhere, not even direct from the factory where they say they have them for sale. There maybe a few in Norway but there is premium price to be paid ie nearly £100 extra, so they can whistle.
 
Not everyone is waiting.

But if you are patient there should be some available early in the new year (some say this month but Peter@igloo audio says January and he is fairly well informed).

Received the Auralic Linear Power Supply today. Not really had the time for a serious listen yet but reports from others say this will make a big difference to to the analogue out via the internal DAC. May have time tomorrow.
 
misterdog said:
From Computer Audio.

The Mini's own Lightning DS app is available on Android and many third party UPnP/DLNA controller apps, including some OpenHome ones are available on Android, eg, the excellent BubbleUPnP app, so not sure where you got your info from.
Click to expand...

If there is an Android control solution I would be very pleased. I was under the impression that Auralic were not supporting their Android app anymore. I didn't realise other compatible apps had been developed.
 
I received the powersupply today from Teddy Pardo.....I have been playing for the last 5-6 hours but the powersupply needs at least one week of running in and will continue to improve over the comming month (mentioned in the user-manual).

I dont use the analoge out of the Mini but uses the digital USB out to a seperate dac with an assynchron USB reclocker. Because of this I was'nt expecting very much.....

But what a difference......in my system anyway. And things should improve even more during the running in period.

You get all the usual improvements from adding a great powersupply.....Black background and round top (less harchness)....but most of all the soundpicture just gets so relaxed, unstressed and easy to listen to. One thing I noticed is that I now play lauder then before and thats a good indication of a better soundquality....there are also a bit better dynamics and power in the bass which I was missing before as mentioned above.

I therefore recommend upgrading the standard powersupply even if using a seperate dac (Upgrading the signal chain is always a good thing I gess in particular if you have a highend system that can show/play the improvements).

Which powersupply you should get I dont know but my gess is that you can find better powersupplys then the one Auralic offers (the one that comes standard with the Aries with femto clocks).

It would be fun to read a comparison between an Auralic Aries and the Auralic Aries Mini both wih a liniar powersupply considering the Mini including a LPS costs only half as much and also have an onboard dac.

The mini with an LPS is so good that I hav'nt heard anything better but ofcource everything can be improved but how much will it cost? I dont think most of us will ever need a streamer solution with a better soundquality then this.
 
As of this evening My library has downloaded via ANDROID on ver. 4 tablet and also on my ver 5 mobile. Using auralic's Lightning DS App.

Need to try to see if we can initialize the device now with Android.

Still flaky though, but sound quality is worth the perseverance.
 
Tempted to buy an Innous Wave and an LPS to avoid the kerfuffle. I already have a mini HTPC connected to my DAC via USB that does the job, but am looking for something less flaky than Foobar phone control and bit perfect. Basically the wife needs to be able to use it with her phone as I am ripping her CD collection soon!
 
Jackimvestor said:
I received the powersupply today from Teddy Pardo.....I have been playing for the last 5-6 hours but the powersupply needs at least one week of running in and will continue to improve over the comming month (mentioned in the user-manual).

I dont use the analoge out of the Mini but uses the digital USB out to a seperate dac with an assynchron USB reclocker. Because of this I was'nt expecting very much.....

But what a difference......in my system anyway. And things should improve even more during the running in period.

You get all the usual improvements from adding a great powersupply.....Black background and round top (less harchness)....but most of all the soundpicture just gets so relaxed, unstressed and easy to listen to. One thing I noticed is that I now play lauder then before and thats a good indication of a better soundquality....there are also a bit better dynamics and power in the bass which I was missing before as mentioned above.

I therefore recommend upgrading the standard powersupply even if using a seperate dac (Upgrading the signal chain is always a good thing I gess in particular if you have a highend system that can show/play the improvements).

Which powersupply you should get I dont know but my gess is that you can find better powersupplys then the one Auralic offers (the one that comes standard with the Aries with femto clocks).

It would be fun to read a comparison between an Auralic Aries and the Auralic Aries Mini both wih a liniar powersupply considering the Mini including a LPS costs only half as much and also have an onboard dac.

The mini with an LPS is so good that I hav'nt heard anything better but ofcource everything can be improved but how much will it cost? I dont think most of us will ever need a streamer solution with a better soundquality then this.
Click to expand...

Yes The Teddy Power supplies are really good and I have also the same experience. I have one Teddy powersupply for my NUC and one for my uptone Regen. It made a bigger impact on the Regen than one could expect.

Is the Mini sounding better than the PC with Teddydac??

Magnus
 
I am using the Auralic LPS with my Aries Mini and there is a marked difference in sound quality. I'm using the internal DAC (phono outputs). The Teddy PS looks great but it's physical dimensions are too big for my requirements. The Auralic LPS is doing it for me.

Music never sounded so good. Thank you Auralic!
 
As I understand it, you need the native Android app (or an iPad version thereof) to initialise and configure the Aries, but thereafter you can use an OpenHome app to control the playing of music etc. This may restrict you from using some of the other streaming services available via the Aries, but for playing your music library etc the OpenHome apps should be fine. As I say, that's only my understanding, though.
 
I am tempted by the Aries Mini. My current source us an iPod classic with Pure i20 dock. The classic has started to cut out at random intervals, you can hear the hard disk spool down, and I am worried that it might fail. An Aries Mini with an SSD fitted would take my music and provide a decent replacement. Does anyone know where I can find an instruction manual for the Aries Mini so that I can check out if my ideas will work? It is not on the Website, which seems odd.
 
One stupid question maybe.

If one have not so stable network. I got a mobile broadband network connected wireless to a ASUS RT-AC68 router, wich is a fast/good router but sometimes dropouts happen. Would a streamer be a good solution for me then?

The question is will a song get stopped, say in the middle, if a sudden interruption takes place or will it play the file to the end. I am thinking of adding an internal SSD disc within the Mini, and not using external storage at all. Does the mini have a kind of Ram memory where the files get loaded to or am I wrong?

Today I am using a pc/ NUC with an internal SSD disc for local playback. This solution is not sensitive for network interruption of course.

Magnus
 
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