Dilettanteque Posted September 30, 2018 Posted September 30, 2018 Good morning all, Has anybody here had any experiences with the new Auralic Aries G1, and if so, would you please be able to share your initial impressions? Thanks so much 1
Matyk Posted October 1, 2018 Posted October 1, 2018 I have vega and aries combo. I listed to the new series. Didn't inspire me. The build is nice but only black option. The only diff i noticed was a better pre amp And at the end of the day it's still digital, how good can a streamer really get? 1
Dilettanteque Posted October 1, 2018 Author Posted October 1, 2018 (edited) On 01/10/2018 at 10:32 AM, Matyk said: I have vega and aries combo. I listed to the new series. Didn't inspire me. The build is nice but only black option. The only diff i noticed was a better pre amp And at the end of the day it's still digital, how good can a streamer really get? Thanks Matyk. It is an interesting - i have been swirling around in multiple sites and manufacurer/review blurbs to try and help build my criteria (below i think). Were you comparing the Vega G1 vs G2? What was it about the comparison that didn't inspire? I am with you that (hopefully) a streamer is just lifting and shifting data and not providing any colour, and therefore a good streamer vs a great streamer shouldn't make that much difference. And if this is the case and the Aries G1 does lots of things well (in addition to the sound quality tick critera) and possibly better than others (or it doesn't try to do things i don't need to pay for - e.g. Aurender, as attractive as that may seem as an option) then it may be near the top of the list My gradually morphing criteria are: clearly advantageous from SQ perspective Ability to stream all current file formats I am not a user of Tidal or Roon but i guess I should cater for that for the day my opinions change (not sure if this means streamer needs to handle MQA or DAC only, but i will get to that in my research) Good quality app to navigate big NAS drive collection (as opposed to a bit clunky 3rd party) Hopefully storage on device to build catalogue for NAS collection USB and coax out to DAC Power system demonstrates it is kind to SQ Remote for when they stop supporting the app (the M1 CliC experience of buying a component 2nd had after it was 6 or so years old and finding the maker didn't feel the need to maintain an app on app stire was a little extraordinary) Display to show what is playing but more importantly, settings and music selection when they eventually do give up on their app No preamp (don't need it) What I see to be down to are: Aurender N100C (but a lot more than the above specs given storage system, and a price to match that is a lot before even getting to a dac) Lumin D2 Auralic Aries G1 SoTM 2000 ....and then there will be the DAC Edited October 2, 2018 by Dilettanteque
stilloutthere Posted October 2, 2018 Posted October 2, 2018 Fantastic post, very interested as well. Your list of requirements are almost identical to mine, although I currently use Tidal and don't have much of a catalog yet, but that is likely to change with time I suspect.... App support and tidy easy to use interface are big drivers for me. Interested to see what responses come up. 1
Dilettanteque Posted October 2, 2018 Author Posted October 2, 2018 (edited) So interesting thing is this. Of my shortlist Auralic doesn't have an Australian distributor, and it appears only one Australian retailer in WA. Trading emails with Auralic they say maintenance etc requires return of item to US. So there shouldn't, hopefully, be anything wrong with a fantastic new product though thought of having to drive 4000km to plonk a smoking unit on a retailers bench and look pleadingly into their eyes is a little intimidating even as an outlier scenario. Making me look harder at Lumin D2 as an option (despite less glitzy display) as I am not sure I can stretch to Aurender $. Primare has released new streamer/DAC/preamp, and are just changing Australian distributors. However with an integrated amp already I don't want a preamp. Edited October 2, 2018 by Dilettanteque
Matyk Posted October 2, 2018 Posted October 2, 2018 I have the emails to hongkong to buy auralic direct. Very easy. The guy you refer to is simply hifi. He buys in bulk and sells. I buy direct The Aussies lost the contract because they couldn't agree to terms. Plus auralic want to sell to the states and within asia, as aussie sales are tiny in comparrison. Cheers 1
Dilettanteque Posted October 3, 2018 Author Posted October 3, 2018 53 minutes ago, Matyk said: I have the emails to hongkong to buy auralic direct. Very easy. The guy you refer to is simply hifi. He buys in bulk and sells. I buy direct The Aussies lost the contract because they couldn't agree to terms. Plus auralic want to sell to the states and within asia, as aussie sales are tiny in comparrison. Cheers Yeah, been in contact with Wyn. Very helpful.
Dilettanteque Posted October 3, 2018 Author Posted October 3, 2018 On 03/10/2018 at 9:30 AM, Matyk said: I have the emails to hongkong to buy auralic direct. Very easy. The guy you refer to is simply hifi. He buys in bulk and sells. I buy direct The Aussies lost the contract because they couldn't agree to terms. Plus auralic want to sell to the states and within asia, as aussie sales are tiny in comparrison. Cheers Any price advantage going direct to HK? And how do they frame warranty/service relationships post delivery?
Dilettanteque Posted October 4, 2018 Author Posted October 4, 2018 (edited) Doing my head in trying to get consistent info to make some choices. Ended up constructing this (which is limited by available info, my ability to find info, and my understanding or interpretation of whatinfo i have found) and this is in addition to considerations of file format coverage, SQ and local support.....sheesh. And if anybody happens to know i have got something wrong please let me know. e.g. I now think the Aries can either use UPnP or just point at file level to a NAS drive/USB - (I will need to try and find a pdf manual to see if this is clear). File format and SQ dimensions are a whole other level of comparison , and this is befure even thinking about relative DAC comparisons (and whether D2 having the lot is a SQ benefit) Edited October 4, 2018 by Dilettanteque 5
sakabatou Posted October 4, 2018 Posted October 4, 2018 2 hours ago, Dilettanteque said: And if anybody happens to know i have got something wrong please let me know. e.g. I now think the Aries can either use UPnP or just point at file level to a NAS drive/USB - (I will need to try and find a pdf manual to see if this is clear). The older Aries definitely can run “Lightning Server” and catalog a NAS with no server software running on the NAS. I can’t imagine that the new ones couldn’t 1
Dilettanteque Posted October 5, 2018 Author Posted October 5, 2018 16 hours ago, sakabatou said: The older Aries definitely can run “Lightning Server” and catalog a NAS with no server software running on the NAS. I can’t imagine that the new ones couldn’t Thanks @sakabatou , reading the Aries G2 manual (G1 not yet found online) and this link https://support.auralic.com/hc/en-us/articles/206050358-What-is-Lightning-Server- it is a little ambiguous - it could suggest that Lightning needs to run on UPnP device, or that it may run on G1 and just see the NAS folder you point to as a file system that is in it's "server" environment. Do you know which it is? If the latter i am a little more comfortable with ease of tech setup. Thanks
sakabatou Posted October 5, 2018 Posted October 5, 2018 On the original Aries, Lightning runs on the Aries and a can see both NAS and USB drives with no additional software running. It does need privileges to write its index onto the drive though 1
Dilettanteque Posted October 5, 2018 Author Posted October 5, 2018 5 minutes ago, sakabatou said: On the original Aries, Lightning runs on the Aries and a can see both NAS and USB drives with no additional software running. It does need privileges to write its index onto the drive though That's great thanks....most helpful...stores index on NAS drive not in the Auralic device 1
gt1482 Posted October 5, 2018 Posted October 5, 2018 Just wondering, at this price range, have you also considered Innuos (many models) and dCS Network Bridge? Both have got lots of good comments in the recent year.
Dilettanteque Posted October 5, 2018 Author Posted October 5, 2018 1 hour ago, gt1482 said: Just wondering, at this price range, have you also considered Innuos (many models) and dCS Network Bridge? Both have got lots of good comments in the recent year. Arrghhh .....thank you ! Another one for my list. I hadn't heard of dCS.
jamesrc Posted November 22, 2018 Posted November 22, 2018 On 05/10/2018 at 1:15 PM, Dilettanteque said: Arrghhh .....thank you ! Another one for my list. I hadn't heard of dCS. Did you get any further with this? The hunt for the perfect wifi streamer is a question I would like to see answered . I agree the Aries G1 sounds very good on paper.
Dilettanteque Posted November 22, 2018 Author Posted November 22, 2018 I tilted toward Aurender and then flipped to Antipodes EX for its more open platform (i felt more future proof). I have been very happy!
Tassie Devil Posted December 15, 2018 Posted December 15, 2018 (edited) FWIW I have a G1 on its way - a nice Xmas present which might, or might not, arrive by Dec 25. It will replace an Aries which will then go up for sale. It will fit into this ystem: Roon on this PC -> LAN cabling -> (the new G1) -> LKS DA-004 -> Violectric 281 -> Focal Utopia headphones with MIT cabling. Overseas transport costs are getting scary!! Edited December 15, 2018 by Tassie Devil Typo 2
Dilettanteque Posted December 15, 2018 Author Posted December 15, 2018 (edited) 5 hours ago, Tassie Devil said: FWIW I have a G1 on its way - a nice Xmas present which might, or might not, arrive by Dec 25. It will replace an Aries which will then go up for sale. It will fit into this ystem: Roon on this PC -> LAN cabling -> (the new G1) -> LKS DA-004 -> Violectric 281 -> Focal Utopia headphones with MIT cabling. Overseas transport costs are getting scary!! I will be really keen to hear of how it goes for you. The Aries G1 was, after a bunch of research, where i thought i would land. It is a great looking component technically and in its presentation. I trust it will be a great addition to your rig and would love to hear your thoughts! I must say, 16k albums is quite a collection. I can't find a "jealous" emoji Edited December 15, 2018 by Dilettanteque
Dilettanteque Posted December 15, 2018 Author Posted December 15, 2018 On 04/10/2018 at 3:41 PM, Dilettanteque said: Doing my head in trying to get consistent info to make some choices. Ended up constructing this (which is limited by available info, my ability to find info, and my understanding or interpretation of whatinfo i have found) and this is in addition to considerations of file format coverage, SQ and local support.....sheesh. And if anybody happens to know i have got something wrong please let me know. e.g. I now think the Aries can either use UPnP or just point at file level to a NAS drive/USB - (I will need to try and find a pdf manual to see if this is clear). File format and SQ dimensions are a whole other level of comparison , and this is befure even thinking about relative DAC comparisons (and whether D2 having the lot is a SQ benefit) For any interested a few additional thoughts that became part of my decision process, now returning to this after some time and having chosen a product that is not here: it is worth looking at the Lumin U1 Mini as a more direct comparison to Aries G1 - no storage, no DAC. And reviews are very positive re SQ the issue of "closed vs open" control software was, for me, important - the three suppliers here all have their own software (you can find reviews of this elsewhere). But in 5-10 years time (unless you recycle hardware more frquently than I do) there could possibly be version/support/availability issues (what happens when you are on a 2024 IPAD and the software is no longer available). If hardware bits are disposable, or you are on a relatively high frequency upgrade/downgrade/sidewaysgrade kinda person, this will be less an issue. I think a couple can also be accessed by other iOS or Android based management systems so they were more appealing. Same with Roon - as I tend to buy and keep components I wanted to be pretty sure a few alternatives were available if teh OEM and another vendor changed tack or evaporated I ended up getting an Antipodes EX, which runs Roon on it now as a Core and can stream to my Bluesound Node 2 fleet (a grand way of saying "both"). Arrived at this through a circuitous route of bothering vendors and retailers, all of whom were very helpful in helping me refine my buying criteria and end up making a choice. I didn't really explore the issue of MQA - sensing since I largely buy music (i do not use Tidal) this would not be an issue. My eventual decision to buy Roon (wasn''t made until after buying the EX) has probably helped insulate me from that being a shortsighted choice to some extent (but recognise i may not get most out of it if MQA sticks as a "thing". Whatever your choice i assume you will be very happy! All had great features and reviews and i am sure I would have been most satisfied with any of them (within the bounds of pros and cons which are always part of the trade offs one accepts)
Cardiiiii Posted December 15, 2018 Posted December 15, 2018 Have you considered the Cambridge Audio CXN?
Dilettanteque Posted December 15, 2018 Author Posted December 15, 2018 10 hours ago, Cardiiiii said: Have you considered the Cambridge Audio CXN? I did, as I have been most happy with my 840CD and have previously used the DACMagic and the Sonata streamer. But I went another way and landed with Antipodes after my circling around Auralic, Lumin and Aurender for some time
jamesrc Posted December 16, 2018 Posted December 16, 2018 On 15/12/2018 at 11:20 AM, Tassie Devil said: FWIW I have a G1 on its way - a nice Xmas present which might, or might not, arrive by Dec 25. It will replace an Aries which will then go up for sale. It will fit into this ystem: Roon on this PC -> LAN cabling -> (the new G1) -> LKS DA-004 -> Violectric 281 -> Focal Utopia headphones with MIT cabling. Overseas transport costs are getting scary!! Interesting... where did you buy this from? It is a pity that Aurelic no longer seem to have any presence here in Australia. It would be good to touch and use one before taking the leap 1
Audiofix Posted December 20, 2018 Posted December 20, 2018 I've come to this thread late but no love for the newly revised Naim streamers during your decision making process? I haven't heard the new ones yet but judging by the older ones and Naims enthusiasm for the new ones I thought they may have been of interest to you.
.thumb.jpg.9f6bbc88fc77d5e6eba57f4f89090878.jpg)
Recommended Posts