Melco N1Z vs Aurender N10 vs CAD CAT

[Hifi_swlon]

Some guys in the other thread (http://devialetchat.com/showthread.php?tid=3028) refer that AIR3 is at least as convincing as the microRendu.

Have they?  Not saying it hasn't been said but I must have missed that one, I thought the direct comparisons were still being made....

What about all that stuff to be told having negativ effects on the soundquality using a PC/Mac? Not only Aurender is running huge expense to optimize all that. AIR3 as the panacea for all that negative influences?

There's no reason why AIR3 shouldn't sound the best.  It's written by the hardware manufacturers and designed around their kit so they should know how to get the best out of it.  The network connection was, I assume, chosen in the first place because they felt it would eliminate/isolate the DAC from much of the other issues with PCs and their noise/jitter or whatever. Plenty of high-end hardware going down the ethernet connection road tells us they must have been on target there in the theory aspect.  Shame it took until version 3 and that some people suffered more than others with the previous incarnations, but I really believe it should be the best solution out there for anyone with an average computer source - no one else out there would know what the machines needed to make them sound best.

Devices like the Aurenders have to do a lot more than just get the data to a DAC. They have nice looking cases, software, firmware, hard drives and file systems, sales channels, marketing, support, have to be compatible with lots of brands, and tested as such, and that's a lot of R&D, manufacturing and support costs for a niche market.  Same for all other devices. So they are bound to be expensive, and I guess some make a lot more profit and other by charing even higher prices... If the uRendu is everything it's cracked up to be, its only been possible at that price because its driven by a few passionate people, and perhaps they've found the golden combination of the minimum you actually need to do the same as an expensive streamer. Or they're geniuses I suppose

I really hope this time next month the large majority of Devialet owners will be sitting there smugly listening to the best sounding system they've ever heard, and mainly because of AIR3.  It's the right outcome, and they deserve it.