Aurender N100 v AIR

[Womaz]

I'm also back to a bit of sitting on the fence today. My main dilemma is not wanting to be tied into aurenders iPad interface. I hear it's good, but I'd miss Roon - I know just from the screen grabs I've seen, that's one ugly interface. Aurender are implementing Roon, but when, and how much of the expensive Aurender hardware will be redundant at that point?

The great thing is this area does seem to be exploding, so the waiting might pay dividends. A raspberry Pi with Roon is definitely something I'd like to try but who knows when.

My real curiosity now is how much better can my system sound with an Aurender (or similar) compared to a slightly optimised Mac. If it wows me I'll know that I can stick with my speakers and wait for the right streamer. If the Facts still aren't tamed in my setup, I'll know I'll have to make a change there.

I am thinking along the very same lines. Every time I feel I have reached a decision something else crops up.
The Aurender app looks awful I agree, but is supposed to be very good. I really dont like the fact that it can only be operated horizontally on an I Pad.
After all my reading research and head scratching I still might just go for the cheap option of an Aries Mini for now. The music server market is going to expand massively in the next few years and these will just get better I would imagine. People like Melco wil bring out more user friendly gear.
A big part of me thinks cheap solution for now and sit back and see what develops.

Are your Facts a tad bright at times with the Devialet. I have the 23s and love them but thats my one concern. FACT 8 or 26s was my next aim until Devialet did not do what it advertised