Auralic Aries

[Giddy707]

Now bear in mind that AIR was developed at a time when it was only compatible with Mac and that, since the very start, Devialet has demonstrated exclusive using Mac.

And that Air 2.1.1 (November 2013) had some noise problems with Mac and that Air 2.1.2 (May(?) 2014) has had persistent noise problems with Mac.

And that Air 2.1.2 is operable with ethernet and so independent of local wifi conditions and yet still gets white noise problems.

Sorry for entering this debate, but I really find general and exaggerated claims that AIR (2.1.1 or 2.1.2) is persistently not working with Macs highly inappropriate if not false. I am using AIR with iTunes (any version) as a front end and via ethernet without any problem ever. Even wireless worked flawlessly for 24*44.1 resolution. In my house the signal is not good enough for higher resolutions, but realistically I expected that problem from the beginning and hooked up a cable. (By the way, my OS is still 10.8.5. Usually I hesitate to go with the crowd in quickly upgrading the OS due to potential incompatibilities with some of my apps.)

I see that some of you guys think that iTunes is not good enough for your taste and that your music needs third party players and up-samplers for sounding right. Honestly, I tried most of these programs but none worked without hitch. Either they crashed easily or they did not handle gapless playback. So I returned to the most purist setup, i.e. just using iTunes as a catalog and AIR as a player with no additional software between my music catalog and my enjoyment.

I do use PureMusic when playing to the D via AES/EBU, using the firewire output on my Mac and a Weiss interface. Then PureMusic just serves for switching the Weiss thing to the native resolution without any up-sampling. (This connection still gives a tick better sound than ethernet; much better in any case than the sonically flawed USB technology.)

Also I do not see any good sense in up-sampling my music files on the computer (using the afore-mentioned apps) with its digitally "noisy" environment that can never be fully controlled even when quitting all (?) other processes. In my opinion my D250 that is now a D800 does this in the best possible way. At the end I purchased a D-Premier because of its DSP quality. So why not leave the up-sampling to the D?

OK, I accept that some of us enjoy playing with apps and preferences and settings on their way to musical enjoyment, thereby complicating the pathway of the signal. Sometimes I do so myself. But more often I just prefer to enjoy a flawlessly working system and the music it reproduces.

Just my two Euro cents  ;-)

Totally Agree.  I have spent many hours, trying several apps and always finding some issues.  Eventually I gave up.  Here in lies the gem-iTunes that works.  We may argue about what sounds better till the cow comes home and still will not come to a consensus.
iTunes woks flawlessly from the get go with AIR.  It's user interface and remote app just works well.  For me the adventure of trying out Audirvana, ROON JRiver distract me from enjoying the music itself.  
I am getting a MacMini to dedicate it to playing music, placing it next to my Devialet 800.  The D is the best investment I experience in over 35 years of HiFi.

Just my two CAD cents :-)   

CHEERS and Happy New Year!!