Sonore Streamers

[Confused]

I think mdconelly makes some good points. The thing is, AIR does sound good when it's working. I recently auditioned the Melco N1Z (£7k) and Aurender W20 (13k). When I arrived back home I tried a few of my 'demo' tracks via AIR, with a resulting sound quality that made me think how good AIR really is, not a case of thinking this is terrible, details gone, bass definition gone or whatever. I am not saying AIR is as good as a W20, the W20 was creating some magic that AIR does not quite achieve, but the margins are quite small, especially considering the asking price of the Aurender.

So for me, the early reports of the microRendu edging ahead of AIR are very impressive I think, especially in mdconnelly's case, running a basic PSU.

So how good is the microRendu? Picking up on Antoine's point regarding the subtleties of peoples systems, hearing, preferences and so on, I don't think there will ever be a definitive answer to this one. Taking the Aurender W20 vs Melco N1Z as an example, I preferred the Aurender with the system and music I heard it with, I know others, with different ears, music and speakers, have preferred the N1Z. For me the margins between the N1Z & W20 are so subtle I can easily imagine that in another system on another day, or even just with a different demo playlist of music, the N1Z could easily prevail. From early reports it is beginning to look like the microRendu has made it into the Melco / Aurender league for sound quality, but is it at the N1A / N100 level or up there embarrassing the W20 and N1Z? I suspect the answer to this will never be 100% clear.

For me, I am currently debating if I should buy a microRendu just to try for myself, but unlike Antoine, I am a very patient man, so I think I'll wait for a bit more feedback and information first. (or I may simply have a rash 'oh sod it' moment and buy one anyway.....)