Upgrade to 200->400 or add Aurender N100H?

[Giddy707]

Sam,
I had a D200. Loved it very much.  When I upgraded to D400, that was a BIG improvement over the D200, it's a Major improvement.  Then I upgraded from D400 to D800, the improvement was little.  Very little improvement that I can discern.

I had used an old Mac Mini for my music source.  When I put in a brand new MacMini 2016 version. Wow, the improvement is amazing. 

So here's my opinion.  D400 will give you much improvement in SQ. A new model MacMini is incredible for SQ.  I just use iTune or Roon fed through ethernet/usb.  I didn't rely much on Devialet Air to begin with.  If there's no ethernet connection, get a powerline adaptor which to send your signal through it.  

My Aurender will arrive next week, will tell you more if you wish to know.

Right now I have the option of playing music with my MacMini or with a Naim HDX.  The Naim has the edge in sound but it is also 10 times more costly.

Hope this helps.

[sam1000]

I should get D200 Companion by Friday. Thanks for pushing me over the edge.

Although AIR3 was working for me with VOX on Mac-book pro, I'm facing difficulties with it with Roon. It drops the connection after couple of songs and its not a pleasant experience after that.

Trying to get Roonbridge to work with Raspi 2.0 but running into issues. Will order 3.0 kit tomorrow.

Super excited about D400..

[BrianT]

Although AIR3 was working for me with VOX on Mac-book pro, I'm facing difficulties with it with Roon. It drops the connection after couple of songs and its not a pleasant experience after that.

Trying to get Roonbridge to work with Raspi 2.0 but running into issues. Will order 3.0 kit tomorrow.

Super excited about D400..

Sam

I'm running a D400, Air 3, Mac Mini & Roon (roonserver) and have had NO DROPOUTS since Air3 was released
I can use USB or ETH from the Mac Mini (I prefer ETH)  Devialet 10.2 software.

I hope you find what is causing your problem as I know Roon & Air 3 work perfect.

Good choice on going for the companion.

Brian

[srima]

Although AIR3 was working for me with VOX on Mac-book pro, I'm facing difficulties with it with Roon. It drops the connection after couple of songs and its not a pleasant experience after that.

Trying to get Roonbridge to work with Raspi 2.0 but running into issues. Will order 3.0 kit tomorrow.

Super excited about D400..

Sam

I'm running a D400, Air 3, Mac Mini & Roon (roonserver) and have had NO DROPOUTS since Air3 was released
I can use USB or ETH from the Mac Mini (I prefer ETH)  Devialet 10.2 software.

I hope you find what is causing your problem as I know Roon & Air 3 work perfect.

Good choice on going for the companion.

Brian

I didn't have much luck with an old Mac Mini (original series), which kept dropping its network connection. My long-term reliable streaming solution (now running over 10 years!) is a pair of HP Microservers, each equipped with a bunch of high performance high capacity drives. The HP micro server can be bought on eBay for as little as $100 -- it's a little shoebox design, with no OS and (sometimes) a CD drive, but often without that. You plug in drives on a set of four caddies, so you can do as little as 1 TB to 24 TB (depending on the drives you use). I run Linux Vortexbox, by far the best OS for music streaming (everything irrelevant to music playing is stripped out). This runs the Squeezebox Server by default, and will rip CDs, DVDs, and Blu Rays (with a Blu Ray drive) automatically indexing it etc. I keep two micro servers, one in the basement and one in the attic. I can access the music on them through my iPad, iPhone, computers, and a trio of Logitech Squeezeboxes. This set up has been the most stable and reliable in my experience, runs 24/7 365 days a year for about 7-10 years now. Nothing else I've tried comes close. 

I wasted money on two Sony HAP-Z music players. Hardware is quite good (30 pound brick like player), but software was written by incompetent fools who don't know how to handle music files efficiently. The Squeezebox Server can rip through 4 Terabytes of music in 1 hour. The Sony, by contrast, will take 2-3 weeks to index the same amount of music. 

That chilled the enthusiasm for me to try anything else there, like the Aurender. I am highly skeptical of streaming software without a large community of users who are constantly improving it, and adding functionality. In my mind, nothing comes close to the Squeezebox Server for robustness, reliability, and flexibility. It's as bullet proof as Linux and Unix is -- totally dependable, and has been around much longer than these new kids on the block. After the invention of the compact disc, the Logitech Squeezebox and the associated server to me constitutes the biggest breakthrough and bang for the buck. The radio sized touch interface still remains the most visually intuitive and simple human interface for music streaming that has ever been devised. Nothing touches it for simplicity and clarity. The Sony streamers are ridiculously complex and slow as molasses in comparison. Have no experience with Aurender, but it's not open source, and being a dyed in wool computer scientist, I don't trust code that's not open source, and subject to massive improvement by a large group of users.

[kerkhoffd]

Very interested in your experience with the Aurender Giddy. Which Aurender will you be taking deliverey of next week? The one in your current signature or the N10?

[BrianT]

Although AIR3 was working for me with VOX on Mac-book pro, I'm facing difficulties with it with Roon. It drops the connection after couple of songs and its not a pleasant experience after that.

Trying to get Roonbridge to work with Raspi 2.0 but running into issues. Will order 3.0 kit tomorrow.

Super excited about D400..

Sam

I'm running a D400, Air 3, Mac Mini & Roon (roonserver) and have had NO DROPOUTS since Air3 was released
I can use USB or ETH from the Mac Mini (I prefer ETH)  Devialet 10.2 software.

I hope you find what is causing your problem as I know Roon & Air 3 work perfect.

Good choice on going for the companion.

Brian

I didn't have much luck with an old Mac Mini (original series), which kept dropping its network connection. My long-term reliable streaming solution (now running over 10 years!) is a pair of HP Microservers, each equipped with a bunch of high performance high capacity drives. The HP micro server can be bought on eBay for as little as $100 -- it's a little shoebox design, with no OS and (sometimes) a CD drive, but often without that. You plug in drives on a set of four caddies, so you can do as little as 1 TB to 24 TB (depending on the drives you use). I run Linux Vortexbox, by far the best OS for music streaming (everything irrelevant to music playing is stripped out). This runs the Squeezebox Server by default, and will rip CDs, DVDs, and Blu Rays (with a Blu Ray drive) automatically indexing it etc. I keep two micro servers, one in the basement and one in the attic. I can access the music on them through my iPad, iPhone, computers, and a trio of Logitech Squeezeboxes. This set up has been the most stable and reliable in my experience, runs 24/7 365 days a year for about 7-10 years now. Nothing else I've tried comes close. 

I wasted money on two Sony HAP-Z music players. Hardware is quite good (30 pound brick like player), but software was written by incompetent fools who don't know how to handle music files efficiently. The Squeezebox Server can rip through 4 Terabytes of music in 1 hour. The Sony, by contrast, will take 2-3 weeks to index the same amount of music. 

That chilled the enthusiasm for me to try anything else there, like the Aurender. I am highly skeptical of streaming software without a large community of users who are constantly improving it, and adding functionality. In my mind, nothing comes close to the Squeezebox Server for robustness, reliability, and flexibility. It's as bullet proof as Linux and Unix is -- totally dependable, and has been around much longer than these new kids on the block. After the invention of the compact disc, the Logitech Squeezebox and the associated server to me constitutes the biggest breakthrough and bang for the buck. The radio sized touch interface still remains the most visually intuitive and simple human interface for music streaming that has ever been devised. Nothing touches it for simplicity and clarity. The Sony streamers are ridiculously complex and slow as molasses in comparison. Have no experience with Aurender, but it's not open source, and being a dyed in wool computer scientist, I don't trust code that's not open source, and subject to massive improvement by a large group of users.

Sam

Vortexbox software sounds interesting, I will have to did out an old computer and give it a try over the winter.

My Mac Mini is a 2010 model.

Brian

[Giddy707]

Hi kerkhoffd,
I got my Aurender N100H and hooked it up and ran it. The set up was VERY easy, unlike the Naim HDX. Set up in about 30 min. Transferred about 100 Gb of music, not much.
The Conductor App is a breeze and joy to use, unlike Cambridge, Sony, Moon Mind etc. I just love the app. You have to experience it to know how much frustration I have avoided.
The sound? Just amazing right out of the box.
The overall SQ is organic and very musical, it just draws me into the music. The vocals are so clean, clear, focus and organic. The sound stage is expansive and well defines, individual vocals and instruments are well placed and easily recognized. The bass extension is deep and very well defined and controlled. I am so pleased with the SQ, finally.
I have had Naim, HDX, Sony, Cambridge, Moon Mind, Aeries etc and so on. But this Aurender is just amazing. I don't understand how it just makes music become so real. It enhances the capability of my PMC Fact 12.

Hope this helps.

Cheers.

[sam1000]

Got the companion unit. Right off the bat, couple of things improved over D200. The bass is even more controlled and has an increased slam. The second thing was listening at lower volumes. I'm not sure why D200 is not as good at lower listening levels as D400. So far, very happy with the decision to go with D400 vs Aurender.

[Pim]

Got the companion unit. Right off the bat, couple of things improved over D200. The bass is even more controlled and has an increased slam. The second thing was listening at lower volumes. I'm not sure why D200 is not as good at lower listening levels as D400. So far, very happy with the decision to go with D400 vs Aurender.

I believe power has an impact on sound quality at lower volumes. I don't know why from a technical point but it just does. Maybe a bit like a powerful engine at lower revs.