What will a streamer add?

[Foggy916]

I'll add my 2 cents here. Have a aurender n100 fully broken in with Wireworld Starlight platinum usb. Was hoping it would replace my 2009 Mac Mini with custom power supply and its fully optimized for audio. Mini is using air ethernet with AQ cinnamon Ethernet cable.

My hopes were to improve usability and have more convenience then running my Mac Mini headless. Sounded great but was just tired of the bugs and day to day headaches of just getting it fired up to play music. Was also hoping that getting a streamer would not only improve the day to day functionality but also improve upon the sound.

First off, the user interface of the Aurender is way better than the Mac solution. So easy to get music playing and the iPad app is amazing. Absolutely love it.

However, here is the problem. The Aurender clearly is more laid back with regards to sound quality. It's great but I'm definitely giving up detail, separation, and soundstage. It's great to walk in the room and have music playing within seconds from my NAS or Tidal. But if I want to sit down for some critical listening, the Mac Mini is better. This could be system dependent but just wanted to share my experience.

I recently got an Aurender N100H and I'm thrilled.. Big improvement over my Auralic Aries which I'm told out performs a Mini. So two questions, maybe it'll help. You are using the Audio Output USB? I messed up when I got mine and just was using one of the two data USB Ports by accident. Big difference in SQ there. Also are you using a good power cord on the Aurender? I found that made a nice difference too . And I'd suggest "trying" a different USB cable.. I also have a series 7 platinum USB cable and like but I think it can be a bit on the soft side.. I'd try an Audioquest Diamond.. not bright but a little faster sounding, it might match up better..

Sorry for the late response. Yes, I tried various usb and power cables. Subtle differences but nowhere the improvement as to when I switched over to Mac mini with air Ethernet. My 10 year old son and my wife both noticed the improved sound quality and picked the Mac when doing a blind test. Aurender has been sold and I'm enjoying the Mac over air and picked up the new MacBook to use as my controller for the Mac mini. Happy camper.