Welcome
Digital music sources have transitioned from mere playback gadgets into advanced components that, according to manufacturers, can significantly boost sound quality.
While any digital device can play audio files, high-end servers and network streamers come with specialized features meant to address technical problems such as “jitter,” which refers to timing errors in the digital signal that can be theoretically heard.
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- Lumin products are designed with a focus on simplifying the user experience through their proprietary Lumin app, offering a comprehensive set of features and granular control over playback and resampling options without requiring additional third-party software in most use cases.
- The brand utilizes all-aluminum chassis construction across its product line, contributing to both aesthetic appeal and enhanced rigidity and shielding.
- Lumin incorporates Leedh Processing volume control, allowing for a preamp-less system configuration and potentially minimizing signal degradation.
Our interview with the brand
What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?
What's your approach to customer support?
What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?
What other products pair best with yours?
Learn about the brand
- Aurender emphasizes ease of use and a "computer-less" experience by developing both the hardware and software in-house, ensuring seamless integration.
- They have a comprehensive ecosystem with various models serving different needs (streaming bridge, DAC, CD ripper, server)—including Roon and Qobuz integration.
- Aurender implements robust power solutions, using separate linear power supplies for critical components and supercapacitor-based UPS systems to protect against power loss.
- The Conductor app provides robust remote technical support, allowing Aurender to remotely access and diagnose/fix issues for its users.
Our interview with the brand
What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?
All Aurender models, even dating back to our very first "S10", cache songs to a built in NVMe/SSD prior to playback, for improve stability and to reduce noise from the HDD, even when local storage is installed.
All Aurender models come with either built in storage or empty trays for users to populate their own 2.5" SATA drives in capacities that suite their collection. You only have 200 CD's that are ripped? Purchase a 1TB drive. Have 20,000 album collection, you can install up to an 8TB drive in each available slot!
What's your approach to customer support?
Our support is one of the driving factors for our brand. One of the keystones of this is our remote support capabilities. By sending us an email using our Conductor V4 software (for Android and Apple phones and tablets), we can remotely access the unit and troubleshoot, reconfigure or fix errors that are giving you trouble...without even taking the unit out of your rack! This level of support comes from our hardware and software engineers based in South Korea. This is available for every Aurender customer, whether you just purchased our flagship streamer or you purchased an 8 year old Aurender N100 on the second-hand market. We give this level of service to everyone. I personally offer advice, consultations and troubleshooting assistance for North America, so you can get hands on assistance when Korea is unavailable due to the time difference.
What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?
I have a hard time offering test tracks because everyone's music tastes vary so much. My personal tastes are not considered "audiophile" music and often poorly recorded, such as Punk, Hardcore, Emo and Alternative Music. Now with that said, I thoroughly enjoy listening to all this music through my Aurender! Speakers also play a huge role in how palatable that style of music is presented. If you twisted my arm to pick a test track that resonates with a lot of people, I'd say: Sara Bareilles-"Once Upon Another Time". It's a very intimate recording with a candle wick crackling throughout. Subtle noises in the background and then the bass hits and you realize how big the venue actually is. Every time I play that track, people get a bit of the "Wow" factor.
What other products pair best with yours?
Brand pairings are often user preference and one of the best parts of the hobby, in my opinion. I hear that Aurender is often paired with Berkeley Audio Design, MSB, Audio Research, dCS, just to name a few. The best part of an Aurender is it really gets you all the detail out of your DAC, so you can hear what it is truly capable of.
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Learn about the brand
Our interview with the brand
What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?
What's your approach to customer support?
What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?
What other products pair best with yours?
Featured products
Learn about the brand
Our interview with the brand
What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?
What's your approach to customer support?
What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?
What other products pair best with yours?
Learn about the brand
- AURALiC prioritizes sound quality, focusing on core performance rather than feature abundance in their products.
- The brand employs a unique "Fusion" DAC technology using ESS chips, with custom clocking, filtering, and oversampling for a distinct sound.
- AURALiC is known for clever chassis designs featuring dual chassis, copper shielding, and carefully designed power supplies to minimize noise.
- The Lightning DS control app is highlighted for its user-friendliness, expansive features, and exclusive iOS compatibility.
Our interview with the brand
What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?
What's your approach to customer support?
What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?
What other products pair best with yours?
Learn about the brand
Our interview with the brand
What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?
What's your approach to customer support?
What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?
What other products pair best with yours?
Learn about the brand
- The brand utilizes a custom-coded FPGA for precise digital filtering, which it believes outperforms standard DAC chip filters.
- Grimm Audio emphasizes clocking accuracy (low jitter) over achieving the highest possible PCM or DSD sample rates, incorporating a proprietary, ultra-stable clock design.
- The MU1 runs a custom Linux operating system and an optimized Roon Core Server implementation, moving away from standard libraries to exercise complete control over the code.
- They offer an end-to-end music system with a consistent design philosophy, from digital source to active loudspeakers, for an expertly-tuned audio chain.
Our interview with the brand
What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?
What's your approach to customer support?
What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?
What other products pair best with yours?
Learn about the brand
- They emphasize a holistic approach to digital audio, demonstrated by their custom motherboards, focus on vibration control, and design of linear power supplies.
- Innuos products feature a USB output that incorporates a PhoenixUSB reclocker, designed to lower the noise floor and improve sonic precision when paired with a DAC.
- They customize their operating system, innuOS, to optimize performance, including selecting components and actively removing EMI sources.
Our interview with the brand
What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?
What's your approach to customer support?
What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?
What other products pair best with yours?
Learn about the brand
- Bluesound's BluOS platform stands out with its vast compatibility, enabling seamless multi-room setups across its own products and those from partners like NAD and Dali.
- It combines a hifi wireless audio streamer with a range of connectivity options.
Our interview with the brand
What are two key technological innovations or strong opinions that differ you from other brands?
What's your approach to customer support?
What are your favorite tracks for showcasing the strength of your products?
What other products pair best with yours?
