Product Strengths

• The Aurender N30SA separates noise-generating components into a separate 'power' box to maximize physical and electrical isolation from the digital audio boards in the 'audio' enclosure
• Full-color album artwork is displayed
• An onboard 480GB caching drive temporarily stores music before playback
• Up to 16TB of storage is possible with a second internal 8TB drive

Product Considerations

• The N30SA uses an IPS LCD panel, while the Aurender W20SE uses an AMOLED display
• The N30SA has a single AES/EBU digital audio output, while the W20SE has a pair capable of delivering DSD128 over DoP

Comparisons (according to reviewers)

• Vs Aurender W20SE: The N30SA is a two-box design that separates the noisy components, whereas the W20SE is a single-chassis player
• Vs Aurender W20SE: The W20SE has thicker alloy casework
• Vs Aurender W20SE: The W20SE has an AMOLED display, while the N30SA has an IPS LCD panel
• Vs Aurender W20SE: Full-color album artwork is displayed, while the W20SE does not
• Vs Aurender W20SE: The N30SA has a single AES/EBU digital audio output, while the W20SE has a pair capable of delivering DSD128 over DoP

Takeaway: The Aurender N30SA is a high-end music server offering ample storage for large music libraries, and it separates power and audio components for better sound. Its clear display and flexible storage options enhance an audiophile setup.

Product Strengths

• Significant improvement over the standard Statement, with more dynamic range, quieter backgrounds, higher resolution, and more fine detail
• Enhanced bass performance, with more power, visceral impact, and improved control
• Larger spatial sizing and more vivid presentation of virtual sound sources
• Excellent musicality with a hash-free and low-noise sound
• The Innuos Sense app is stable, easy to navigate, and considered one of the best streamer software options available
• The Next-Gen only outputs via USB, not offering other digital outputs like SPDIF

Product Considerations

• A two-box system, which may require significant shelf space
• The upgrade to the Next-Gen version involves reworking both Statement enclosures and must be done by Innuos
• All changes from one model to another are internal, so diving inside their bonnets is mandatory to tell them apart
• The standard Statement is already excellent, so potential buyers need to evaluate if the upgrade to Next-Gen is worth it for them

Comparisons (according to reviewers)

• The Next-Gen provides greater dynamics, a more 3D-like presentation, and improved realism in voices and instruments, compared to the standard Innuos Statement
• It pushes aside the Melco N10 with a combination of rhythmic intensity and staging elegance
• It surpasses the Fidata HFAS1-S10U on agility, openness, expansiveness, propulsion—and doesn't sound mechanical because of that
• The Statement has better adaptive skills than the ZENith Mk3, allowing it to portray artists' intentions more accurately

Takeaway: The Innuos Statement Next-Gen takes an already outstanding music server to the next level with significant improvements in sound quality and detail. It offers an exceptional listening experience.

Product Strengths

• Delivers music with a lack of digital artifacts, sounding closer to the original recording and venue than other digital sources
• Highly detailed construction with CNC machined chassis using a hybrid of copper, aluminum, and Panzerholz wood to mitigate RFI and vibration
• Dual Intel Xeon CPU design isolates Roon processes from audio processing tasks, improving performance
• Offers high-quality support, with Taiko providing remote assistance for setup and troubleshooting
• Optimizes both locally stored files and streamed music with equal performance

Product Considerations

• Custom USB board requires specific drivers to align with the DAC being used
• Native server software, TAS, offers better sound quality than Roon, but has a less user-friendly interface
• Windows servers might need constant support compared to LINUX servers
• High price point may be prohibitive for some buyers
• Massive size and weight (99 pounds) may pose logistical challenges

Comparisons (according to reviewers)

• Compared to Melco Zs or Innuos Statement, the Extreme represents a significant step up in performance
• Compared to Tidal Arkas, when playing files, the Taiko probably has the sonic edge, and ergonomically, is the more natural choice

Takeaway: The Taiko Audio SGM Extreme is a high-end music server that delivers exceptional sound quality and a more 'analog' listening experience. For those seeking the best sound from digital files and streaming services, this could be the right choice.

Product Strengths

• Deep tonal saturation, lushness, liquidity, and organic flow.
• More articulate, crisper, expressive, airier, and highly resolving than previous Antipodes models.
• Operates in an unforced manner that makes for immediate surrender on the listener's behalf.
• Incredibly refined and liquid, as well as lifelike in its expression and dynamics.
• Milled from a solid block of aluminum, with sleek and simple—yet subtly curved—lines

Product Considerations

• It is difficult for a reviewer to really tear into a music server the same way they would tear into a pair of speakers or a power amplifier
• Setting up the Antipodes Oladra music server isn't easy, and time will need to be spent getting used to it
• CD ripping is perhaps better described as painstaking rather than swift, the company opting for accuracy rather than speed
• Built like a very expensive amplifier
• Must be 'driven' via browser software running on a PC or, more ideally, a tablet

Comparisons (according to reviewers)

• Vs Antipodes K50, the Oladra offers a more exciting, incisive, and expressive rendition
• Vs Antipodes K50, the Oladra had more detail and more distinct detail due to the overall very quiet background
• Vs Pink Faun, Pink Faun is tighter, more precise and analytical, Antipodes more relaxed and organic

Takeaway: The Oladra offers exceptional sound quality, is a versatile music server, and will sound much better than just a laptop, creating a better music listening experience. The Oladra lets the music be its unadulterated self, is relaxed, and will never sound lean, gray, or analytical.

Product Strengths

• The CPU core is optimized for audio signal processing and uses Roon (bridge) software for files management
• The device can decode virtually any type of signal, PCM up to 32 bits and 384 kHz, and DSD from 2.8 MHz (DSD64) to 22.4 MHz (DSD512), and supports all streaming services
• It uses a classic linear power supply with a custom-made, high-power toroidal transformer and many low ESR capacitors
• The CNC-milled chassis takes 15 hours to fabricate

Product Considerations

• The manual indicates that its operation is very simple, but only if everything works as it should, as the control program did not always 'see' the transport
• The transport itself did not always turn on and sometimes had to be turned on several times before it actually started
• The reviewer did not manage to 'force' it to play DSD512 files from a USB flash drive, and with DSD256 files being played the DAC's display showed 'PCM 384' format
• The Ideon often choked on WAV files

Comparisons (according to reviewers)

• The Ideon Audio system offered an equivalent sound when compared with CDs, Master CD-Rs and SACDs and their corresponding files
• Compared to the Ayon Audio player, the Ayon Audio player represents timbre, space, and the structure of recordings similarly to analog tape, while the Ideon Audio player is considered an equivalent to a top turntable

Takeaway: The Ideon Absolute Suite is one of the best-built audio sources, with a modular design and proprietary solutions. It draws you into its world through dense colors and saturation with information, and the amazing sound is worth experiencing