[bmichels]

MUSIC SERVER: WEISS 301, Aurender, LUMIN.... HELP !

AH so many choices... !

I am going to get an Audio server, that is for sure, but .... which one ? ? ? 

Still hesitating between WEISS 301 DAC, WEISS 301 Without DAC, Aurender, LUMIN, even ARC REF DAC..... or waiting for the Total DAC-SERVER !

Any suggestion or help from someone who heard some of them ?

thanks in advance

 

[snapple10]

Using Wyred4sound MS1, like it so much  wished I had gotten  MS2 with I2S connection
 
I only have experience with this as far as server is concern
 
I had problem connecting to my network, initially , but once I got that fix
 

streams to my speakers, feed my DAC- can not ask for more
 
 
GL in your search

 

[project86]

I'm exceedingly pleased with my Auraliti PK90 music server. It's only $749 with the stock wall wart power supply, and I added the NuForce LPS-1 linear power supply which is another $350 or so.
 
For $1100 this thing is superior to many of the fancy/high priced servers out there. Why? Because it uses the SOtM tX-USB card which isolates and cleans USB power. The tX-USB draws power directly from the linear power supply rather than the motherboard. Overkill? Sure, but at least it's not expensive overkill. 
 
Most other music servers are limited to SPDIF output. And most new DACs sound their best via asynchronous USB connection. So you can see how that doesn't match up. And when they do have USB, most times it's a basic USB port from the motherboard - ie, nothing special. The Auraliti doesn't look as amazing as some of those others but in performance it is hard to beat. If you wanted something with built-in ripping capabilities then I'd go for the SOtM sMS-1000 which costs a lot more than the Auraliti setup but a lot less than most others.
 
 
EDIT - downsides? The Auraliti and SOtM devices are both "headless" meaning they must be controlled by an iPad or other Tablet. No front panel buttons. No LCD. Some people just don't like that type, as it sort of disembodies the experience from the player. I can understand that. Also, you need to know at least a little bit about networking in order to get things going. Not a lot, but enough.
 
Having said all this, if you spend big money on a Weiss server I bet it sounds great. Same for Aurender and Lumin and the rest. They better be good for those prices.  

 

[bmichels]

thanks Project86 for directing me to Auraliti.  Looking to their web site, I also founf their Auraliti L1000, but they give very little informations about it...?  Do you know their L1000 ? What is the main difference and selling point ? Does it includes a DAC also ? 

 

[project86]

Quote:

thanks Project86 for directing me to Auraliti.  Looking to their web site, I also founf their Auraliti L1000, but they give very little informations about it...?  Do you know their L1000 ? What is the main difference and selling point ? Does it includes a DAC also ? 

 
I have a little info about the L1000. As far as I know, it's intended to be a retail product sold through dealers, rather than internet direct like their PK90 or PK100 models. I've seen pricing quoted as being anywhere from $3,000 to $5,000. It comes in USB, SPDIF, or AES/EBU configurations. It does have an external PSU that matches in appearance better than the NuForce PSU matches the PK90. 
 
Ray Burnham of Auraliti told me that my PK90 with LPS-1 combo comes quite close to their L1000, and pushed them to improve the L1000 prior to releasing it, in order to make it worthwhile. But I don't know any specifics about how or why it is better. It's been in development for years now and is still quite the mystery product.
 
Fun fact - Auraliti had a hand assisting Bryston in development of their digital players: as mentioned here. 

 

[ken6217]

I can't speak for the other components, but I have the Aurender S 10 and the sound is audiophile and the iPad app makes the iPad into a great interface.
Ken

 

[Iskander71]

Quote:

I'm exceedingly pleased with my Auraliti PK90 music server. It's only $749 with the stock wall wart power supply, and I added the NuForce LPS-1 linear power supply which is another $350 or so.
 

 
John,
 
Thanks to your post hear and excellent Yulong Sabre DA8 review I'm now very interested in AuralityPK90-USB. Another reason is that my NuForce LPS1 getting dusty 

 as I switched from NuForce Icon HDP to Yulong DA8 - again thanks to you 

.
 
 
My current setup is based on dual-PC's with Windows Server 2012 with AudioPhil's optimisation and JPlay in streamer mode. My audio PC is Intel NUC headless and fanless with passive cooling in Tranquil case, OS is on SSD.
 
I heard that Linux based dedicated servers are much better for audiophile purposes than Windows but I have no audio experience on Linux based servers. Do you think PK90 will be better than my dual-PC setup? Is it really worth switching from my current setup to PK90?
 
I couldn't find any technical info on PK90 such as what kind o storage is used for OS (SSD or HDD), motherboard info, version of Linux, details of SoTM card. I also could't find any info on setting up PK90. Can you shed some light on it?
 
You help and advise is highly appreciated!

 

[project86]

Quote:

 
John,
 
Thanks to your post hear and excellent Yulong Sabre DA8 review I'm now very interested in AuralityPK90-USB. Another reason is that my NuForce LPS1 getting dusty 

 as I switched from NuForce Icon HDP to Yulong DA8 - again thanks to you 

.
 
 
My current setup is based on dual-PC's with Windows Server 2012 with AudioPhil's optimisation and JPlay in streamer mode. My audio PC is Intel NUC headless and fanless with passive cooling in Tranquil case, OS is on SSD.
 
I heard that Linux based dedicated servers are much better for audiophile purposes than Windows but I have no audio experience on Linux based servers. Do you think PK90 will be better than my dual-PC setup? Is it really worth switching from my current setup to PK90?
 
I couldn't find any technical info on PK90 such as what kind o storage is used for OS (SSD or HDD), motherboard info, version of Linux, details of SoTM card. I also could't find any info on setting up PK90. Can you shed some light on it?
 
You help and advise is highly appreciated!

 
I'll eventually be doing a full review of the PK90 over Part Time Audiophile when I have some time. But to answer your specific questions:
 
*I don't know if the PK90 will be superior to your setup, because I haven't heard your setup. Many people like Linux servers for transports and find them to sound best, but some disagree. Personally I think my PK90 sounds better than my other systems but those systems still sound great in their own right. Keep in mind that the PK90 is strictly a music server only - you can't do anything else with it whatsoever. So you'll still need some other computer to rip discs or download music or whatever else you want to do.
 
*PK90 uses an SSD for OS, and it's configured as read-only so the end user can never screw it up.
 
*I don't recall the specific motherboard but it's an Intel chipset and uses a passively cooled Atom CPU, which is more powerful than the Bryston BDP-1 (which Auraliti helped develop) that uses an Alix board. I think the new BDP-2 upgrades from Alix to something more powerful, but I'm not sure what it is. 
 
*They use their own software which is basically a tweaked Voyage Linux, heavily forked from the original but similar overall to the current Voyage MPD (which was developed independently but ended up in roughly the same place).
 
*The SOtM card is the tX-USB card which sells separately for $300-350 depending on where you live.
 
Setup is simple - you'll need a network connection via Ethernet, in order to control the system. Actual playback can be from files on a USB attached hard drive or else via NAS though I haven't done that myself. Basically you connect it to the network and it gets assigned an IP address. You then use that IP address to log in through any other computer on the network. Auraliti gives a basic menu and you can control playback through a browser if you want, or use a dedicated bit of software. There are options for PC, Mac, Android, and iPad/iPhone. Obviously you connect a USB DAC to the SOtM output card, and then you're all set. 

 

[Iskander71]

Thanks very much for quick and detailed answer! 
 
One more question. Is NuForce LPS-1 a direct plug-in to PK90 or I will need to make some mods?

 

[project86]

Quote:

Thanks very much for quick and detailed answer! 
 
One more question. Is NuForce LPS-1 a direct plug-in to PK90 or I will need to make some mods?

 
I had to send in the cable in so Auraliti could switch the part that plugs into their PK90. No charge involved and it took only a week or less. 

 

[Iskander71]

Quote:

 
I had to send in the cable in so Auraliti could switch the part that plugs into their PK90. No charge involved and it took only a week or less. 

 
OK, thanks.

 

[SoupRKnowva]

The other option would be to build yourself one of the CAPS servers outlined on Computer Audiophile. Putting computers together yourself isn't all that difficult, it's all just plugging things into sockets. And they are supposed to sound very good. I am thinking about building myself one one of these days. Though I would tweak some of the parts used a bit, building something between the 2nd and top models, but if you're a beginner sticking to exactly what he recommends might be a better idea.
 
Plus you get the satisfaction of building it yourself

 

[Iskander71]

Quote:

The other option would be to build yourself one of the CAPS servers outlined on Computer Audiophile. Putting computers together yourself isn't all that difficult, it's all just plugging things into sockets. And they are supposed to sound very good. I am thinking about building myself one one of these days. Though I would tweak some of the parts used a bit, building something between the 2nd and top models, but if you're a beginner sticking to exactly what he recommends might be a better idea.
 
Plus you get the satisfaction of building it yourself

 
Yes, I was considering CAPS but for utilising it with OS based on Windows. Unfortunately I'm not literate with Linux so that's I why was looking for a complete solution with pre-installed foolproof Linux with MPD. So, Auraliti seems to be the right choice for me. 
 
By the way, yesterday I ordered PK90 online and sent an email to Auraliti with request to supply an extra cable for connecting NuForce LPS-1 to Auraliti PK90. In 1st place it was a pleasant surprise to receive a positive answer in 3-4 hours and this was on Sunday! Moreover, Ray Burnham from Auraliti advised that they upgraded PK90 case to aluminium enclosure! They were planning to announce it late next month but launching it now. So I will get my PK90 in new case! As Ray said I'm lucky 

 . 

 

[project86]

Quote:

 
Yes, I was considering CAPS but for utilising it with OS based on Windows. Unfortunately I'm not literate with Linux so that's I why was looking for a complete solution with pre-installed foolproof Linux with MPD. So, Auraliti seems to be the right choice for me. 
 
By the way, yesterday I ordered PK90 online and sent an email to Auraliti with request to supply an extra cable for connecting NuForce LPS-1 to Auraliti PK90. In 1st place it was a pleasant surprise to receive a positive answer in 3-4 hours and this was on Sunday! Moreover, Ray Burnham from Auraliti advised that they upgraded PK90 case to aluminium enclosure! They were planning to announce it late next month but launching it now. So I will get my PK90 in new case! As Ray said I'm lucky 

 . 

 
Nice! Ray is a good guy, usually really quite to reply. That's good news about the enclosure - I'm jealous now. 

 

[SoupRKnowva]

Quote:

 
Yes, I was considering CAPS but for utilising it with OS based on Windows. Unfortunately I'm not literate with Linux so that's I why was looking for a complete solution with pre-installed foolproof Linux with MPD. So, Auraliti seems to be the right choice for me. 
 
By the way, yesterday I ordered PK90 online and sent an email to Auraliti with request to supply an extra cable for connecting NuForce LPS-1 to Auraliti PK90. In 1st place it was a pleasant surprise to receive a positive answer in 3-4 hours and this was on Sunday! Moreover, Ray Burnham from Auraliti advised that they upgraded PK90 case to aluminium enclosure! They were planning to announce it late next month but launching it now. So I will get my PK90 in new case! As Ray said I'm lucky 

 . 

Ah, that makes sense. You can certainly do Linux on a CAPS, but it wouldn't be easy for someone that's not an advanced computer user already.
 
I've been thinking about doing like Vortexbox or something instead of running windows with foobar2k on mine when I get around to building it. It would certainly be cheaper...