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Grobec

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  1. Are they reserving a Mini for you? If they have an accepted order then they should get stock pretty soon. Depending on where you live you might find one closer to home as well.Due to faster customs clearance UK and Europe got dealer delivery a bit earlier than North America.
  2. Shunt5 dealers who preordered were shipped this week from the west coast. Figure transit time to your preferred dealer. if the timetable works for you then make sure to cement your order since demand is high and the first delivery product is pretty much sold out. (At dealer level) and many dealers took pre-orders from their customers too. Auralic has a large customer base (many countries) so not easy to keep up with the demand.
  3. Hehe Jumping is fun in a good natured way. Clarity is important especially for newcomers to the product and our A'phile addiction. :-)) I am often clues but workin' on it.
  4. Yes, of course, this is indeed the Mini thread. I believed that r-w was wishing for a yet unavailable XLR output. Since I did not know he was referring to analog, I suggested the "full" ARIES which does have XLR but only "digital". His after post cleared that up. The rca outputs of the Mini are indeed analog as you suggested.
  5. Hi Mikey. FWIW and, I know the feeling of attachment to our much hard work and $$$ investments in physical libraries, I am heading in a bit of a different direction. I too wish to remove any [non dedicated] computers from my Audio rig.["Everything matters"] If one calculates the cost of a NAS, HDs, wires, possible router upgrades, [and of course our time], it all adds up very quickly. We are even waiting anxiously for SSD drives to get cheaper so we can spend more. Maybe they sound better??? I took my "favourites", Hi-Res, DSD [totaling about 6tb] and put them on two LaCie 4tb fanless drives. One I plugged directly to my Mini and the other I left on My older Mac where Mini sees it as a "networked" library. [could also be plugged to the router if it has a USB HD input]. With the $$ savings I then subscribed to Tidal where I have virtually unlimited access to more music than I could enjoy in my lifetime. [Redbook quality] I feel this is the future and, although difficult, weaning ourselves off the "physical" and local ownership of a library makes more sense today than ever thanks to Auralic and others who are making this route more affordable and user friendly. Just a suggestion so do the math and see what works best for you.
  6. Tell us more SVP. Are you already set up to install it?
  7. It is a rather special little box isn't it? YOU BET! I have so many people calling me and with different uses in mind. - in their main audio rack feeding their existing systems while eliminating the need for a computer or even a NAS - for Aries owners, a perfect solution for a second zone that takes it's library from the Aries. - as a portable device plugged into powered speakers on the deck or roof top. - how about his one...... in the car with a DC PSU as the front end of your car stereo system. -I travel a lot so the Mini, with an internal drive for library, goes with me everywhere and I just need a portable speaker I can buy anywhere. The mini takes less space than my shaving kit or electric toothbrush. I am sure some others here can add to this list. Its a weekend so please chime in.
  8. hI Sorry but my blurb was not really meant as a comparative dialog [ many will be doing that soon who are better qualified than me] but as a first impression similar to what you or any new owner may have when getting the product. As I intimated above " my original expectations were exceeded in every way". If you ever have wished that SBT [squeezeBox] development had continued and evolved into a 2015+ product, then the the Mini is a dream come true.
  9. Hi I did the set up using ethernet and then tried wifi later. It worked fine with all resolutions. I had PCM Hi-Res and DSD 1x/2x on an ext drive plugged to a Mac Mini using Minim Server and it worked like a charm with E and WF. I was using USB output exclusively. SPDIF should be fine to 24/192. What are you hearing? And only when wireless?
  10. Disclaimer: I am a dealer but will do my best to express my impressions [ very “mini" review] of the Mini as the avid consumer that I also am. Packaging. Beautifully done in what I would call a very attractive and complimentary to Apple products presentation and double box. It is very nicely done but not so “over the top” that we might accuse Auralic of putting too much of our hard earned dough into the packaging. I give it a 9.5/10 for nailing the perfect balance. Quick start instructions are clear and simple as well as having a link to the appropriate full set up instructions on the Auralic support site. There is a tool kit included and separate instructions for those who wish to also install an internal hard drive. Another 9.5 for the thoughtfulness behind this feature. I will skip most of the product description and specs since there are ample pictures floating around as well as info on the Auralic site. The connections to DAC are ample USB, coax or Toslink. Analog output by RCA. There is also a USB port for a local external HD and an RG45 port for an ethernet cable. Power is a standard wall wart. The set up is straight forward. [reading and following the online instructions helps too]. After powering up the Mini, look for the Auralic option in the available WiFi networks on your IPAD and then follow the instructions. This initial “Auralic” connection is important as it then gives you control of the Mini settings from your Pad so you can reset the Mini to your actual router network with ip and password. [ Auralic suggests 5GHz]. Then reset the IPAD back to your router network too. Depending on the size and location of your library it can take from a few minute to many hours to completely scan and load the library on your IPAD. Have patience and just let it do it’s thing [iPAD plugged to power so it does not die] and go have a coffee, go exercise or meditate somewhere. When the library is fully loaded it now becomes time to enjoy your music. First impressions on SQ. I first loaded a 2tb Seagate Slim drive, AAC VBR[320] library, that I use for traveling and connected to the USB input of the Mini. Sound Quality was refreshingly good but initially a bit congested and noticeably less “relaxed” than my full blown Aries reference. Switching to a network drive of redbook cd made a predictable difference but still not up to the SQ of the Aries.[ no surprise given the cost difference] I let the system play overnight with my amp turned off to let the Mini burn in a bit. The next day I played a combination of music from the AAC and FLAC libraries as well as Tidal HiFi and some internet radio stations, mostly 56 to 128. The sound was already opening up considerably and becoming more dynamic after just about 15 hours of burn in. ISO and 1x +2x DSD played flawlessly with no drops. [wired and wireless] THEN, I remembered the external power supply that I use for the Aries. Gee, it also fits the Mini. The external power source upped the game considerably. Big difference in tone, clarity, pace, you name it, it got better compared to the wall wart that comes stock with the Mini. The Mini was designed, I believe, as an affordable Auralic product that gives “very good sound quality with a modern and intuitive User interface". To me it certainly lives up to this goal and actually surpassed my expectations. I did not expect the Mini to rival the Aries @ < 1/3 the price but It blew the doors of my Sonos rig that we use for casual background music and invites one to actually sit down and enjoy a listening session. I highly recommend the optional [Aries] power supply which Auralic has now made available as a separate upgrade accessory.[MSRP $299]. In the USA the Mini [MSRP $459] comes bundled with a one year subscription to Tidal Music HiFi Service [CD quality] which,if you have not tried it, I also recommend. All my listening was done using the digital output to a PS Audio DirectStream DAC. I have not yet auditioned with the analog out [single ended RCA] but rumour has it that this also gives very positive results. From the Auralic site: "Through Lightning DS, AURALiC’s control software, ARIES MINI can stream music stored on network attached storage, USB disk and optional internal storage. It also supports TIDAL, Qobuz and WiMP lossless streaming services. The other streaming sources are vTuner Internet Radio, AirPlay from Apple devices and Songcast for Windows and Mac system. The input of ARIES MINI includes Gigabit Ethernet, 802.11ac dual-band WiFi, USB input and optional internal storage such as 2.5’ hard disk or solid-state drive. The outputs are USB audio that is compatible with DACs, which do not require driver to work on Mac system. The digital audio outputs include Coaxial and Toslink with maximum supported sampling rate up to 24Bit/192k. The single-ended analog output drive by internal DAC supports all sampling rate up to Quad-Rate DSD and DXD. “Enjoy The Music” With kind regards G
  11. He certainly gets my vote too! Distinctive will remember that I went through the try to support challenge for a number of years. Was fun though and we learn a lot and get to meet a lot of fine folks. On and off the forums. thanks again Barr.
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