Tejo

I have nearly finished the office part of my house. I have fiber in currently at 1 000 Mbit/s (upgradable to 10 000 Mbit/s) so I went "all in" and had a total of 6 network cables installed before the walls went up. This is probably more than I need but as an example the music in the office will be from a Hegel H190 integrated amp that needs cable to work with the network. My knowledge in setting up a network is fairly good, but it's not something I have explored from a hifi point of view. I'm a sceptic to "hifi ethernet cables" so I'm more looking for high quality that does the job and hopefully will make the best of any limitations to the format – if there is any real ones to watch out for. I have read about network switches here at CA before but can't seem to find my way back to that thread. Recommendations by people suggesting a switch model that was especially good with some kind of modification that did something to the ground(?). What kind of networks switch was that and have anyone here tried it? Or will any high quality switch do the job just as well? Linear power supplies seems to be the trend these days (and UltraCap). I have some experience of these things in streamers and computers making a difference. I will later build a NUC with ROCK (or buy Nucleus) and will have that machine in the same small server/network area of the house. Is a linear power supply something to consider for the network switch and will it make a difference? As far as cables go I'm thinking of using Blue Jeans Cable Cat 6 or similar. Should do the job? Very thankful for any recommendations or suggestions!

Thanks guys, I did a small test today and I think I heard improvements when using wifi. Since it's a delay of maybe 30 seconds when switching and I only did change back and forth three times I will try to test this over the weekend again to confirm. Hopefully I also get time to play with Lightning DS. I initially ordered and payed for a Sonore Signature Rendu that was supposedly in stock and would be sent to me immediately. For weeks I was promised that it would be sent "tomorrow". Halfway through the third week I got tiered of waiting and, since I had been reading a lot during this time thinking of buying something from someone appreciating their customers more, I ended up ordering the Aries G2 unheard and payed upfront. I had never heard anything from Auralic before, other than a friend of a friend who owned an Aries mini. I did like how the microRendu and later ultraRendu performed but I never expected the Aries G2 to take such a big leap forward in perceived sound quality. I just hoped for a slightly better sound in a one box solution.

I use my Auralic Aries G2 with Chord DAVE and have not experienced any problem. My guess is that the support forum attracts people with issues, so it will highlight issues and not represent the percentage of devices with errors or defects. Only thing I have experienced is it the Aries G2 freezing maybe five or six times during the last 6 moths. A simple re-boot and it all worked flawlessly again. Two things I have yet to test is to go use wifi instead of ethernet and to test if I like Lightning DS – since I read some saying it "sounds" better than Roon on the Aries G2 (even hearing this is some "official" statement from Auralic). The wifi part is easy, if I do feel I distinguish a difference I choose whatever is preferable. Moving away from Roon is not something I want to do though. If Lightning DS does in fact feel superior then I will do some more serious blind test before switching. Overall I'm very surprised that the Aries G2 performs so much better that my old microRendu powered by LPS-1. I also demoed it against the ultraRendu with LPS-1 with a surprisingly clear level of improvement. Yes, the Aries G2 expensive but the performance increase from the microRendu really is on pair with the price. When all those G2 boxes become available I'm hoping my dealer can lend me the full G2 stack for a demo in my system against the Aries G2 with Chord DAVE. That would be really interesting (and maybe another expensive experience ? )

When looking at the Aries I was hoping, and interpreting, that it would improve the sound because ut was not limited by specs of the source. This was also why I was starting to look at upgrading my DAC with a network renderer. Number 1 I think that, from what I know, I can't really upgrade from MSB Analogue DAC without spending a fortune. I also have the Chord Hugo for a smaller system and for portability but I like the sound of the MSB better. Number 2 The MSB has it's own separate and upgraded power source and the Nagras are built like tanks. So the power supply to clean would be the Mac Mini for a quality linear. Or simply build a new system (I'm very familiar with customizing/building computers) with linear PSU and all things "CAPS" that I think would make any difference. Number 3 Yeah I know. I should compromise more, but when everything looks just right you kind of wish that there would be a shortcut somewhere to better sound. I am more and more convinced that this is what I should do first and foremost. I have really good contact with my MSB dealer so I will ask immediately if he knows when I can audition it. And I have lots of faith in MSB, even though they tend to always be priced over what I would like to spend I have never been let down. Not even when I wanted to get something more affordable ... When using this interface will the Mac Mini simply work as a server? So no more Audirvana or Amarra and just a good server option and player (like Jriver)? Am I understanding this correctly?

Thank you guys! So none of you suggest I should go with the streamer option? Auralic Aries sounds nice on paper, but I have not auditioned or even heard it myself. If I use "MSB Network Renderer" then Amarra would not even be used, since the Mac Mini works strictly as a server? Would streaming from WiMP HiFi still work smoothly? And will the Mac Minis shortcomings in sound quality not be noticeable? I can also consider some Acoustic treatment as long as it looks good enough (or as little as possible)

Hey guys, Since I am new here and this is my first post I hope you bear with me. I have been reading this forum many times and figured I should finally register and get some advice and hopefully also contribute to something. In my quest of finding out what I could do to improve the sound quality of my system I have been reading and googling a lot this weekend. At first I was almost confident it would be Amarra Symphony 3 with IRC and Amarra SQ. My living room is open planned, lots of windows and tiled floor. This is where I have my setup, even though I know it is not the best room in acoustic sense. This is why I was tempted in reducing the negative effects with digital room correction. But then I found out about Auralic Aries, so I started to read everything I could find. Even though it was a lot of great info by you guys (thanks!) it kind of only made me less certain on where to go next. Let me start with my setup: Mac Mini (Non modified i7 from 2011 with 2xSSD) –> USB cable -> MSB The Analogue DAC (with upgraded power base) –> RCA cables -> Nagra VPA –> Marten Django XL I use WiMP HiFi on the Mac Mini often on AirPlay (via AirServer) and I have 1000+ albums in iTunes from CD Quality to DSD played with the help of Amarra or Audirvana. I guess that I should add that the Mac Mini also doubles as a media central a couple of times a week. A few scenarios: 1. Get a Auralic Aries and keep the rest as it is 2. Upgrade my Mac Mini with linear PSU (or just get something new like CAPS?) and also get Amarra Symphony 3 with IRC or similar. 3. Get that new "MSB Network Renderer" for my DAC and use the Mac Mini as a server (?) 4. Something else entirely or partially I will be really happy for just about any feedback. Everything from hunches to expert knowledge.