Koso

Ari was the epitome of excellent Aurender service. Sad news.

V3 is stable indeed! I've spent more time on V3 recently just for that. I am testing current V4 beta now. So far so good.

Information for all those who are not satisfied with current Conductor V4 iPad OS app. I was in touch with Aurender support for a minor issue and was advised to try the beta version of Conductor V4, which is said to be "much more stable" than the current public version. I tried it and it's in fact much more stable! For me, all the repeated disconnections and constant loading of the database disappeared. Especially loading the application from the background is much faster and most importantly without losing the connection. If you want a more stable version right away, I recommend switching to the beta. The procedure is simple and is on the Aurender website here: https://ask.aurender.com/hc/en-us/articles/19629437629335-How-to-Install-Conductor-V4-Beta-for-iPad- Who doesn't want to mess with the beta version, at least there is finally real hope that the situation will improve significantly in the following public versions.

…I have tested V4 on my setup today. Tested on iPhone 13 pro, iPad Pro 1st gen. and iPad mini current gen. Overall experience is positive, new app runs stable so far on both iPads and iPhone. Refresh time when app is opened from background is noticeably better, almost instant. Browsing through big library in album cover mode is fast and more smooth than before. Good job Aurender!!! Here are some small design observations: - Corners of cover art are sharp now, I liked slightly rounded corners of cover art more. - Font size under album cover is bigger, smaller font from older app was visually more appealing. - Tap and hold gesture on song for popup features like “go to album” is missing. This was more intuitive before. - When you tap on playlist/queue pane area, this area is automatically widened and in this state there is huge unused space created - see screenshot. Such empty area on limited display space is visually unpleasant and ergonomically wrong. Why not to use it for more information about the tune? Bitrate, genre, star rating. Especially star rating, which was there before, is missing. I was used to do star rating on the fly, during listening session. Is it possible to bring it back?

…it's nice to know the correct current flow in SR fuse, but many times it's useless because you don't know the current flow in the device…

I did exactly that. Tried both orientations, picked the one which I liked more. Sometimes this process is not as easy as it sounds (the difference is not always as obvious as SR claims) but in the case of PhoenixUSB it was quite clear which orientation is “right”.

Depends on your DAC and quality of inputs. Which input is best in my DAC? Thats the question you should ask yourself first. In my case DAC Holo Audio Spring 3 KTE has excellent USB input. PhoenixUSB was able to uplift already good USB input (or streamer output for that case, depends on how you look at usb reclocker) into even higher sonic quality. I have tested several additional DDC to add between PhoenixUSB and Spring DAC using I2S or AES/EBU input. I have tested Matrix Audio Spdif 2, Matrix Audio Spdif 3, Holo Audio Red and Denafrips Gaia. All those DDC units are great in its price point, Gaia being the best overall. But IN MY SETUP none of these are better sounding than Innuos PhoenixUSB + Spring 3 usb input. I have also tested all DDCs without PhoenixUSB. Adding Phoenix USB was always little bit better sounding, but anyway, in all cases the basic sound signature was more or less overwritten by character of tested DDC. So in my case I am not using DDC in main setup right now. In setup where DAC has best input other than USB (which is probably the case with most DACs) the situation could be different and I would strongly advice to test DDC, or USB reclocker + DDC, especially when I2S dac input is the option. To your second question. SR Purple fuse in PhoenixUSB is keeper! Coincidentally it looks like Purple fuse has biggest impact (meaning audible sound quality improvement) on PhoenixUSB out of all my gear. And I have Purple fuses in all devices right now. In Aurender streamer, Spring DAC and Moon amp. SR fuses has different magnitude of SQ impact in different gear, even if all audible and all for good. Replacing fuse inside PhoenixUSB with Purple (3,15 Amp.) had immediate and very audible positive effect, which has improved after burn in period even further. By the way, I have just added PhoenixNET to my setup and I am definitely purchasing Purple fuse for it. So yes, highly recommended!

Quick update. After remote check from Aurender support the HDD icon issue was resolved. And in addition I have installed latest firmware (V5.23.218 for N100), which changed icon display behavior a bit. The icon is either visible or not displayed at all, so no more gray (inactive) icons. I like it better this way, it is clear and unambiguous.

After latest (current) firmware update on my N100H, HDD icon on the display is still white as on the photo, indicates hdd operating, even if hdd is idle (when I can hear that hdd is not spinning). Icon never goes gray as before. Soft restart or hard ON/ OFF cycle not helping. Is it known bug, or is something wrong with my unit? Anyone noticed the same?

If you want to control switching another devices (amp, DAC etc.) ON/OFF by Aurender. Another device of course must have trigger input (which is quite common on many hifi gear, usually located on the back panel). If you connect for example amplifier and dac via this device to Aurender, you can switch on both units remotely using Aurender. In this case you can even set which port is active and you can set power on sequence and delay in Conductor app. This is especially useful when some device don't have remote and you have to switch device ON/OFF manually. You just switch ON Aurender and connected gear switches automatically ON as well. Same with switching OFF.

...Just in case you haven't noticed a little new device from Aurender. "TD100" 12V Trigger Dongle. This small cube will provide trigger out functionality on your Aurender streamer (attached to any free usb port). It can really be useful for someone. Does anyone have it already?

Iiro Rnatala 2020 recording in hi-res

Yes, that's the plan. PhoenixUSB is doing magic in my setup.

Yes, few things. First of all, adding SR Purple fuse was immediate sound improvement. I can only recommend this fuse, especially for digital devices. And mentioned usb cables are great also. Especially Stealth usb cables are great. After many swaps and tests I ended by initial setup - Shunyata Alpha on input and Stealth on output side of Phoenix.

Just installed SR Purple fuse and brand new Shunyata Alpha USB cable (right now Alpha is on input and Stealth USB cable on output side, will try swap them too). Will report my findings in few weeks after cable, fuse and PhoenixUSB itself will be burned in.