Custodian

Sorry. I had done some trial and error with different master clocks with my w20. Common upgrades use a rubidium clock instead of the standard crystal clock although the reason for the sound improvements of the rubidium clock is not clear given that short term stability is often not better. the BVA clock produced by Oscilloquartz in Switzerland uses one piece of crystal cut in such a way that temperature gradients are reduced producing very good Phase noise. As part of some experimental work, I had the opportunity to try an Oscilloquartz 8607 BVA oscillator in my System and was very definitely blown out of the water! Sadly Oscilloquartz have now stopped production as too expensive though I understand Cybershaft had managed to source something similar. i hope that helps although I’m sorry I can’t give you a detailed description. Oscilloquartz datasheets might show up om Google and that might provide some information

I agree. Blowing out of the water is a lot to ask. Last time it happened to me was when I added a BVA clock to my Aurender w20/ DCS System. The unexpected degree of improvement was staggering. it is possible that there are other changes of major magnitude. For my bank account, I hope I don’t meet any others soon!

The latest app version depends on which model. 4.18,125 is the latest for my w20. check in the software box in the Conductor App. It will check you have latest software for your player

I tried a number of usb cables with several twin AES and BNC cables. For all cables, usb was worst. twin reference Siltech Aes was, in my system, slower and less detailed than my best BNC reference cables from Shunyata and Furutech. Comparison using both my current Aurender w20 and my previous Aurender s10 into DCS (both Vivaldi and Scarlatti) between Qobus and Tidal, I prefer sound quality from Qobus, particularly with their HiRez files compared to somewhat coloured Tidal. hope that helps, but remember as always, your own mileage may differ!

Having compared various usb cables with top BNC cables from Furutech and Shunyata, I must declare it no contest. Asynchronous usb might be a clock solution but at a high price in sq. for me, any alternative streamer must have facility to synch with my Oscilloquartz bva 8607 masterclock. The improvement of ultra accurate clocking is huge.

Interesting piece of equipment. How does the Taiko synchronise the time clock with the rest of the digital system? For me, being able to lock the time signal to my external BVA master clock would be an essential piece of the spec. The Taiko site seems a bit sparse with information.

Thanks for your interest. i use two of the large single thickness damping plates side by side. The w20 sits on the m3x platform. i use same arrangement under each dcs component and BVA master clock and Ayre KXR preamp. each Halcr monoblocks sits on an m3 platform. the effects on the w20 are additive so I don’t have any info on effect of single dampinb plate without m3 base. hope that helps david

I agree that footers make a significant difference. Also damping plates on top of the Aurender can help sound quality. I use HRS support (equipment rack plus feet) and the HRS damping plates. All make a worthwhile difference for my W20.

Since many w20 users chose the w20 because of the facility to lock to an external masterclock, the clock upgrade in the w20se will be redundant. Replacing the psu with a linear power supply should be worthwhile. That should be possible as an upgrade if Aurender or a third party supplier would help. Otherwise not too much to tempt me to trade up.

Sound quality is the most important thing for me. Aurender w20 with high precision external masterclock wins every time compared with current Roon offerings. Hopefully Aurender will stay abreast of developments such as Roon and incorporate them where possible however never at the expense of sound quality.

I am very happy with my W20. The main feature for me which makes the W20 so good is the ability to synch to the external master clock which, in my system, is a BVA Oscilloquartz oscillator which provides unequalled stability. Any possible alternative streamer would have to have the ability to synch in the same way.

I have to agree. It sounds like you have a system problem somewhere that is making Tidal sound so bad. I have w20 and I often get to listen to my old s10 which I gave to a friend. W20 is clearly better but s10 on Tidal still sounds fine. Check out your system!

i guess that’s what makes this hobby so interesting. In my system, the use of 75 ohm digital cables easily outperform either 110 ohm or USB. Difference is a more dynamic sound. Of course it is important that you have good quality clock cables in use. a good friend who bought my original s10 Aurender had exactly similar experiences with connection to his DCs Paganini.

I am surprised that you are using usb to connect usb to dcs. In my experience, spdif 75 ohm plus separate clock cable gives much better results. Top Shunyata or Furutech Cables give superb results. i have used Siltech signature series usb in the past but I would not recommend using usb connections here.

I like the top. I use the Harmonic Resolution damping plate which is very effective but your option is much more of a conversation piece!