sg60

Thanks for the response. I've managed to get that far and I can see the MicroRendu zone in JRiver but when I attempt to play music using JRemote there's no joy. I guess I'll have to keep fiddling. At least I know from you and others that it should work.

I was wondering if anyone is using JRiver/JRemote with a Microrendu? I have been trying to get this working and have completely struck out so far. Could someone explain the settings or any other tips required to get this working?

Thank you for the review Chris. Can you tell me how the Aries compares to the SOtM sMS-100 Mini-Server in terms of sound quality? Like many people I have been intrigued by the Aries but last year I decided to buy the sMS-100 Mini-Server based to a large degree on your favourable review. The Mini-Server is obviously a more simplistic device with fewer features than the Aries (and a price that reflects this). Truth is, I don't really need all of the excellent features offered by the Aries because I really only wanted to stream music from my NAS and use J River as my control point. The sMS-100 does this perfectly well for my needs. But the lingering question I have relates to the quality of sound delivered by the two devices. Is there a premium in sound quality delivered by the Auralic Aries that would justify the extra cost of the Aries relative to the sMS-100? Thanks again.

Thank you for the review Chris. Can you tell me how the Aries compares to the SOtM sMS-100 Mini-Server in terms of sound quality? Like many people I have been intrigued by the Aries but last year I decided to buy the sMS-100 Mini-Server based to a large degree on your favourable review. The Mini-Server is obviously a more simplistic device with fewer features than the Aries (and a price that reflects this). Truth is, I don't really need all of the excellent features offered by the Aries because I really only wanted to stream music from my NAS and use J River as my control point. The sMS-100 does this perfectly well for my needs. But the lingering question I have relates to the quality of sound delivered by the two devices. Is there a premium in sound quality delivered by the Auralic Aries that would justify the extra cost of the Aries relative to the sMS-100? Thanks again.

Thanks for the review Chris. I've been reading about the Auralic Aries but hadn't heard about this device. However, I'm disappointed to hear that when paired with the Ayre QB9 it only produced good sound. The QB9 is my primary DAC and I'm wondering why the results weren't better. Any thoughts on that? You mention that the QB9 is a completely isolated DAC. Can you explain what you mean by that?

The one major benefit I can see if the Auralic Aries does coexist with a J River implementation is that you would not need to have your computer near the stereo. The computer with J River could be in a different room and connected to the Aries through Ethernet cable or wirelessly and the Aries would in turn connect to the DAC through whatever cable you use. This should considerably reduce noise in the room where the music is played. That is a big benefit in my mind (although at a considerable cost).

I'll check them out.

I came across Goldpoint in my searching and it sounds like it's possible.

Thanks to everyone for your suggestions.

Thanks, I'll do that.

Do you know if their products had good reputations?

I have an Ayre Ax7E amplifier that I'm very happy with but have used up all of the available inputs and would really like to figure out a way to add at least one more (preferably a balanced input which is the recommended choice on Ayre amps). I've searched the web looking for solutions and although there are devices like this out there I've never come across one made by a manufacturer that I feel I can trust. I'm obviously concerned about degrading the signal if the device is not of the highest quality. Can anyone recommend an audiophile quality device that would solve this problem or suggest any other solutions? Thanks.

Thanks to everyone for the feedback.

Can anyone tell me what the maximum recommended length of a coaxial digital audio cable is? Are there any limitations to this cable (sample rate, bit depth, etc.)? If you have the option is a coaxial or TOSLINK cable preferred? Thanks very much.

Fair enough.