Auralic Aries Mini

[misterdog]

14 hours ago, Lion Tamer said:

'Fraid not - an oblique Wire reference

Great track all the same.

 

My go to music for driving through that there London.

 

 

[ednaz]

On 5/29/2017 at 5:14 PM, Lion Tamer said:

Problem solved. Taking ednaz's advice I signed up for the Beta firmware.  Works like a dream now wired or wireless.  Thanks so much for the help and advice.  Very happy!

Nice to hear. The issues apparently were issues with the linux build they were using underneath.

[Miklaszewski]

Has anyone tried the beta firmware with a MQA dac? I use the mytek brooklyn and with the beta firmware, as it decodes via software, I cant get native mqa from tidal. Had to reverse to latest build. Is there a way to disable mqa software decoding on the beta firmware?

[Cornan]

1 hour ago, Miklaszewski said:

Has anyone tried the beta firmware with a MQA dac? I use the mytek brooklyn and with the beta firmware, as it decodes via software, I cant get native mqa from tidal. Had to reverse to latest build. Is there a way to disable mqa software decoding on the beta firmware?

 

I use Aries Mini in Lightning 5.0 with native MQA without any problem together with my Brooklyn DAC. To enable native MQA in 5.0 you´ll need to browse into the web interface (ip no of your lightning server) and enable MQA pass through under MQA playback setup.

 

[Lion Tamer]

Hello again,

 

You'll never get rid of me now.

 

I've started to rip all my CDs using DBPoweramp - a long and strangely therapeutic process - but I have had some trouble with the metadata for compilations and Lightning DS.

 

What I would like is a string (?) that puts all my compilations in a folder named 'Various Artists' > 'Album Title' > then each track by Individual artist name & track name.

 

e.g Various Artists > The Hits Hurt > The Pastels - Unfair Kind Of Fame 

 

At the moment, when I rip a compilation, Lightning DS shows me the album name, but when I look at the tracks within, it shows no artist information, just the track name - which is something of a pain.  

 

Do any of you guys know a way around this? I'm sure there's a line that would do it for me in DBPoweramp, but when I have experimented it has given me a lot of strange muti-foldered results!

 

Thanks for your patience!

[misterdog]

Sorry I cant help but the DB Poweramp forum may..

https://forum.dbpoweramp.com/

[ednaz]

3 hours ago, Lion Tamer said:

Hello again,

 

You'll never get rid of me now.

 

I've started to rip all my CDs using DBPoweramp - a long and strangely therapeutic process - but I have had some trouble with the metadata for compilations and Lightning DS.

 

What I would like is a string (?) that puts all my compilations in a folder named 'Various Artists' > 'Album Title' > then each track by Individual artist name & track name.

 

e.g Various Artists > The Hits Hurt > The Pastels - Unfair Kind Of Fame 

 

At the moment, when I rip a compilation, Lightning DS shows me the album name, but when I look at the tracks within, it shows no artist information, just the track name - which is something of a pain.  

 

Do any of you guys know a way around this? I'm sure there's a line that would do it for me in DBPoweramp, but when I have experimented it has given me a lot of strange muti-foldered results!

 

Thanks for your patience!

You may want to check the DBPoweramp forum for more details, but... having done the mass ripping thing, and still buying a CD here and there, here's what I can tell you.

 

When DBP reads the CD and shows you what it knows based on what's on the CD and looking in the remote data sites, THAT is when you need to act.  Edit the metadata at the top right then, and make sure it's going to be applied to all the files. Check out the instructions for the app to make sure you get exactly how to do it.  (Not near my library right now.)  If you get all the metadata, particularly the "Album Artist", which should be Various or "Various Artists" or whatever you're choosing, the rip process will put them all in a folder tagged properly.

 

You can fix almost anything in a good library manager by editing the metadata so that all songs agree. Besides the problems with compilations, sometimes one song will get genre tag "blues" with all the rest in "rock" or something equally annoying. But fixing it before you rip means you don't find problems later on.

A couple tips on that. I don't rip straight into my library. I rip to a temporary library, so that I can check to be sure that compilations and such were done properly.  Sometimes even an album that isn't a compilation will get broken up because "album artist" for one file is different, usually because there's a guest artist.  Or genre tags vary by song.  Once I'm done ripping, I then copy the files to my library, which means I can make sure things land in the right place. Example: some rips will go to a file "Various" some to "Various Artists" some to "Compilation."  After ripping, you can fix that in the folder name, and make sure things are copied to the right place. I've had rips where the artist's name was spelled wrong, so I fixed it at rip time or once I noticed it, after.

I can't speak to anything that might be special about how Lightning DS then behaves. I've tried multiple library and playback managers, and settled on JRiver because every library manager seems to handle some thing or another differently.  The old Logitech library and playback manager almost NEVER broke up a compilation unless it was broken when it went into the library. I've seen iTunes break them even when right, ditto for Lightning DS back when I was still using it. I've always favored learning one tool deeply over many tools, and JRiver works with every streamer in my house, even the ancient Logitech boxes in guest bedrooms.

[Guido Del Giudice]

I am still having a problem with the Aries mini...

 

There is a slight background noise [like crackling and light static] coming through the speakers when no music is playing. This gets louder as I turn up the volume on the amp.

 

It only occurs when I use the internal DAC on the Mini.

 

It does not happen when I use an external USB DAC.

 

I have tried everything but nothing changes.

 

I have used a different power supply - sBooster LPS

I have used different RCA cables to the amp.

i have used different power cables, tried connecting to different wall outlets.

I have turned off the external HDD and listened to Tidal only

 

All of the above resulted in no change whatsoever which leads me to conclude that there is a problem with my unit.

 

It has done this from day 1 but I used it for a long time with an external DAC so it didn't bother me...now that I use it with its internal DAC the problem is there and noticeable...

 

 

Any suggestions?

[mjb]

Are you using 5.0 beta firmware? If so, try reverting to 4.1.0.

Are you able to test if static occurs on the optical output?

Have you contacted Auralic support ?

[ednaz]

2 hours ago, Guido Del Giudice said:

I am still having a problem with the Aries mini...

 

There is a slight background noise [like crackling and light static] coming through the speakers when no music is playing. This gets louder as I turn up the volume on the amp.

 

It only occurs when I use the internal DAC on the Mini.

 

It does not happen when I use an external USB DAC.

 

I have tried everything but nothing changes.

 

I have used a different power supply - sBooster LPS

I have used different RCA cables to the amp.

i have used different power cables, tried connecting to different wall outlets.

I have turned off the external HDD and listened to Tidal only

 

All of the above resulted in no change whatsoever which leads me to conclude that there is a problem with my unit.

 

It has done this from day 1 but I used it for a long time with an external DAC so it didn't bother me...now that I use it with its internal DAC the problem is there and noticeable...

 

 

Any suggestions?

If you're NOT on the beta firmware, get on it. I've seen a few different problems get cured by the beta firmware.

 

But most important, do contact Aries support.  They're pretty good.

[Guido Del Giudice]

5.0 beta firmware did not work for me...erased my entire library and had endless problems..I reverted back to 4.1.0

 

I have not tried optical but Auralic support reckons it is a problem with the analog output circuitry and it will probably have to go back for repair...dang!

[Sean Prevost]

I have Aries and Vega streaming off a NFS share on my MacBook Pro. I'm having trouble getting DFF files to play.  I've successfully played DSF files at dsd64 at 5.6448mbps so it's not a problem with speed or DOP over PCM.

 

When I play DFF files the lightning app selects the file the Aries shows 0/8 for the track and the counter is at zero. The track shows as selected at the bottom of the lighting app but it won't start. The Vega also displays 176.4ks but not dsd64

[pl_svn]

just bought an Aries mini for my girlfriend's house

she works for the largest italian internet provider but... she has no network/internet connection at home 

(... females! )

 

question: will it work with just a USB HD?

(setup will be done at my house *with* an internet connection )

[intensemojo]

Maybe a dumb question. I have a Node 2 only passing Tidal hifi and Masters (MQA) digitally to my Brooklyn. Is there a sonic benefit in getting the Mini and still only using it as a Tidal streamer?

 

Any advantage using the USB out. 

 

I see Beta 5.0 passes MQA now which is why I am considering it.

[Sean Prevost]

18 minutes ago, pl_svn said:

just bought an Aries mini for my girlfriend's house

she works for the largest italian internet provider but... she has no network/internet connection at home 

(... females! )

 

question: will it work with just a USB HD?

(setup will be done at my house *with* an internet connection )

I believe it will

[Sean Prevost]

17 minutes ago, intensemojo said:

Maybe a dumb question. I have a Node 2 only passing Tidal hifi and Masters (MQA) digitally to my Brooklyn. Is there a sonic benefit in getting the Mini and still only using it as a Tidal streamer?

 

Any advantage using the USB out. 

 

I see Beta 5.0 passes MQA now which is why I am considering it.

I'm not sure if you get it with a return window you could always try it out. There are reviews that prefer the usb output on the Aries 

[Enrok]

I cannot try the aries mini before buying it there are no seller around where I live. Can you tell if it would give a better sound for the listening  of  Qobuz or Tidal than my iphone directly connected to the dac (an atoll HD100).And what are the improvement observed?

[Bob M.]

On 6/23/2017 at 5:45 AM, Enrok said:

I cannot try the aries mini before buying it there are no seller around where I live. Can you tell if it would give a better sound for the listening  of  Qobuz or Tidal than my iphone directly connected to the dac (an atoll HD100).And what are the improvement observed?

I have both and cannot tell the difference between the two on Tidal content.  That said, I need the Aries Mini because the Node 2 does NOT do native DSD.  Happy listening!

[Bob M.]

On 6/21/2017 at 9:54 AM, intensemojo said:

Maybe a dumb question. I have a Node 2 only passing Tidal hifi and Masters (MQA) digitally to my Brooklyn. Is there a sonic benefit in getting the Mini and still only using it as a Tidal streamer?

 

Any advantage using the USB out. 

 

I see Beta 5.0 passes MQA now which is why I am considering it.

I have both and cannot tell the difference between the two on Tidal content.  That said, I need the Aries Mini because the Node 2 does NOT do native DSD.  If you do not have any DSD files, I would stick with the Node 2.  BTW - the Aries Mini passed MQA content just fine to my Brooklyn DAC before the Beta 5.0 firmware update.   Happy listening!

[intensemojo]

Thanks. Saved me from buying something I don't need.

 

[Facel]

On 30/06/2017 at 8:13 AM, Bob M. said:

I have both and cannot tell the difference between the two (Aries mini vs Bluesound node 2) on Tidal content.

High Bob

 

Regarding audio quality through the analog outputs, which one is best sounding according to you ?

 

thanks for your feed back

[Bob M.]

On 7/2/2017 at 3:27 AM, Facel said:

High Bob

 

Regarding audio quality through the analog outputs, which one is best sounding according to you ?

 

thanks for your feed back

It's very close to me.  Aries might sound a little more open and full.  Honestly, I am not sure I could tell the difference in an A/B test

[Enrok]

On 23/06/2017 at 2:45 PM, Enrok said:

I cannot try the aries mini before buying it there are no seller around where I live. Can you tell if it would give a better sound for the listening  of  Qobuz or Tidal than my iphone directly connected to the dac (an atoll HD100).And what are the improvement observed?

 

On 30/06/2017 at 1:03 AM, Bob M. said:

I have both and cannot tell the difference between the two on Tidal content.  That said, I need the Aries Mini because the Node 2 does NOT do native DSD.  Happy listening!

thanks for the answer Bob, I think you are comparing the blue node with the aries mini, and I would like to know the difference of sound of an Iphone connected to a dac though USB with the aries mini?

 

[bmeinhard]

15 hours ago, Enrok said:

 

thanks for the answer Bob, I think you are comparing the blue node with the aries mini, and I would like to know the difference of sound of an Iphone connected to a dac though USB with the aries mini?

 

I think the Aries Mini sounds better than using the iPhone with a DAC.  Sound is cleaner and more detailed.

[jruser]

I am heavily considering buying this. Can somebody confirm whether gapless DSD (64 And 128) streaming works via DLNA?