The Sound
Contents
The Aurender A30 comes to us as clean, detailed and very open. Very different from, for example, the dCS Bartok. The Bartok was more ‘organic’ if we can call it that. The Aurender and dCS are often compared – we also get quite a few questions about these two – because both the Aurender and dCS have multiple functions. And although the Aurender is more expensive, it also does more: internal storage and ripping CDs. That can make up for the extra cost.
On the subject of storage on the A30: we think storing music on one disc is a very bad idea. If the disc breaks – and it always does – you lose everything. That’s why we prefer storing on a NAS. You can also mount a backup drive via USB of course. We haven’t been able to find automatic backups to a NAS. Although you could set-up an automatic backup, or sync on the NAS-drive via SMB.
We did find an ‘ingest’ option via the Aurender Media Manager. It builds a database of the music on the NAS and imports it to the Aurender. This gives you a ‘similar’ experience as the index on the Aurender itself. So you no longer have to navigate only at folder level.
But back to the comparison. (By the way, we are not going to make a comparative test of this). To be honest, we do not fully understand the comparison between the Bartok and Aurender: the Aurender has a totally different sound character and it is a device with more functionality than the dCS Bartok. To put it bluntly, the Aurender is more focused on detail, speed and openness. Maybe Aurender wants to approach reality a little more? The dCS is more fluid and ‘forgiving’ in character. More focused on ‘smoothness’. Don’t confuse speed and detail with sterile. The Aurender certainly isn’ t. However, it is a device with a different focus and different interpretation of the music than the dCS. Or for example a NAIM ND555.
We hear that with all genres and tracks. Massive Attack ‘attacks’ us with a bizarre layering and insight. Every nuance is audible. We look really deep into the music, which is impressive. Steven Wilson the same: live is live… studio is studio. Very well audible (of course) and therefore a totally different experience in terms of placement, air and acoustics. The air and acoustics of the Royal Albert Hall are just palpable. Our own Ambre with Pavane just can’t do that. It is as simple as that. This is just another league.
The App(s)
There are two apps at Aurender: an A30Manager app and a Conductor app. These two work seamlessly together: once logged in to the device (a kind of one-time handshake during installation) you can switch between them without any problems. Now the Conductor App already works fine on Android. But the Manager App doesn’t (yet). It only works on iOS 11 and higher. So keep that in mind.
The Aurender Conductor app is definitely a fine piece of work. The App has a technical approach, but after fifteen minutes of use, it is excellent to use. We can find our way around just fine. Searching is fast and accurate, filtering is easy and we can easily find our sources. Although ROON is more clear and intuitive in our opinion. But ROON cannot control all the functions of the Aurender. Even though we would like Aurender to add ROON, so that basic operation is possible. Setting up the Aurender will probably only be done once. Unless you are the type who wants a different filter for each album…
Nice is that you can search by segment: in the Aurender, via services or you can just navigate by folder. Then you can also navigate on a NAS. We don’t always see that anymore; navigate by folder. However, it can work very well if you have structured the library well. It is also often your logic and not that of a computer. In short: nice that Aurender allows it.
