Aurender

It’s not that bad on Android.  I spoke to them last week and they are doing updates to improve stability.    I think some people are not setting permissions and it cuts out.  I set permission to always on on the background and made a few other changes and it is much better.    They said in the new few weeks. 
 

Bluesound has its issues too.  My Tab could not always find the Vault.  I would have to close all programs and launch Vault.  Minor inconvenience for such a great platform

The Aurender search function is much better. Going straight to Albums, Artists and Songs is much better.  The Queue is much better , playlist compilation.  All much better 

One has to always remember that this tech is still sort of in its infancy.  Fortunately these devices ( most of them ) get better through firmware updates.  I’ll take some minor quirks if the sound quality is excellent, which it is.  

As jjss49 said,  there are many good streamers out there. There’s never been a better time to embrace streaming if you have been on the fence 

I bought a Bluesound Vault 2i a few years ago and it totally changed the way I listened to music.  In a few years I discovered more new music than 40 years of CD and vinyl….

That Aurender is perfect for me, it’s primarily what I do now, stream.   

I own the N200, with my DAC I think it sounds better with SPDIF.    It sounds good via USB but it's my DAC , not the N200's outputs.  

My other back up DAC is a RME and it uses it's internal clock no matter the input type .   So I really can't compare. 

The Aurender sounds much better than the Vault it replaced, can play or copy ripped files from the Vault.  It sounds great with Qobuz...  really good, like I don't need to spin CDs type of good.  

I just put a 4 TB SSD drive in the N200.   It is amazing what that machine can do.  I turned it on and there was another icon in the menu.  The TD100.  Its a USB trigger for the Aurender to turn on 2 trigger enabled devices .   

When I picked the unit up and pulled it out of its rack I was quickly reminded of the quality of the Aurender.   It is built like a tank.  Pics don't demonstrate how nice these units are.  

Like I had mentioned before, streamers are still in their infancy. There are a lot of affordable options out there , but component sized streamers like Aurender , Auralic, Innous, are always going to be above $2500.

Every one is controlled by firmware which is always being tweaked so these devices are getting better every day. Thats why buying a streamer from a company that only does streamers is to me one of the most important considerations...

Bluesound Node and Vault are the best choice at their price points. I almost bought the Lumin U2 Mini, at $2400 it is one of the more affordable offerings from companies that only do streamers. And it is the next level of performance compared to Bluesound. I was originally interested in the Aurender N100 and got a great deal on a N200 , most of it’s price was my trade in so for $850 out of pocket it was a no brainer.

My Android has been more stable lately.    Aurender added the TD100 to the software,  I'm sure they make running changes also without calling it a new "revision"   

I have zero regrets going with Aurender.  Its an awesome machine 

My Aurender had no problem finding my Vault and PC on the network

I have the Aurender's USB connected to my RME DAC which I use in a headphone set up.  The RME doesn't care about the source clock, it uses it's internal clock for all inputs

Keep in mind thats just a USB 2.0 cable, nothing special.   I think my Lab 12 does sound better via coax,  I haven't A/B 'd the two extensively,  could sound better with a purpose designed USB audio cable , not sure.    Like everything,  it's all subjective 

I'm holding off on any further cable purchases until I get my new pre.    I just picked up some DH Lab Air Matrix Cryo RCA and they are super high quality .  I will eventually pick up the DH Labs USB and revisit .

I am really loving my N200,    As lucmichaude said, stored content is indistinguishable from the original.   Support from Aurender is great too... Im glad I stretched my budget on this one , it's such a slick way to stream, and store music.