Aurender

@vonhelmholtz 

As said previously I have explored I2s in depth and I wouldn't get hung up on it and think you are buying into older tech such as USB, AES and SPDIF.

The USB powerline interference has been mitigated by DACs using Amanero USB Boards, which receive power directly from the DAC's power supply, not from the host via USB cable.

I use electrical tape to tape over the +positive line at both ends. This prevents EMI/RFI interference and stops the wire acting as an aerial, if you only tape one end. Don't tape the -negative line as this is the ground. Many instructions online.

The Amanero Board is why USB can outperform AES/SPDIF in many systems, various manufacturers use standard and modified versions.

@vonhelmholtz 

You may be interested in watching this video from Suncoast Audio where they discuss all things Aurender with Ari Margolis - he is the face of Aurender here in the states. It'll bring you up to date on Aurender and what they are doing, including why they use their own proprietary software, best sounding outputs, etc. 

(13) In Stereo with Mike & Rick - Episode 4 - Ari Margolis with Aurender - YouTube

I've owned an Aurender N10 for four years now. I can say that the Conductor software is very easy to use and I've really had no meaningful problems with it, just works every time. So for the few users who have had problems, I wonder if it is not with the actual machine itself or some other issue? My dealer has/had nearly all the different models in stock and I don't ever remember him having a problem with one. To be forthcoming, I've only used Aurender streamers in my system. I've also played with several DACs that have a streamer built in at my dealers shop, but none of them, even the top $$ tier brands don't have a user interface that is as useful or as easy to use.

I've followed along on the Taiko threads on a different forum. At least one member, who has both the Taiko Extreme and an N30 sold the Taiko as they enjoyed using the Conductor software more on the N30.

A note on Roon, I know a person on this forum that can use both Roon and Conductor and they prefer Conductor. Also, there's a thread, again, on another forum, that is about the different updates to Roon. Apparently, each iteration of Roon can be different sounding and some much better than others. Though Taiko uses Roon, they are in middle of an upgrade to their own XDMS software, and all users in that forum that have tried both Roon and XDMS say that XDMS is far superior.

+1 @pokey77 on the Aurender N30SA over the Taiko. There are a few other threads on other forums that cover this. Not only does it sound better, the N30SA costs $10K less. 

@pokey77 

Thanks for the info.

Roon can exhibit functional issues due to seemingly minor network issues.  For example, don't use a smart switch unless you know what you are doing.  Perhaps, some Conductor users suffer the same fate.

Roon musicality claims are all over the map.  I wonder if this can be traced back to Roon Core implementation.

“Not only does it sound better, the N30SA costs $10K less”
@blisshifi

Have you compared Taiko running on XDMS with N30 in your system?