Aurender A200 Network Player Review

Aurender Manufactures a variety of different digital players designed for different use cases in the audio industry. The A200 model by Aurender a “full” network player, equipped, unlike transports, with an analog output.

Externally, Aurender A200 Network Player is a full-size device, designed exactly in the style of
the manufacturer. Aurender A200 Network Player comes with a massive aluminum body with recognizable grill design on the sides, as always controls on the front pannel with a quiet information display screen. The design stands out with its awesome beauty, showcasing craftsmanship with top quality. 

Usage Aurender A200 Network Player

In terms of use, Aurender A200 Network Player has quite a lot of functionality. Aurender A200 first task
is to reproduce digital audio signal. and Aurender A200 Network Player can do this in several ways. Maybe the main choice is playing stuff from a regular home server or a NAS. (Network-Attached Storage),and from the main and we know famous streaming services like Qobuz, Tidal, Pandora,
Apple Music as well as support for Spotify Connect and AirPlay are built into the device’s application.

To fulfill this function, the Aurender A200 comes equipped with a LAN connector that features proprietary isolation for enhanced performance. But sadly, it does not have Wi-Fi capability; instead, Aurender A200 Network Player relies on communication through a wired connection of home network and router.

Storage of Aurender A200 Network Player

Another playback option is to play the media from Network Player internal storage. The device allows you to install two 2.5-inch SSDs or HDDs, in which you can store your favorite songs. You can use these drive and store your music files separately, Because these hard’s don’t work together for backup. You can use the entire space of each disk (up to 6 TB each) to save your favorite music collection.

If you want a backup you can easily back up and manage files and folders over the network player using your personal computer and storage or media. You can also play music directly with your USB drive (filled with
your favorite songs) simply plug your USB to one of two connectors provided back side of the
network player.

And the third use case is that you can connect a disk transport to the device: for these purposes there
are optical and coaxial inputs.

The Aurender A200 network player offers unbalanced analog outputs. If you wish to use the
network player only as a player or as a file storage device with a separate DAC
(Digital-to-Analog Converter) in your system instead of the built-in one, you can use the USB
digital output.

You can also adjust the analog outputs. If you have only the Aurender A200 in your system
with everything connected to it, and one awesome thing is that you can use it as a pre-amplifier
by directly connecting it to your power amplifier, especially if your power amplifier has unbalanced
circuitry.

Inside Look of Aurender A200 Network Player

Aurender A200 Network Player Review

Now have a look at inside of the player. All the components inside are standard for Aurender: arranged neatly and well packed. The majority of the player’s body space is used up by a linear power supply featuring three distinct transformers. One powers the conventional “computer”, one powers the Display, and one more directly powers the DAC and analog output. Plus there is a proprietary assembly of capacitors that operate in a system similar to an uninterruptible power supply. Of course, the device will not work autonomously without power, but the principle itself as an option for protection against interference and surges is quite good. The Aurender uses it in almost all of its models of players.

The main computer section operates on an Intel Quad Core processor, comes with 8 GB of RAM and a 240 GB SSD drive. This SSD is utilized for caching playback material and playlists.

The DAC is based on the AKM4490 chip, supporting PCM formats up to 32 bit/768 kHz and DSD up to 256 natively, with DSD512 conversion to PCM. Additionally, it includes an MQA decoder function. The computer section of the network player supports almost all the major formats like DSD (DSF, DFF), APE, WAV, ALAC, M4A, FLAC, and AIFF.

Remote Control Aurender A200 Network Player

The Aurender A200 boasts a beautiful aluminum remote control with soft buttons, perfect for those times you want to kick back and relax with a glass of wine and your favorite music. While the A200 is also compatible with an app for full control on your phone or tablet, I prefer the remote’s simplicity to avoid any distractions during my cherished listening sessions.

Setting up the Aurender A200 was not difficult. It actually took longer to setting up a permanent IP address on my router than to configure the device itself. The only advantage was that the A200 needed a firmware update right out of the box – system, CMOS, and AFPGA all needed updating. The whole update took about 15 minutes maybe it is due to my network connection speed, but the device showed me clearly that everything was working properly so I didn’t have to worry.

Aurender Conductor App

The application is available for both iOS and Android. In my opinion I suggest that you should use the application is English language format, because in this way the menu items look more compact. But if you need descriptions of the settings your own language, then the you can use your desired language version.

The music library indexing is not very fast, but it works all well. I didn’t face any difficulties like duplicate songs or problems. One good thing is that the app can detect files that it can’t recognize. The album icons are medium-sized, not too big or small. It would be more interesting if we could adjust the size of the album covers like in Audirvana.

With the fixed size, it’s a bit hard to quickly scroll through a big music library, especially if there are many classical boxed editions with similar pictures. But you can switch to folder navigation mode, which helps. The app runs quickly without any delays. Besides the crowded language interface, there’s not much to complain about.

One thing I don’t like is that the app always tries to make a playback sequence, so you have to manually switch between albums or clear the playback queue.

In the process of studying the device (and I had it for a long time), I wanted to understand the influence of cables and how the “paranoid listening mode” works, when everything that can be turned off is turned off.

Cable

I liked the regular LAN cable of category 5 and industrial cutting more than the specialized “audio” of category 8 and is very expensive – it somehow sounded more natural. Of course, here we are not talking about tonal balance or detail-dynamics, everything is much more difficult to formalize, but according to latent sensations, this is exactly how it turned out.

However, according to my observations, some LAN cables, positioned as specialized for audio and produced by the corresponding manufacturers, seemed rather harmful to me (but not all, of course) – apparently there are too many different factors and it is not always clear what influences what.

The influence of the power cable is certainly there, and in transport mode it seemed more noticeable than in full player mode. With analog switching, everything is also clear and audible, it makes sense to choose according to taste. My supplies of unbalanced cables are very modest, but I was able to feel the difference with them. The same can be said about the USB cable when working in transport mode – alas, you can hear it very clearly. 

The paranoid listening mode with the display turned off and, in general, everything that can be turned off, definitely works. However, it’s not surprising – even my preamplifier has a mode when the screen turns off, and this is also a little noticeable, but here the circuit as a whole is more complicated, and the conversion of digital to analog, the operation of the clock – all these processes are very sensitive and delicate. So I would recommend using this mode of operation.

Internal Storage

Now the internal storage. The device arrived with a 2 TB HDD installed – in principle, this is possible, but if you have already invested in the device and the music library and want to store it inside, install an SSD: this greatly affects the copying speed, and the difference in sound is in favor SSD. Although I really liked how the device works with the music library on the server, and if, like me, you have a large music library, then it is more logical to invest in a server or NAS with a RAID array and data protection than in expensive large-capacity SSDs.

The Aurender A200 comes standard only with a specific configuration of installed disks, which also affects the final price. This is either one HDD of 2 or 4 TB, or an SSD of 4 or 8 TB. And this is a somewhat controversial point. HDD is a cheap thing and will not particularly burden anyone, but SSD is more expensive, and I would like to be sure of what is installed. If it’s a Samsung Pro series, it’s one story; if it’s something budget-friendly, it’s a completely different story. Therefore, I would definitely prefer a version without a disc at all, but this is not offered. But thank you, replacing/adding a disk is a user procedure, not a service procedure.

If the music library is small and somehow duplicated on more than one USB carrier, then you can get
by with an installed SSD. In general, I spent most of the testing time running the device in the mode of working with streaming services. But there are nuances here too: streaming is now in a mode of
dubiously unpredictable availability, and I know for sure that the demand for the same NAS and servers has increased. And many of those whose streaming works stably use the same Tidal GUI or similar mechanisms in order to put their music library on the server in parallel with the presence of streaming.

I’m not even talking about those who have a large collection of disks from which rips are made
this process is labor-intensive and you want to preserve the result with a sufficient degree of security. Although, as an option, backing up the contents of internal drives somewhere using programs for incremental backup is also one of the possible use cases: internal drives are perfectly visible over
the network and can thus be used for both uploading and downloading.

The device also provides for copying internally from connected USB drives, but I always advise using
them as nothing more than a temporary “carrying device.”

Among the relative disadvantages, there is no digital switching according to AES/EBU and balanced analog outputs, which is especially offensive, at least in my case, when the entire system is designed
for balanced switching due to the same circuit design. However, older Aurender models have
balanced switching, and in general the manufacturer has options for almost any system and any task.

Listening Experience

I had the Aurender A200 for a very long time and I listened to a lot of things with it, so I won’t describe the sound of individual albums, but will describe it as a whole, because the impressions were very clear. First of all, he is very careful, pays attention to every nuance and after-sound. High detail, smooth dynamics, and the sound, especially high-res, is somewhat similar to analog – at least with a
simultaneous feeling of unity and detail. 

The presentation is rather soft. No, the device can play both a large orchestra and metal, but the sound is always a little warm and a little softened. It is neither light nor dark, rather it can equally convey both moods, but it always turns out a little velvety. I’m used to a sharper and, perhaps, even more austere sound, so I tested this Aurender more not in the main system, but in the second system, where a single-ended tube in class A works as an amplifier. I liked the consonance of characters and coherence of presentation in it more. . 

Genre-wise, I would define this Aurender as universal, but more inclined towards acoustic music and small and medium-sized bands. Not because he copes poorly with dynamics or detail, but his velvety. Rounded presentation here turns out to be the most appropriate, the most involving and atmospheric. The sound as a whole is thick, with good bass, with a rich but not heavy stage, somehow balanced and cozy. Aurender A200, view from the inside.

Conclusion


As anticipated with Aurender, this device proves to be intelligent and incredibly functional. It boasts a beautiful design both externally and internally. When assessed as a digital transport and storage unit, it performs admirably. The manufacturer demonstrates a deep understanding of their craft. As a comprehensive player, it possesses its own distinct character, adaptable to various settings. Furthermore, should you have any inquiries, it’s worth noting that Aurender offers devices tailored to nearly every task and usage scenario. This allows you to select precisely what best suits your individual system.

FAQs for Aurender A200 Caching Music Server Streamer DAC

1. What is the Aurender A200?

The Aurender A200 is a music server, streamer, and DAC (Digital-to-Analog Converter). Aurender A200 designed to enhance your digital music listening experience by offering high-quality audio playback.

2. What are the key features of the Aurender A200?

The Aurender A200 features a built-in DAC based on the AKM4490 chip, supporting PCM formats up to 32 bit/768 kHz and DSD up to 256 natively. It also includes a caching system for playback material and playlists, along with support for MQA decoding. Additionally, it supports various audio file codecs like DSD (DSF, DFF), APE, WAV, ALAC, M4A, FLAC, and AIFF.

3. How does the caching system work?

The caching system on the Aurender A200 utilizes a solid-state drive (SSD) to store music files and playlists. This helps to minimize loading times and ensures smoother and faster playback, especially for high-resolution audio files like FLAC.

4. What kind of network connectivity does the Aurender A200 offer?

The Aurender A200 features a LAN connector for wired network connectivity. It communicates with other devices and your home network through this connection. However, it does not include Wi-Fi capability.

5. Can I use the Aurender A200 with external storage devices?

Yes, the Aurender A200 supports external USB drives for music playback. It includes two USB connectors for connecting external storage devices containing your favorite music library.

6. How does the Aurender A200 handle analog and digital outputs?

The Aurender A200 provides unbalanced analog outputs for connecting to amplifiers or active speakers. Additionally, it offers a digital output via USB, allowing you to use the device as a transport with a separate DAC if desired.

7. Is the Aurender A200 easy to navigate and control?

Yes, the Aurender A200 comes with a user-friendly interface that allows for easy navigation and control of your music library. It offers features such as album artwork display and folder navigation mode to simplify the your browsing experience.

8. Does the Aurender A200 support third-party applications for music playback?

No, the Aurender A200 operates using its proprietary software interface designed specifically for managing and playing music. It does not support third-party applications or streaming services.

9. What kind of support does Aurender offer for the A200?

Aurender provides comprehensive support for the A200, including software updates and technical assistance. Additionally, they offer a range of other devices and accessories to complement the A200 and enhance your audio setup.

10. Is the Aurender A200 suitable for my audio system?

The Aurender A200 is designed to integrate seamlessly into a variety of audio systems, offering versatility and high performance.

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