In the rock world, it seems as if Robert Plant and his former band, Led Zeppelin, are always hovering somewhere nearby. While some 1970s acts have not remained relevant to younger generations,…
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In 2010, down in the East Village, on Delancey Street, at the NYC debut party for Robert Plant's Band of Joy, the assembled rock press, assorted hangers-on, and wannabe VIPs patiently sipped drinks as we waited for the guest of honor. Suddenly, with no fanfare or even announcement, he stepped out of a closet or secret passage of sorts into a roomful of astonished smiles. He'd been there all along.
A huge fuss was made over Aurender's first music server, the S10, when it premiered in 2011 at the California Audio Show. While I didn't feel that the room acoustics and setup were good enough at CAS to permit an honest appraisal, the looks and features of the S10 (now discontinued) thrust Aurender into the spotlight. So when John Atkinson, who had very favorably reviewed Aurender's N10 server in April 2016, asked if I would evaluate Aurender's new A10, the opportunity to serve so many audiophiles with a single review elicited from me an unequivocal "Yes!"
What have we here?
As part…
It also made me realize that an honest assessment of the A10 required removing multiple shelves of dCS gear. Once the A10 had a shelf of its own, I further isolated it from noise by placing it on a Grand Prix carbon-fiber Formula platform. These relatively lightweight platforms contribute greatly to the "black"-background transparency of my reference system. On the empty shelf below the Aurender went a Mytek HiFi Brooklyn DAC ($1995), set atop a second Formula platform.
My plan was to first listen to the A10 by itself for an extended period of time. Once I was clear on how it sounded as…
Sidebar 1: Specifications
Description: Music server running Linux with integrated digital-to-analog converter. Formats supported: AAC, AIFF, ALAC, APE, DFF, DSF, FLAC, M4A, MQA, WAV. Internal storage: 2.5" 4TB hard-disk drive, 120GB solid-state cache drive. Conversion: PCM to 32-bit/384kHz, MQA, DSD64, DSD128. Dynamic range: 128dB. Resolutions supported via USB: PCM to 32/384, DSD64, DSD128 (DoP). Inputs: Ethernet, two USB Type A, one TosLink S/PDIF (supports up to 24/192 PCM). Outputs: USB Class 2.0 (Type A jack), balanced (XLR) and single-ended (RCA) left and right analog outputs. No…
Sidebar 2: Associated Equipment
Digital Sources: dCS Paganini SACD/CD transport & Rossini DAC & Scarlatti clock & Vivaldi DAC & Network Bridge; Mytek HiFi Brooklyn DAC; Oppo Digital UDP-205 universal BD player; Intel NUC7i7BNH with 8GB RAM, 128GB SSD, running Roon; Apple MacBook Pro computer with Intel i7, SSD, 8GB RAM; iPad Pro, external hard drives, USB sticks.
Power Amplifiers: Pass Laboratories XA200.8 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties Alexia.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Diamond (FireWire, Ethernet), Nordost Odin 1 & Odin 2 &…
Sidebar 3: Measurements
I measured the Aurender A10 with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system (see the January 2008 "As We See It"), using the Audio Precision's optical digital outputs, and data stored on the A10's internal hard disk and sourced from a NAS on my network. The serial number of the sample I'd been sent for measurement was ASA4A0096A10, its system software was v.5.10.16, and the Conductor app running on my iPad mini was v.2.8.6 (1730).
The optical inputs accepted data sampled up to 96kHz, the internal drive and the network connection files sampled at up to 384kHz. The…
Recently, I opened a package and there was a pair of records that feature Elvis Presley's voice singing over a new rhythm track and new orchestral accompaniment played by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. Both are huge hits in the UK and the US, having sold over a million copies each. My eyes instinctively narrowed. A cynical smile curled across my lips. "Gimmick" I dissed with a whisper.
But wait! Much as elitist music fans like to get snobby and disparage anything that sells, sometimes you just have to open your ears, hold your nose, stifle the facetiousness and just listen. Everything…
If the holidays are a time for fantasy, what better way to celebrate than with the first complete recording of David Del Tredici's (b. 1937) absolutely fantastic fantasy, Child Alice for soprano and orchestra? Based on the "Alice" adventures of Lewis Carroll—Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (1865) and the sequel, Through the Looking Glass and What Alice Found (1871)—the first part of Child Alice, entitled In Memory of a Summer Day, won the 1980 Pulitzer Prize in Music, and helped solidify the then 43 year-old composer's position as the foremost exponent of the Neo-Romantic movement in music…
Maybe it's a Noo Yawk thing, but while most discussions of Christmas music revolve around what's the best Christmas song, the finest expression of Christmas music lies in a Christmas album, and that of course would be A Christmas Gift for You From Phil Spector, the crowning achievement of Wall of Sound creator turned convicted murderer, Phil Spector. While cuts like The Ronettes' "Be My Baby" or Ike and Tina Turner's "River Deep-Mountain High" are justifiably famous, it may be the Christmas record that will eventually become Spector's most influential and likable legacy.
It's natural to…
L–R: NoHo Sound's Chris Petranis, Alex Roy, taxidermy bear, & Ron Kain
In an industry constantly perplexed by the absence of youth, diversity, and appreciation for the hobby, three audiophiles set out to revolutionize the industry with the opening of a new hi-fi shop in New York City that is anything but ordinary. NoHo Sound & Stereo (NoHo Sound for short) is located in a swanky loft in the lower Manhattan district NoHo—open seven days a week, by appointment only, with a second location in Chelsea. They offer: Analog Domain, Audio Research, Aurender, Box Furniture, Croft Acoustics…