[Shiloh the Golden Retreiver (sic) placed an advertisement in the Buy/Sell section of the Forum, announcing a pending firmware upgrade to the Aries. A discussion ensued, on-topic, but he indicates he would prefer not to have it take place on his ad thread - so here it is.]
It is great the Aries will now be able to access a USB drive directly, without an intervening need host PC or NAS drive. This is a big upgrade.
Have they yet expanded their control app to allow use of anything other than just an iPad? (As I recall, they do not even offer an app for iPhone, and no Android yet.)
Frode said
Not to be a party pooper, but Lumin has done this flawlessly for a long time now so it is nothing new.
As has Bryston and I suspect others, along with the CAPS servers, etc. All are dedicated stand-alone players which work directly with hard storage.
I believe this is the way to offer a player/streamer and it is good Auralic will apparently soon be on board as well.
They have long promised a broader iThingee app and Android, as well as web interfaces. It is unfortunate they still have yet to produce them. Vaporware can actively harm an otherwise good product. Let’s hope they release solid, reliable apps soon.
gordon said
have you noticed any SQ difference between the two?
If you mean Lumin and NAS vs Lumin and memory stick I haven't noticed any difference in usability or sound quality. The critical issue here is the functionality of the onboard uPnP server when using a direct attached device. This is what Auralic is working on at the moment.
Or do you mean difference between Aries and Lumin?
I find it has added a much desired element to the enjoyment of my DS.
You previously indicated the Aries sounds better than your Mac Mini (as expected).
Do you find there any other user upgrade using the Aries instead of the Mac?
OP: Would you prefer to have this discussion moved from your advertisement to its own thread? It is on topic, but may not be what you had in mind when you posted.
Frode said
When will this forum have a backup feature like others have? Very frustrating to start this process all over again
I doubt it will. As you indicate this as happened often, you may want to compose longer posts with a text editor and repeatedly save it as you work - then copy the final version to the forum. A bother, but it will avoid some frustration.
I find it has added a much desired element to the enjoyment of my DS.
ELK- You previously indicated the Aries sounds better than your Mac Mini (as expected).
G- yes and quite noticeable. Different story using Mac with Audirvana+ in Hog Mode. [ similar to a PC with non Audio services shut down] but A= in that mode is like loading [cut n paste] files into ram for playback. Sounds great but poor user fun. Stil;l Aries wins, probably because of the ext PSU.
ELK- Do you find there any other user upgrade using the Aries instead of the Mac?
G- Sure. virtually plug n play and rock solid.
Think of it as a Bridge in a box but with it comes with 2X-DSD wired or wireless, a control App, LAN or closed circuit, auto updates, integration with music stream services. Still a bit of work in progress but they seem to be quick and good at it. There is some talk of a capture system for youtube and AV in future but nothing concrete as of yet.
Turn on my amp, touch a selection on the Ipad and it plays. Yum Yum And very soon no Mini except for archived files.
gordon said
I ordered 20 units as well after testing one. Mostly to be able to share aggressive pricing with friends. If you don't hit the minimum order, I can help you out from my stock. ( 6 units left). ( full warranty)
i agree, it is a no brainier with the PWD, DS OR ANY DAC. Great SQ and rock solid connectivity.
I urge Forum members to buy up Gordon’s remaining supply. We are offering the Aries to our clients as a service and part of installation. I just need to hit a number for maximum discount.
BTW Gordon, The Aries Extreme is now the Aries and what was the Aries is now the Aries LE (Light Edition). Clear as mud?
Yup [LE]
I only had a couple and we installed them in whole house systems where the Aries was in the main LR and the LE in a secondary locations.
They are like Sonos on steroids. and connected immediately. Takes a while to load large libraries on the app though. They were sold out for a while but hopefully will get a few more before XMAS.
Frode said
When will this forum have a backup feature like others have? Very frustrating to start this process all over again
I doubt it will. As you indicate this as happened often, you may want to compose longer posts with a text editor and repeatedly save it as you work - then copy the final version to the forum. A bother, but it will avoid some frustration.
Yes.
The previous Vanilla forum had this feature, but Simple Press doesn’t seem to have it.
Very nice. Once they get the USB drive access to work, and iThingee and Android apps, and web interfaces up it will be a good competitor in the market.
