If variety is the spice of life, then Aurender is a veritable spice shop. They've successfully curated numerous products from analog and digital output servers, music servers with CD rippers, servers with built-in DACs, and so forth. Aurender designs and manufactures all of their products with an approach to provide a high level of stability, reliability, and predictability of operation.

Aurender is all about taking the "computer" out of the "computer audio experience," giving users access to the world of streaming music without the hassle of using a computer. It’s one of the reasons why Drew Baird, P.E., Owner and Founder of Moon Audio highly recommends Aurender, and why we are always excited to hear about their newest products. They're a one-stop-shop. All hardware and software engineering of their products is done in house, requiring no third-party software or external hardware.

For a music server to output analog audio it must have a DAC. Now not every server is going to have an integrated DAC, so the need for an external DAC will arise. The DAC is responsible for the majority of the sound quality. It does the heavy lifting and is really what creates that coloration.

In the case of the A200, the DAC board has its own dedicated transformer, resulting in less crosstalk and current draw on any single transformers for the quietest possible audio output. The AKM 4490 DAC has a rich, smooth, non-fatiguing sound that competes with the best analog rips, while still providing all of the detail and resolution that's possible from a high-end digital solution.

Aurender has been incorporating Uninterruptible Power Supply (UPS) backup into their newer products. The A200 features a super capacitor-based UPS system that stabilizes the server in the event of an abrupt power loss. The A200 is like a computer in the sense that any abrupt losses to power can negatively impact the unit. To combat that, the three capacitors charge up and temporarily provide power to the A200 until power is restored. So if for any reason the power goes out while you're listening to music on the A200, you don't have to worry about any unforeseen damage to the unit's internals.

Pictured: Aurender A200 UPS backup

Once you've got all your files pulled, either from the hard drive or external connections, they'll go into the caching drive. Aurender uses a massive solid state memory drive (SSD) to hold all of your music files. Think of the cache as a safe space for all your music — Patiently waiting to be played. You can view your cache and select songs to play in the Conductor App and even clear the entire cache if you'd like.

Caching provides a more stable and reliable playback engine while optimizing audio performance by allowing the system to run as light as possible. With caching, there are some files that can be cached and some that cannot. Files pulled off a hard drive via USB or a NAS can be cached. As well as any files stored on the user-installable storage.

In terms of streaming, Tidal and Qobuz are two music streaming services supported on the Conductor app, both of which can be cached. Internet Radio and Spotify Connect are also available on the app, but cannot be cached because they're considered a constant stream. The same applies for CD files pulled off a CD player — Although one file at a time is being pulled off the player, it's considered a constant stream and will not be cached.

When you've got an entire audio setup working harmoniously to produce the best possible playback, timing matters. When digital data is sent from place to place within a circuit, or over USB and other inputs, you can get timing errors. This can happen when one piece of information arrives at a different time than the rest. It's a delicate dance that makes a world of difference and can cause jitter if not corrected. Jitter is what's known as digital noise and can deteriorate the sound quality.

Aurender combats this by incorporating clocks into most of their products. The A200 has a precision clock generation system to re-clock any timing errors.

Pictured: Aurender A200 USB Audio Outputs

Pictured: Aurender A200 Analog Outputs

Aurender offers technical support that is second best to none. Through the Conductor App, you can request remote support which grants Aurender's team the ability to remotely access your unit to diagnose and fix any software issues. After the unit is inspected and/or repaired, remote access will be disabled, so there are no security breaches. This is a unique feature and a convenient one at that — No shipping the unit off and waiting weeks for its return in most cases.

Connecting the A200 to your favorite preamp, integrated amplifier, or even a pair of powered speakers is easy. The A200 utilizes a pair of single-ended RCA outputs. For our integration, we picked the Silver Dragon Interconnects as the best sonic combination for the AKM DAC chip. The UPOCC silver conductors of the Interconnect offer incredible detail, resolution, and presentation. All the notes to the music have more air around them. This, balanced with the warm music tonality of the AKM DAC circuit makes it a match made in heaven. Our founder, owner, and P.E. Drew Baird primarily uses the Pass Labs HPA-1 Headphone Amplifier as his go-to driving force for all headphones. It too is a single-ended design like the A200, so the sound came together like two peas in a pod. What a combo!

Pictured: Moon Audio Silver Dragon Interconnect Cable V2