Widealab Aurender Music Servers

[MyPal]

Originally Posted by Jem666

THX for this first hand news.

Any news on RAID1 versions in the model range ?

I'm keen to know if there will be RAID1 or RAID5 too as the earlier proposed S30 & R10 had RAID. I beleive the R10 is now to be the W10.

See attached.

[Elberoth]

[MyPal]

Elberoth... Great pics from Munich! I wonder if that is in fact the final chassis? dual mono USBs too by the looks! Shame no RAID though...

I think this has my name on it in black.

[Elberoth]

The W10 has two general purpose USB connectors (for USB HDDs etc) which you can see on the pics, plus a separate USB connector for audio out - that is the one to the left to the AES outs - you can see it on the second image.

[Elberoth]

The W10 will get a different chassis - what you see is just a prototype in S10 chassis they use for testing.

[mdkim]

I had the pleasure of auditioning an S10 yesterday afternoon for a hour or two in my system. The iPad application/interface was very slick and intuitive. MPad, while functional and much improved with the latest update, is not as polished. With the limited time I had, it was very difficult to discern any difference in sound between it and my BDP. Other than confirming that my DP-777 sounds best via BNC, I would need more time and/or better ears to say the S10 sounded better than my present setup.

So, I asked myself if it was worth the $5k premium (over the BDP)...perhaps. You get a 2TB drive for music storage, a 64MB ssd which buffers whatever you're playing, a very slick interface, and a very well thought out build which should theoretically reduce noise/vibration improving sonics.

I suppose I'll wait to see if the improved USB only model offers anything further. For current owners, how has your S10 fared? USB flat out better or only when paired to a SOTM USB chipset? I'm still trying to get info on the chipset used in my AMR. Thanks in advance.

[Elberoth]

In my case USB out was clearly superior. It will all depend on the quality of the USB input in your DAC though.

[mdkim]

Adam:

Thanks for the reply. My DAC, in present form, uses the XMOS USB chipset which is not the current flavor of the month. AMR is currently working on an upgrade. However, after corresponding with AMR, I was advised that the USB was still the preferable connection. I will go that route. Any suggestions on USB cable?

I am taking delivery of an S10 this afternoon. FYI I have been told that an S10A will arrive later this year along with the U (USB only) model and W10. Thankfully I am afforded the opportunity to upgrade by simply paying the difference if the USB model is better sounding.

Are you planning on getting the W10? I'm curious how it will pair with the dCS and their external clock.

[Elberoth]

I still haven't decided yet. The W10 will be twice as expensive as the S10, and from the technical point of view, when you use the new upcoming Scarlatti U-Clock (which has a USB/SPDIF converter build in), both S10 via USB and W10 via SPDIF + clock link should sound exactly the same.

I'm using AQ Diamond USB, which is expensive, but made a noticable difference in my system. I highly recommend trying this one.

BTW - what is the S10 'A' ? Is that the new S10 ? Haven't heard about this one.

[mdkim]

The S10A will have an upgraded input card and BNC support from what I've been told. I am uncertain if any changes will be made to the USB input but it makes sense if the USB inly is released at the same time. It will, unfortunately be a few thousand more. They are thinking of discontinuing the regular S10.

Again, speculation from my dealer after speaking with Henry and Chris so I don't have anything concrete.