Music Streamer - Auralic Aries or NAD C658

[NADbooffa]

Hi all,

 

The current setup is NAIM Nait driving two B&W CM9 floorstanders  and NAD T762 (soon to be replaced) driving the center and surrounds ( B&W)

Oppo 105D being used as a pre amp, connected to NAIM via balanced o/p for music (CD, SACD, Bluray etc)

 

Need a streamer to be used with NAIM ( maybe via 105D )

 

Thinking about getting an Auralic Aries or NAD C658 (with Dirac) as the streamer.

Leaning more towards the C658 as Auralic don't have much of a presence here in Oz? ( for after sales issues)

 

What are your thoughts?

 

Cheers.

Edited February 11, 2020 by NADbooffa

[Snoopy8]

2 things in favour of the NAD C658 are Dirac and BluOS. Dirac does make a significant difference to the music. BluOS is probably one of the better Apps which is updated regularly.

 

Worth a read

https://audiophilestyle.com/ca/reviews/a-2020-review-of-the-bluos-platform-r874/

Edited February 11, 2020 by Snoopy8
Typo

[NADbooffa]

Thanks Snoopy8

[anandpkumar]

I have no experience with the NAD products mentioned here, but I do have an Auralic Aries Femto. It is a very good, high quality streamer for its price point (approx $2000). I've had no issues with it and would highly recommend this one if you are looking for a pure streamer with good digital outputs. Do bear in mind though that the Aries does not have a DAC. The Aries mini, as well as a few other products from Auralic do have one. 

 

P.S - The Auralic software is reasonably good - though it works only on apple devices. You can use UPnP for Android, but I didn't care much for the Andriod experience

Edited February 11, 2020 by anandpkumar

[NADbooffa]

2 hours ago, anandpkumar said:

I have no experience with the NAD products mentioned here, but I do have an Auralic Aries Femto. It is a very good, high quality streamer for its price point (approx $2000). I've had no issues with it and would highly recommend this one if you are looking for a pure streamer with good digital outputs. Do bear in mind though that the Aries does not have a DAC. The Aries mini, as well as a few other products from Auralic do have one. 

 

P.S - The Auralic software is reasonably good - though it works only on apple devices. You can use UPnP for Android, but I didn't care much for the Andriod experience

Thanks for the info. If I get a Auralic Aries, I was thinking to use oppo 105D as the DAC. But I don't use iPhone so will have to use android phone/tablet. 

 

How did you source an Auralic in Oz? Bought it online?

 

Cheers

 

Cheers

Edited February 11, 2020 by NADbooffa
Spelling

[anandpkumar]

11 minutes ago, NADbooffa said:

Thanks for the info. If I get a Auralic Aries, I was thinking to use oppo 105D as the DAC. But I don't use iPhone so will have to use android phone/tablet. 

 

How did you source an Auralic in Oz? Bought it online?

 

Cheers

Auralic is available in Oz through many retailers. I got mine used from the classifieds section of the forum - they do prop up now and then for a good price

 

I didn't like any of the 3rd party UPnP apps that worked with Android. Luckily had an iPad which I am using now.

[Snoopy8]

28 minutes ago, NADbooffa said:

If I get a Auralic Aries, I was thinking to use oppo 105D as the DAC. 

I suspect the DAC on the NAD C658 will beat the standard 105D. And will simplify the music chain.

 

Have you auditioned both the Aries and C658? (and yes Auralic available to audition).

 

Not sure whether you have seen the following on C658

 

https://www.stereo.net.au/reviews/nad-electronics-c-658-streaming-dac-preamp-review

 

[NADbooffa]

22 minutes ago, Snoopy8 said:

I suspect the DAC on the NAD C658 will beat the standard 105D. And will simplify the music chain.

 

Have you auditioned both the Aries and C658? (and yes Auralic available to audition).

 

Not sure whether you have seen the following on C658

 

https://www.stereo.net.au/reviews/nad-electronics-c-658-streaming-dac-preamp-review

 

Thanks snoopy8. That link give me some food for thought. I'm still finding info about both devices and in no hurry to purchase. 

[gillmaverick]

Hi Mate ,

I have sold my Naim 172xs Streamer and have just bought NAD C 658. I am hoping to receive it by Friday. I  will let you know how I go once Its all set up and Dirac has done It;s thing. Dirac swayed me towards NAD.

Cheers 

[NADbooffa]

54 minutes ago, gillmaverick said:

Hi Mate ,

I have sold my Naim 172xs Streamer and have just bought NAD C 658. I am hoping to receive it by Friday. I  will let you know how I go once Its all set up and Dirac has done It;s thing. Dirac swayed me towards NAD.

Cheers 

Hi,  that would be fantastic. Looking forward to your comments. 

 

Cheers. 

[gillmaverick]

Allright  I have set up NAD C658 and I am impressed so far. I have not completed full Dirac set up as the weather has gone nuts and I was worried about power flick due to Thunderstorms here. Have only done 7 measurements and applied the filter for now. Dirac Live has made a massive difference to sound in my system. Best of Dirac Live I found is Volume level matching of Speakers and Subwoofers. I am using 2 X Subsonic Subs and Dirac was able to integrate them quite nicely. Will do a full 17 position measurement tomorrow and that should further improve the sound. I am a very happy man.

Cheers

[Snoopy8]

3 minutes ago, gillmaverick said:

Allright  I have set up NAD C658 and I am impressed so far. I have not completed full Dirac set up as the weather has gone nuts and I was worried about power flick due to Thunderstorms here. Have only done 7 measurements and applied the filter for now. Dirac Live has made a massive difference to sound in my system. Best of Dirac Live I found is Volume level matching of Speakers and Subwoofers. I am using 2 X Subsonic Subs and Dirac was able to integrate them quite nicely. Will do a full 17 position measurement tomorrow and that should further improve the sound. I am a very happy man.

Cheers

Good to hear. Note that more measurements may not make a huge difference...

[gillmaverick]

19 minutes ago, Snoopy8 said:

Good to hear. Note that more measurements may not make a huge difference...

I know Snoop but Want to set up properly once and then forget about it.

[Snoopy8]

7 minutes ago, gillmaverick said:

I know Snoop but Want to set up properly once and then forget about it.

You wish!  It could lead you to more tinkering or you may be changing things in the room.

 

Did you pay for the upgrade to full license?  I think it makes a difference.

[gillmaverick]

yupp I paid for the full version.

[Hi-Fi Whipped]

More positive real world user experience on the C658 is making the wait for mine even longer!

[NADbooffa]

Can Dirac live  be applied to stereo (2.1) systems or it's only for 5.1 and above?

 

Cheers. 

[Snoopy8]

1 hour ago, NADbooffa said:

Can Dirac live  be applied to stereo (2.1) systems or it's only for 5.1 and above?

 

Cheers. 

Both

[NADbooffa]

2 hours ago, Snoopy8 said:

Both

I knew it was a kinda dumb question to ask. But wanted to know as lately I've been listrning to music in stereo (2.1) 90% of the time and less and less using HT (5.1) for movies.

 

Thanks for your reply. 

[gillmaverick]

NAD lets you choose between 1 Sub , 2 Subs and No Subwoofer.

Edited February 15, 2020 by gillmaverick

[GaryNZ]

Just picked up the NAD C 658 yesterday myself, so far it was a tad hit and miss to start with but once I got Bluos downloaded and installed on both my phone and desktop things started to fall into place
Once both my NAS and desktop had been discovered and all the songs imported and updated it was a breeze to use, another feature I really love is the internet radio stations, again very easy to use and navigate.
It is my first using the Bluos management system and so far am loving it.
Basically I got the 658 to do Dirac room correction, the other features came along as a bonus over and above getting the MiniDSP SHD Studio that I was going to get instead headed down the 658 track mainly due they are obtained locally and local support.
I am really enjoying the sound quality so far and look forward to getting to know all of its features and using them - no need for Roon, Airplay or Bubbleupnp with this.

I have the MiniDSP UMIK1 mic arriving this week so will cool to see if this will be a improvement over the standard mic that you get with the 658 esp being able to import the mic calibration file for real accuracy - just have to figure out how to implement the UMIK1 with Dirac - whether to plug it into the PC or 658

Two things I found that are a pain in the arse:

1. The user manual is online download only - would be far nicer to have a hard cover, also the manual is pretty vague/simple and doesn't give much depth

2. Having communication issues trying to connect to the 658 via Dirac from my PC, it can see it BUT keeps on timing out while trying to connect, can take me up to 9 or 10 goes to get it to connect but after all is good. Any advice or tips on this will greatly be appreciated.

 

Have all my sources connected to the 658 which then is connected to my Hegel H390 int. amp. which powers my Dynaudio Excite X44s

 

Quick question - I noticed that some photos online show the power switch showing a blue light on the power button when turned on - mine doesn't - be nice to be able to get that to go - is there any way to switch that on?

Edited February 16, 2020 by GaryNZ

[gillmaverick]

17 hours ago, GaryNZ said:

Just picked up the NAD C 658 yesterday myself, so far it was a tad hit and miss to start with but once I got Bluos downloaded and installed on both my phone and desktop things started to fall into place
Once both my NAS and desktop had been discovered and all the songs imported and updated it was a breeze to use, another feature I really love is the internet radio stations, again very easy to use and navigate.
It is my first using the Bluos management system and so far am loving it.
Basically I got the 658 to do Dirac room correction, the other features came along as a bonus over and above getting the MiniDSP SHD Studio that I was going to get instead headed down the 658 track mainly due they are obtained locally and local support.
I am really enjoying the sound quality so far and look forward to getting to know all of its features and using them - no need for Roon, Airplay or Bubbleupnp with this.

I have the MiniDSP UMIK1 mic arriving this week so will cool to see if this will be a improvement over the standard mic that you get with the 658 esp being able to import the mic calibration file for real accuracy - just have to figure out how to implement the UMIK1 with Dirac - whether to plug it into the PC or 658

Two things I found that are a pain in the arse:

1. The user manual is online download only - would be far nicer to have a hard cover, also the manual is pretty vague/simple and doesn't give much depth

2. Having communication issues trying to connect to the 658 via Dirac from my PC, it can see it BUT keeps on timing out while trying to connect, can take me up to 9 or 10 goes to get it to connect but after all is good. Any advice or tips on this will greatly be appreciated.

 

Have all my sources connected to the 658 which then is connected to my Hegel H390 int. amp. which powers my Dynaudio Excite X44s

 

Quick question - I noticed that some photos online show the power switch showing a blue light on the power button when turned on - mine doesn't - be nice to be able to get that to go - is there any way to switch that on?

Hi Gary ,

Congrats on your New NAD. Please let us know if UMIC-1 makes any difference. I have only used the standard NAD Mic.

Cheers

[Bones2]

 

Wish you hours of enjoyment with your new NAD.

 

 

Just a note on the Auralic.

Using an Aries G1 since December. Readily available in Oz now as there is a local distributor.

Excellent app interface (though Apple only).

Works with UPnP but not as graphical.

 

Has " improved" the sound of my DAC compared to the feed of the same tracks from my CD transport..

[NADbooffa]

4 hours ago, Bones2 said:

 

Wish you hours of enjoyment with your new NAD.

 

 

Just a note on the Auralic.

Using an Aries G1 since December. Readily available in Oz now as there is a local distributor.

Excellent app interface (though Apple only).

Works with UPnP but not as graphical.

 

Has " improved" the sound of my DAC compared to the feed of the same tracks from my CD transport..

That's good to know Auralic is available now in oz

[GaryNZ]

On 17/02/2020 at 4:20 PM, Bones2 said:

 

Wish you hours of enjoyment with your new NAD.

 

 

Just a note on the Auralic.

Using an Aries G1 since December. Readily available in Oz now as there is a local distributor.

Excellent app interface (though Apple only).

Works with UPnP but not as graphical.

 

Has " improved" the sound of my DAC compared to the feed of the same tracks from my CD transport..

Does Auralic do room correction?