System information

For example the DAC could lock on to the incoming audio signal, reading the sample rate as the audio comes
into the DAC. Or, a user could manually set the clock on aDAC before switching sample rates. Both of these
are less than desirable. The dCS - Aurender communication is terrific.
Another more traditional way of getting excellent sound quality is to send word clock out from a DAC into the
W20. This places the clock as close to the DAC as possible (actually in it) as preferred by some manufacturers
and listeners. Fortunately none of this "clocking business" is necessary if one doesn't have a component
capable of sending word clock to the W20. This should cover 99% of users as most DACs do not feature word
clock in or outputs. The W20 is capable of stellar sound quality with or without an external clock feed. When
using the W20 with my Alpha DAC Series 2 I simply connected a single AES cable between the Alpha and
Aurender. This same configuration was used with the EMM Labs DAC2X in my system. Complexity isn't
compulsory for quality. An external clock feeding the W20 should be considered the icing on the cake when
used in the correct system.
In addition to working with dCS on DAC / Master Clock communication the Aurender team has worked with
both Constellation Audio and Berkeley Audio Design. My W20 also shipped with an RS232 to USB adapter that
works with Constellation Audio preamplifiers. Once connected the Aurender iPad application enables control of
the Constellation Audio preamp's volume, input selection, and phase. The Aurender iPad app then becomes
the only remote needed for daily use of a W20 / Constellation based system. At a CES 2014 dinner my friend,
industry veteran, and Aurender dealer Tim Marutani suggested to the Aurender team that they enableUSB to
infrared control for the forthcoming Berkeley Audio Design Alpha DAC Reference Series. Close to 24 hours
later an Alpha DAC was scheduled for delivery to Seoul for testing and the Aurender team had a design for a
nice USB to IR adapter in mind. Work on the final implementation of this USB to IR communication is in
progress as of the writing of this review. I hope to test this feature when I receive an Alpha DAC RS in the
next couple weeks.
The Aurender W20 ships in two configurations. The 6TB (2x3TB) model for $16,800 and an 8TB (2x4TB)
model for $17,200. The W20 features an SSD for caching music in the queue enabling the larger spinning
drives to wind down. These spinning drives are suspended on rubber and located inside a block of machined
aluminum that minimizes vibrations and noise, both electrical and acoustic. The drives are independent, as
opposed to combined into a single large drive. The user connecting to a W20 over the network sees both
HDD1 and HDD2, each 3TB or 4TB depending on the model. This is one item I wish was user configurable. I
prefer to have both drives combined into a single large drive of 6TB or 8TB. This would make copying files
easier and space management nonexistent. Currently my W20 has two 3TB drives. I have an A-K folder on
HDD1 and both L-Z and DSD folders on HDD2. If my collection music in the A-K folder grows larger than a
single disk can hold, I'll need to reconfigure the folder structure. Fortunately, if I create an A-K folder on both
HDD1 and HDD2 the Aurender will see these as a single folder when using the folder filter button. This isn't
ideal, but it's also not the end of the world or a show stopper. The possible pitfalls of combining both drives
into a single larger drive may have to do with adding either hardware or software RAID to the W20 or the fact
that losing a single disk would wipe out one's entire music collection rather than half of the collection. Users
should worry about losing their music in the event of a drive failure because everyone has a backup, right? If
the W20 can be setup for a single large drive I'd love the ability to toggle this on or off from within the iPad
application.
Aurender W20 Software - No Hocus-pocus Just Solid Software
The software running on the Aurender W20 is nearly identical to all other models. The only differences are
related to support for hardware such as word clock input and dual AES output. The Aurender servers feature
Remote Support capability. There are a couple methods of enabling this remote support, one from the actual
W20 and the other through the iPad application. Remote support must be enabled by the end user and is only
necessary if the user encounters a problem. Once enabled via the iPad app the Aurender team receives an
email containing very general system information such as software versions of the system software and the
iPad application, and any description of the problem provided by the end user. Upon receiving notification of a
problem, initiated by the user, the Aurender team can access the W20 remotely to diagnose and correct
issues. This remote access requires no configuration or user intervention other than enabling the feature. I
know people who have used this feature in the field and have been very happy with Aurender support. I've
used it myself and had great results. The feature seems time limited in that I've enabled it and had to re-
enable it because the Aurender team didn't connect immediately. I did't expect immediate assistance as the
team doesn't have a 24/7 support staff monitoring and connecting to systems around the world. Not even