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…but the Antipodes DXe steps in to remind us that getting electrical noise and jitter as low as possible from the outset serves up greater musical potency than attempting to correct it after the fact Concero-style. Connected to the Vega with the same TotalD1 USB cable, the DXe presented itself as more relaxed, suppler with dynamic inflections, tonally richer and – best of all – free of the bike-reflector glare that still plagued the upper frequencies of the Mac-Concero combo. Take note: the delta here is larger than it is between DACs!
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With two data points established quickly, the Aries went into battle. Again, the TotalD1 USB cable took data direct to the Vega. The result? Less stressed than the Mac + Concero HD but not as blissed out as the Antipodes. The Aries straddled the difference leaning closer toward the latter. In the context of the Aries’ sticker price, that was an impressive result.
Things became more interesting still when the Vega got benched in favour of running the Concero HD in DAC mode. A slight knock to macrodynamics aside, the Aries + Concero HD sounded preferable to the Mac + Concero HD + AURALiC Vega.
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The glare and artificial sheen of lesser transports like the MacBook Air might not be obvious until one substitutes it for something superior like the AURALiC Aries (or Antipodes DXe). That’s the power of contrast.
And whilst the Antipodes box remains king of the hill on performance, in pushing close to five-thousand Australian dollars, it’s also by the far the costliest option here. The more compact more stylish Aries doesn’t rip CDs or play host to your music library but it’ll run you fewer bucks than a MacBook Air + Resonessence Labs Concero HD converter solution - and it’ll sound better.
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Even when mentally swapping out MacBook Air for MacMini and Concero HD for Audiophilleo, the revised ~ $1’200 total sees the Aries maintaining value composure.
AURALiC have reportedly thus far spent in excess of $1m in developing the Aries hardware, associated operating system and control apps – an ambitious undertaking. The end result already presents as just the ticket for the audiophile who is a) already in possession of an Apple iPad, b) not averse to wireless networks and c) already stacked with FLAC/ALAC on a NAS device or networked PC.
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The Aries’ appeal will likely widen as Android and iPhone apps come online. Once Windows and Mac clients hit the ground, WiFi can be dispensed with altogether (opening the door for possible use by our publisher).
Look again at the rear of the unit. Due to be activated via a forthcoming firmware update currently slated for October, the second USB socket promises hard drive connectivity, obviating the need for a PC/Mac music server altogether. The AURALiC Aries poses a serious threat to the use of consumer-grade computers as digital audio transports but with so much still to come, the story isn’t yet fully written. Let’s wait and see what Santa lobs down the chimney… |
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| For John Darko's own magazine, click here. |
john @ digitalaudioreview.net |
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