Auralic Aries S1 streamer + PSU option

[@serloinoflamm1119]

Thanks. Very useful and perfect timing. I had booked a listening session for next week., so your review is timely. Looking to upgrade my G1

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

Perfect!

[@richardgrant418]

As Hans said the S series is the entry level, wouldn’t auditioning the S1 be more likely the opposite of an upgrade?

[@serloinoflamm1119]

@@richardgrant418 that’s what I intend to find out. I see it more as future proofing with the Tesla 3 engine, so maybe a sideways move. But not prepared to spend around 5k for the G2.2. If there was a G1.2 maybe I would go for that.

[@mrrocknroll84]

@@richardgrant418 with the powersupply, it beats the g1.1 and the rose rs250a.

[@tomgray6093]

Another very informative article Hans, many thanks. I still run the original Aries LE in a secondary system and it has given me 10 years of trouble free entertainment. The only problems I had were poor routers.

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

👍🏼

[@reptidan]

Its look amazing and is with in my budget, very interesting review, thank you Hans.

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

My pleasure!

[@jeremiahchamberlin4499]

Great comparison of the two power supply options. I have been relatively happy with what folks call the ‘Stone age’ Aries (which I refer to as the ‘original’ Aries). I like them so much, I just bought a second unit for my second system. It is now possible for me to stream the same source on both systems at the same time. However, if I had known Auralic was coming out with the S1, I would have held off. The S1 will be my next streaming purchase as I find the price of ‘all-in-ones” a bit steep. Thank you, Hans, for all you do to help us old analog dinosaurs climb into the digital age. PS: I can attest that the Optical S/PDIF is a weak link. It has completely failed on one of my units.

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

My grand children are crazy about dinosaurs 😁

[@jean-michel2489]

Thanks for your introduction to this new S1 product . Soundwise I would have liked to know if this S1 is as good or better than the previous Aries G1 . And if this S1 plus power box is as good or better than the Aries G1 plus Hoerwege power supply card…

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

I reviewed the Aries G1 quite some time ago on another setup. My guess is that the Aries S1 is at least as good, with the optional PSU even better.

[@arkadiuszweglewski5502]

Excellent review Hans. I wonder why you favor connection the streamer to the DAC using SPDIF? Why not AES EBU or especially USB? Is connecting via SPDIF sounds better than via USB in your opinion??

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

On good devices and short quality leads the difference between AES/EBU and SPDIF is extremely small (if any) while USB Audio Class 2 is hardly ever equal (let alone Audio class 1)

[@PauloFerreira-hh6zv]

Thank you Hans, for another great review. I think that when you refer to Aires 1 in the video, you mean Aires G1, or am I wrong? If I understand correctly, the new ranking for streamers/network players is: 1st Aries G2 / 2nd Aries S1+Optional PSU / 3th Aries S1 / 4th Mano Ultra MK3 / 5th Arce / 6th Aries G1 / 7th 200 Ultra Neo + SBooster / 8th Emerson Digital + SBooster / 9th Rivo + Farad 3.

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

👍🏼

[@fernandocoutinho6661]

I understood the Aries S1 somewhere between the Aries G1 and the Magna Mano Ultra…with the Aries G1 ranking above the new S1 and the Magna Mano ranking below. The new PSU pushing the Aries S1 to near G1 but still below. 🤷‍♀️normally Hans rankings are very clear but this time somehow less clear 😬

[@PauloFerreira-hh6zv]

There must have been some confusion in this explanation, because the Mano Ultra was above the 200 Ultra Neo and the G1. Unless Hans wanted to say that the S1 was below the Mano Ultra and above the G1, but after seeing the rest of the video, this position doesn't make sense. I think it is correct to consider that the S1 is better than the Mano Ultra.

[@mrrocknroll84]

After having the vega s1 and powersupply at work, the new auralic stands out. Sadly it flogs the g1.1 dac in the low end. Comparing to other streamers the s1 series is up there with units double its price, i mean total price when combined with the power supply. Its a giant killer

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

thanks for sharing

[@marcinkantoch7176]

I own the Aries G2.1 with Hoer-Wege PSU. An outstanding streamer! Every Auralic Aries product unfortunately has very medicore spdif and aes outputs. On the other hand the USB output is just magnificent. If you are testing it only using aes output, you are missing out a lot of performance the unit can deliver.

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

I really don't understand your comments on the AES3 outputs. They really are very, very good!

[@marcinkantoch7176]

Please compare it to the USB output and you will see the difference. It is huge. I tested on several dacs.

[@小王-r4b]

I guess it depends on the DAC it is used with.

[@skrads]

The AES and USB sound differences depends on your dac quality. USB carries the data without the clock. If your dac is top quality compared to the streamer then the USB will sound better than AES since AES uses the clock in the streamer. At least this is my understanding. For this reason and as an example, Grimm Audio Mu1 uses the AES output for up sampling and not the USB output.

[@djhmax09]

it depends on your dac mostly... mine sounds horrible on USB. I use aes.

[@danielguderian4649]

I wonder why it doesnt provide a HDMI for I2S. Also, I didnt quite understand "half way between Magna Mano and Aries 1" - which "1"? And on what side is that, compared to the Magna Mano?

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

The first Aries 1, not the 1.1

[@xstensl8823]

@@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel even though the original Aries 1 is positively Paleolithic you can pick them up for under 1k! oh and don't forget about the baby Aries

[@gioponti6359]

tx for review - looks tempting indeed. As scary as power via hdmi looks, I can sense the possibility for separation of noise, and resulting gains in SQ (think isolation of usb output stage).

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

👍🏼

[@deepakpillai6082]

Hi Hans. How does the S1 stack up against the magna mano streamer? Would appreciate your viewpoint. Thank you!

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

Like I said in the video

[@FredrikN-u8m]

Thank you for an excellent review! I am trying to decide between the Aries S1 and the Aurender N150, the are both on my short list and almost the same price as the S1 plus PSU is similar to the Aurender which have a linear element integrated. Unfortunately, I have no meaningful way of doing a b testing, but I might be influenced in my decision making by that I have some difficulty getting over that the Aries S1 cost as much as the Vega S1, as it seems you pay the same to get less (although some SQ benefits perhaps by including less in the box). Basically my question is if there is anything motivating the Aries S1 to cost the same as the Vega S1, which would easy my irritation with this? :) (And if you feel like weighing in on the Aries S1 vs the Aurender N150 I’d be very grateful, they will feed into a Dneafrips Pontus.)

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

I haven’t reviewed the Aurender so I can’t have an opinion on it. Since you already have the nice Denafrips, why not go for the S1?

[@matthewhoult1350]

A very nice looking streamer similar in size and shape to the DCS Lina and the upgraded external power supply is a bonus that can be added at a later date to help spread the cost, however it was unusual to see a HDMI socket to transmit the external power supply rails. I like the idea of Dirac intergration within the streamer I've not seen that before, very swish.

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

Yes, exactly

[@thomasnielsen5704]

I’m quite hooked on the Aries S1, especially because you can connect external digital sources, such as audio from a Tv, and upsample and equalize the sound in the processor circuits. In another test, however, (The British Audiophile) it was highlighted that there is a delay of the sound compared to the TV picture (latency - lip sync). This delay appears mostly in a subsequent buffer circuit, after the processor circuits. I have learned that the latency delay in the buffer circuit is as default set to 300 ms, but can be adjusted down to 50 ms. Is it enough to avoid lip sync problems? My TV is an LG C9.

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

You need 10, max 20 ms latency for proper lip sync.

[@entity279]

with all your many comprehensive streamer reviews, I'd really be interested if you could one day dip into Lumin streamers. Those "look" apealing to me as a streamer upgrade at one point in the future

[@justasimplefox]

And Android app 😊

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

Not in the foreseeable future

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

Ditto

[@medonk12rs]

Which "Aries 1" do you refer to (11:09) in the comparison / ranking of the S1? Aries G1.1, or the stone-age plastic-housing Aries 1 you also mention?

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

The first Aries 1, not the 1.1

[@justasimplefox]

I´m a little confused by your earlier statements where you mention that strictly digital circuits (like this bridge) benefit from good switching power supplies where DACS function better with linear ones 🤔

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

OK, let me correct this a bit. The power supply needs to be able too supply current very fast since digital signals are in fact analog square waves that have extremely high rise times. SMPSU's do that by nature, LPSU's need to be rather over dimensioned to do that. Like the Sean Jacobs PSU for the Chord Dave (kzbin.info/www/bejne/fpjcdqWrrsSZjpI)

[@borisbuscail-tan3719]

Thank you for this review. Is the internet filter ENO an important add as you said the streamer also reduces the jitter from internet signal ? Thank you

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

It is to me. Whether it is for you I can’t say.

[@larsv6144]

Hans, at 11:09 and 13:56 did you mean the Aries G1.1, when you said “Aries 1”?

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

The G1

[@edw5386]

Thank you Hans, excellent review, I am considering buying a network player for my dac weiss 204, but I will wait for the review of the network player from Nagra if the price offered is reasonable

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

👍🏼

[@alwinheijmans5989]

Have you tried the onboard parametric equalizer? Just curious to know how many bands are available.

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

10 bands

[@alwinheijmans5989]

Funny. This is the third source for answering this question. Auralic answered 8 while a shop tried and reported back 16. Btw, thanks for your reply and your informative videos.

[@KAL-589]

The buttons on the top are a bit naff. Why not simply use a touchscreen? I'll most likely buy the Altair G1.1 for it's great DAC performance. Thanks for the overview.

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

Touch screens are fingerprint magnets. Quite some people don’t like them.

[@LOUDERthanU]

Thanks Hans. Very thorough as always. Very interested in the Dirac implementation. I would connect this to my Vega G2

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

Excellent!

[@leach720]

Hi Hans, hope you're well. Will you review the Vega S1 by any chance?

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

Don’t know yet

[@hassabsaeed9993]

Any news when Dirac live will be available ? also will it be the full version ?

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

It's waiting for Dirac approval. No definite date available yet.

[@Maurizzio_]

Hello Hans, does it have high pass filter for the mains? Thank you.

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

I don’t know. It sounds great 😊

[@anthonycapuano8596]

Hello Hans. I'm unclear whether you rate sq of the s1 lower than sq of the g1 or g1.1. Can you clarify this? Thanks

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

It brings the S1 very close to the Aries 1, perhaps even above it. I can’t say for sure without direct comparison.

[@anthonycapuano8596]

@@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel Thanks

[@larsv6144]

If the S1 gets Dirac Live I will definitely get it and sell my Magna Hifi Mano Ultra MK3.....

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

I understand

[@igaldins]

Thank you

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

👍🏼

[@Ian-nc4im]

My beef with Auralic is that they change models too quick. There will be a S1.1 in 6 months and another one not too long after that.

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

They are moderate increments, If I still would have my Aries 2, I would still enjoy it.

[@KITFLETCH1]

Do you think that upgradable and modifiable electronics is now a feasible option for manufacturers? With these electronics there appears to be a significant need.

[@benyHiFi]

How does this stack up with the DMP-A8 as a streamer only?

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

As I said in the videos...

[@ProfoundProductions]

@@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel I didn’t hear them compared in the video.

[@ProfoundProductions]

Great question, I’m torn between these two and the Lumin U2 mini, all about the same price.

[@rcavor74]

Is DSD natively supported on Aries S1? If yes, up to what bitrate?...I was looking on the manufacturer's webpage but there is no information about the DSD format. Thnx...

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

It does do DSD and I have tried DSD128. I don't have DSD256 tracks so I didn't try that.

[@rcavor74]

​Thank you!@@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel

[@justasimplefox]

Is the Lightning DS app stable? There are a lot of negative reviews on this topic..

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

Early versions were not the best. The current version is very fast and stable as I showed in the video.

[@cw14891]

Kann ich nur bestätigen, nutze die Ligthning DS täglich! Läuft 😊

[@jeremiahchamberlin4499]

I agree with Hans, the Lightning DS app undergoes constant revision and updating. New features being added periodically. Although my 30+ year old Spotify-using son immediately proclaimed it the clunkiest interface he had ever seen. It works, and I can easily navigate to every function I need.

[@TS-ex4dl]

HDMI pwr lead - interfence? or they were going to add PC?

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

No, it's just power.

[@patrickmeylemans9627]

Direc live for the full range or limited to the lower frequency’s?

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

That has not be disclosed. But I think upgrading from limited to full range is less than € 100. And if your loudspeakers are good, you might not need the full range version.

[@jeremiahchamberlin4499]

@@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannelYour verb tense in English would be better rendered’has not yet been disclosed’ or, at least, that is how I interpreted what you wrote.

[@andriichovhan9823]

deezer support? only moon support this?

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

Not when I reviewed it, if I remember well. But that's already some time ago.

[@xstensl8823]

price of the PSU please?

[@gioponti6359]

1k€ - was stated somewhere

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

👍🏼

[@Zoomerland]

how much $ is the PSU?

[@angeloromanazzo2585]

999

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

As I said in the video: € 999

[@vekanoid]

And again, those Auralic noobs still support only iOS. On that way they loose 80% of customers. Pointless.

[@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel]

Somehow I think they will be aware of that

[@vekanoid]

​@@TheHansBeekhuyzenChannel I hope so, but that lasts too long. Maybe they are fan of apple or they don't have Android developers. That is shame for such a big brand.

[@wesselkampen2644]

That's my problem with them too. Was really interested but don't have any Apple products. Bought a Innuos Pulse instead.

[@ProfoundProductions]

Because most people who can afford this use iOS.

[@MTH2000]

@@ProfoundProductions Wise answer