[bmichels]

Hello all,

@ Bmichels, which product did you buy and why ?

In my shortlist there are:
- Aurender N100
- Auralic Aries
- SOTM SMS1000SQ Digital
- Antipodes DS
- Melco N1a
- Moon Mind

Thanks.

Well I bought the ARIES because it was a good price/quality ratio but... I regret because it is not stable with large music librairies. I will resale it and buy aurender N10 or the CAT from CAD UK.

 

[Yeiayel]

Sure at first sight strong products, but what a price ! Some people say that SOTM SMS1000SQ is equivalent to N10 at half price.
 
Regarding Aries, what do you mean by "not stable with large librairies" ?

 

[project86]

I have a review of the B.M.C. PureMedia set to publish soon over at Part Time Audiophile. Keep an eye out for that if you might be interested. Also working on the write-up (at that same site) for the SOtM sMS-1000SQ with the linear PSU add-on. 
 
After using those two plus my own Aurender X100L, I can't quite choose which one I like best. Tough comparison. Pure SQ goes to the SOtM by a small margin. Ease of use probably goes to the X100L. Features is hands down PureMedia, especially if you might be into video at all (which I now am, more and more, thanks to that device).
 
I'm starting to think there's no easy answer to the question "Which one is best?"

 

[bmichels]

  Sure at first sight strong products, but what a price ! Some people say that SOTM SMS1000SQ is equivalent to N10 at half price.
 
Regarding Aries, what do you mean by "not stable with large librairies" ?

 
Well, I do NOT want to deal with NAS and storage on the network, so I use the USB Storage option of the ARIES, but this USB option do not support large (2 To USB HD) libraries as well as when he librairie is on a NAS.   
 
So, for me only music server with internal storage like Aurender or CAT will do it for me.

 

[bmichels]

  I have a review of the B.M.C. PureMedia set to publish soon over at Part Time Audiophile. Keep an eye out for that if you might be interested.

 
this B.M.C. PureMedia seems very very interesting indeed  (same features than ORPHEUS's Absolute Mediaserver which also can play Videos ? ) but... the most important question is in the usability of the player software.  
 
The Aurender's player is very robust and mature to store, search, play music.  is it the same with B.M.C. PureMedia's software ?  Can it use ROON for this ? 
 

 

[britneedadvice]

  Sure at first sight strong products, but what a price ! Some people say that SOTM SMS1000SQ is equivalent to N10 at half price.
 
Regarding Aries, what do you mean by "not stable with large librairies" 

One thing's for sure,all these Servers, (high-end or otherwise) are the ultimate in practicability.However, we would all agree that this cannot be at the expense of sound quality reproduction.(with-in price groups,of course)
I consider myself to be a bit of a Dinosaur ! I find it strange that it is only recently, there now so many threads discussing these issues?
I'm currently selling one of my units and looked up the paperwork to find I'd had it over four years!
I have a couple of SOtM products and can vouch for their (price related) performance. I've not auditioned the SMS1000SQ but I'd be surprised if I wasn't impressed!
 
BUT.... with all this talk about Servers, why no mention about the 'Kings of Digital'  - Meridian ??
Surely, it's at least got to be mentioned??..... and with Meridian perfecting their 'MQA' mastering system????
 
I would advise anybody interested in Servers to take a look, that is , even without MQA .... and I know there's many on these pages who are totally blinded about the possibilities of MQA. I've had a couple of auditions with MQA and whilst there are some reservations , clearly,  something very special is coming....!!!
 
So, I would suggest take a look at Meridian, if the sound is not for you or you prefer something else, so be it. However,I would check that the product you buy(particularly if it's an expensive product)can be subsequently upgrade to take MQA.......and please don't ask me any technical questions about MQA, I'm only bothered about what it sounds like  !!( there's a good video on WBF with Bob Stewart and the guy from Tidal)

 

[mcullinan]

Remember a lot of this is marketing BS... while you are paying $2-3K for a music server with proprietary server software I would take a stab and say the user experience for navigating your actual music library probably blows. Think of how many Squeezebox devices were sold and how large their user interface/software dept was. I highly doubt the boutique 3K product companies are investing as much as the famed Logitech. I have no interest in paying 10x for a server even with the marketing claimed better sound to get a user experience that is obtuse. Yeah I said it... obtuse lol

 

[project86]

   
this B.M.C. PureMedia seems very very interesting indeed  (same features than ORPHEUS's Absolute Mediaserver which also can play Videos ? ) but... the most important question is in the usability of the player software.  
 
The Aurender's player is very robust and mature to store, search, play music.  is it the same with B.M.C. PureMedia's software ?  Can it use ROON for this ? 
 

 
First off, no Roon. That may be coming soon to certain devices (Aurender, possibly SOtM though I believe it will be a different product running Windows instead of Linux) but I haven't heard anything about it coming to the PureMedia.
 
PureMedia is quite good at offering a rich UI though. Maybe a bit of different focus than Aurender et al because in this case we have a monitor involved. So it's totally possible to use a wireless mouse or keyboard or whatever control method we want. The B.M.C. may not be as smart as other when it comes to being searchable but that's perhaps because it doesn't really need to be.... there's no problem scrolling through mutiple terabytes of music when you have a big screen, a mouse, and even a desktop style directory view if you choose that method. Lots of options available. 
 
 

  Remember a lot of this is marketing BS... while you are paying $2-3K for a music server with proprietary server software I would take a stab and say the user experience for navigating your actual music library probably blows. Think of how many Squeezebox devices were sold and how large their user interface/software dept was. I highly doubt the boutique 3K product companies are investing as much as the famed Logitech. I have no interest in paying 10x for a server even with the marketing claimed better sound to get a user experience that is obtuse. Yeah I said it... obtuse lol

 
 
I agree on some level. Audiophile playback devices like this are pretty similar to portable DAPs in that the sound is usually there but the UI can be questionable. I like the SOtM as it uses Logitech Media Server and is therefore an easy transition for all those Logitech Squeezebox or Transporter users looking to upgrade. 

 

[Yeiayel]

@project86, excited to read the reviews dedicated to BMC and SOTM.

@Britneedavdice, which Meridian product without internal DAC do you advise ?

 

[britneedadvice]

@project86, excuted to read the reviews dedicated to BMC and SOTM.

@Britneedavdice, which Meridian product without internal DAC do you advise ?

The 818 and MS600 both have on board DACs

 

[Yeiayel]

Project86, when do you plan to release the reviews ? Too excited!

 

[REXNFX]

 
 
 
I agree on some level. Audiophile playback devices like this are pretty similar to portable DAPs in that the sound is usually there but the UI can be questionable. I like the SOtM as it uses Logitech Media Server and is therefore an easy transition for all those Logitech Squeezebox or Transporter users looking to upgrade. 

If SQ is the only concern, is it better to use a phone/DAP and an expensive DAC or an expensive server with a cheaper DAC? Cheers!

 

[alubis]

Interesting measurement result in HiFi News Feb 2016, where Melco N1A has better measurement compare to Aurender N10.

 

[project86]

Project86, when do you plan to release the reviews ? Too excited!

 
 
Review of B.M.C. PureMedia has been submitted to my editor at Part Time Audiophile for several weeks by now. It's up to him when to publish but I imagine sooner than later. I'm working on SOtM sMS-1000SQ, should have that done this month, though again I don't choose when it goes live.
 
 

  If SQ is the only concern, is it better to use a phone/DAP and an expensive DAC or an expensive server with a cheaper DAC? Cheers!

 
Depends on the DAC. Expensive does not necessarily equal better. And some are more sensitive to transport quality than others. All things being equal I find ease of use very high on my list.... so I wouldn't like to use a phone or DAP at home with the exception of the HiFiMAN HM901S in the excellent dedicated dock. 

 

[Yeiayel]

I have a good opportunity for a SOTM SQ, I will take it.