Стримеры — Aurender A20

The A20 is an analogue output network player from Aurender, combining a music server, a streaming client and a dual-mono DAC in one machined aluminium case. Aurender describes it as derived from the A30, sharing that model's conversion and audio circuits while leaving out the CD ripping drive and the library management functions. It adds a single headphone socket and four digital inputs, so it can also act as the converter for other digital sources.

Key specs that matter

Conversion uses two AKM AK4497 chips, one per channel, with full MQA decoding on board. Through the analogue outputs the A20 plays PCM up to 32-bit and 768 kHz and DSD512 natively. Balanced XLR and unbalanced RCA outputs are both variable, and a 6.35 mm unbalanced headphone jack sits on the front. The digital inputs are one RCA coaxial, one BNC coaxial and two Toslink optical. A dedicated USB audio output, isolated from the CPU board, can feed an external DAC with up to 768 kHz PCM, DSD512 native or DSD256 over DoP. Inside are an Intel low-power quad-core processor, 8 GB of RAM and a 480 GB NVMe drive for system and cache, plus two 2.5 inch bays for user-fitted SSDs of up to 8 TB each. The case is 430 x 111 x 355 mm (99 mm tall without feet) and weighs 14.2 kg, and an 8.8 inch IPS colour LCD at 1920 x 480 pixels fills the front.

Engineering and use context

The linear supply is split into four sections - 50 W for the CPU, a separate 25 W section for each DAC channel and 35 W shared by the FPGA and the headphone circuit. Super-capacitors form a small UPS that keeps the player stable if mains power is suddenly lost. Timing comes from an FPGA with a clock generator rated below 100 fs of jitter. Tracks are copied into solid-state memory and played from there, and a Critical Listening Mode switches off the display, buttons and background computing that playback does not need. The gigabit network port is double-isolated. Consumption is 47 W in play, 80 W peak and 6 W on standby. Streaming covers TIDAL, Qobuz and internet radio, with Spotify Connect and AirPlay, and the player reads DSF and DFF files as well as WAV, FLAC, AIFF, ALAC, M4A and APE.

Pairing

Because the volume is set at DAC level without loss, the A20 can drive a power amplifier directly and do the job of a preamplifier, using XLR or RCA cables. With a fixed setting it also fits an integrated amplifier, while a disc spinner or television may be wired to its coaxial and optical inputs.

Alternatives

The Aurender A15 keeps balanced XLR outputs but moves to dual-mono AKM 4490 converters in a lower case without a headphone socket.