Network Audio Players/Servers

A first impression is that using the Aries G2.2, and selecting music from an iPad, is more convenient than hooking up my 15in MacBook to a DAC with a long USB cable. But what about sound quality? A USB cable is a lot cheaper than Auralic's streamer after all.

It turns out there's more than expediency at play. Using Radiohead's Amnesiac album [Parlophone CDFHEIT 45101; 44.1kHz/16-bit] as a benchmark, tracks like 'You And Whose Army' and 'I Might Be Wrong' were tighter and more precise via the Aries G2.2. We're not talking about a night and day difference, but using the transport resulted in what felt like a more accurate – and involving – reproduction of these classic but not exactly cheery songs. The impact of the Aries G2.2 was very noticeable on 'Knives Out', Thom Yorke's lament being portrayed on a darker, grander background and the acoustic guitar off to the side sounding substantially more lifelike.

Spatial Awareness
Diving into the processing settings and switching the Aries G2.2 to upsample to 352.8kHz/32-bit (and with the Smooth filter in tow) enhanced it even further, adding a greater sense of space. This augmented three-dimensionality is worth it, as it made the introduction to Radiohead's 'Hunting Bears' that bit more tangible. Indeed, I found the experience intriguing, as in the past I've observed such differences mainly when upsampling PCM to DSD, not when boosting CD-quality PCM to a higher sampling rate.

As an aside, Auralic's upsampling delivered a more natural-sounding result than that offered by Roon. And while there are other permutations possible with the latter when playing around with streaming and upsampling, for example involving the HQPlayer add-on, the Aries G2.2 nearly always offered the best result. Its ease of use also meant I was focused on the music, not fiddling around with options (nor complaining about network stability, as is the case when upsampling happens on a server and a large stream must be transported over the local network).

Swapping out T+A's DAC200 for the M6x DAC from Musical Fidelity required no more than changing over the cable. In that sense, the Aries G2.2 is a bit like Switzerland: it'll work with virtually anyone. Twice I listened to Francesco Turrisi and Rhiannon Giddens' There Is No Other [Nonesuch Records; 96kHz/16-bit], once with the DAC200 and once with the M6x DAC. This album mixes a lot of eclectic instruments and musical traditions, so if you want to listen intently, there's plenty to focus your hearing on.

Vive La Difference
The Aries G2.2 brought out the two DACs' respective characters: detailed and crisp for Musical Fidelity's model, transparent and exact for T+A's. The percussion in the lively background on 'Little Margaret', for example, was a shade more expansive and natural via the DAC200. Determining differences between D/A converters is always challenging, but I felt the Aries G2.2 was aiding the investigative process, not muddying the waters.

Upsampling low-quality source material can be tricky, but when streaming MP3 renderings of Luka Bloom's The Platinum Collection [Rhino Records; 8122-79993-3] via Amazon Music, the Aries G2.2's processing came to the fore. Even though I was playing lossy 192kbps-encoded files, the semi-acoustic guitar on 'Dreams In America' or the fiddle on 'You Couldn't Have Come At A Better Time' sounded pretty close to excellent. Listening to the same tracks from local files on a NAS was more satisfying, as dynamics and very high-frequency detail sounded more authentic. Nonetheless, the Aries G2.2 offered a very good performance despite the lacklustre file quality.

Ultimately, the mission of a digital transport is twofold: ensuring you can find and play your music with as little hassle as possible, and delivering a digital feed to whatever DAC you've chosen in the best quality. Logically, this last requirement means an ideal digital transport is transparent and lets the rest of your music system get on with it. This is what the Aries G2.2 sets out to achieve, and succeeds – unless you wish differently.

Hi-Fi News Verdict
There's no beating the Aries G2.2's flexibility. It will let your DAC shine, allowing you to get on with discovering new music through the slick Lightning DS app. Or it can become a powerful sound processing tool in your quest for ultimate reproduction. Whatever your use case, Auralic's dedication to updating means the Aries G2.2 is an investment in sound quality that promises long-term listening gains.