Munich HIGH END Show Report 2015
High End Society Munich Germany

AURALiC ARIES MINI @ HIGH END 2015 

  AURALiC was in a variety of locations and first i saw the ARIES with VEGA converter at one of the main downstairs open venues.

In another room AURALiC was showing their new ARIES MINI ($399) with the Kaiser Acoustic speakers. The sound was very smooth, relaxed and dare i say sensual(!). This new wireless streaming unit is like the fabled Squeezebox yet modernized. You can connect the ARIES MINI to your existing home audio system and use the same software and hardware functions coming from their original Aries. The ARIES MINI includes high quality analog output and optional hard drive slot for those who have not (wisely) purchased a proper NAS drive.

AURALiC's proprietary Tesla hardware platform includes a Quad-Core ARM Coretex-A9 processor running at 1GHz, 512MB DDR3 onboard memory and 4GB internal storage. The Tesla platform has a calculation ability of 25,000 MIPS, more than enough to decode AAC, AIFF, ALAC, APE, DIFF, DSF, FLAC, MP3, OGG, WAV, WV and WMA.

Specs include a variety of streaming services, local uPnP/DLNA library content, Qobuz and WiMP, Internet radio, AirPlay and Songcast, etc. It handles sampling rates from PCM to 384kHz/32-bit to DSD256. Inputs include RJ45 Gigabit Ethernet, Wi-Fi, and USB 2.0. Outputs are USB 2.0, S/PDIF coaxial and optical TosLink. It is very small and measures only 5.3" x 5.3" x 1.1" (WxDxH) and weighs a mere 1.1 lbs.

Color me very impressed, especially for the price. This could finally be the killer little unit for those on a budget, yet who do not need multi-room ability like a lower performance Sonos system provides. Naturally the new AURALiC ARIES MINI deserves an award for providing an outstanding ability for those who love to stream their music, yet at a very reasonable price.

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