BrankoZ
Active Member
We already mentioned here some Arylic streamers in different threads but I think that Arylic deserves special thread about their streamers.
I will describe my experience with S10 and Up2Stream and maybe with some other models , hopefully Up2Stream HD DAC.
As a prologue I must explain that already had experience with some streamers (Roku Soundbridge and apple AirPort Express) and with some computer based music streamers ( Volumio and Daphile installations ).
I was in a quest for a stand alone device ( not PC, Pi or other bootable comps) which can play music from services like TIDAL, Spotify, Qobuz , music from locan storage , NAS and music servers.
Somehow I heard about Arylic and decide to try their S10 model.
The device arrives in a nice box with instructions, cables, a charger and a remote control that is of surprisingly good quality. It's not like those crappy generic remote controllers that come even with some high-end devices (how are they not ashamed?).
The remote control is small, ergonomically rounded so that it lies nicely in the palm, the upper surface is painted with the color that gives a velvety feeling to the touch. The S10 itself is a small box, like a hellish cigarette, miraculously made of metal, it seems to be of high quality. The Arylic logo is engraved on the top cover. On the front, an IR window, hardly noticeable, merged with the front side, and 4 LEDs for indicating the operating mode. Behind: USB C for power supply, 3.5 mm jacks for Line IN and Line OUT, USB A for flash drive or external hard disk, LAN connection and reset button (or on/off if you don't buy a remote control)
If you plug it into a PC USB instead of the wall power supply, then the S10 can work as a DAC. (So the first function of S10 is USB DAC Decoding Up to 24bit) NICE
It supports UPnP, DLNA, BT 5.0 and AirPlay, Qplay, Spotify connect protocols. They say it also supports Tidal Connect, I haven't been able to activate it. From formats it supports FLAC/MP3/AAC/AAC+/ALAC/APE/WAV From services it supports Qobuz, Deezer, Tidal, Spotify, Napster, QQ music, Internet Radio, TuneIn, iheartradio, Amazon Music. It doesn't support Primephonic (for now) so I used it via BlueTooth and was pleasantly surprised by the sound quality (until then I was skeptical about BT connection for HiFi).
The app that controls the S10 (4Stream) has versions for Android and iOS. There is no app on Windows. The Tidal section of the application does not have all the functions that Android Tidal has, but it is quite enough to manage the streamer's work. It took some time to get used to the different UI and overcome the lack of some options, but it wasn't terrible. At one point, when I upgraded the application, support for Tidal stopped, so I had to look for alternatives for 4Stream. (mconnect and BubbleUPnP managed to control the S10). Most of the management comes down to playing Tidal on your mobile, connecting to Arylic and starting an album, your playlist or some Tidal suggestion. After that, you can turn off the application and proceed to remote control. You turn it up, you turn it down, you move the song forward, backward. If you are using mobile and 4Stream, then the cover of the currently playing album appears on your screen. Even a small spectrum analyzer of the currently playing music. If you have multiple Arylic devices (as I later had), all clients (renderers) appear on the application screen and you can choose synchronized music playback. Same music on all renderers at the same time. Convenient for multi room configuration (party mode, party...). Of course, each renderer can play its own music independently. (Each member of the family in his room listens to his own)
All clients are visible on the application screen. It is convenient that everyone can be named by, for example, the location where they are settled. I said before that I also tried the BT connection and was very pleasantly surprised. It even seems to me that Primephonic via BT is of better quality than Tidal via stream. I also tried the AirPlay protocol. Up to the task, the iPod immediately detected it, connected it and played it quite satisfactorily.
Features recorded so far:
1 (previously mentioned) USB DAC mode of operation
2 Bluetooth player
3 AirPlay player
4 Streamer Service client (Supports almost all streaming services)
5 Music player from local server (NAS, Hard Disk)
6 Player USB connected memory
7 Line preamp (It has LineIn and Volume control so it can be connected to Power Amplifier)
Now a little bit about the quality of the device, the application and the overall impression (artistic impression). I have already written about the hardware, so let me just summarize:
Surprising quality of the device itself, the remote control and the packaging itself for this price range. The software, i.e. the application that manages the work, is 4Stream, free for device buyers. There are versions for Android and iOS, but not for Windows. Yes, it has a little less options than Tidal on Android, the management is a little clumsier, but you get used to it after a while.
As far as the sound quality itself is concerned, as a descriptive category, I don't know how well and accurately I can portray it. I am mostly satisfied, the sound is clear, the stereo separation is surprisingly good, it has both depth and height, the instruments can be heard quite faithfully.
To summarize Arylic benefits:
1 A price that is almost unbeatable. Hard to get or make anything with that flexibility and sound quality at this price.
2 Arylic is a music device. You buy it, plug it in, and it works.
That's what I'm looking for now. It's not a toy for learning programming (Pi) that has to be booted, loaded with software, stuffed with DACs. I'm not disgusted by that growl either, but now I'm questioning this concept. Plug and play. Its purpose is to transfer the stream from the NET to the amplifier. A task that does not require an ultra-powerful PC. Nor any other computer. Only a device that sends music from the NET to the amplifier. If you need better quality sound, there is a game with DACs. (just as the CD player is improved with an external DAC and here the sound can be slightly improved with DACs)
3 Sound quality is pretty decent (very good)
I will describe my experience with S10 and Up2Stream and maybe with some other models , hopefully Up2Stream HD DAC.
As a prologue I must explain that already had experience with some streamers (Roku Soundbridge and apple AirPort Express) and with some computer based music streamers ( Volumio and Daphile installations ).
I was in a quest for a stand alone device ( not PC, Pi or other bootable comps) which can play music from services like TIDAL, Spotify, Qobuz , music from locan storage , NAS and music servers.
Somehow I heard about Arylic and decide to try their S10 model.
The device arrives in a nice box with instructions, cables, a charger and a remote control that is of surprisingly good quality. It's not like those crappy generic remote controllers that come even with some high-end devices (how are they not ashamed?).
The remote control is small, ergonomically rounded so that it lies nicely in the palm, the upper surface is painted with the color that gives a velvety feeling to the touch. The S10 itself is a small box, like a hellish cigarette, miraculously made of metal, it seems to be of high quality. The Arylic logo is engraved on the top cover. On the front, an IR window, hardly noticeable, merged with the front side, and 4 LEDs for indicating the operating mode. Behind: USB C for power supply, 3.5 mm jacks for Line IN and Line OUT, USB A for flash drive or external hard disk, LAN connection and reset button (or on/off if you don't buy a remote control)
If you plug it into a PC USB instead of the wall power supply, then the S10 can work as a DAC. (So the first function of S10 is USB DAC Decoding Up to 24bit) NICE
It supports UPnP, DLNA, BT 5.0 and AirPlay, Qplay, Spotify connect protocols. They say it also supports Tidal Connect, I haven't been able to activate it. From formats it supports FLAC/MP3/AAC/AAC+/ALAC/APE/WAV From services it supports Qobuz, Deezer, Tidal, Spotify, Napster, QQ music, Internet Radio, TuneIn, iheartradio, Amazon Music. It doesn't support Primephonic (for now) so I used it via BlueTooth and was pleasantly surprised by the sound quality (until then I was skeptical about BT connection for HiFi).
The app that controls the S10 (4Stream) has versions for Android and iOS. There is no app on Windows. The Tidal section of the application does not have all the functions that Android Tidal has, but it is quite enough to manage the streamer's work. It took some time to get used to the different UI and overcome the lack of some options, but it wasn't terrible. At one point, when I upgraded the application, support for Tidal stopped, so I had to look for alternatives for 4Stream. (mconnect and BubbleUPnP managed to control the S10). Most of the management comes down to playing Tidal on your mobile, connecting to Arylic and starting an album, your playlist or some Tidal suggestion. After that, you can turn off the application and proceed to remote control. You turn it up, you turn it down, you move the song forward, backward. If you are using mobile and 4Stream, then the cover of the currently playing album appears on your screen. Even a small spectrum analyzer of the currently playing music. If you have multiple Arylic devices (as I later had), all clients (renderers) appear on the application screen and you can choose synchronized music playback. Same music on all renderers at the same time. Convenient for multi room configuration (party mode, party...). Of course, each renderer can play its own music independently. (Each member of the family in his room listens to his own)
All clients are visible on the application screen. It is convenient that everyone can be named by, for example, the location where they are settled. I said before that I also tried the BT connection and was very pleasantly surprised. It even seems to me that Primephonic via BT is of better quality than Tidal via stream. I also tried the AirPlay protocol. Up to the task, the iPod immediately detected it, connected it and played it quite satisfactorily.
Features recorded so far:
1 (previously mentioned) USB DAC mode of operation
2 Bluetooth player
3 AirPlay player
4 Streamer Service client (Supports almost all streaming services)
5 Music player from local server (NAS, Hard Disk)
6 Player USB connected memory
7 Line preamp (It has LineIn and Volume control so it can be connected to Power Amplifier)
Now a little bit about the quality of the device, the application and the overall impression (artistic impression). I have already written about the hardware, so let me just summarize:
Surprising quality of the device itself, the remote control and the packaging itself for this price range. The software, i.e. the application that manages the work, is 4Stream, free for device buyers. There are versions for Android and iOS, but not for Windows. Yes, it has a little less options than Tidal on Android, the management is a little clumsier, but you get used to it after a while.
As far as the sound quality itself is concerned, as a descriptive category, I don't know how well and accurately I can portray it. I am mostly satisfied, the sound is clear, the stereo separation is surprisingly good, it has both depth and height, the instruments can be heard quite faithfully.
To summarize Arylic benefits:
1 A price that is almost unbeatable. Hard to get or make anything with that flexibility and sound quality at this price.
2 Arylic is a music device. You buy it, plug it in, and it works.
That's what I'm looking for now. It's not a toy for learning programming (Pi) that has to be booted, loaded with software, stuffed with DACs. I'm not disgusted by that growl either, but now I'm questioning this concept. Plug and play. Its purpose is to transfer the stream from the NET to the amplifier. A task that does not require an ultra-powerful PC. Nor any other computer. Only a device that sends music from the NET to the amplifier. If you need better quality sound, there is a game with DACs. (just as the CD player is improved with an external DAC and here the sound can be slightly improved with DACs)
3 Sound quality is pretty decent (very good)
