Have you ever wondered what moving up the Auralic line, say from the G1.1 to the G2.2, might bring? I have.
So I am thrilled, thrilled!, to have the relatively new and recently improved ARIES G2.2 Wireless Streaming Transporter in Barn for review.
That’s the G2.2 above the G1.1 (are two pictures worth 2,000 words?). As you can see, the G2.2 adds Auralic’s proprietary HDMI-type, 18Gbps high-speed Lightning Link to connect to the company’s Vega DACs and Leo Reference Master Clock.
From the original press release:
AURALiC has completely redesigned the ARIES G2.2 and G3 products, incorporating over 90% new components to deliver unparalleled performance. The USB DAC output now boasts second-generation galvanic isolation technology, enhancing compatibility with a wide range of DACs and ensuring a more refined audio experience.
The new Purer-Power low noise power supply design features double the capacity of preceding G2.1 models and even lower noise levels, providing extremely stable and reliable power to the device. Moreover, the optional internal music storage is now based on NVMe SSD technology, delivering read and write speeds up to ten times faster than its predecessor.
The ARIES G2.2 and G3 also now support USB 3.0 for external music storage, further expanding its capabilities and making it easier than ever to access and stream high-quality audio files.
I don’t know about you but I never tire of hearing about noise reduction in digital audio.
The G1.1/G2.2 is one A/B I’m actually looking forward to. Stay tuned!
Auralic ARIES G2.2 Wireless Streaming Transporter
Price: $6099
Company Website: Auralic
Specifications
Streaming File Formats
Lossless: AIFF, ALAC, APE, DIFF, DSF, FLAC, OGG, WAV and WV
Lossy: AAC, MP3, MQA* and WMA
Sampling Rates
PCM: 44.1KHz to 384KHz in 32Bit**
DSD: DSD64(2.8224MHz), DSD128(5.6448MHz), DSD256(11.2896MHz), DSD512(22.57892MHz)***
Control Software
AURALiC Lightning DS for iOS
AURALiC Lightning DS for web browser (device settings only)
OpenHome compatible control software (BubbleUPnP, Kazoo)
Roon (Roon Core required separately)
Streaming Inputs
Network shared folder, USB Storage, USB CD Drive, Internal Music Storage****, UPnP/DLNA Media Server, Amazon Music Unlimited, HighResAudio, KKBOX, Qobuz Sublime+, Netease Music, TIDAL/TIDAL Connect, AirPlay, Spotify Connect, TuneIn, Internet Radio, RoonReady
Audio Outputs
AURALiC Lightning Link
Digital Outputs: AES/EBU, Coaxial, Toslink
USB Output: USB Host to compatible DAC *****
Network
Wired: Gigabit Ethernet
Wireless: 802.11b/g/n/ac Tri-Band WiFi
Power Consumption
Standby: <0.5W
Sleep: <10W
Playback: 50W at max.
Dimensions – W x D x H
13.4 x 12.6 x 3.7 in. (34cm x 32cm x 9.6cm)
Weight
22.5 lbs (10.2kg)
Product Finishing
Anodized aluminum case in matte black with nickel coated copper EMI shielding enclosure.
Contents
AURALiC ARIES G2.2 Wireless Streaming Transporter
2*External WiFi antenna (2pcs)
Power cord
User’s guide
* AURALiC streaming devices can act as a passthrough for unaltered MQA files to a customer’s own MQA-certified DAC for downstream processing.
** 352.8KS/s and 384KS/s and 32bit are supported through Lightning Link and USB Output only
*** By ‘DoP V1.1’ or native DSD protocol
**** Model with internal NVME storage option
***** ‘Compatible DAC’ means a DAC not requiring a driver for Linux system