#Audirvana plus single song cycle Bluetooth#

There’s also an Audiophile mode that bypasses ART, in which case SoundSpace and TrueBass can be defeated, or set manually.Īfter processing, the signal is passed on to an analog volume control, and from there to the Aurora’s TrueEmotion amplifier, which comprises a tubed input stage and an output stage with four 80W switching amplifiers. With ART switched on (the default setting), SoundSpace and TrueBass are controlled automatically. SoundSpace performs matrix processing to expand the soundstage, while TrueBass enhances the low-frequency output. Automatic Room Tailoring (ART) uses an array of six ultrasonic sensors on the rear panel to measure the distance to room boundaries, then adjusts the Aurora’s sound output to suit the environment. The signal is then passed to a 32-bit ARM Cortex analog signal processor with some very useful functions.

iFi says this Global Master Timing (GMT)/Memory Buffer System minimizes jitter. Incoming digital signals are immediately converted to analog by an ESS Sabre DAC, under control of a system clock developed by iFi’s parent company, Abbingdon Music Research (AMR).

In addition to a three-pronged IEC power connector there’s a 12V DC input, the latter allowing the Aurora to be used in mobile or marine applications. From Ethernet, Wi-Fi, USB, and microSD sources the Aurora supports a maximum resolution of 32/192 PCM. On the rear panel are RCA and 3.5mm stereo analog jacks, TosLink and coaxial S/PDIF inputs with a maximum resolution of 24-bit/192kHz PCM, an Ethernet port, a slot for microSD memory cards, and a USB Type-A port for connecting an external drive. For network playback, the Aurora supports UPnP/DLNA and Apple AirPlay.

#Audirvana plus single song cycle Bluetooth#

The Aurora has built-in Wi-Fi (2.4GHz only), and a Bluetooth receiver that supports Qualcomm’s aptX, aptX HD, and aptX LL (low latency) codecs Sony’s LDAC Huawei’s HWA the AAC codec employed in Apple devices and the standard Bluetooth SBC codec. The signal path is unusual, in that all processing occurs in the analog domain. There’s more to the Aurora than its gorgeous exterior - it includes some unique technology. The supplied remote-control handset can be used to mute or adjust the volume, pause or resume playback, cycle through sources, and control the Aurora’s signal-processing features. In the bottom row is an on/off button and, to its right, a long slider for adjusting the volume, the level indicated by blue LEDs. The middle row has five controls, for selecting sources and initiating Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connections. In the top row are a switch for adjusting the Aurora’s illumination, two for controlling its signal-processing features (I explain these below), and a mute switch.

An LED in that window glows blue as the Aurora warms up (this takes about 30 seconds), and orange when the tube has reached operating temperature.īelow the display and window are three rows of LED-lit soft-key switches, the rows separated by horizontal bamboo slats. Through a little window to the right of this display can be viewed the single Russian 6N3P tube used in the Aurora’s input stage. Measuring 24”W x 11”H x 11”D and weighing 33 pounds, the Aurora has an OLED display on its front panel that shows such information as connected source, signal-processing options, system status, and the sample rate of the digital signal currently being processed.

The whiteBOX was an apt location for the Aurora’s debut - this player is a work of modern industrial art. A review sample arrived at my home in Toronto in early December, in the middle of an early winter snowstorm. A single Aurora filled a big party room in the whiteBOX, an industrial building now used for artist studios and exhibitions in Munich’s Werksviertel district, with big, rich sound - and evidently wasn’t straining to do so.īased on what I saw and heard that evening, I knew I wanted to get an Aurora in for review. iFi says its creative director, Julian Haziza, drew inspiration for the Aurora from the architecture of Tokyo’s Omotesandō and Harajuku districts.īut it wasn’t only the Aurora’s visual design that impressed. A glance at the photographs accompanying this review make it easy to understand this reaction.Ĭlad in bamboo, the Aurora sits perched on - rather, in - an aluminum frame that lifts and angles it slightly upward. At a press event last May at High End 2019, in Munich, a chorus of oohs and aahs rippled through the audience when iFi Audio unveiled, for the first time, its Aurora tabletop music system ($1399, all prices USD).