Audiophilepure

http://www.theabsolutesound.com/articles/aurender-acs10-music-serverstreamercd-ripperhdd-storage/

“The primary reasons that the ACS10 is a closed system rather than a UPnP-compliant open system is for the control over all internal processes that a closed system can offer. Aurender’s position is that it can deliver superior stability with a closed system compared to an open one. During the review the ACS10 was tethered to the Mytek Manhattan II DAC’s USB input from the ACS10’s USB output. 

All the D/A and USB conversion functions were performed by the Manhattan II’s DACs, as would be true of any DAC connected to the ACS10. When I compared Tidal, Qobuz, and my own hi-res and Red Book music files played back either via the ACS10 or via Roon or MControl to the also-Ethernet-tethered Mytek Manhattan II, I could not discern any sonic differences between the two different signal sources. At the worst I found the Aurender ACS10 using the Aurender “Conductor” app the sonic equal to the Roon-connected source during my listening sessions. “