At AXPONA 2023 I was able to finalize my plan for this review. Ari Margolis, Aurender America’s Director of Sales and Business Development, assisted me in selecting the A20. The A20 is an integrated streamer, server, DAC, and preamplifier in one chassis. Its design is based on the ideal of a high quality, complete digital source solution and is nearly the entire system sans amplifier and speakers. I struggled to decide whether I wished to have a CD ripping function as well and contacted Ari to switch the review to the A30, which is the same as the A20 but with a CD player/ripper. My logic was that I had a great deal of older and esoteric music that I thought would not be found on streaming services. At least it was not found when I first started streaming several years ago using Tidal’s upper tier service.

https://www.stereophile.com/content/ifi-audio-neo-stream-streaming-da-processor

This new thing from AMR/iFi Audio, the NEO Stream, offers very strong inducements for discerning audiophiles. It’s particularly well-suited to those who are happy with their traditional hi-fi rigs and are looking to add state-of-the-art streaming to the mix. Its sturdy, all-aluminum construction belies its modest price. The sound quality is beyond reproach, its versatility is impressive, and it’s presented in a compact physical package-small enough for placement on a desktop if so desired, for use with a headphone amplifier or a pair of powered speakers. The iFi NEO Stream punches way above its retail price, bringing complex high-end audio down to earth.

https://www.hifinews.com/content/auralic-aries-g11-music-libraryserver

This lightness of touch is a hallmark of the Aries G1.1’s sound, or rather lack of sound, as it gets out of the way of the music, concentrating on serving it up conveniently and letting the rest of your system do its stuff. It does so as convincingly with the simple, airy sound of Third Reel’s Many More Days jazz set [ECM 2431] as it does with the mighty Christopher Jacobson/Orchestre de la Suisse Romande recording of the Saint-Saëns Organ Symphony [Pentatone PTC5186638].

Here the sheer power of the solo instrument is unleashed without restraint in the final movement. In other words, whatever you play, the Aries G1.1 delivers, and when you add in its storage flexibilities, it’s quite an all-rounder.