A Revolution in Evolution – The Revised W20SE Music Server
Since its launch in 2013, the Aurender W20SE has occupied the enviable position of being "the music server others are judged against." Revised and refined in 2019, the new W20SE (Special Edition) raises the bar again in both user experience and absolute audio performance.
The W20SE is the music server of choice for the finest audio systems in the world. Designed to be used with high-performance digital-to-analog converters, the Aurender W20SE is one of the few music servers to provide support for external word clocks used in professional audio and recording studios. Additionally, a dual-wire mode AES/EBU used by some reference grade digital-to-analog converters allow separate transmission of left and right channels for better fidelity. However, even without using an external word clock input or dual AES/EBU outputs, the W20SE’s battery power supply provides a dramatically lower noise floor for a totally silent background.
With a 4TB internal SSD and a 1TB SSD caching drive for playback, the W20SE is the ideal solution for even the most extensive high-resolution music collections.
Innovative Technology with Battery Power, Dual-Wire AES/EBU, and Master Clock Input
In digital audio, jitter and noise in the audio signal can adversely affect the performance of digital-to-analog converters. The Aurender W20 was the world’s first music server to completely eliminate noise from AC power supplies and AC mains through the use of LiFePO4 (LFP) batteries to power the audio circuitry.
The W20SE relies on the same highly successful approach as the W20 to minimize the noise in audio output. An FPGA-based All Digital Phase Locked Loop system with Oven-Controlled Crystal Oscillator (OCXO) clock maintains long-term jitter to below negligible levels. Specially designed circuitry provides clean, noise-free power to the dedicated USB 2.0 digital audio output. A solid-state caching drive for playback isolated by extensive shielding using thick aluminum partitions also minimizes and eliminates the many types of jitter and noise usually associated with the use of disk drives for playback.
Digital Audio Outputs and Ports for Network Connectivity
Designed to be matched with the highest performing digital-to-analog converters, the Aurender W20SE is equipped with various SPDIF outputs (Dual AES/EBU, Coaxial BNC, and Optical) and one dedicated USB Audio Class 2.0 output. For network connectivity and file transfers, the W20SE comes with one a Gigabit Ethernet port and two USB 2.0 data ports.
Convenient Aurender Conductor App for Full-Function Control
The Aurender Conductor App turns your iPad, Android tablet, or smartphone into a versatile user interface for all Aurender music servers. All settings and functions of the Aurender server can be easily accessed through the Settings menu, and Conductor comes with extensive features to make browsing and playing high resolution music collections a breeze.
Two streaming services, Qobuz and Tidal (subscription required) are embedded within the Conductor App allowing easy access to millions of high-resolution albums. Links to content found on streaming services can be added to your main file library, making it easy to combine and compile content in one location. Aurender Conductor can be utilized on both IOS and Android platforms, so you can access your music using the Apple iPad or various Android phones or tablets.
MQA Core Decoder Installed
Aurender’s MQA Core Decoder upgrade enables MQA Core or first unfold allowing playback of MQA files at up to 88.2kHz or 96kHz. This is beneficial if using a non-MQA DAC as Core Decoding will deliver some of the MQA benefit from MQA encoded content. Additionally, MQA Core Decoder will work with DACs that perform MQA rendering which is the second stage of MQA decoding. Together, they provides full MQA decoding.
External Word Clock Support
The protocol to send digital audio signal through COAX or AES/EBU is called SPDIF, which sends clock and data together without a handshake. Although this is convenient, it is not without its problems from an audiophile point of view. The DAC’s clock needs to follow the clock signal contained in the signal to avoid overflow or underrun. This operation of trying to sync to the clock in SPDIF can generate jitter in the DAC’s clock.
A better way is using the DAC’s clock and data only from the music source. However, sync cannot be guaranteed. To make the DAC’s clock act as the master clock and still remain in sync with the data, the audio source needs a master clock input to output the audio data in sync with the incoming master clock. This way, jitter in the SPDIF connection from your audio source to your DAC is virtually eliminated. To use a separate master clock in this fashion, a music server with a master clock input is needed as well as a DAC with a master clock input. So make sure your DAC has the capability in order to take advantage of this W20SE feature.
Another use for a word clock typically found in recording studios is to synchronize timing between digital devices, ensuring jitter-free and time-perfect data transmission. The W20SE can accept word clocks with the following frequencies: Master clock – 10MHz, 12.8MHz; Word clock – 44.1KHz and 48KHz in multiples from 1 to 512. W20SE supports both word clock inputs (dCS DACs or similar) or Master Clock (MSB DACs or similar) inputs.
Dual-Wire Mode AES/EBU
The W20SE offers dual-wire AES/EBU mode, which is sometimes used in reference digital-to-analog converters to double the level of resolution possible on an AES/EBU digital interconnect. When the AES/EBU output is used in dual-mode, the left and right channel information transmitted at a 192 kHz sample rate to make a 24-Bit, 384 Hz stereo transmission. Since the maximum frequency is halved, transmission line requirement becomes less critical.
Three Separate Banks of LiFePO4 (LFP) Battery-Power Supplies
The W20SE contains a total of three banks of batteries. Two banks of LiFePO4 batteries alternately power audio components and perform recharging. This technique completely isolates the audio components from ground noise. It also reduces jitter and the distortion often incurred in the conversion of AC to DC.
An additional bank of LiFePO4 batteries acts as an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and protects the system in case any sudden power outages. The UPS will always allow the W20SE to safely shut down.
Oven-Controlled Crystal Oscillator (OCXO) for Long-Term Jitter Reduction
Oven-Controlled Crystal Oscillators (OCXOs) are among the most accurate and stable clocks available today. OCXOs are many orders of magnitude more accurate and stable than the ordinary and commonly used crystal oscillators found in computers. Ordinary crystal oscillators are much less stable and lose accuracy over time.
Additionally, temperature changes can cause the crystal oscillator frequency to fluctuate, which can lead to jitter in the digital audio signal path. OCXO clocks use a very stable high-grade crystal oscillator and it is enclosed in a compartment that’s kept at a constant temperature to prevent jitter created by temperature fluctuations.
Precision DSD-to-PCM Conversion by FPGA
Many DACs support DSD decoding only on their USB inputs but not on SPDIF or AES/EBU. That’s why the Aurender W20SE features an extremely high-quality DSD-to-PCM conversion performed by FPGA. Regardless of how fast the CPU is, performing DSD to PCM conversion by software results in poor sound quality because it requires thousands of filter calculations in parallel. The W20SE accomplishes the DSD to PCM conversion precisely using thousands of tap filters inside the FPGA for superior audio performance.
FPGA-Based All Digital Phase-Locked Loop System
An All-Digital Phase-Locked Loop system (ADPLL) incorporating Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGA) along with OCXO clocks precisely times digital audio data transmission and minimizes jitter to below negligible levels.
4TB Solid-State Drive Storage with 1TB Solid-State Cache Drive for Playback
An internal drive providing 4TB of SSD content storage and a 1TB SSD caching drive are housed in a vault of machined aluminum which protects the audio circuitry from the effects of EMI interference. Caching using the 1TB SSD is done for files and for streaming content. This increases stability and improves sound quality of files and when using streaming services such as Qobuz or Tidal.
Dedicated USB Audio Class 2.0 Output with Ultra Low-Noise Power Circuitry
The dedicated next-generation USB Audio Class 2.0 output is designed to deliver an exceptionally transparent audio signal free of noise and is shielded from any outside electronic interference. The W20SE’s USB Audio output provides a noise and jitter-free transmission to the DAC to deliver the best performance possible.
Linear Power Supply
A new linear power supply was designed is for powering the CPU, storage and other areas of the W20SE’s circuit topology. The linear supply provides a highly stable and low-noise environment for this critical circuitry.
2X Isolated LAN Port
The WS20SE's LAN Port is doubly isolated. This 2X isolated LAN port isolates the W20SE from any noise introduced by the routers LAN connection.
USB HDD and NAS (Network-Attached Storage) Support
The best practice for music playback is storing music on the W20SE’s internal SSDs. However, Aurender’s platform is capable of selecting and playing content stored from a NAS or an external USB hard drive using Folder/File browsing. Content on the USB HDD or NAS drive can be conveniently copied to the internal storage of W20SE using the Aurender Conductor App. Or, you can use a Mac/PC to transfer content over the network, if you wish.
Remote Internet Technical Support
Aurender allows for users to communicate directly to technical support personal directly from the Aurender Conductor app. Sending a Remote Support Request allows technicians to quickly diagnose and correct issues over the Internet.
