A Revolution in Evolution
W20SE Special Edition
Since its launch in 2013, the Aurender W20 has occupied the enviable position of “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.
 
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 to 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, 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.
 
W20SE shipped with MQA Core Decoder.
 
FEATURES
Innovative Technology with Battery Power, Dual-Wire AES/EBU, 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 is 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.W20SE uses the same scheme to minimize the noise in audio output. An FPGA-based All Digital Phase Locked Loop system with Oven-Controlled Crystal Oscillator (OCXO) clock is used to maintain long term jitter to below negligible levels and 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 minimize and eliminate the many types of jitter and noise usually associated with the use of disk drives for playback.
 
Full Range of 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.
 
Aurender Conductor App Packed with Convenient Features for Full-Function Control
The Aurender Conductor App turns the iPad 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. Being integrated, links to content found on streaming services can be added to you 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 users can access their 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.
 
SPDIF sends clock and data together without a handshake. 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, this way 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 which outputs the audio data in sync with the incoming master clock. This way jitter in the SPDIF connection from audio source to the DAC is virtually eliminated.
 
When the user wants to use separate master clock, music server with master clock input is needed as well as a DAC with master clock input.
Also, a word clock is typically used in recording studios to synchronize timing between digital devices ensuring jitter-free and time-perfect data transmission. 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 (dCS, DACs or similar) or Master Clock (MSB DACs or similar) inputs.
 
Dual-Wire Mode AES/EBU
Dual-wire AES/EBU mode 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 192kHz sample rate to make a 24-Bit, 384Hz stereo transmission. Since the maximum frequency is halved, transmission line requirement becomes less critical.
 
Separate LiFePO4 (LFP) Battery Power Supply for the Audio Circuitry
Two banks of LiFePO4 batteries alternately power audio components and perform recharging. This technique completely isolates the audio components from ground noise and also reduces jitter and the distortion often incurred in the conversion of AC to DC.
 
Internal UPS Protects W20SE Under an Abrupt Power Outage Condition
An additional bank of LiFePO4 batteries act as an uninterruptible power supply (UPS) and protect 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
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. Also, temperature changes can cause the crystal oscillators frequency to fluctuate which can lead to jitter in the digital audio signal path. Moreover, ordinary crystal oscillators are much less stable and lose accuracy over time. With OCXO clocks, a very stable high-grade crystal oscillator is employed and is enclosed in a compartment that’s kept at a constant temperature to prevent jitter created by temperature fluctuations.