W20SE

Battery-powered magic – A silent background

Battery-Powered Reference Digital Output Network Transport with USB, Dual-AES/EBU, Coaxial, BNC and Optical Outputs + Word Clock Input

An Audio Classic, Recharged

Few digital audio components remain in production for eight years or ever reach the iconic status of the original Aurender W20. Improving upon a classic component like W20 was not easy, but W20 Special Edition (“W20SE”) has taken the worldwide bestseller and refined and refreshed it to a new, even higher pedigree.

Coveted by music lovers, audiophiles and connoisseurs of distinctive luxury objects for its pure, natural sound, nuance and musicality, W20SE is truly in a class of one.

A unique LiFePO4 battery power supply eliminates AC noise allowing the music to emerge from an inky black background. Designed to be used in the world’s finest audio systems, the W20SE is equipped with a host of OCXO clock controlled digital outputs including a unique dual-wire AES/EBU output. W20SE’s master clock input provides additional connectivity to interface with a superior Master Clock such as MC20.

“Digital glare”, congestion and harshness are things of the past with W20SE’s ultra relaxed, utterly transparent presentation.

Key Features

Battery Power Supply

W20SE’s LiFePO4 battery power supply completely eliminates AC noise allowing the music to emerge from an inky black background. The Battery PSU contributes to W20SE’s supreme ease and relaxed presentation of the music.

OCXO Controlled Outputs

Aurender’s Oven Controlled Crystal Oscillator (OCXO) clocks are unique in a category that has historically treated superior SPDIF and AES/EBU audio outputs as an afterthought. Unlike USB, where the DAC’s clock matters most, SPDIF and AES/EBU data streams are only as good as the transport clocks that govern them. N30SA, N20, and W20SE all employ exceptionally accurate and stable OCXO clocks for a smooth, saturated, and laser-focused audio presentation.

OCXO Clock Controlled Outputs

W20SE is capable of upsampling any lower resolution content to a higher sample rate for better performance with some DACs (up to 176.4/192kHz or 384kHz on dual-wire AES/EBU outputs). Upsampling effects only the system’s SPDIF and AES/EBU digital outputs. USB is always bit-perfect with no digital signal processing.

Clock Input

N20, N30SA, W20, and W20SE all feature a unique Clock Input for connectivity with an external Master Clock such as MC20. A superior Master Clock can make a good system sound uncannily realistic, giving a new literal meaning to “High Fidelity.”

Massive SSD Storage Built-In

W20SE can accommodate the largest music collections as it can be built to order with 4TB, 8TB* or 16TB* of internal SSD storage.*Special Order configurations may add 1-2 weeks to order fulfillment time

REVIEW & AWARDS

Aurender W20SE Music Server - Read More

"The Aurender W20SE is a significant advance over what was already a reference-quality music server. It’s not only better sounding, but much more capable in its handling of DSD. Most important, PCM upsampling vaults the SE’s performance into another league. This feature alone is, in my view, worth the price of the upgrade from the W20.

As I wrote in my original review, Aurender’s Conductor app is outstanding. A music server’s music-management app is a vital part of the product; it’s the interface between you and your music and makes the difference between constant frustration and delighted satisfaction. " - Robert Harley

Review: Aurender W20SE Music Server - Read More

" Contemplating artistic dialect while listening to music is open to interpretation, intuiting any intention requires emotional and cerebral engagement: these key qualities of wholly experiencing music playback are prescient traits with the W20SE connected. The W20SE should be considered an integral piece of the digital signal path if a reference system focused on computer audio is one’s goal. Think of it as a psycho-acoustical portal to the recorded event, lensing the binary facts with resolution capabilities that leave no doubt to what is being translated."

Aurender W20SE Network Audio Library - Read More

"Aurender's W20SE is the finest example of a high-end digital component with no sound of its own! It simply deploys its technology to deliver the best possible digital audio output to a DAC, be that from locally-stored files or online streaming services, and does so with an attractive, intuitive user-interface. All this, plus a super-slick and confidence-inspiring app, puts the W20SE at the top of the digital tree. " - Andrew Everard

A Single Source Of Precision - Read More

"Focus, cohesion, and continuity are some of the major benefits I experienced today with the dCS Rossini Master Clock delivering perfect time to the Rossini Apex DAC and Aurender W20SE. This single source of precision has an ability to pull the entire system together in a way that's unique, compared to other components I've used. The focus and cohesion the Master Clock delivered to my music, changed my focus to be solely on the whole of the music being reproduced. Noticing a trio's tightness rather than the bass's tightness is a completely different level of awareness brought about by the Rossini master Clock in my system. This is one component that I worry about removing because I don't have anything remotely close to take its place.  " - The Computer Audiophile

SPECIFICATIONS