AURALiC Altair G1 Digital Preamp / Streamer / DAC Reviews

4.6 Rating 20 Reviews

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909.931.9686

Email:

joel.m@upscaleaudio.com

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2058 Wright Avenue,
2058 Wright Avenue
California
91750

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“I bought one of these last year when building a new stereo system. Almost returned it. My previous streaming device (a Yamaha integrated with internet function) easily connected to our WiFi, so I was surprised that this much more expensive unit would be such a headache. The unit would connect to our internet, Wi-Fi or Ethernet (I tried both) but the stupid Lightning app would crash every time I started it, so there was no way to control the Altair. The controls on the device’s screen are useless for streaming or radio control. A basic remote with infrared or Bluetooth app would have been better (Like Yamaha’s Music Cast app did with my old device), but they only designed the controls to work from an app that is only compatible with an Apple device that must go through Wi-Fi. Somehow nothing communicated. Phone app was set to same internet setting/password as the Altair. If I tried to open the app, it appeared on the phone screen then almost immediately closed. I tried different iPhones and an iPad. They do sell a basic infrared remote but that only does on/off and moving around the menu, no streaming control. Interestingly you can access the device from a computer using its routing number and it allow you to change the settings on the device, but again to ability to control the music functions (I spent a lot of time messing with this thing). Was able to stream with AirPlay and it sounded good so I kept it as I was afraid to try another streamer with potentially the same issue. This summer we upgraded our entire internet system and happily was finally able to to get the lightning app to function and it works as it should. I guess the lesson here is to confirm in advance that one’s internet router is compatible but in my case an older system worked fine and this was unexpected (would not have purchased if I knew this first). Currently streaming with Qobuz, enjoying internet radio, and it sounds great. I’m finally happy with it.”

Helpful Report

Posted 2 years ago

Network conflicts can be hard to diagnose, and it's true that some routers can cause problems as well. Auralic products are very stable and sound amazing, but they do sometimes have issues with some routers. Some more information: https://support.auralic.com/hc/en-us/articles/206072178-Choose-a-Good-WiFi-Router

Posted 2 years ago

STEVEN FULLER

Verified Reviewer

“I have sent the Auralic back for a refund. I was upgrading from a bluesound vault 2i which happened to work very well. The Auralic could not seem to pick up a signal hardwired to my router. Also not a great fan of the app. On the good side all of my dealings with upscale employees have been wonderful and helpful.”

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Posted 3 years ago

Phillip Mesa

Verified Reviewer

“Out of all the streamers that I was looking for, this one fit the bill perfectly. I required to have something that could process the Tidal MQA audio format and to have a screen that could display album art. Most of the other competing streamers out there could either could do one or the other but not both. The Auralic does both....and does it well. The AUARLIC Altair G1 is probably the most used device in my hifi stack. It's rather quirky when setting up, as getting it connecting to your wifi network can sort of be a headache. However, if you go slow and do exactly what the manual says and not skip steps as I did, it works just fine. You need an Apple iOS device to control this device, but you're iPhone just won't cut it. It works best with a dedicated iPad for maximum usability. Occasionally the app will crash, but it resets without any problems. I've only had to reset the unit once as for some reason it just stopped responding to my iPad.”

1 Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago

“Superb piece of gear. It's in a hefty enclosure but primarily it sounds spectacular and it integrated easily into my system.”

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Posted 3 years ago

Michael Bodnar

Verified Reviewer

Author didn't leave any comments.

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Posted 3 years ago

“Excellent streamer Dac Pre”

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Posted 3 years ago

Matthew Rovnak

Verified Reviewer

“Nice streamer but then internal DAC sounds very poor.”

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Posted 3 years ago

“It's rare when you've been researching and waiting for product and finally receive it that it meets your expectations...even rarer when it exceeds. Wonderful sounding product...better than CD quality when streaming hi-res from Qobuz. Couldn't be happier.”

Helpful Report

Posted 3 years ago