Auralic Aries with or without Femto clock?

[terrible]

So I started a little research on how I could get Auralic Aries after it was mentioned in a thread here. And as usual it created a host of questions in my head. Most of the answers are there in the interwebs but I find hard the comprehension of it. So here goes;

Auralic Aries comes in two forms, one with femto clock and the other is called an LE model. There seems to be an equal amount of naysayers to aye with regards to femto clock's requirement. Though I did not understand precisely what it does, I did wonder how much difference it would make in a room that's not treated for sound. Should I go for one with or without femto clock?

Another thing that bothers me is that I do not want to buy an external DAC as I have an Cambridge Audio CXR200 with a decent DAC, but would you recommend buying Aries without an external DAC or otherwise. The dealer in Hong Kong says that though the Altair will come with an internal DAC, it may not sound as good as the Aries as it will not have a femto clock. He also said that it will be priced at HKK $16000 against the Aries which is priced at 12000 (with femto).

My bigger fear however is that it may not sound better than the Raspberry Pi over DLNA. Where it comes from is that I played Imagine (Imagine Project by Herbie Hancock) through Tidal Hi-Fi on MacBook Pro which was connected to the AVR through Toslink (intend to connect Aries too same way), then played the same track through Spotify Connect (an AVR feature) and it sounded way superior in level as well as clarity. My Raspberry Pi sound is better than even the Spotify connect. What do you advise if you own an Aries and have compared it to Raspberry Pi?

And last, any of you here who have imported such high priced goods may be able to tell me about customs duty. Apparently, the duty can go up to 40% and on that the customs fellas can further draw up a penalty of 25%. Has this happened to anyone? Can someone help with clarification? Maybe its a little better if someone carries it?

Thank you already!

 

[regeHA]

Speakers, amp, DAC, and then source - that's the order I'd go in. Might interchange amp and DAC, but roughly that's the order of importance at least in terms of spending I'd go with.

FWIW, just get a Synology NAS. I got the DS1515+ and it beats all servers and streamers, even so called audiophile grade ones. Spend all that saved money on a good DAC, I'm talking $5000 or even more, that's where the real difference lies in... or get spending on speakers, the Raidho's will just about kill anything. Or look at ATC, Harbeth, etc.

In other words lots of better ways to spend your $$$ and spend on the real stuff that will give you the real upgrade in terms of SQ.

The Auralics and Aurenders will not improve SQ, maybe in $100,000 systems or even that might be snake oil. Or go with the Auralic Vega DAC, that's a better spend than on a streamer.

A NAS from Synology will blow away every server/streamer. Otherwise the Pi will work perfectly.

If you still want to know the difference, What is the difference between ARIES, ARIES LE and ARIES MINI? – AURALIC LIMITED.

BTW, Auralic recommends using wireless over wired, even they admit it sounds the best, so that negates the need/use for the FemtoClocks. That would put every wireless device like the Synology NAS or the Pi on par with any other wireless streamer.

Not what you want to hear, but its what you need to hear.

Spend on your money on a better stereo amp, better DAC, better speakers, etc.

And get a Synology NAS, its a better investment.

 

[afj]

terrible

whats the rest of your setup, and what do you mainly use the setup for. your setup will only be as good as your weakest link. theres no point going for a extremely high end link, when the rest of the chain cannot showcase it. to showcase a product like that, you will need a very high end dac, amp and speakers. i doubt the cambridge will do it justice. these sort of products will sort out the final 1% of sound quality, if at all. and you;d need a very revealing setup to be able to hear it. if its just for convenience, then there are a lot of products out there that can give you similar features at a fraction of the cost. im not too familiar with the aurelic, but at close to 1.5 lakhs, imo its not worth it

as for import duty, a small product like that you can carry and no one will even know its value

 

[terrible]

FWIW, just get a Synology NAS. I got the DS1515+ and it beats all servers and streamers, even so called audiophile grade ones.

I know we have discussed NAS quite a few times already and its been on my mind to get one. I do know it would be a great server but how does it beat a streamer?

Spend all that saved money on a good DAC, I'm talking $5000 or even more, that's where the real difference lies in... or get spending on speakers, the Raidho's will just about kill anything. Or look at ATC, Harbeth, etc.

I chose not to spend on a new DAC because CXR200 has a pretty good one. And I don't know if I'll ever gather up enough to buy a $5000 DAC. Till then, I think for a marginal difference, I'll stick to the AVR DAC, which is actually performing quite well. Unless, the Vega is going to make a huge difference I might not want to invest in a standalone DAC. You would be in a better place to advise me on this. Since I have just got into high end systems, and have recently purchased the Focal Chorus 726V, maybe I'll look at a new set of speakers two years down. But point bought, that for marginal difference, there's no point spending so much money on a streamer.

whats the rest of your setup, and what do you mainly use the setup for. your setup will only be as good as your weakest link. theres no point going for a extremely high end link, when the rest of the chain cannot showcase it. to showcase a product like that, you will need a very high end dac, amp and speakers. i doubt the cambridge will do it justice. these sort of products will sort out the final 1% of sound quality, if at all. and you;d need a very revealing setup to be able to hear it. if its just for convenience, then there are a lot of products out there that can give you similar features at a fraction of the cost. im not too familiar with the aurelic, but at close to 1.5 lakhs, imo its not worth it

as for import duty, a small product like that you can carry and no one will even know its value

Cambridge is actually quite a good piece of work. Its been built keeping music in mind and upon listening during various auditions it beat most AVRs hollow and was very comparable to stereo amps like Roksan that I heard at Cinebells Mumbai. But at some later point I do intend to separate the 5.1 and stereo. I have Focal Chorus 726V for speakers. Or maybe buy a good DAC, if you guys recommend here, and passthrough the AVR for music.

 

[regeHA]

I know we have discussed NAS quite a few times already and its been on my mind to get one. I do know it would be a great server but how does it beat a streamer?

NAS also works as a streamer. All of them use wireless, DLNA, UPnP, etc. Auralic does not use any new wireless technology, it uses the same DLNA protocols.

Synology also has DLNA, UPnP, and other media servers including Audio Station.

Now wireless vs wireless cannot sound different. No cables anywhere and everybody has to implement the same DLNA protocols and standards. I've seen enough crazy in audiophilia, but if anyone tells me SQ varies from one wireless device to another, that's a new level of crazy.

So the NAS i.e. Synology is a much better device. It has a more powerful processor, has data redundancy with RAID, and streams just the same as any other device for like 1/3rd the price.

Needless to say the Pi is also in the same league when it comes to wireless. Again same DLNA and UPnP.

And in your setup DLNA performs the best, over traditional wired methods. Synology NAS would be the best decision here, or stick with the Pi.

I chose not to spend on a new DAC because CXR200 has a pretty good one. And I don't know if I'll ever gather up enough to buy a $5000 DAC. Till then, I think for a marginal difference, I'll stick to the AVR DAC, which is actually performing quite well. Unless, the Vega is going to make a huge difference I might not want to invest in a standalone DAC. You would be in a better place to advise me on this. Since I have just got into high end systems, and have recently purchased the Focal Chorus 726V, maybe I'll look at a new set of speakers two years down. But point bought, that for marginal difference, there's no point spending so much money on a streamer.

External DAC will always be better. Even at 50% the price of your AVR, a dedicated DAC will have much better performance.

The Vega will certainly make a huge difference, but the rest of your chain - source, amp, and speakers will have to be up there too.

Anyway I'm not trying to get you to purchase new speakers, amp, or DAC.

I'm trying to talk you out of purchasing Auralic especially if wireless and DLNA is how you plan to use it and Auralic certainly recommends that you use wireless.

Instead go for a Synology NAS. For anywhere from 30% to 50% of the cost of the Auralic you'll have a much better device to store your data and with similar DLNA and streaming functionality. Go with a NAS with more headroom, it will give more life and upgradeability over the future.

 

[terrible]

So the NAS i.e. Synology is a much better device. It has a more powerful processor, has data redundancy with RAID, and streams just the same as any other device for like 1/3rd the price.

Needless to say the Pi is also in the same league when it comes to wireless. Again same DLNA and UPnP.

And in your setup DLNA performs the best, over traditional wired methods. Synology NAS would be the best decision here, or stick with the Pi.

Sold on NAS. I am finding out how much the model you own will cost me here.

External DAC will always be better. Even at 50% the price of your AVR, a dedicated DAC will have much better performance.

The Vega will certainly make a huge difference, but the rest of your chain - source, amp, and speakers will have to be up there too.

Considering, the DAC will connect to the AVR through wires, and every wired connection so far has not yielded as good a result as wireless. So I am a huge supporter of your observation that wireless is the way to go for music. Now, given all things the same will Vega improve the sound over the wireless that I have now? I do own a middle of the road setup and any improvement will have to be made to this for at least two years.

I'm trying to talk you out of purchasing Auralic especially if wireless and DLNA is how you plan to use it and Auralic certainly recommends that you use wireless.

You have successfully talked me out!

 

[regeHA]

^ Take it one step one at a time.

Get the NAS, put all your data on it, remove all the HDDs and other peripheral devices from your network.

Also, with the NAS you can have multiple solutions from media servers like MinimServer to addons like BubbleUPnP, Audio Station, and even Roon. Get used to that first.

I've not heard the Vega, but I've heard good things about it.

FWIW though I'd go with a multibit Schiit DAC. I'm using the Gungnir and the multibit comes for $1,249 and it really is an excellent DAC. I'm sure many folks on the forum have Schiit, borrow one and see how it compares to your AVR. Only then you can make an informed decision.

This is a good channel for NAS reviews and comparisons - https://www.youtube.com/user/SPANdotCOM.

Sam9s will also be of help. He helped me decide on my model of NAS, you might not need it though. Its too powerful and not needed for audio. I got it specifically for video transcoding and Plex Media Server.

For audio a smaller processor 4-bay costing around $300 to $500 will more than suffice.

 

[terrible]

^ Take it one step one at a time.

Get the NAS, put all your data on it, remove all the HDDs and other peripheral devices from your network.

Also, with the NAS you can have multiple solutions from media servers like MinimServer to addons like BubbleUPnP, Audio Station, and even Roon. Get used to that first.

I've not heard the Vega, but I've heard good things about it.

FWIW though I'd go with a multibit Schiit DAC. I'm using the Gungnir and the multibit comes for $1,249 and it really is an excellent DAC. I'm sure many folks on the forum have Schiit, borrow one and see how it compares to your AVR. Only then you can make an informed decision.

This is a good channel for NAS reviews and comparisons - https://www.youtube.com/user/SPANdotCOM.

Sam9s will also be of help. He helped me decide on my model of NAS, you might not need it though. Its too powerful and not needed for audio. I got it specifically for video transcoding and Plex Media Server.

For audio a smaller processor 4-bay costing around $300 to $500 will more than suffice.

First off, thanks again for all your help and time. I will first setup the NAS as advised. And no my need is not only audio, I have 12TBs worth of movies that keeps getting added on to. I currently use Bootcamp (Windows 8.1 on MacBook Pro) as HTPC with madVR and MPC-HC. Though I have no need for transcoding just merely storing and then throwing it on to the AVR through a good player.

On the DAC, once in place, should music treated by it merely passthrough the AVR or processed further?

 

[regeHA]

First off, thanks again for all your help and time. I will first setup the NAS as advised. And no my need is not only audio, I have 12TBs worth of movies that keeps getting added on to. I currently use Bootcamp (Windows 8.1 on MacBook Pro) as HTPC with madVR and MPC-HC. Though I have no need for transcoding just merely storing and then throwing it on to the AVR through a good player.

Then get a NAS with 6 or 8 bays. You can also add more bays with an expansion unit at a later date.

On the DAC, once in place, should music treated by it merely passthrough the AVR or processed further?

Most DACs will internally resample data anyways. That's how they are designed.

If you mean resampling or upsampling on the NAS via s/w or a PC between the NAS and DAC then not really needed unless you are into high res. I know folks using HQPlayer in a similar way, but I'm perfectly happy streaming from NAS to DAC without any processing.

Inside the DAC, its pretty much processed anyways by all DACs.

If you mean from DAC to AVR (using AVR strictly as an amp) in this case use direct or pure mode in the AVR, that will use the least processing. Disable modes like DTS Neo, Dolby Prologic, and even stereo. Some amount of processing will always be done by AVR, but the least in pure/direct mode. Actual digital to analog conversion takes place in the DAC so that will not be done by the AVR.

Hopefully I understood your question correctly... otherwise apologies.

 

[Hassan Khani]

So what will be used in between NAS and DAC for actual playback? I dont think you can connect the NAS directly to DAC.

 

[regeHA]

So what will be used in between NAS and DAC for actual playback? I dont think you can connect the NAS directly to DAC.

Nope you cannot.

MinimServer will need to be installed on the NAS and then streamed with a control point - BubbleUPnP is what I use.

Or you can plug the Pi to the NAS and setup a server on the Pi. Again MinimServer or Moode or many others.

BubbleUPnP Server is also available for Synology and the Pi.

I'm doing it both ways i.e. server on the NAS and also on the Pi.

Strictly for folks who are into wireless and are having better results with wireless over wired.

I am and the OP is too with DLNA and UPnP.

 

[terrible]

Then get a NAS with 6 or 8 bays. You can also add more bays with an expansion unit at a later date.

I think your model with 5 bays will suffice, as it'll give me around 24TB of storage (6TB HDD x 5). But I do have a couple of questions on this. I do understand that DLNA can be used for music but my AVR is incapable of playing movies through the same mode. So how does one connect the Synology to the AVR? In the case of QNAP there's HDMI but earlier you as well as sam9s were opposed to anything other than Synology.

I have another dilemma. On Amazon.com, DS1515+ is for $883 inclusive of customs duty with 2GB ram. I called EBM here in Mumbai, who are the distributors of Synology. They quoted a price of Rs. 90000/- for the same with 6GB ram. Now a Kingston 4GB ram is available for around $17. So overall it seems like a steep one to buy locally. What do you suggest? And do I need more than 2GB RAM?

If you mean from DAC to AVR (using AVR strictly as an amp) in this case use direct or pure mode in the AVR, that will use the least processing. Disable modes like DTS Neo, Dolby Prologic, and even stereo. Some amount of processing will always be done by AVR, but the least in pure/direct mode. Actual digital to analog conversion takes place in the DAC so that will not be done by the AVR.

Hopefully I understood your question correctly... otherwise apologies.

You did understand correctly. I can have the AVR merely passthrough the sound without processing it at all.

 

[regeHA]

I think your model with 5 bays will suffice, as it'll give me around 24TB of storage (6TB HDD x 5). But I do have a couple of questions on this. I do understand that DLNA can be used for music but my AVR is incapable of playing movies through the same mode. So how does one connect the Synology to the AVR? In the case of QNAP there's HDMI but earlier you as well as sam9s were opposed to anything other than Synology.

Depends on what you want to use. Plex can stream.

Does your AVR have ethernet? You can pull cable or use a WiFi extender with ethernet.

Or introduce an NUC or similar device in the middle and use HDMI. Or a Blu-ray to pull data from the NAS and then HDMI to AVR. Quite a few of them will be budget solutions.

A lot will depend on your content. For Blu-rays you will need HDMI, no way around it. So a Blu-ray player connected to the NAS will be perfect here. I use it multiple ways, wireless to tablets, HTPC via ethernet, and the Oppo again wireless.

I have another dilemma. On Amazon.com, DS1515+ is for $883 inclusive of customs duty with 2GB ram. I called EBM here in Mumbai, who are the distributors of Synology. They quoted a price of Rs. 90000/- for the same with 6GB ram. Now a Kingston 4GB ram is available for around $17. So overall it seems like a steep one to buy locally. What do you suggest?

I got mine from Amazon.com. But do check if you can use local servicing if anything goes wrong? For me its easy to ship to US and avail warranty and service from US, and usually Amazon does the pickup, but if not I can have it shipped or carry it. I'm an Amazon Prime customer BTW.

 

[regeHA]

Now a Kingston 4GB ram is available for around $17. So overall it seems like a steep one to buy locally. What do you suggest? And do I need more than 2GB RAM?

This helped me decide on the 1515+. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDZ1lTrq5uc.

But like I said if you don't need video transcoding you can go with a lower model or a non-Intel CPU. Will have savings on that.

But as you see in the video, 1515+ is much better, gives you more headroom to upgrade later. 2 GB RAM should suffice, you can always add later. I got more as I need to transcode my Blu-ray rips with Plex.

 

[terrible]

Depends on what you want to use. Plex can stream.

Does your AVR have ethernet? You can pull cable or use a WiFi extender with ethernet.

Or introduce an NUC or similar device in the middle and use HDMI. Or a Blu-ray to pull data from the NAS and then HDMI to AVR. Quite a few of them will be budget solutions.

A lot will depend on your content. For Blu-rays you will need HDMI, no way around it. So a Blu-ray player connected to the NAS will be perfect here. I use it multiple ways, wireless to tablets, HTPC via ethernet, and the Oppo again wireless.

I'll try and ask you more pointed questions so that the confusion in my head goes away. So as I understand the only way to connect NAS directly to AVR is through ethernet? Yes my AVR does have an ethernet connect but my net connection is quite far from the AVR. However, it comes through to me from what you write, that a player like Kodi or MPC-HC cannot be set-up on Synology, so I'll need to connect the Pi (with Openelec and Moode) through USB to NAS and further connect Pi to AVR through HDMI?

I got mine from Amazon.com. But do check if you can use local servicing if anything goes wrong? For me its easy to ship to US and avail warranty and service from US, and usually Amazon does the pickup, but if not I can have it shipped or carry it. I'm an Amazon Prime customer BTW.

I too am an Amazon Prime customer. Have sent them an email about the after sales. Guess to send the NAS back to the US for service will be quite a bother for me. And there's also the fear of double duty as it is returned after the service.

But like I said if you don't need video transcoding you can go with a lower model or a non-Intel CPU. Will have savings on that

I don't know why transcoding is even required if I use NAS=> Pi=>AVR. But always better to use use a little more powerful stuff, so I'll stick to DS1515+. Just that these guys here a quoting an awful lot for it.

 

[regeHA]

I'll try and ask you more pointed questions so that the confusion in my head goes away. So as I understand the only way to connect NAS directly to AVR is through ethernet? Yes my AVR does have an ethernet connect but my net connection is quite far from the AVR. However, it comes through to me from what you write, that a player like Kodi or MPC-HC cannot be set-up on Synology, so I'll need to connect the Pi (with Openelec and Moode) through USB to NAS and further connect Pi to AVR through HDMI?

You can use a NAS both as a server and a streamer.

A server will not have media player capability and will need another device like a PC, Pi, etc. This is how Aurender works. Strictly server, no streaming capability.

A streamer can also be a server or streamer only. In the case of the Pi its only streamer as it does not have HDD to hold data. A NAS on the other hand is both a server and with the right s/w like Plex, MinimServer, etc. is also a streamer.

If your AVR supports it, you can directly stream from NAS to AVR. If it does not support it then you have to use the NAS as a server only and introduce another device like a PC or Blu-ray player for media playback.

The NAS OS is typically Linux so it does not work like a traditional Windows PC where you can install MPC, PotPlayer, etc. However, you can install any s/w if there is a Linux distro for it. Plex has it, but Kodi does not. So you can use Plex and stream to any device (if supported) or you can add an external device like a Pi or a PC and install Kodi on it and mount the shared drive on the Kodi installation.

In your case try wireless, ethernet, and with Pi via HDMI and see what works. With a NAS, the need for Pi for audio streaming will be made redundant, so you can install Kodi on it and use it via HDMI to the AVR.

I don't know why transcoding is even required if I use NAS=> Pi=>AVR. But always better to use use a little more powerful stuff, so I'll stick to DS1515+. Just that these guys here a quoting an awful lot for it.

For me specifically because I travel for weeks on work, so its nice to have access to my content. Some places you don't get much international content. I was in China once and everything is so censored there you don't get anything... not even Google.com or Gmail. Of course always a workaround with VPN, but then you cannot stream large files on limited ISP speeds... so transcoding profile for low quality bitrate via Plex gets me sorted for the times when I'm away for weeks on work.

 

[afj]

Cambridge is actually quite a good piece of work. Its been built keeping music in mind and upon listening during various auditions it beat most AVRs hollow and was very comparable to stereo amps like Roksan that I heard at Cinebells Mumbai. But at some later point I do intend to separate the 5.1 and stereo. I have Focal Chorus 726V for speakers. Or maybe buy a good DAC, if you guys recommend here, and passthrough the AVR for music.

im not saying that cambridge isnt good. but its not the greatest. ive had a cambridge 640cdp which came with dual dacs and highly rated by reviews etc and wasnt cheap. i recently bought an assembled kit dac with similar specs and it is much better and more revealing. i also had a nad amp, which is on par with a cambridge (though different sound signatures) and know that when cambridge / nad make avrs, they make it to suit stereo as well and are definitely better than your regular onkyos and denons etc. but theres stuff out there that is much better and more revealing.

i think if you put down what you currently have in your setup, and what youre looking for / areas to improve (SQ, features etc) and your budget, you'd be able to achieve your goal better with the help of fms.

 

[terrible]

im not saying that cambridge isnt good. but its not the greatest. ive had a cambridge 640cdp which came with dual dacs and highly rated by reviews etc and wasnt cheap. i recently bought an assembled kit dac with similar specs and it is much better and more revealing. i also had a nad amp, which is on par with a cambridge (though different sound signatures) and know that when cambridge / nad make avrs, they make it to suit stereo as well and are definitely better than your regular onkyos and denons etc. but theres stuff out there that is much better and more revealing.

i think if you put down what you currently have in your setup, and what youre looking for / areas to improve (SQ, features etc) and your budget, you'd be able to achieve your goal better with the help of fms.

Not to think I am defending CXR200, but I would not judge the AVR through an experience of a different product altogether. I am quite sure it is not the greatest but it delivers everything it promises especially at the price point. I even heard the very expensive Arcam AVR750 which is very good but CXR at 1/3 the price is very comparable. Of course, I am sure a dedicated stereo amp will up the game automatically audio wise. If you do know of an AVR that's more revealing than CXR200, please do let me know, I'll keep it in my radar for future upgrade.

So there's no one area that I am looking to improve. There are many. From source to server to SQ. I am quite there with PQ once I change my gawd-awful 65" VU. However, the only thing that I am fearful of, as I mentioned somewhere above, of buying a DAC is that it might not significantly change the SQ from what I have with Raspberry Pi over DLNA. I probably will look to borrow a DAC and see how that works before buying it. As for the budget, I don't have one. If I find it too expensive I don't buy it and vice-versa. But there are times when its something I really like, I just bite the bullet. Not a very organised way to go about things, I know.

 

[regeHA]

Not to think I am defending CXR200, but I would not judge the AVR through an experience of a different product altogether. I am quite sure it is not the greatest but it delivers everything it promises especially at the price point. I even heard the very expensive Arcam AVR750 which is very good but CXR at 1/3 the price is very comparable. Of course, I am sure a dedicated stereo amp will up the game automatically audio wise. If you do know of an AVR that's more revealing than CXR200, please do let me know, I'll keep it in my radar for future upgrade.

So there's no one area that I am looking to improve. There are many. From source to server to SQ. I am quite there with PQ once I change my gawd-awful 65" VU. However, the only thing that I am fearful of, as I mentioned somewhere above, of buying a DAC is that it might not significantly change the SQ from what I have with Raspberry Pi over DLNA. I probably will look to borrow a DAC and see how that works before buying it. As for the budget, I don't have one. If I find it too expensive I don't buy it and vice-versa. But there are times when its something I really like, I just bite the bullet. Not a very organised way to go about things, I know.

As long as the DAC is receiving input via DLNA the Pi or any other device will be the same, in which case its easier to evaluate a DAC based on its SQ. You can buy something like the Chromecast Audio and use that to evaluate DACs or in your case AVRs will come with onboard WiFi. You can also achieve the same level of output via USB or Toslink provided you achieve clean power and galvanic isolation, using something like USB Regen.

I don't know how much you spent on your AVR, but spending even 50% of that on a multibit DAC will yield better results. That's just my 2 cents. However, you will still need to spend on an amplifier.

That said I've not heard the CXR200 and you may be right on the money too... it might perform better than a separate set of DAC + amp.

But spending 1.5 lacs on a source/streamer is not what I'd do unless my speakers and amp were in the 10-15 lac range.

I would instead use that money to save up for better speakers, amp, DAC, etc.

Single all purpose units are also excellent options. No more separates, no more hunting for synergy, no more cabling and wiring issues, etc. Just like your AVR - DAC, preamp, and amp in a single device.

For 1.5 lacs the Naim Mu-so is an excellent option. We are talking of Devialet in another thread. Bluesound has some excellent offerings too. Such wireless all in one devices make a lot of sense too.

 

[terrible]

I don't know how much you spent on your AVR, but spending even 50% of that on a multibit DAC will yield better results. That's just my 2 cents. However, you will still need to spend on an amplifier.

I got it for 1.35. And as you mentioned I am going to try and get hold of a Schitt and test it out. But yet another clarification: Once I connect the DAC to a Pi through USB, and further connect the DAC to the AVR through Toslink or Coax, with AVR on pass thru mode, why do I need a stereo amp? I know it may be an absolute foolish thing to ask but I might as well look dumb and get know how it works.

For 1.5 lacs the Naim Mu-so is an excellent option. We are talking of Devialet in another thread. Bluesound has some excellent offerings too. Such wireless all in one devices make a lot of sense too.

I have gone down that road and then chose the setup I have now.

By the way, what do you think of this NAS: http://store.namektechnologies.com/...ndia-enterprise-network-attached-storage-nas/ Its got very good reviews many places.