AURALiC Vega G1 Streaming DAC

Five Stars - the-ear.net

AURALiC's Classic DAC Learns How to Stream

AURALiC's highly regarded classic DAC learns how to stream with the new Vega G1 model. The Vega G1 preserves the sound you love from the classic Vega, and then it adds the ability to stream from all your favorite sources of high-resolution digital music. Mix in the performance, engineering, features, and looks of AURLiC's G series, and you've got a fantastic way to turn your hi-fi into a leading-edge digital streaming system.

The terrific sound of AURALiC’s first Vega digital-to-analog converter made it an instant hit when it was released, and this year’s upgrade to the original definitely lives up to an impeccable sonic standard. But the Vega G1 Streaming DAC goes a lot further, with integrated streaming functionality and a host of improvements that are, once again, drawn from AURALiC’s top-end lineup.

It starts with that ability of the Vega G1 to pull double duty as a high-resolution streamer. AURALiC has slipped its Tesla platform into the Vega G1 just as it did for the G2, giving it the power to connect to local network locations, lossless Internet sources like TIDAL, Qobuz, and Spotify, and Internet Radio. High-resolution content from those sources is streamed right to the G1’s DAC circuit. The Tesla platform making that possible consists of a Quad-Core Cortex A9 chip with 1GB of DDR3 memory and 4GB of storage — plenty of horsepower to get the job done.

"Effortless, Diverse and Wildly Nuanced"

"The Auralic Vega G1 is a well thought out streamer/DAC that clearly benefits from technology created for the considerably more speedy Vega G2," notes Jason Kennedy in his Five Star review for the-ear.net, posted November 20, 2018. "It does all the important things well, with neutrality of balance and consistency of timing being among the clearest. The combination of such engaging music making with very high build quality and one of the nicest control apps in the business make the Vega G1 a hard act to beat, put it with a decent server and it will deliver results that will revise your opinion of what can be done with digital audio."

"The VEGA G1 is a flexible piece of hardware," notes Brian Hunter at Audio-Head.com. "It is flexible in the sense that it can reproduce music in a pure, lively, robust signal for any of your transducers. It is flexible because it is never stiff, but rather effortless, diverse and wildly nuanced in its translation of source material."

Independent, Jitter-Free Operation

Last year AURALiC introduced a terrifically innovative DAC feature, wherein those resources of the Tesla platform allowed it to handle incoming data in such a way that the DAC didn’t need to lock on to the frequency of the source signal at all. It could actually operate independently of the source signal’s frequency, thus rendering signal and synching errors and their resulting jitter completely irrelevant. That independent, Jitter-Free Operation has also made its way into the G1, highlighting AURALiC’s commitment to this creative solution to one of digital’s biggest challenges.

ORFEO Class A Output Module

When it comes to signal conversion, Vega G1 turns to the same customized DAC chip that AURALiC used in the G2 version, and the G2’s super speedy 72fs Femto clock is here too, taking care of clocking duties for impressively precise signal handling. On the analog side, ARIES G1 sticks with the ORFEO Class A output module that has been impressing fans for years – capable of driving various loads, matching the characteristics of different power amplifiers. ORFEO uses small signal components with excellent linear characteristics, thermally balanced and biased into Class-A to achieve open loop distortion of less than 0.001%.

Flexible Filter Mode

AURALiC's Flexible Filter Modes return with the Vega G1 for a nuanced level of user-selected control over audio output. It includes four filter modes developed using a combination of objective data models and subjective testing, with each mode assembling a unique array of filters to match the sonic qualities of the source. Precise Mode maximizes in-band ripple and out-band attenuation performance for example, while Smooth Mode eliminates pre-ringing. Dynamic and Balance Modes round out the available options that provide an extra level of control for your listening.

Supports the Highest Resolution Digital Music Formats

Vega G1 supports both streaming and conversion of all of today’s highest-resolution digital music formats, up to DSD512 and PCM in 32bit/384K, and it stays up to date with OTA updates from AURALiC. Lightning Streaming is the foundation for Vega G1’s streaming functionality, and as always that means On-Device Playlists, Memory Caching, Gapless Playback and Bit-Perfect Multi-Room features are part of the package. The Lightning DS control app for iOS supplies all playback and browsing features, and there’s a web admin for setup and configuration. Vega G1 also supports Spotify Connect and RoonReady features.

And there are plenty of options on the back of the unit for hard connections from other digital source components if you need them: AES/EBU, Coaxial, Toslink, and USB HS are all available in addition to the Ethernet port for network streaming.

Upscale Look and Feel

Once again the upscale G2 line’s influence is evident in the Vega G1’s appearance. Housed in black anodized aluminum with a silver rotary knob, the G1 features the same 4.0-inch true color retina resolution display that figures prominently in the G2 line.

• Streaming DAC
• Streaming Input: DLNA media server, TIDAL & Qobuz, Internet Radio, Spotify Connect, Roon Ready
• File Format: AAC, AIFF, ALAC, APE, DFF, DSF, FLAC, MP3, OGG, WAV, WV and WMA
• Sampling Rate: PCM in 44.1KHz - 384KHz at 16 -32 bits, DSD64 - DSD512
• Streaming Platform: AURALiC Tesla G2 with 1.2GHz quad-core processor, 1GB system memory, 4GB data storage
• Digital Input: Ethernet streaming (up to 32-bit/384 kHz, DSD 512); USB Audio Device (up to 32-bit/384 kHz, DSD 512); AES/EBU, Coax, Toslink (up to 24-bit/192 kHz)
• Analog Output: Balanced Output (THD <0.00015%, DNR >127 dB); Singled-Ended Output Balanced Output (THD <0.00016%, DNR >124 dB)
• Internal Clock: Dual Femto 72fs Master Clocks, Jitter-free Operation
• Power Supply: Dual Purer-Power internal linear power supply, 10uV low noise design for audio circuits
• On-Device Display: 3.97-inch retina resolution display
• Control Software: Lightning DS, Roon, 3rd party OpenHome control software

• Dimensions: 13.4" wide, 3.1" high, 12.6" deep
• Weight: 15.4 lbs.

"The Auralic Vega G1 is a well thought out streamer/DAC that clearly benefits from technology created for the considerably more speedy Vega G2. Naturally there are trade-offs but it does all the important things well, with neutrality of balance and consistency of timing being among the clearest. The combination of such engaging music making with very high build quality and one of the nicest control apps in the business make the Vega G1 a hard act to beat, put it with a decent server and it will deliver results that will revise your opinion of what can be done with digital audio."

- Jason Kennedy, the-ear.net, November 20, 2018

"The VEGA G1 is a flexible piece of hardware. It is flexible in the sense that it can reproduce music in a pure, lively, robust signal for any of your transducers. It is flexible because it is never stiff, but rather effortless, diverse and wildly nuanced in its translation of source material."

- Brian Hunter, Audio-Head.com