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92% would recommend to a friend 
Aurender Flow DAC/Amp
01 / 10
Aurender Flow DAC/Amp
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Product Description
As powerful as it is compact, the Aurender Flow DAC/amp pumps out an impressive 380 mW at 32 ohms. The high-end specs are headlined by an ESS9018K2M DAC chip and an mSATA slot for up to 1 TB of additional music storage Read More
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Customer Reviews
4.5
(18 reviews)
5star(12)
4star(5)
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keyboard_arrow_downgeveent
182
May 21, 2023
checkVerified Buyer
A discontinued product with great sound.
I had DACs, but this is my first high end DAC. I didn't know why people spend money on DAC and what kind of sound improvements I should expect from a high end DAC. AURENDER FLOW taught me why I need a high end DAC.
Aurender Flow sound can be described with clarity and micro definition of imaging coupled with no distortion and no noise. For that reason, this device is a five-star product in my heart, but I have to take off one star to be fair, because this is a discontinued product by the manufacturer. That means no firmware update and no driver support for future operating systems.
Another thing I want to mention is that, although the device looks good, the device has sharp edges, so you need to be careful when you are handling it. I will update as I find more about the product. At the moment, I didn't find a way to make it work with my Galaxy phone. When connected, my phone doesn't recognize Aurender Flow as an audio device, and it is annoying.
(Edited)
Recommends this product? Yes
Mrudy
42
May 16, 2023
checkVerified Buyer
Great quirky little amp
This amp sounds GOOD. It makes all my headphones sing, even the very picky Meze Lirics. The controls are a little wonky but not terrible. You do have to turn it up loud (-30 Db range) to get decent volume, but once you do that you are rewarded with clear, detailed and accurate sound. The mSATA SLOT is more of a gimmick than useful, but I digress. Not very portable it finds a home on my desktop next to my iFi zen stack, which, BTW it blows away in SQ. Wouldn't expect less from Aurender.
Recommends this product? Yes
universeinmyheart
16
Jun 29, 2021
checkVerified Buyer
The greatest among compact dac/amp
Since its release in 2014 in Korea , I have wanted one , which I wasn't able to afford to get due to the highprice. Now that I have it in my possession , I can understand why people speak highly of it. With a usb connection , you can enjoy all the high fidelity music .
Great product worth every penny.
Recommends this product? Yes
Hellskitchen
5
Jan 22, 2021
checkVerified Buyer
Changed my (PC) life!
Even with iTunes, internet radios are crisp and transparent. Quite a feast.. Can't wait for my HD6XX to arrive and Covid's confined life will be bearable again :)
Recommends this product? Yes
TwisterWes
42
Jan 5, 2021
checkVerified Buyer
Device failed 3 weeks after I got it. Drop's service is garbage! $425 brick. DONT BUY!
Device failed 3 weeks after I got it, after just after a few of days listening. Took me a week to contact Drop's service, who told me that it's 30 days after I received the item, so, adios, amigo and good luck! Drop's service is garbage! I ended up with a $425 brick. DONT BUY IT! I contacted Aurender and they said they don't know who makes these, as they stopped the production in 2016. So, I ended up with a $425 brick, with no service available. This is the last thing I am buying from DROP! I am done with them. Same thing happened with Topping DAC I bought from them. $300 brick. I will just buy directly from Chinese manufacturers, that are at least standing by their product for a year. You are saving $50 on Drop, but have no warranty or repair options. Consider me gone, DROP!
Recommends this product? No
DeyDey
32
Mar 20, 2023
Drop was selling the LCD lineup without Audeze themselves knowing about them leading them to put a statement that the ones drop were selling will not come with a warranty as they themselves don't know where they got the stock from since it wasn't from them.
Chally15
12
Dec 19, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
My go to dac/amp
Had a more expensive dac/amp until I bought this one!
zenbert
175
Dec 15, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
Audiophile portable DAC/AMP with additional versatility
The Aurender Flow is a uniquely packaged product; one that seems to be complicated by its interesting sculptured aluminum casing and the option to install an mSATA SSD. Putting these subjective features aside, it is a really good sounding DAC/Amp combo, and one that could be a good option for certain audiophiles.
Measuring 138mm x 80mm x 30mm, the Flow is about twice as thick as my Onkyo DP-X1a and a size larger than the Chord Mojo. It appears to have an anodized aluminum shell and feels solid in the hand. The base of the unit has soft rubber feet at the corners, which is a welcomed feature to avoid accidental scratching of the base against a hard surface. The unit also comes with a custom fit traveling case and all the cables you would want, except the dongle needed for your device type, e.g., lightning, USB-C, etc. Excellent job here by Aurender IMO.
From a sound persona viewpoint, the Flow is distinctively an audiophile-grade device but unlike other players or DAC and AMP combos that I have tried. The Flow generally sounds airy, spacious, and velvety in its rendering of music but yet clear with micro details that are usually in the higher-end devices. There seems to lack a punchy edge to the sound, yet the details are ever-present and revealing. It’s like air or liquid; Flow is just that. I find watching movies with well-recorded tracks to be an absolute joy, particularly listening to the ambient high and lows without ever being too loud or noisy.
Besides the fairly distinctive sound signature that I dig, I’ve learned to appreciate the option to have the SSD installed. Originally I thought it was a bit of over-engineering in an audiophile device, but I came to appreciate the functionality. Presently I use the Flow as a transport device for FLAC files and movies and have one fewer device (USB drive) to lug around. The important part is storage function never interferes with the audio portion, even when playing a video clip directly with the music going.
There are a couple of considerations with buying the Flow IMO. First of all, the battery life isn’t impressive, and you can drain the battery in a handful of hours based on the volume and usage of the SSD. However, with the charging mode set to CHG+ and connected to a USB powered port, this wouldn’t be an issue as the device will continue to charge while being used. Secondly, the buttons on the device feel touchy and light. This is subjective, but I wish there was more feedback for a more solid feel. The physical unit has sharp-edged corners, which are aesthetically pleasing, at least subjectively, but can be prone to dings.
Since I lug my laptops around a lot more these days, I find it a lot easier to be able to enjoy higher quality music listening as well as having extra data storage with the Flow. The Flow provides a rather distinct audiophile sound quality that I appreciate, and I can see myself carrying it for long trips without having to give up on quality.
Setup: Flac via Audirvana | Tidal → Aurender Flow → Mr. Speakers Ether-CX
Recommends this product? Yes
Matthew-levi
1
Oct 27, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
wonder sound quality
I was pleasantly surprised at how good this little DAC sound. It beats my iBasso DX200 when used as a DAC. And it comes close to a very expensive DAC for my main hifi system. I am totally impressed. The thing I do not like is the optical SPDIF input. It would be perfect if it provides coaxial cable input.
Recommends this product? Yes
sd23
8
Oct 10, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
Excellent DAC
I think this is better then the Chord Mojo. The only minor issues was that the 1/4 to 3.5mm adapter was terrible, the 3.5mm jack was not snug and the audio would cut out when moving around fortunately I had a better one that came with my phones. The second thing is that the volume control doesn't give you enough gain to max out the volume. I use J-river and so I was able to raise the output level from there but still I would have preferred that the volume control itself provide more gain. This DAC can play louder than the Mojo without breaking up although as I mentioned I needed to raise the gain on J-river to do so). The sound quality is top notch. Very clean and detailed without any digital glare or shrill that some others DAC's can have and for which I am very sensitive too. I think the internal Msata drive slot is a good feature so you can store all your music internally and free up drive space on my laptop although I haven't installed one yet so I cant comment on its execution yet but if it works like an external drive meaning J-river has to read the data off it through the USB cable and then output the music data right back out through the same USB port into the DAC then that may discourage me from using it. You cant play back directly from the Msata drive it has to be accessed from the player as an external drive. I would prefer if it can read directly from its internal drive. I bought this to replace my Chord Mojo which kept dying, I had 2 in less than 2 years, believe those negative reviews about Mojo's reliability. This DAC is highly recommended for the $425 price, glad I bough it. I use it with the Hifiman/drop edition XX headphones, it pairs well with it, better than the Chord Mojo did. Be careful replacing the USB cable a cheap bad fitting connector or an expensive heavy inflexible cable may damage the USB input connector.
(Edited)
Recommends this product? Yes
Jakob
378
Sep 22, 2020
checkVerified Buyer
Wow... Aurender are an incredible company.
Update,
The USB connector failed and no longer maintains a connection. Huge disappointment.
It's now an expensive paper weight. I hate micro USB. The worst connector ever created, they constantly fail. Never owned one that lasted. It should have been a red flag but being a higher end unit, hoped otherwise.
What's worse? It's exactly 10 days past 1 year that I believe they may cover this.
Incredibly, despite being beyond any warranty and no longer made I tried contacting their customer service as a shot in the dark, honestly not expecting a reply. However, Aurender contacted me and said they would make inquiries. He followed through and is having me ship it to their service center in California for repair once the part arrives from Korea! Honestly blown away by the customer service. They have zero obligation and must be spending a decent sum of money to make me happy. Just thrilled to know I will be able to enjoy this kit in the near future.
Leaving the positive rating until I get a response from Drop. Fingers crossed...
Well, it's beyond coverage and nothing can be done. Honestly, I cannot blame Drop, I agreed to the conditions, it's just really disappointing.
Get this, I went to a local electronics repair/stereo shop. The guy there looks at it and says nothing can be done because it's propietary. A standard USB socket, proprietary. Needless to say, I have little faith in this shop. To make it even worse, he explains how much better new dacs are and that he sells Ifi products which sound great. Yeah, new dacs are improving but you cannot convince me a new $300 dac is going to sound better than this and anyone with knowledge of audio knows a higher quality older piece will sound better than a cheaper new one. I am not hung up on having the latest dsd hires certification.
I guess, I will seek out a computer repair shop familiar with USB technology.
OK, this is just a first impression.
Coming from the respected LGV30 and this is a vast leap in sound.
It does what a good upgrade should, make you anxiously relisten to all your favorite songs to experience what you have been missing this whole time.
Nothing vague or golden ears about this, it's immediately noticeable.
Was a bit worried this would be a bit harsh as some audiophile grade stuff can get with being on the described "clinical" side but not at all. Smooth yet super detailed.
Get this. Easily the best $500 piece of audio gear I have purchased.
Very pleased.
(Edited)
Recommends this product? Yes
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