I've just received a brand spanking-new Aries G1.1. I've got three problems with it:
1. On their website, Auralic claim the Aries G1.1 to be RoonReady. It isn't. When trying to connect, Roon says that the G1.1 is not certified and therefore refuses to connect. I've had an Aries G2.1 (on loan) and G1 (which I own) here, and both have worked perfectly with Roon. I'm sure it wil be just a matter of time before Auralic sort this out, but they really should have been on top of this before releasing the G1.1.
2. On their website, Auralic claim that the G1.1 uses dual 'femto clocks'. The USB oscillator in the G1.1 is the Skyworks Si530, with a measured phase jitter of 0.3ps RMS. I would have expected a 'femto clock' to measure in single-digit fs, not 100s of fs.
3. On their website, Auralic claim that the G1.1 has a galvanically-isolated USB output. Unlike the Aries G2.1, which uses the Silanna chip and does indeed sport galvanic USB isolation, the G1.1 doesn't. There is no galvanic isolation at the USB output.
Problems 1 and 2 above, I could live with. No doubt 1 will get sorted out soon enough, and 2 is probably just a matter of definition. But 3 is a total show-stopper for me. Auralic's claim here is totally false... and in my eyes, unforgiveable.
Unsurprisingly, the G1.1 is going back.
Mani.