AURALiC Altair G1.1 Music Streamer

The Altair G1.1 is the entry into the high end world of AURALiC. It is, deep breath, a Network Music Streamer, Digital Preamp & Headphone Amp that plays Internet Radio, Spotify Connect, Tidal & Qobuz natively and has Bluetooth & Airplay and is a Roon Endpoint. It also plays PCM 32/384 & DSD512 Audio Files and has Balanced XLR & Single Ended RCA outputs as well as a USB input and optional internal hard drive storage. Not only that but it has a great App and sounds very close in sound to its bigger brother which costs nearly twice the price. Hmmmm. You definitely need to check this one out.

Main Features & Specifications

• Design: Network Music Streamer, Digital Preamp & Headphone Amplifier
• AURALiC’s redefining the way we listen to music, the Altair G1.1 builds on the success of it predecessor. It remains the ’Swiss Army Knife’ of the range, a versatile Streaming DAC, Server, Preamplifier, Headphone Amplifier and CD player/ripper*
  • *CD player/ripper requires addition USB CD-ROM or DVD-ROM hardware
• Altair G1.1 features volume control, provision for onboard HDD/SDD*, improved headphone amplifier, Lightning Server and the full array of digital inputs.
  • *Altair G1.1 requires a specific HDD kit for installation. HDD/SDD are not supplied.
• The Altair G1.1 is engineered with a High-Mass base plate, borrowed form the G2.1 family. The base plate improves vibration dampening and sonic performance.
• Altair G1.1 has an improved Femto clock, providing an even higher level of precision for the integrated DAC. It also has a more powerful built-in headphone amplifier, making the headphone listening experience even better.
• Altair G1.1 is perfectly at home as a digital source, or controlling your whole system

G1.1 Improvements

The Altair G1.1 has an improved Femto clock, providing an even higher level of precision for the integrated DAC. It also has a more powerful built-in headphone amplifier, making the headphone listening experience even better.

The G1.1 series now features the high-mass base from AURALiC's award-winning G2.1 series products. This satin silver base plate improves the overall aesthetic appearance and, more importantly, provides extra vibration damping for better sonic performance. Altair G1.1 also now supports Apple AirPlay 2, further expanding your streaming options.

Altair G1.1 Overview

The new Altair G1.1 distils AURALiC's proprietary technologies and features into a high-performance DAC and streamer built to exacting standards within a substantial aluminium case. As an entry point to the AURALiC ecosystem, the Altair G1.1 offers a comprehensive number of features and functions. Music can be sourced from virtually any source - locally stored files on your network, Internet radio, Airplay, Bluetooth, USB drive, an optional integrated hard drive or a playlist of favourites from a subscription-based streaming service such as Qobuz or TIDAL. Control is via either the proprietary Lightning DS app, or the manual intuitive control on the front panel with all functions clearly shown on the high-resolution 4" colour display. Completing the Altair G1.1's extensive feature set: full wireless utility, smart IR control learning, and an advanced digital volume control.

A Complete Digital Source: AURALiC designed the Altair G1.1 to provide a comprehensive solution for the discerning music enthusiast. As a DAC, preamplifier, server, wireless streamer, and storage device, the Altair G1.1 delivers high performance in a wide variety of system configurations. Digital Coax, Toslink and AES/EBU inputs, plus single-ended RCA and balanced XLR outputs allow multiple connections to the unit. Also included is a front panel stereo headphone output should a dedicated high-powered headphone amplifier be required.

Designed for ease of use, crystal-clear sound and a highly flexible system configuration, Altair G1.1 brings high-performance, cutting-edge technology, and incredible value to any high-fidelity music system.

Turn Your Wi-Fi into a Music Streaming Ecosystem: AURALiC developed Lightning OS to be the highest-quality streaming environment you’ve ever heard. A meticulously-crafted software architecture designed specifically to work hand-in-hand with the powerful Tesla hardware platform found in AURALiC streaming products, Lightning OS is full of cutting-edge innovations that bring your music to life like never before. Connect to all your high-resolution sources, take control with user apps like Lightning DS or Roon, and meet true audiophile streaming.

Display Brilliance: A 4.0-inch true colour in-plane switching display with a resolution of over 300ppi provides complete operational feedback: playback status, configuration settings, and a full library view for browsing your collection.

Next Level Processing: In facilitating the Altair G1.1's substantial and powerful processing capability, it should come as no surprise that the processor at the heart of this system would need to act as a next-level solution. As a result, the product harnesses the power of a Tesla G2 processor. No task will be too difficult, be it serving, streaming, decoding or playback. DXD upsampling features as standard and an extensive range of DSP filters provide broad choices to suit personal preferences. The network streaming functionality is well-proven in terms of ease of operation and excellent sound quality. Networking capability operates at up to 32-bit, 384khz and DSD512, supporting all major lossless codecs, DSD in DoP format and native DSD.

• 37,500MIPS Processing Speed: CPU performance that’s 50% faster than the original Tesla G1 processor.
• 200% Memory & Storage: Twice the system memory and data storage means fluid audio signal processing and support for advanced features.
• 1GB Memory Cache: An enormous memory cache means reduced network noise and dramatically reduced open circuit time for improved sound quality.

Flexibility To Explore: The Altair G1.1 offers nearly universal connectivity for access to all your digital sources. Tri-band Wi-Fi and Ethernet open your system to UPnP/DLNA media servers, shared network folders, high-resolution Internet Services, and Internet Radio, as well as RoonReady, Bluetooth, AirPlay, and SongCast control.

Dual 72fs Femto Clock: With a dedicated, low-noise 3uV power supply to minimize phase noise and keep it as quiet as it is accurate, the 72 Femto Master Clock is amazingly precise for less jitter, and immaculate sound. Its 72 femtosecond cycles — that’s 72 quadrillionths of a second — set a new standard for signal timing. Temperature-regulated for consistent performance, this clock is always there to keep things rock-steady.

1GB Memory Cache: Open network connections and data fetching are prone to noise that can hurt the quality of your audio signal. The Tesla G2 hardware platform dedicates a whopping 1GB of RAM to the task of caching, lowering the frequency of open circuits and helping your music sound better.

Flexible Filter Mode: Flexible Filter Mode gives you a nuanced level of control over your audio output. Its various modes were developed using a combination of objective data models and subjective testing, with each mode offering a unique array of filters to match the sonic quality of the source. Whether it’s modes to tweak in-band ripple, out-band attenuation, ultrasonic filtering and more, you’ve always got the power to dial in the performance you want.

ActiveUSB: The second generation of AURALiC’s ActiveUSB provides more than just asynchronous control over USB data for enhanced accuracy and precise re-clocking to reduce jitter. It also bypasses the USB power stream, using its own Purer-Power linear power supply instead. That means dirty USB power — and the EMI noise that comes along with it — is kept as far from the music as possible.

Smart-IR Control: Smart-IR Remote Control lets your AURALiC device map its functionality onto any remote you’d like. Just let the device know which remote you prefer, and all of its operations (play/pause, volume control, track select, etc.) can be assigned to buttons just the way you like them.

Purer-Power: The Purer-Power linear power supply reduces DC current noise by as much as 90dB with its power purification module. Using a specially designed transformer and unique wiring that minimizes vibration, noise from Purer-Power is kept below 1uV across the audible spectrum, leaving you to discover the details in your music, down to the last bit.

Our Take On The AURALiC Altair G1.1 Music Streamer

The Altair G1.1 is the entry into the high end world of AURALiC. It is, deep breath, a Network Music Streamer, Digital Preamp & Headphone Amp that plays Internet Radio, Spotify Connect, Tidal & Qobuz natively and has Bluetooth & Airplay 2 and is a Roon Endpoint. It also plays PCM 32/384 & DSD512 Audio Files and has Balanced XLR & Single Ended RCA outputs as well as a USB input and optional internal hard drive storage. Not only that but it has a great App and sounds very close in sound to its bigger brother which costs nearly twice the price. Hmmmm. You definitely need to check this one out.

Specification

• Frequency Response: 20 - 20KHz, +/- 0.1dB
• THD+N: < 0.0002% (XLR); < 0.0003% (RCA), 20Hz-20KHz at 0dBFS
• Dynamic Range: 124dB, 20Hz-20KHz, A-weighted
• Streaming File Format
  • Lossless: AIFF, ALAC, APE, DIFF, DSF, FLAC, OGG, WAV and WV
  • Lossy: AAC, MP3, MQA and WMA
• Sampling Rates
  • PCM: 44.1KHz to 384KHz in 32Bit
  • DSD: DSD64 (2.8224MHz), DSD128 (5.6448MHz), DSD256 (11.2896MHz), DSD512 (22.57892MHz)
• Control Software
  • AURALiC Lightning DS for iOS
  • AURALiC Lightning DS for web browser (device setting only)
  • OpenHome compatible control software (BubbleUPnP, Kazoo) for Android users
  • Roon (Roon Core required separately)
• Audio Inputs
  • Digital Inputs: AES/EBU, Coaxial, Toslink, USB Audio
  • Streaming Inputs: Network shared folder, USB Drive, Optional Internal Storage, UPnP/DLNA Media Server, native TIDAL and Qobuz Sublime+ streaming, AirPlay, Spotify Connect, Internet Radio, Bluetooth, Songcast, RoonReady
• Audio Outputs
  • Balanced: XLR (2.2Vrms at 0dBFS, output impedance 10 ohm)
  • Unbalanced: RCA (2.2Vrms at 0dBFS, output impedance 50 ohm)
  • Headphone: 6.35mm Headphone Jack (output impedance 5 ohm)
• Network
  • Wired Gigabit Ethernet
  • Wireless: 802.11b/g/n/ac Tri-Band Wi-Fi
• Included Accessories: 2 x external Wi-Fi antennas, power cable, USB cable, user guide
• IEC C13 Power Socket: Upgrade to an IsoTek Power Cable here
• Finish: Anodized aluminium case in matte black
• Power Consumption: Playback - 50W at max
• Dimensions (WxHxD): 340 x 80 x 320mm
• Weight: 6.8kg
• Manufacturer’s Warranty: 1 Year

Note: Features & Specifications Subject To Change Without Notice. E&OE