In an era of “unprecedented technological development” throughout the world of high-end audio, AURALiC is “striking a new path” with the introduction of its G Series premium audio components. Built around AURALiC’s foundational Lightning Streaming framework and introducing Lightning Link, an advanced proprietary communications protocol, the G Series family of digital audio devices applies “the best of modern materials and engineering for top-of-the-line performance”.

With their launch at High End Munich 2017, this year will see the release of four G Series products: the ARIES G2 Streaming Transporter, the SIRIUS G2 Upsampling Processor, the VEGA G2 Streaming DAC, and the LEO G2 Femto Reference Clock. “When working together, G Series components become a pioneering sonic network, a uniquely integrated streaming digital audio system fit for the most discriminating music lovers,” says AURALiC President & CEO Xuanqian Wang. “ARIES G2 and VEGA G2 retain elements of the innovative engineering that made their predecessors standouts in their categories, but that’s where the similarities end. Enhanced resources, original approaches to isolation, expanded functionality, and groundbreaking levels of control and communication put the ARIES G2 and the VEGA G2 in a class of their own.”

ARIES G2 Streaming Transporter

The ARIES G2 Streaming Transporter wirelessly connects your home audio system to all your diverse sources of digital music, from networked and USB-attached storage to lossless Internet streaming services and Internet radio. Install any 2.5” solid-state or hard drive and the ARIES G2 becomes a music server in its own right with on-device hosting of your digital library. Auralic told us: “Feature-rich and lightning fast, the ARIES G2 incorporates cutting-edge galvanic isolation engineering and ultra-clean power control for impeccable care of the digital signals it handles. Dual Femto Clocks and an EMI-shielding chassis machined from a single billet of aluminium are among the features that make the ARIES G2 destined to set a new standard of quality in digital audio streaming”.

“At its core the ARIES G2 is a device that unites disparate sources of today’s highest resolution music files and delivers that source material to your DAC, reliably and precisely, via output options including AURALiC Lightning Link, High-Speed USB Audio 2.0, AES/EBU, digital coaxial, and TOSLINK. The processor at the heart of the ARIES G2 is 50% faster than the original ARIES Streaming Bridge, with twice the system memory and data storage of its predecessor. That means even easier handling of resolutions up to DSD512 and PCM 32bit/ 384K, and increased protection against dropouts. The use of AURALiC’s Lightning Streaming infrastructure lets the ARIES G2 make those connections with your music files possible over your existing Wi-Fi network, and brings with it added features like On-Device Playlists, Memory Caching, Gapless Playback and Bit-Perfect Multi-Room functionality. It’s all controlled via the AURALiC custom iOS app, Lightning DS – or access Lightning setup through the new web interface on any smart device at all. In addition to compatibility with AirPlay, the ARIES G2 is a certified Roon Ready endpoint for seamless integration with Roon software, making it one of the most flexible streamers available in hifi”.

The ARIES G2 Streaming Transporter retails for $3899 in the US, and €4199/£3899 in Europe (local VAT included) without internal storage. Customers may install any 2.5” solid-state or hard drive or order the ARIES G2 with a pre-installed solid-state drive for on-device music storage.

VEGA G2 Streaming DAC

Auralic told us more about their G2 streaming DAC: “The VEGA G2 Streaming DAC is a DAC with the power to flawlessly process all of today’s highest-resolution digital music formats, up to DSD512 and PCM in 32bit/384K. But the VEGA G2 is also a fully-functional streamer, capable of connecting directly to your digital music sources. Compared to the original VEGA, the VEGA G2 has a completely re-designed structure, utilizing AURALiC’s Tesla Platform to buffer, process and carefully regulate delivery of the source signal to a customized DAC chip. For the first time in the audio industry, it’s a DAC that operates independently of the source signal’s frequency: VEGA G2 buffers data in such a way that it has no need to lock on to the frequency of its source signal. Never before has a DAC been able to entirely govern timing with its own clocking – in this case those extremely precise Dual 72 Femto Master Clocks. Freed from outside limitations, the VEGA G2 delivers completely jitter-free performance”.

“At the heart of the VEGA G2 is the AURALiC Tesla Platform, sporting a Quad-Core A9 chip, 1GB DDR3 memory and 4GB of storage for calculation speeds 25 times faster than its predecessor. Add brand-new Galvanic Isolation that permits data transmission between primary circuits that are entirely separated physically and ultra-clean power from Dual Low-Noise Linear Purer-Power units, and it’s clear this DAC strives for an analog signal that’s as pure as it is loyal to the music. Fully Passive Volume Control is another new feature appearing in the VEGA G2. It’s based on a unique resistor ladder attenuator network built by AURALiC, and draws exactly zero current once it’s set. Zero current equals zero interference, and it’s one more innovation under the hood of the VEGA G2 that reflects an obsessive attention to detail. Together with AURALiC’s ORFEO Class-A Output Module, inspired by classic analog designs, the end result is an incredibly faithful level of musical presentation. Incorporating AURALiC’s Lightning Streaming technology, the VEGA G2 takes on all the streaming functionality and connectivity of a dedicated streamer. When connected over Ethernet to a home network, all of Lightning Streaming’s features become available. User control is at provided via the AURALiC custom iOS control app Lightning DS, and Lightning Server setup for the VEGA G2 is made easy with universal access to the new web interface from any smartphone, tablet, or computer. The VEGA G2 Streaming DAC is a certified Roon Ready endpoint too, for seamless integration with Roon software”.

The VEGA G2 Streaming DAC retails at $5699 in the US, and €6299/£5499 in Europe (local VAT included.)

Still to come in the G Series are the SIRIUS G2 Upsampling Processor and the LEO G2 Femto Reference Clock.

The ARIES G2 Streaming Transporter and the VEGA G2 Streaming DAC will be available through the AURALiC dealer network by September 2017. The SIRIUS G2 Upsampling Processor and the LEO G2 Femto Reference Clock are targeted to ship by the end of 2017.